In this world, Konowa Swift Dragon, former commander of the Empire's elite Iron Elves, is looked upon as anything but ordinary. He's murdered a Viceroy, been court-martialed, seen his beloved regiment disbanded, and finally been banished in disgrace to the one place he despises the most -- the forest.
Now, all he wants is to be left alone with his misery...but for Konowa, nothing is ever that simple. The mysterious and alluring Visyna Tekoy, the highborn daughter of an elfkynan governor, seeks him out in the dangerous wild with a royal decree that he resume his commission as an officer in Her Majesty's Imperial Army, effective immediately.
For in the east, a falling Red Star heralds the return of a magic long vanished from the earth. Rebellion grows within the Empire as a frantic race to reach the Star unfolds. It is a chance for Konowa to redeem himself -- even if the entire affair appears doomed to be a suicide mission...
and that the soldiers recruited for the task are not at all what he expects. And worse, his key adversary in the perilous race for the Star is the dreaded Shadow Monarch -- a legendary elf-witch whose machinations for absolute domination spread deeper than Konowa could ever imagine....
Review: When I first picked up this book, I wasn't really sure what to expect because I hadn't heard of this author before. I really like fantasy though, so I decided to give this book a shot. As I got into it, I found the story focused almost entirely on the war aspect of the story. The elves went chapters and chapters of sitting around or marching as an army. Some parts of the book didn't make sense because a lot of it was action and fighting. This part of the book got a little boring, but I guess that's because I'm not really into war and fighting; I like it when more things happen in the story. I really liked Konowa and Visyna, but the story just wasn't interesting enough for those characters. I felt myself drifting off during the story, which only ended up confusing me when I refocused and I had to reread pages. The idea of the Iron Elves army being regrouped to obtain the falling Red Star, the story was just too drawn out and needed something more. So while I enjoyed the general idea of this book, the execution was lacking. 
i like fantasy books very much. and i like the idea of armies of elves in action (especially after i fell in love with the likes of them in LOTR). with your honest review, i say this one is a pity. i mean, the cover is really cool and the whole idea is unique. i'll dig more into the details of this book. thanks.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this book before, but I'm glad that you have a new series to read from an author that you love :)
ReplyDeleteregards,
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