The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas
Apr. 6th, 2010 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
There will be flames.
Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey; then a way of subduing the dragons was discovered. Now the dragons are bred to be little more than mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat.
And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his lover and bed her daughter. But unknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire. But that is not all. Because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons ...
In the Dragon Realms the Speaker holds the ambitions of kings and queens in check from the Adamantine Palace. The current Speaker, Hyram, is about to finish his term and his sister-in-law, Queen Shezira, is widely expected to take his place. Prince Jehal however, has other ideas. A ruthless sociopath, Jehal will do whatever it takes to secure control of the realms, even murder.
All this is threatened when a precious white dragon, Snow, disappears. Intended as a wedding present from Shezira to Jehal (who is betrothed to Shezira’s daughter, Lystra) the disappearance does more than threaten Shezira’s political aspirations. Dragons once hunted men, killing and eating at will. All this changed when alchemists discovered a chemical means for controlling them, clouding their minds to make them easy to control. Denied these drugs, Snow begins to rediscover its self-awareness and its anger as it realises the way in which it has been prevented from reaching its true potential and now it wants revenge against its masters.
Deas has created a carefully constructed world with a well thought through mechanism for integrating and using dragons within its society. The scope is epic and the stakes are not just control of the Dragon Realms but their very survival. There are some beautifully vivid scenes, particularly those which show the dragons in flight and it is no surprise that within these scenes the riders themselves really come alive.
For all this though, it is difficult to empathise with any of the characters. Almost all of them are shown as being self-interested, pursuing power for their own venal reasons and prepared to make any deal, commit any act to secure it. Jehal is a peculiarly bland anti-hero as there is little rationale for his actions. Shezira should be the counterbalance to him and yet she too is difficult to root for because of her own political aspirations. It doesn’t help that there is a wide cast of characters and at times the point of view shifts become confusing and are so fast moving as to create distance with the reader.
This is a shame because there is real potential for this story and the action scenes are well handled. The book ends with a set up for the sequel THE KING OF THE CRAGS, although I am undecided as to whether to read on.
The Verdict:
Anyone who loves dragons will be thrilled with their depiction in this book and there is a lot to admire with the scope of the world building and the high stakes. However, I found it difficult to empathise with any of the characters due to their venal self-interest and power seeking for its own sake.
Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey; then a way of subduing the dragons was discovered. Now the dragons are bred to be little more than mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat.
And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his lover and bed her daughter. But unknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire. But that is not all. Because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons ...
In the Dragon Realms the Speaker holds the ambitions of kings and queens in check from the Adamantine Palace. The current Speaker, Hyram, is about to finish his term and his sister-in-law, Queen Shezira, is widely expected to take his place. Prince Jehal however, has other ideas. A ruthless sociopath, Jehal will do whatever it takes to secure control of the realms, even murder.
All this is threatened when a precious white dragon, Snow, disappears. Intended as a wedding present from Shezira to Jehal (who is betrothed to Shezira’s daughter, Lystra) the disappearance does more than threaten Shezira’s political aspirations. Dragons once hunted men, killing and eating at will. All this changed when alchemists discovered a chemical means for controlling them, clouding their minds to make them easy to control. Denied these drugs, Snow begins to rediscover its self-awareness and its anger as it realises the way in which it has been prevented from reaching its true potential and now it wants revenge against its masters.
Deas has created a carefully constructed world with a well thought through mechanism for integrating and using dragons within its society. The scope is epic and the stakes are not just control of the Dragon Realms but their very survival. There are some beautifully vivid scenes, particularly those which show the dragons in flight and it is no surprise that within these scenes the riders themselves really come alive.
For all this though, it is difficult to empathise with any of the characters. Almost all of them are shown as being self-interested, pursuing power for their own venal reasons and prepared to make any deal, commit any act to secure it. Jehal is a peculiarly bland anti-hero as there is little rationale for his actions. Shezira should be the counterbalance to him and yet she too is difficult to root for because of her own political aspirations. It doesn’t help that there is a wide cast of characters and at times the point of view shifts become confusing and are so fast moving as to create distance with the reader.
This is a shame because there is real potential for this story and the action scenes are well handled. The book ends with a set up for the sequel THE KING OF THE CRAGS, although I am undecided as to whether to read on.
The Verdict:
Anyone who loves dragons will be thrilled with their depiction in this book and there is a lot to admire with the scope of the world building and the high stakes. However, I found it difficult to empathise with any of the characters due to their venal self-interest and power seeking for its own sake.
