The Dragon's Blade

Veiled Intentions, Volume 2

By: Michael R. Miller

Narrated by: Dave Cruse

Rectar has always had his sights set on conquering the human lands. His demonic invasion of the west is gaining momentum - an unrelenting horde, unhindered by food or sleep. Now, only the undermanned Splintering Isles lie between the demons, and the human kingdom of Brevia. If the islands fall, the rest of Tenalp will soon follow.

The Three Races must work together if they are to survive, but they have another problem - Castallan. The traitorous wizard has raised a deadly rebellion, and declared himself King of Humans. He believes himself safe in the bowels of his impenetrable Bastion fortress, but Darnuir, now King of Dragons, intends to break those walls at all costs. To face these threats, all dragons, humans, and fairies must truly unite; yet old prejudices may undermine Darnuir's efforts, once again. And as the true intentions of all are revealed, so too is a secret that may change the entire world.

©2017 Michael Miller (P)2017 Michael Miller

The second book is as good as the first.

A Dragon king, a princess and a guardian try to get rid of the shadow. A great second book. I would like another. I received this audio book for free at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Great read!

Love this book! Seeing how the Characters go about learning about each other is great! As well as the plot twists are great!!

Amazing Trilogy

I have both the audio book and the trilogy. I chose to go for the audio book when I fell on the ice this winter and was laid up. Wow I was not not disappointed. I love the narrator's voice, Dave Cruse, and inflection on the different characters. I was thoroughly hooked on the story and the different take the author has on dragons, trolls and other great evil characters. The characters are very well developed and believable in their rolls. This is truly an adventure that I became engross in and longed for breaks in my day to continue it. A page turner I highly recommend.

Good series worth listening to

Narrator: differentiations are stellar and his voice is very engaging
Language: none
Violence: typical with this genre, it’s a war book so there’s obviously blood
Sexual Content: nothing explicit
Parents: appropriate for 16+
Story: as with the rest of the series, this is engaging and full of adventure. I love the different perspectives including those of Rectar’s forces as many books typically give only that of the protagonist. Don’t skip the first book even though it’s mostly laying groundwork, you need it.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The best book in the trilogy

I received a free audio copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t a single book review, but a trilogy review, so it may look a little different to the normal one. Darnuir, Prince of Dragons, is reborn twenty years after his arrogance causes a split among the races of his land. The Dragons (not the big scaly ones, although it does suggest they were once like that), are super soldiers, protectors of the land from the Shadow (Rectar), who doesn’t require an introduction. The story, in its essence, tells of Darnuir’s efforts to reunite the land against its frightening foe, one who can turn people to his side with ease. Can the reborn Dragon (sorry for WOT reference) learn from his earlier mistakes and...well, you get the gist. Just for the record, it’s not all plain sailing. Here are my thoughts on the book(s):
The Reborn King - the first book in the series was actually the weakest, and this is actually a shame, because the trilogy as a whole is an enjoyable read. The problem with TRK is it doesn’t really have a whole lot going on except for Darnuir discovering who he is and what his powers are. It’s not awful, but there’s certainly a lot of talk. But, trust me, it’s worth sticking with
Veiled Intentions - here’s something you don’t hear every day. Book two, at least in my amateur opinion, is actually the best of the bunch. Rectar’s plan to rule the land begins to escalate, and he leads his army on a rampage with only the Splintering Isles, a small island with few warriors, standing in his way. If Rectar can win here, Darnuir will not have time to rally the other races to his cause. There are also signs of fracture among Darnuir’s people, and the hopes of alliance are slim
The Last Guardian - a good finish to the series. Darnuir has sent out emissaries to raise extra allies, but they are constantly beset by Rectar and his minions. But wait. Not only are there problems in Darnuir’s camp, but there seems to be dissent in Rectar’s too, which suggests the Shadow’s control is not what he believes. The alliance still struggles to get humans on board as the king of Brevia continues to thumb his nose at Darnuir. Can his daughter Cassandra sway his mind, or will the alliance of races fall before it has its day in the sun?
Good story. It’s not overly original, but it is fun, with some races that appear a little different to the norm. The conflict throughout, right up to the end, keeps you guessing as to whether Darnuir and Co will succeed. The various conflicts, on both sides, is nicely done and believable, and the characters are generally likeable, or eeevvviiillll. The plot is the best part of the book though, ticking over throughout and always keeping us on our toes and causing us to question if we believe we know what will happen
Finally, the narrator. He did a great job mostly, adding the right tone when required, and mixing humour with gravitas. If I had one complaint, and it may not have been his decision, the use of traditional accents (Scottish and so forth) to identify the various different races has been done to death and never really been a great idea. Perhaps mixing accents or trying new ones might have been a better idea. Then again, this could be applied to a hundred different books.
Verdict
After a rocky start, things heat up in a hurry as the trilogy progresses.

The Adventure Continues

The Dragon's Blade continues the struggle of the Three Races to overthrow Rectar and his forces. This book actually reminded me in ways of The Two Towers in The Lord of The Rings series. If you're a fan of that series, you'll probably enjoy this series as well.

Before Darnuir and the Three Races can take on Rectar, they'll need to go through Castallan and take back the Bastion. It's going to take everything they've got to break through a fortress designed to repel dragons, but can they put their prejudices and past aside long enough to succeed? Darnuir continues to grow into the king of dragons, but continues to struggle alone under the high cost of magic. There's more secrets and intentions revealed as past failings and mistakes carry their costs into the future.

I love the way this story is progressing. This book reveals more secrets and the characters continue to evolve. This book ends with a big battle, but the biggest battle is still to come and may not be Rectar at all. This series has been a fun fantasy adventure and I'm enjoying it.

The narration is excellent, as usual. Dave Cruse does an excellent job voicing these characters. He's enjoyable to listen to and helps to immerse you in the story. I'm never pulled out of the scene by a mispronunciation or a similar narrating mistake. He just does a great job from start to finish.

*I received a free copy of this audiobook and am leaving a voluntary review. My thoughts and my opinions are my own and genuine.

Miller is a new favorite!

I enjoyed this series just as much as I enjoyed GoT. Michael Miller's books are a treasure. As an American, I only hope he keeps it up for at least the next four years, as I will be opting to live in fantasy land rather than the hellscape that will be our reality.