The Souls of the Fire Dragon

John Wrieden

Fate leaned back in his chair and smiled.  "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference."  Death nodded in concurrence.  "Wake up, Akea, and see the truth."

A young man awakens suddenly in a cold, dark alleyway with no recall of who he is or how he got there.  A woman is leaning over him, urging him to flee with her.  The Watchmen are coming! she warns him.  He goes with her and soon recovers not only his name, Akea, but discovers that he is a powerful magician, albeit with an unfortunate lack of self control.  Together, with a small band of rebels, magicians and one very seductive female dragon, he fights for the freedom of his city and country, which lie under the tyrannical yoke of dark magicians and brutal men.

My Take:

I think the best way to describe this book is George Orwell's 1984 meets Harry Potter.  You've got classic and enduring fantasy elements such as good versus evil magicians, dragons, etc. combined with the claustrophobia and paranoia of Orwellian dystopia, which even borrows 1984's commonly used "Big Brother is Watching You" altered slightly to say "The Watchmen are Watching You!"  It was really cool because it felt like the author really appreciates the genre and was paying homage, rather than just copying Orwell.  One of the most intriguing elements was the personification of things such as Fate, Death, Chance, Luck and other abstract philosophical ideas.  In this book, they are very real people with very real power pulling the strings of the main characters in the story.  The book started out very promising, but after the first few chapters, my interest began to wane because the plot felt like it was a little lost without a clear purpose.  I think the best part was the novelty of the concept, but the execution itself was a bit lacking. 4 Borrow from a Friend

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell  me how you feel!

If this book were a movie it would likely be rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

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