Dragon-slayers don’t expect to survive to retirement age, but Bershad has unexpectedly thrived. Yet this very notoriety may be his downfall. This is book two of this epic, adventurous fantasy trilogy.
Change is coming – but will they survive the storm?
The dragonslayer Bershad and Queen Ashlyn are facing the greatest challenge of their lives.
Branded the Witch Queen and driven from her kingdom, Ashlyn flees to her mother’s people. Yet she won’t be beaten, resolving to master magical feats long thought impossible. But this could have unforeseen consequences. Meanwhile, Bershad has learnt why he seems invincible – and that he’s living on borrowed time. However, he remains determined to help Ashlyn regain her throne.
They will face a foreign emperor, commanding an army equipped with terrifying new weaponry. This aggressor will do anything to crush Ashlyn’s land, and claim its prized dragons. So to save her kingdom, both queen and dragonslayer must attempt the impossible to prevail.
Sorcery of a Queen by Brian Naslund is the second book in the Dragons of Terra trilogy.
My Review
We start where we’ve left off, Bershad on the run with his Queen lover who is now also on the run herself. The gang is not quite back together, we still have the loss of Rowan and Alfonso to deal with but we have my favorite thief, and we get to know Ashlyn more as well as her sister.
I enjoyed having the different POVs, especially this time while things are really starting to heat up and we get to see the current situations in different countries thanks to these different character locations.
I will say that this was a MUCH stronger novel than the first book Blood of an Exile, not only in the continued worldbuilding but the plot itself and the characters as well, sure they’re still part of the ‘stereotypical’ gang of fantasy characters that you tend to see but I was still really happy with them, they all had quite a good bit of character development -especially Jolan- and that made it for a more investing read for me. [Now if only I could go give Vera a hug, she has a rough time this book lol]
Again, I think Naslund shines in his world building, I was SO curious to see this island where our mad scientist was working and I was not disappointed. [Also what is it with 2020 and terrifying mushrooms?]
Strong second novel, better than the first not only in plot but character development and it has me so excited to see what happens in the third and final book of the Dragons of Terra trilogy!
4/5 large cups of coffee from me and thank you so much to Tor for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion! [If you’re curious about book one, I’ve included a short review of it below, this trilogy is definitely worth it if you love dragons and fantasy]
The first book in the Dragons of Terra series, Blood of an Exile features a life-changing mission for a death-defying adventurer . . . If you liked The Witcher, you’ll love this – welcome to Brian Naslund’s spectacular, action-packed fantasy debut.
Sentenced to die. Impossible to kill.
Bershad was supposed to die. When he was caught attempting to assassinate a fellow noble, he was given the harshest sentence: a command to slay dragons, so his death might serve the kingdom. Yet for some reason he never lost a fight and is now the most successful dragon-slayer in history. However, as a doomed man Bershad is still shunned by his peers and his countrymen. But that could all change.
The king who sentenced Bershad has just given him a way out: kill a foreign monarch and walk free forever. But Bershad couldn’t care less about the fates of kingdoms – until the dragon-slayer discovers he could save an innocent child in the process.
His mission might also save every creature in Terra.
My Review
My first thoughts while reading this, ‘man, I want to play the Witcher or watch it…is this…is this a discount witcher?’
I will admit, that sounds harsh but it felt like such a generic fantasy, but, the more we learned about the world the more I was pleasantly surprised. We had a bit of a steampunk culture of sorts in one land, a bit of a barbarian perhaps Viking vibe from another country, and the dragons were not the boring generic fantasy ones I had expected.
All in all, I thought that the characters were beyond cliche and stereotypical for a fantasy but I still enjoyed reading this and again was pleasantly surprised by the development of the worldbuilding and by the end I was invested in what would happen to our Dragon Slayer and his once lover now Queen.
Pacing was well done and the plot kept steam, so, nothing spectacular but shows a lot of promise for the sequel!
The Caffeinated Reader 