ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. The quotes in my review were taken from an ARC provided to me by the publisher/author and could always potentially change between the posting of this review and the book’s publication.
Quick summary of my review: ⭐⭐⭐
The Faded Dragon is the debut novel from Cameron Michaels, and first in the Twin Worlds Saga series. Michaels has created a very interesting high fantasy world, where dragons and elves have battled, humans currently rule the lands and enslave the Takarhn. There are a few different tropes within the book, including one of my personal favorites, The Chosen One. There were a couple plot points that I didn’t care for as much, like an obvious twist, and the dialogue needs a bit of refinement to make it more natural. Overall, I think this is a very strong debut novel and recommend it to those who enjoy fast-paced high fantasy books.
I really enjoy high, epic fantasy worlds like Wheel of Time, LOTR, etc. and was excited to be offered an eARC of this. The premise of The Faded Dragon is that long ago elves and dragons fought in an epic war, and now humans rule the lands. The Takarhn, a unique race of descendants of elves and dragons, have been forced into slavery, and their true leader, Gahlaia, is willing to do whatever it takes to free them.
“Sometimes making the right choice means walking the hardest path.”
I enjoyed the multiple POVs throughout the book, as it gave me glimpses into the motivations for certain actions taken and more world-building. The pace was a bit too quick for me personally, but there was a lot of history, character development, and world-building to be done in 384 pages. This book is the first in the The Twin World Saga series by Michaels, and there is a good setup for what may come next in book two. Michaels’ writing is strong, there were a few annoyances I had with the dialogue in the book but overall he created a very unique world, super interesting magic system, and a story that keeps you turning the page.
“Everyone fights for a cause. Just because you’re on the same side doesn’t mean you have the same reasons for being there.”
And my final thought, the cover art is fantastic. This is Michaels’ debut novel and he did not skimp on getting great cover art, it really piqued my interest!
Pros:
- Intriguing and strong debut novel
- The build-up to the action scenes and major plot points
- Good set up for the sequel
Cons:
- Dialogue was a bit disjointed at times
- Action scenes were very fast-paced for me, but that may be a pro for others
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