Dragonmaster (Storm of Wings)

Chris Bunch shows some real creativity in Storm of Wings by his ability to adequately blend real military action with Fantasy themes. After reading a bit more about him, his ability to do this is supported by his personal history and makes things that much more plausible. Bunch takes your cliche poor, down-trodden, hero adolescent and carries him through a series of events that culminate in his being conscripted in the military. The main theme of the hero is a fascination with dragons that both rewards and punishes him at different points in the story. Nothing outrageously good in any of this. What really sets the story apart is that Bunch creates a military/war environment that is real. His disdain for staff Officers and for those who don't understand the difference between actual fighting skills and parade skills is wonderful. I really liked some of the moral sentiments that Bunch evolves in the main character. Things like not leaving the soldiers he is serving with and other ideals really ring strongly of someone who knows what that really means. The writing is fast paced and the story had enough intrigue and a smattering of romance to keep is balanced and fun. I am surprised that I have never heard of this before because it's really quite good and gives such a fun, realistic flavor to classic Fantasy that you can't help enjoying it.

This book is amazing, I enjoyed every turn of the page wanting to know what came next. A must read for all

On his way home Hal Kailas saw the lord's son Nanpean torture a baby dragon; he punches the boy and takes the kit back to his mother. Hal's family is in danger of losing their tavern for Hal's actions so he leaves the village of Caerly in the Kingdom of Deraine. He becomes a vagabond, wandering from job to the job, never finding anything that interested him until he becomes the goferr for a traveling troupe that sells dragon rides. Hal knows he wants to do something with dragons on his own. However, the Queen of Roche uses a land dispute to go to war with Deraine and Sagene. Hal t is conscripted and rises to the occasion to become a leader of men. When his troops are massacred, Hal enlists to be trained to fight on dragons in a new unit. His exploits and daring earn him the hearts and admiration of the populace but the war costs him that what he treasures most. When he is injured, instead of mustering out like the king expects him to, Hal volunteers to lead a new dragon unit as their Dragonmaster. This book is filled with plenty of action and will appeal to readers who love military fantasy. The use of dragons and magicians to aid in the war effort is so much a part of the storyline that readers will find themselves believing that such things are really possible in wartime. As the hero matures, he and the audience observe the toll of war as humans and dragons die at an alarming rate. Chris Bunch is a talented storyteller who entertains his audience with a fantastic sword and sorcery epic. Harriet Klausner

The main reason I liked this book is that it's all substance. Some authors seem to like putting in filler material so they have enough plot to last multiple volumes. This book by it self qualifies as a saga.

I have to be honest, I am not one to read alot of books. I applaud Chris Bunch for such a great book. From the beginning of this book it grabbed my attention and I had to keep reading it just to find out what would happen next. The characters in this book just seemed to come alive while you were reading it. I truly can not wait for the rest of the series to come out and I do hope that they are just as good or better then this one cause they will be great.