Dragon Slayer is the first book in the Empty Crown series by Isabella Carter. It was first published 2013 by Less Than Three Press LLC. I listened to the audiobook. This is a MxM fantasy filled with dragons, intrigues and romance.
Ingram is a prince with a cruel king as a father who calls him a coward and weakling. One day, his father uses him as a sacrifice to Lord Mallory, the brutish lord of the North, who has slayed a dragon to get one of the king’s children’s hands in marriage. With little other choice, Ingram moves to Wintervale, the home of the dragons. Dragons who has recently become restless, attacking camps on the others of a sorcerer. Secrets long buried comes to surface when a rebellion start to form in the heart of the kingdom.
Ingram is not a very strong fighter, and insecure after all of his father’s insults. He still learns the art of strategy, making his cleverness his main trait. Unlike Mallory, Ingram is good at the intrigues of the court, though I’m not sure of Ingram’s cleverness as he in the end walk straight back into court, and are surprised when he gets thrown into prison. Mallory is more a brutish warrior, who comes from long line of warriors, who once made a pack with the dragons to protect the kingdom. Now he just wants to protect the kingdom. He has little personality in the book other than being a good guy who are close to his people.
The writing is good. The story has a good flow, the sentences are well structured and the worldbuilding are interesting. The world in itself is traditional fantasy with little to distinct it from other fantasy books, which might be this book greatest weakness. I liked it but overall it wasn’t anything new. It held on to the traditional fantasy genre and did it well, but for those who want something new because they are tired of all the fantasy that are all the same, then this will not give you satisfaction.
For what it is, which is a fluent and familiar fantasy book with a mxm romance, it is good. I read it years ago and now listened to the audiobook and I still like it. It is decent and is worth reading again. Overall, I must say I would rate it a 7 out of 10. I would recommend it for a person who wants a fantasy book with a bit of a mxm romance sprinkled in to give it a bit more flavor.
With Kind Regards
Senefer.
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