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A review by jitsumi1221
Knight of the Silver Circle by Duncan M. Hamilton
4.0
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.
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.