SERIES REVIEW | DRACONIS MEMORIA | ANTHONY RYAN

 

And Good Evening to you all. 

I don’t think I know where my head is at today! Honestly.

Well, better late than never I suppose.

Today’s post is a quick Anthony Ryan’s Draconis Memorial series which I read a while ago.

Rather than doing one review after another, here are the reviews for all three books in one post.

DRACONIS MEMORIA

The DRACONIS MEMORIA series by Anthony Ryan tells the tale of The Ironship Trading Company. Set in a steampunk universe where people consume the blood of dragons that give them superhuman empires. Chronicling the adventures of three main characters, Claydon Torcreek, a petty thief and an unregistered Blood-blessed who finds himself pressed into service by the Protectorate and sent to wild, uncharted lands in search of a creature he believes is little more than legend. Lizanne Lethridge, a formidable spy and assassin facing gravest danger on an espionage mission deep into the heart of enemy territory. And Corrick Hilemore,and second lieutenant of an Ironship cruiser whose pursuit of ruthless brigands leads him to a far greater threat at the edge of the world.

Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Trading Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes. Harvested from captive or hunted Reds, Greens, Blues and Blacks, it can be distilled into elixirs that bestow fearsome powers on the rare men and women known as the Blood-blessed.
 
But not many know the truth: that the lines of drakes are weakening. If they fail, war with the neighboring Corvantine Empire will follow swiftly. The Syndicate’s last hope resides in whispers of the existence of another breed of drake, far more powerful than the rest, and the few who have been chosen by fate to seek it.

The Waking Fire

In The Waking Fire, Anthony Ryan presents a wholly original fantasy that is based on a Steampunk universe.

In this highly intricate world that Ryan has built, the main commodity that is at the centre of the story is the use of Dragon’s Blood which imbues the user with almost superhuman powers. Dragon’s Blood is a highly prized commodity, and the whole world revolves around it. It is the lifeblood that keeps the world turning, socially, culturally and economically. There are four main types of blood that instils different powers. There is blue, that can give trance like states and allows the user to speak over vast distances telepathically. Then there is green which gives the user speed and agility, and also the power to heal quicker. Red dragon’s blood instils the power of fire, whilst the final one, black gives strength. In order to use these powers, the person has to be blood blessed.

The Waking Fire tells the story of Lizanne, an Ironship Protectorate intelligence operative who skulks in the shadows. Then there is Clay, a thief, who after getting arrested is conscripted into the Ironship Protectorate to undertake a mission to try to find evidence of the legendary white Dragon. Finally, there is Hilemore, a naval officer with the Ironship Protectorate.

All three are thrown together when they are each called upon to undertake a mission to find a legendary white dragon.

With a magic system that uses Dragon’s blood as its base, Ryan sets up a fascinating world that resembles Victorian Britain. In The Waking Fire, Anthony Ryan mixes John Buchan style political intrigue with King Soloman’s Mines heroics, and epic fantasy. It’s an interesting mix. Not one that always works, but interesting all the same.

Now I have to say, I found this one hard one to get into, and I have to admit that it took me three tries to actually read The Waking Fire. It is at this point that I have to give a special mention to the narrator of the audiobook on this one who made the story almost impossible to get into and strips the book of any excitement with his almost monotonic rendition of the text. This bloke was dull! Dull to the extreme! However, the narrator does change in the second and third books (Thank God! Because I might have actually cut my own ears off if I had to listen to him again).

At times, the book could drag, particularly at the beginning. However, this time I stuck with it and I have to say that in the end I did actually enjoy it. In addition to that, this was my first introduction to Anthony Ryan’s writing, and I have to say that I am impressed. His world building is so intricate and complex. Not only that, his ability to write a good story is brilliant.

His use of dragons in a fantasy setting was refreshing and original, becoming more intrinsic to the plot as the story develops. 

Like I said, the story is a slow build and one that takes some work to get into, but stuck with it and you will be rewarded with one hell of a story.

The Legion of Flame

The Legion of Flame is the second book in The Draconis Memoria trilogy by Anthony Ryan.

After the defeat of the Iron Ship Protectorate in the first book, the white dragon is intent on his destruction of the world. Meanwhile the people of Arradsian continent are now homeless and subjugated. In response to her heroics at the end of Book 1, Lizanne is tasked with being the ambassador between the Protectorate and the Corvantine Emperor. Whilst there she is sent on a mission to infiltrate the most feared place in the Corvantine Empire, Scorazin, in an attempt to find the famed Mad Artisan and a device that may save the world.

Across the globe, Clay Torcreek and Corrick Hilemore are sailing into the uncarted North to find a myth that might defeat the mighty white drake.

The second book in the series massively expands the world, character and plot of the trilogy. We get to see the workings of the Corvantine Empire and other aspects of the world.

Whilst we have the two stories of Clay and Lizanne, Ryan introduces a new characters into the mix that shows the complexities of the spoiled and the dragons. In additition to this, we learn more about the history of the world that the story is set in.

Similarly to the first book, the world building is both complex and accomplished. Ryan makes this world a living and breathing place by showing the different environments of the world as the characters travel end to end in their bid to find weapons to save their world.

The characters develop in their own way and it feels that they grow organically. Lizanne is still the baddest of badasses, whilst Clay is testing his skills as a blood blessed.

Throughout the story, Ryan maintains a palpable sense of world wide conflict as the characters attempt to complete their missions.

In The Draconis Memoria, Ryan again successfully mixes science fiction, steam punk and epic fantasy to create an original series.

The Empire Of Ashes

The Empire of Ashes is the culmination of The Draconis Memoria trilogy.

In this final book, the world is moving to its final battle with the White Dragon and its armies. However, to win the battle, Clay Torcreek must form an alliance with the Black Dragons, whilst Captain Hilemore overcomes massive odds to form a navy to battle the armies of the white dragon. Meanwhile, Lizanne Letheridge is finding the final pieces of the puzzle of the Mad Artisan.

I have to say there is a lot going on in this final book, and I wondered how it was actually going to finish. Similar to the other books, the story follows the four main points of view of Lizanne, Clay and Corrick Hilemore, as well as the main antagonists of the story.

As the main characters are spread across the four corners of the world, Ryan deftly moves the main players into the arena for the final battle.

At times, the book does slow down in pace, particularly in the middle of the book when Captain Hilemore is attempting to gather forces to swell his army, and when Clay is attempting to garner support from the Black Dragons.

However, the book admirably closes the story with sprawling battle scenes.

The Empire of Ashes is a satisfying ending to one of the most original fantasy series that I have read.