It's Book Review Wednesday, one of my favorite days of the week. Today, we've got a story that blends dwaves, elves, vampires, sorcery, and so much more into one epic fantasy book…

The Dragonscale

The Dragonscale amulet could be the key to Arbedenion's survival...Vampires have ventured out of their caves in the north to wreak havoc on the peaceful races. Their Queen will brutally slaughter thousands and push the races to extinction if something isn't done. Someone must rise above the masses and lead the war against the Vampires as members of each race tell their nightmarish journey to their uncertain fate.

My Review: 3 Stars

First off, I have to say that the premise of the book was absolutely awesome. Vampires tend to be cast in urban fantasy books, so bringing them to epic/high fantasy was a move I could get behind. The main character of the book was the kind of person I could get behind, and there were a lot of things about the story that I highly enjoyed. For the story alone, I give it a 4-star rating. Sadly, I can't judge ONLY on story, but I have to take the writing into account as well. This is where the book fell a bit flat. The story looked like a "rough draft", without all the polish and shine that makes a story readable. I had a hard time getting past the VERY simplistic writing, and it completely ruined my enjoyment of the story. You'll see in the excerpt below what I mean. The book had quite a few anachronisms--for example, there was a "Bengal tiger" in a land where there is no India or Bangladesh to give it its name. The speech patterns were a bit off. Some situations that should have been formal were far too informal, and the personalities and character traits often clashed with each other. A few clichés were present (dwarves being named after rocks being just one of them), and A LOT of typos and grammar mistakes. For the writing alone, I have to give it a 2-star rating. Which leaves us with a 3-star rating--GREAT story, iffy writing.

Here's a Taste:

Six days later, Tashtym asked to meet with the king that morning and upon seeing Dlecott, insisted on having one more day to supply the soldiers. "What else is left to do?" Dlecott inquired, allowing the Head Warlock to lead him towards the armory. "Not enough food has been gathered and all of our warlocks are too exhausted from helping the blacksmiths. We're having all of the children and the wives who aren't going to war prepare as much food as possible while our warlocks rest." "Will the warlocks be able to travel after all of that work?" "Yes, sire, but we won't be able to protect the entire army from a very strong magic attack," Tashtym replied as the group turned a corner. In the next moment, a Dwarf crashed into Tashtym and Dlecott, knocking them over. Most of Dlecott's Royal Guards immediately assisted their king and Tashtym back to their feet as another two grabbed ahold of the Dwarf responsible who was apologizing continuously. The Dwarf was young but what worried Dlecott is that the Dwarf's face was white and his eyes were wide as if he'd seen a ghost. "What's wrong?" King Dlecott demanded, though not unkindly, while the young Dwarf tried to catch his breath. "You're both needed...at the Main Entrance." "Why?" Tashtym demanded as the group changed their course and rushed towards the summoning point. It was only a ten-minute walk but at the pace they were going, it would take them less than five. "Dragons have come," the messenger replied. Dlecott, Tashtym, and Gabbro all exchanged looks. "You did summon them, didn't you?" the young Dwarf questioned. "Not exactly," Dlecott replied after several moments and it seemed that the young messenger would ask another question but the group had abruptly burst into the Main Entrance. The sight that met them was astonishing. The Main Entrance was two miles high and was two miles wide. Lucky it was so large because there were three dragons waiting there. In all of Dlecott's life, he had only set eyes on a dragon once but that had been from a great distance. As the small group drew closer to the dragons, the power emanating from the creatures was almost overwhelming. The Dwarven guards were still standing off to the side and Dlecott waved them back to their duties as the king, his guard, and the young messenger halted in front of the dragons. King Dlecott didn't know where to begin. You are King Dlecott Rhyolite? a female voice questioned inside the king's mind. Dlecott looked up and met the eyes of the silver dragon who towered over them all. He knew immediately that it was she that had made contact with him. The torchlight glittered off of her scales creating the illusion that she was larger than she actually was. I am, he confirmed. Why are you here? Dlecott inquired. It is for the obvious. To help in the battle for Vleamontus.

About the Author

Born to a loving family in South Carolina, Jade Feldman began to show an interest in reading and writing at the early age of 3. As the years passed by slowly with many adventures of travel and new friends, her stories amassed to a great number. At the age of 15, she decided to create a Fantasy Writers group as a safe haven and family-like networking. This helped her to reach the outside world and discover other authors hiding in the shadows. Thus the getting published urge became a wonderful reality after years of hard, not-so-organized work. Find the book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/JEFeldmanTDS Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragonqueen321 Or visit her Blog: https://dragonqueen3.wordpress.com/