I agree, RJ Barker is fantastic with his characters and they were the highlight of this novel. Barring some pacing issues I had with it, I really enjoyed this one too!
I like the depth of his characters and how he builds an impressive world around them in this trilogy. I definitely look forward to what he does next! 😀
Haven’t read any of RJ Baker’s novels yet but your review makes me wanna leave everything and just go buy a copy! + I LOVEEEE PIRATES (although there aren’t pirates in this one, are there?) AND THE SEAAA! The first book I ever read about the perils when embarking on such a journey was Captains Courageous and WOW! I FELL IN LOVEEE!’ ❤️❤️
This one is soo going on my tbr! ❤️
Hahahah Rain! If you’re intrigued, I think it’ll be worth testing it. He builds quite a fantastic universe. And yes, you can consider the characters as pirates for sure in this one! 😉 And wow! A classic I never thought anyone would mention. 😮 😮 Thank you so, so much for reading! 😀
I am DEFINITELY going to read it noww because YAYYYYYY PIRATESSS!!! 😍😍❤️❤️ Soo much love for them!
I am glad you have read it too because most people don’t even know which one I am talking about when I mention it….BUT THAT WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK! #memories
Still waiting on my copy 😉
I really enjoy reading your book raves – especially those in which you adjust your style to the style of the book you review 😀
Oh man. I feel like it’s raining poneys and puppies when Ola is optimistic about a new release! 😛
Hahahah I’m on a roll with great books that inspire me to write these kinds of reviews. I mean… The next “book” review will probably end up being even more “rave-full”… 😀 😀 😀
Considering that an actual rain of ponies and puppies would end up with plenty of blood and gore, broken limbs, neighing and howling, and many casualties and general pandemonium… Yep, sounds about right! 😝
I wonder if we’ll see a return to sparse, shorter writing in my life time? 500-600 pages almost seems to be the new normal for fantasy and 300 pages is now “short”. I suspect Dickens would have loved to be writing in this day and age 😀
I’ve never read anything by Barker. I think the titles and peoples reviews have always left me feeling like it was just a tad too dark or anti-hero’ish for my tastes. Maybe some day if I ever run out of books I’ll try him, hahahahahaha!
You know, I’ve also been wondering if shorter fantasy stories will ever be written nowadays… In fact, The Burning White by Brent Weeks is 1k long!!! But I ain’t going to complain. 😀
Hahahaha I doubt that’ll ever happen but her, maybe by the end of this trilogy you’ll know if his first or second trilogy are worth taking a peek at. 😛
Thank you so much! It’s definitely worth checking out. There are even doodles at the beginning of each chapter that makes it sooo cool. Who said the little details didn’t matter, right? 😀
It’s a pretty cool cover indeed! As for it being mostly character development, well… The first half of the book is mostly world-building, which is very different to what he did accomplish with his first trilogy. However, I personally found that the character development was still pretty good during the 1st half, and even better in the second when the plot shifts its attention to the characters. 😀
The story of the Great Dragon Chase would have been enthralling on its own.
The story of a group of disparate, listless people growing into a proud crew would have made for an amazing read.
But combined they do indeed turn into a magnificent novel . 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much – and thanks for sharing!!!
Tell me about it. I love the direction he takes for this one, compared to the Wounded Kingdom trilogy. Shows how much potential Barker has and how excited we should be for the stories to come by him! Thank you for reading! 😀
As difficult as it was to connect with different characters (I had grown quite fond of Girton & Co. in The Wounded Kingdom), these grew on me in no time at all, and I’m now certain that we would never go wrong with anything Barker writes… 🙂
I loved this too and your review is spot on. What I really enjoyed was the transformation of the crew and Joren’s arc in particular – the dragon didn’t hurt either to be fair.
Lynn 😀
Thanks for reading, Lynn! Really appreciate it! 😀 And yes, the crew really made this fantastic. After all, it’s not a story with a hundred thousands of dragons. But dragons always make stories better. 😛
Funny a buddy read of mine about pirates took this same POV… a weak character looking on and telling the story of a strong female character, a pirate captain too! But who can top adding in dragons?! 😉 You know I’m all there for that!!
Right? I definitely like this point of view structure. It is completely different from what I have read in the past years and… dragons! 😛 Thank you so much for reading, Dani! 😀
Fantastic review, Lashaan 😍 You made me want to jump on a ship and become a pirate! 😂 The book sounds definitely good and entertaining, also the over is so cool!
Thank you, Caroline! Hahahah it definitely did make me want to watch/play pirate-based movies/games! Can’t say the same about becoming one. Not when I can’t… swim… 😛
Bookidote 
Glad you loved this, Lashaan. I feel like the last blogger to read it, but it’s coming up soon😁 Awesome review!
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Hahahah Tammy, you definitely have to pick up his books ASAP! 😀 Thank you for your kind words. ❤
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I agree, RJ Barker is fantastic with his characters and they were the highlight of this novel. Barring some pacing issues I had with it, I really enjoyed this one too!
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I like the depth of his characters and how he builds an impressive world around them in this trilogy. I definitely look forward to what he does next! 😀
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Haven’t read any of RJ Baker’s novels yet but your review makes me wanna leave everything and just go buy a copy! + I LOVEEEE PIRATES (although there aren’t pirates in this one, are there?) AND THE SEAAA! The first book I ever read about the perils when embarking on such a journey was Captains Courageous and WOW! I FELL IN LOVEEE!’ ❤️❤️
This one is soo going on my tbr! ❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahahah Rain! If you’re intrigued, I think it’ll be worth testing it. He builds quite a fantastic universe. And yes, you can consider the characters as pirates for sure in this one! 😉 And wow! A classic I never thought anyone would mention. 😮 😮 Thank you so, so much for reading! 😀
LikeLike
I am DEFINITELY going to read it noww because YAYYYYYY PIRATESSS!!! 😍😍❤️❤️ Soo much love for them!
I am glad you have read it too because most people don’t even know which one I am talking about when I mention it….BUT THAT WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK! #memories
❤️❤️
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Wonderful review Lashaan! I’ll definitely be recommending this one to my husband.
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Thank you so much, Nicki! Oh, I think he won’t be disappointed with this one. 😉
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Great review! This sounds good, I’ll check it out. Thanks!
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Thank you so much for reading! I’m sooo glad to hear it’s on your radar now! 😀
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Still waiting on my copy 😉
I really enjoy reading your book raves – especially those in which you adjust your style to the style of the book you review 😀
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Oh man. I feel like it’s raining poneys and puppies when Ola is optimistic about a new release! 😛
Hahahah I’m on a roll with great books that inspire me to write these kinds of reviews. I mean… The next “book” review will probably end up being even more “rave-full”… 😀 😀 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Considering that an actual rain of ponies and puppies would end up with plenty of blood and gore, broken limbs, neighing and howling, and many casualties and general pandemonium… Yep, sounds about right! 😝
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I just kneeeeeeeew you were going to make that comment hahahahah
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Am I becoming too obvious? 😜 All right then, here’s something for you: 🦄🦄🌈🦄🦄
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Hahahah you can’t betray who you are, Ola! 😛
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Yeah, that’s probably true… Still, I’m very proud of myself that I actually thought to look for a unicorn in my emoticons 😆
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I wonder if we’ll see a return to sparse, shorter writing in my life time? 500-600 pages almost seems to be the new normal for fantasy and 300 pages is now “short”. I suspect Dickens would have loved to be writing in this day and age 😀
I’ve never read anything by Barker. I think the titles and peoples reviews have always left me feeling like it was just a tad too dark or anti-hero’ish for my tastes. Maybe some day if I ever run out of books I’ll try him, hahahahahaha!
LikeLiked by 2 people
You know, I’ve also been wondering if shorter fantasy stories will ever be written nowadays… In fact, The Burning White by Brent Weeks is 1k long!!! But I ain’t going to complain. 😀
Hahahaha I doubt that’ll ever happen but her, maybe by the end of this trilogy you’ll know if his first or second trilogy are worth taking a peek at. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great review, I think I will be adding this book to my TBR. I’m really enjoying the cover too, I may have to get a physical copy 😉
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Thank you so much! It’s definitely worth checking out. There are even doodles at the beginning of each chapter that makes it sooo cool. Who said the little details didn’t matter, right? 😀
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Nice cover.
Thanks for warning us about the pacing and explaining that this is mostly about character development. Sounds like a feast for some.
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It’s a pretty cool cover indeed! As for it being mostly character development, well… The first half of the book is mostly world-building, which is very different to what he did accomplish with his first trilogy. However, I personally found that the character development was still pretty good during the 1st half, and even better in the second when the plot shifts its attention to the characters. 😀
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I’m a sucker for plot more than anything.
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Great review! I loved the gallowbows! I totally agree, Barker’s characters are so well drawn.
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Thanks, Paul! I’m just glad to know we’re on the same page with Barker’s books right now hahah 😀
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Great review, great book.👍
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Absolutely great book. Thanks for reading, Drew! 😀
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Well you tell a pretty convincing story Lashaan!
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Thanks, Sophie hahah I appreciate that you took the time to read this. 😉
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The story of the Great Dragon Chase would have been enthralling on its own.
The story of a group of disparate, listless people growing into a proud crew would have made for an amazing read.
But combined they do indeed turn into a magnificent novel . 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much – and thanks for sharing!!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tell me about it. I love the direction he takes for this one, compared to the Wounded Kingdom trilogy. Shows how much potential Barker has and how excited we should be for the stories to come by him! Thank you for reading! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
As difficult as it was to connect with different characters (I had grown quite fond of Girton & Co. in The Wounded Kingdom), these grew on me in no time at all, and I’m now certain that we would never go wrong with anything Barker writes… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved this too and your review is spot on. What I really enjoyed was the transformation of the crew and Joren’s arc in particular – the dragon didn’t hurt either to be fair.
Lynn 😀
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Thanks for reading, Lynn! Really appreciate it! 😀 And yes, the crew really made this fantastic. After all, it’s not a story with a hundred thousands of dragons. But dragons always make stories better. 😛
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Funny a buddy read of mine about pirates took this same POV… a weak character looking on and telling the story of a strong female character, a pirate captain too! But who can top adding in dragons?! 😉 You know I’m all there for that!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right? I definitely like this point of view structure. It is completely different from what I have read in the past years and… dragons! 😛 Thank you so much for reading, Dani! 😀
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Fantastic review, Lashaan 😍 You made me want to jump on a ship and become a pirate! 😂 The book sounds definitely good and entertaining, also the over is so cool!
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Thank you, Caroline! Hahahah it definitely did make me want to watch/play pirate-based movies/games! Can’t say the same about becoming one. Not when I can’t… swim… 😛
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Hahahaha definitely not a good idea for you 😘
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