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The Adamantine Palace (2009)

by Stephen Deas(Favorite Author)

3.37 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0575083735 (ISBN13: 9780575083738)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Gollancz

series

The Memory of Flames

review 1: I found this in my library in the adult fiction but have since learnt it is YA, either way I didn't find it a fast sharp ruthless read. The concept of dragons restored to all their scaly, fire-breathing glory was interesting but not intriguing enough for me. The characters were all very similar, playing their political games. Unfortunately the ending didn't leave me wanting to read more, a necessary factor in a trilogy.
review 2: This was an enjoyable read - dragons, back in a fiery blaze of furious glory! Deas paints a very intricate and lush world filled with a proud and haughty people that definitely echo G.R.R.M.'s crafted nobility from A Song of Ice and Fire. This makes for stimulating reading, naturally, especially with the characters intent on shaking up... more the status quo. However, while Martin has you loyally following a cast of carefully sculpted individuals (until he gets tired of them, haha), Deas moves sporadically from view point to view point, only occasionally coming back to a particular character, i.e. Jehal. And while this does provide an interesting scope on the plot and the various machinations of the different factions within the Adamantine Palace and the surroundings, the discontinuity left me detached and waiting for a return to a continuing chapter with a familiar point of view. It left me unable to relate solidly with most characters, since I rarely felt invested in any of them, barring Jehal, the most prevalent viewpoint provided. This doesn't detract from Deas' prowess as a writer or the quality of the story, but I just didn't feel overly attached to it in the same way I have been in stories with more character driven plot lines with thier accompanied development. 3 stars for a fun and vicious tale. less

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