The Adamantine Palace

The power of the Realms depends on its dragons, guarded by their handlers and bred for hunting and war. But a mysterious liquid administered to them is all that stands between the Realms and disaster, keeping the dragons in control and strong a Prince thinking of power and plotting murder to get it and a Queen set on using her daughters to gain a powerful prize adds to the mystery of a missing dragon in this powerful story, perfect for any fantasy library.

Far from being the romantic creatures of fantasy, the dragons that inhabit Stephen Deas's debut are implacable nightmares held barely in check by the alchemists who keep them under control. Due to the vicious scheming among the rulers of the Realms, a dragon has escaped her masters and sets out on a single-minded path of vengeance against her captors. But the danger to the Realms goes largely unnoticed as Prince Jehal and his mother-in-law, Queen Shezira, plot to become the Speaker of the Realms. //The Adamantine Palace// is a fast-paced, violent fantasy that captivates despite its circular nature. There are no heroes in Deas's tale of conniving royals and unfeeling dragons. There are an abundance of characters; each one jockeying for advantage and willing to betray anyone to reach their goals. Deas relies on action rather than world-building to move the story along and some characters aren't much more than stereotypes. But //The Adamantine Palace// pulls the reader along nonetheless. The dragons are frighteningly compelling and the desire to see how all the political machinations play out make Deas's debut a page-turner. Reviewed by Theresa Lucas

Prince Jehal is known as the Viper because of his vicious march to sit on the throne of the Kingdom of the Endless Sea. He poisoned potential rivals and tortured those reluctant to support his claim. The Viper allowed no opposition to survive his reign of terror. At the same time that the Viper murders his way to the crown, the white dragon Snow telepathically communicates with her handler Kailin. Snow wants freedom for herself and her dragon compatriots. However, alchemists know the damage these fire exhaling beasts can cause if allowed to soar drugless. Snow rebels and gains supporters with her plan to burn their enemy alchemists and other human supporters to include a viperous monarch who use them as weapons of war. To the trepidation of everyone in the realm she escapes captivity as her dream begins to gel into reality. This is an interesting fantasy when the story line focuses on the dragons especially Snow as the readers obtain a different mindset yet a thirst for freedom that rings similar to the humans who hold them captured through drugs. When Jehal is on the center stage, the plot feels like a zillion others before it and slows down comparatively speaking. Still with Snow soaring the skies over the Kingdom of the Endless Sea, fans will want to fly with her; just avoid her flame throwing. Harriet Klausner

This is the first book I've read by Stephen Deas, and it won't be the last. Firstly, I have to say that I love dragons, so reading a book where dragons are the core of the realms, had me hooked pretty early on. The prologue of this very exciting book shocked me so much that it propelled me deeper into the story right away. In a world where dragons exist and are bred and looked after by the Scales, and then ridden by dragon-knights, queens, kings, princes, and princesses, they are also used to do the bidding of these riders. No dragon is supposed to do anything on its own accord, not since the alchemists made sure of that by creating a potion. That is, until a white dragon called Snow - intended as a wedding present for Prince Jehal - goes missing and begins to awaken. After that, she's willing to do whatever it takes to find those responsible for keeping her kind under the 'Little Ones' control, as well as free other dragons along the way. Every scene in this exhilarating book is heightened with tension. The suspense kept me guessing as each character's personal motivation started to shine through, only to be turned on its head as soon as I was sure where the story was going to take me. I loved the unpredictability of each character's next move. I was enthralled from the first page and couldn't wait to reach what turned out to be a very exciting conclusion to a fantastic book. The world building was tight and amazing! The scenery described so flawlessly that I was swept away to these exotic locations. The Adamantine Palace is a sharp, fast and well-written tale filled with an intriguing secret, treachery, betrayal, ambition, double crossing, and adventure. There are several POVs in this story - ranging from the wicked Prince Jehal, to the scheming Queen Shezira, to the aging Speaker Hyram, as well as the sell-sword Kemir, amongst others. And I found that the quick chapters and shifts in point of view kept me on my toes, and turning every page with interest. This book will appeal to fantasy fans, dragon fans, as well as anyone who enjoys a very skillfully weaved story that takes you on a very twisted path that doesn't let up until the very last words. And even those last words are good ones.