A solid second book. Oftentimes the second book in a trilogy ends up being a subpar bridge between the set up and the climax (books 1 & 3). However, I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one.

Pharadon was an awesome character and was great as a way to explore the history of the dragons and their relationship to mankind a bit more. The expansion of our knowledge of the magic system was also welcome, even though the rules are pretty vague, the magic manifestation was interesting.

I enjoyed the further development of Solene and Guillot in this book as well, but their characters were definitely slower in this book, and that's why I think Pharadon was a welcome addition. He added some intrigue to what might have otherwise been a slow plot.

Hamilton spends a lot of time inside the thoughts and feelings of his characters, which I normally love. But I will say that the sheer amount of internal exploration done in this book does slow it down immensely. The action scenes are few and far between, which didn't completely turn me off of the storyline, it is still an enjoyable read. Just don't go into it expecting a fast and furious set of action sequences.

The characters that Guillot ends up enlisting for his dragon slayers brigade were interesting, but I would have liked to see a bit more development. Cabham's switch seemed very out of character for the little I knew of him. I enjoyed Val's character, and I'm hoping he comes back in the conclusion.

Ysabeau is questionable for me. She seems a bit too deus ex machina at this point.

Spoiler

Especially at the end when she manages to lift the cup from the altar in the middle of the fight. NO ONE REALIZED THIS??? I get that she's magical, but seriously. Not really buying that one.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the conclusion and to see how Hamilton wraps all this up.

I'm really enjoying this series!! I have a bad habit of putting off the last book always, so I'm hoping to start the next one soon

Summary:
This is the second book in the ‘Dragonslayer’ Series. It starts immediately where the first book left off.

Characters:
This story follows multiple points of views across 4 distinct story lines.

Guillot dal Villerauvais: Man, nothing is as lovely as a flawed character. I really appreciate that Guillot never really manages to be a morally grey character but is still very much flawed and can grow/adapt into a better version of himself. In the first book I thought he was more one-dimensional and I am really pleased to see him become more interesting as the story continues. Another side perk - it's nice to see a main protagonist that not only has already hit rock bottom at some point, but is also no longer young and fit.

Pharadon: I really loved the introduction of this character in the story. I would also like to note that in the audiobook edition, the narrator gives him the most wonderful voice. I hope that he is a prominent figure in the next book as well.

Amaury: Is hands down my favorite character. He's such an unpleasant, manipulative, conniving turd. He has such fun deep and involved plotting that he constantly swishes back and forth between because of his paranoia and reluctance to be anything but the man pulling the strings in the background. I was also delighted to read about his stupid grudges. He is so human and I love it.

Positives:
+ Dragons. Wonderful and fascinating enlightened DRAGONS. I love the dragons in this book! They didn’t get quite as much face time as i was hoping but I have a strong feeling that maybe book 3 will scratch that itch.
+ I have t o say, I LOVE the bad guys in this book series. Holy Heck can Duncan M Hamilton write a fantastic baddy. The heroes were great as well, but the baddies, so so good.
+ THAT ENDING THOUGH. I am really glad I had the final book in the series already sitting on my side table waiting to be jumped into.
+ I listened to the audiobook at the same time as reading to get more of the story in for as long as possible. The narrator (Simon Vance) is FANTASTIC. I highly suggest you listen to the audiobook. He has the most wonderful voices for all of the characters and I could listen to this man read French influenced names on repeat straight down a list before bed every night.

Negatives:
- There aren't a whole lot of new and groundbreaking ideas in this book/series, so if that is what you are specifically looking for, maybe this isn’t the right book for you. While i can see this being a negative for a lot of people, for me this was like a wonderful trip back through time to my favorite sword and sorcery books; albeit more modern (less sexism, more flawed characters).
- The magic system is a little vague. It seems like this is more a case of ‘there are no well defined caps to the magic’. One of the main characters, when they discuss her magic use, always seems to be something along the lines of “no matter what it is, if i want it enough (focus enough) i can make it happen”. While no clear limits were defined aside from “some people can burn out if they draw too much too fast’. How much is too much? How do you know? WHY IS THERE A CAP? Is there just “magic” and no sub-schools or focuses? This did not ruin the story for me, but it could have been so much more!

Final Thoughts:
For fans of more old-school fantasy, this may be the series for you. I enjoyed this second book even more than the first. This book is great if you are interested in chivalry (not the gross kind), the return of magic, dragon society/culture, and a main character that has to overcome his past. This is not a book that breaches brand new ideas - and I was completely ok with this. It is nice to just go back to a solid, nostalgic, dragon-hunting fantasy full of quests and magical items. I already have the next book lined up to read and am very interested in checking out more of Duncan M. Hamilton’s works.

I'll be short: this is one of the most entertaining and well crafted fantasy book I read this year.
Can't wait for the next instalment.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I'll be short: this is one of the most entertaining and well crafted fantasy book I read this year.
Can't wait for the next instalment.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Knight of the Silver Circle is a great sequel to Dragonslayer. I love both the books but for differing reasons.

If Dragonslayer is about setting up the plot and the world, Knight of the Silver Circle is about the consequences of the return of the dragons. As always, the characters are excellent - a hallmark of Duncan Hamilton - they have believable motivations and the interactions are fun. The story is as captivating as ever though there is one predictable twist in it.

In conclusion, this series is definitely worth reading and you should not miss reading it.

I didn't like this one as much as the last one. I found it to be a little bit of a slog. There was a lot of set up for not a lot of payoff, which I imagine happens in the third book.