Storm Dragon (Eberron: The Draconic Prophecies, #1) by James Wyatt

Storm Dragon (Eberron: The Draconic Prophecies, #1) Reviews

• 
  Eric

  This was a bit of a disappointment from the short story in the Tales of the Last War. It was a page turner and had some good elements of character interaction that I liked in the short story. He's good at really showing two people in love (or not) and evoking just the right picture in your mind to see that people care for each other.
  
  What I didn't like, well there were a few things. The ending really crumbled and fell apart for me. I think it might have been okay as a stand alone novel, but it felt like the ending was forced for a sequel. The climactic battle was...kind of climactic, but I didn't feel a big payoff.
  
  Also there were a couple of times things felt forced, especially a part at the end where one character follows the main character really for no reason and doesn't really contribute to the end except it allowed him to say he changed. This character spent half the book offstage, and I guess the author wanted him to have more of a connection to the heroes. Just didn't make sense. (Also a scene was inserted clearly just to show the fighting prowess of a character, which wasn't necessary).
  
  Also the Prophecy was built up so much in the book and at the end there really weren't any big surprise twists with it. It was a little too literal for something that was supposed to be pretty arcane. There was even a remark by a character that it was confusing, but it really wasn't. Also there not a lot of mystery about who the Storm Dragon is. Even the author seemed to give up on this, but leave room for a slight bit of doubt.
  
  All in all, strong beginning pulling you into the mystery and for the most part a page turner with some character development, but no big payoff. And I read this novel to get a better idea of how to write endings :) Oh well.
• 
  David Given Schwarm

  James Wyatt is a very imaginitive writer + this was a very imaginive book--something about it reminded me of Chronicles of Amber.
  
  Opens in a Dwarfish jail, Dragon rescue, great escapes, teleportation tour of the realm--the story moves fast and quickly.
  
  The main character is very compeling, the side kicks are well thought out. The Family dynamics + other metaphors work well within the story.
  
  The "naval" scenes struck me as a little forced--crafts are crashing and exploding frequently--I am not sure if these sections struck a strange chord in me because they were too detailed and realistic or because they did not feel epic enough when they occurred--but in event, those scenes were the only ones that I did not love.
  
  The guilds in pursuit were by far my favorite parts. Thanks, David S.
• 
  Mark

  The Prophecies were old when humans first began to forge their civilisation. Said to give meaning to the past, guidance to the present and to predict the future – a future of the world’s remaking – a future in which Gaven d’Lyrander has unwillingly become the most important player.
  
  Scion to one of the great Dragonmark Houses, whose heirs have the chance to manifest a dragon-like birthmark of great power at puberty, Gaven spent most of his time exploring dark caves looking for valuable dragonshards in the depths of the earth. But in one dragonshard he found more then he or his House were looking for and it invaded his mind, filling him with the most intimate knowledge of the Prophecies a human had ever held. His resulting delirium escalated to all-out madness, and his ravings lead to exile from his House and a life sentence in the island prison of Dreadhold, where he manifested the highest and rarest potential of all Dragonmark Houses, a Siberys Mark.
  
  While Gaven is all but lost in his own mind, a daring rescue springs both himself and his cell neighbour out to a higher calling. Now on the run, the verses of the Prophecies begin to find fulfilment and sanity begins to reclaim its hold on Gaven’s mind. Now he must try to make sense of the visions that plague him waking and sleeping, and figure out the true intentions of his so called ‘rescuers’. For Haldren, a general from the Last War and Gaven’s former inmate, has joined forces with a Dragon who wishes to use the draconic prophecy to attain godhood.
  
  The world of Eberron has been overlooked by most as just another generic medieval fantasy world made for players of Dungeons & Dragons. This is unfortunate because I have found it is much more than that. Eberron is a world that pushes the boundaries of the traditional settings that its sibling Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms tend to embrace. In this world, a world almost bordering on ‘steam-punk’, arcane magic has been applied like science and massive, towering cities defy gravity and elemental-powered airships cross the skies. Its history has been marked by extra-planar incursions, some of which have caused massive devastation and others that are as accepted and as frequent as the seasons. The books explore vibrant, diverse cultures that are scarred by a cataclysmic ‘Last War’ and united in a commitment to keep history from repeating itself, while various organisations and Great Houses look to the ruins of Goblin and Giant empires for powerful secrets and forgotten magic, and one of the greatest mysteries of the world are the Draconic Prophecies.
  
  The books carry a contemporary, yet distinctly fantasy, feel to them and are packed with adventure and mysticism that is the hallmark of entertaining and fast-paced writing. I really enjoyed this book and am slowly exploring others.
• 
  Joel Flank

  Wyatt starts the Draconic Prophecies with a mix of the worst ingredients in fantasy and shared world fiction.
  
  1) The hero is tormented and not especially likable
  2) The plot and action is frenetically paced, bouncing around from one place to another, without grabbing the reader in and making them care
  3) As the plot evolves, it's clear that the hero is being dragged around by events larger than himself, with no real plan of what they want to do, making the book more of a series of running from ambushes
  4) Too much time is spent on secondary and tertiary character's points of view, who are even less appealing or interesting than the main character
  5) Playing with WORLD SHAKING EVENTS in the established world of Eberron, setting the ball rolling for changing the world away from what long time fans have enjoyed about it.
  
  By the time I finished reading, I was mildly interested in where things were going, but was disappointed that this was clearly a fiction WSE trilogy to herd the Eberron world from the 3rd edition setting it started as to a 4th edition D&D setting which doesn't behave the same way, and has changes simply to conform to the 4th edition rules and design decisions.
• 
  Craig

  Welcome to the crazy cage. The writing of this novel is done superbly capturing the mind of an interrupted soul. The protagonist, Gaven, is truly troubled. Following the character Gaven is a whiplash of love and hate. Enjoying his grizzled attitude and sense of self. We watch lumberjacks in envy because they symbolize masculinity; well Gaven is the lumberjack of novels. The pages contain simple enjoyment and a vibe of ease. The plot while decent one lacks the development that is spent on the characters. Unlike a truly great novel that the character walks in an a story magically wraps around him these characters walk in and we follow waiting for things to happen. The time spent on this book is still worth the read but only if books in the the rest of the fantasy section have already met your gaze.
• 
  Liana

  Really cool story. It has its slow moments, but gosh darn it! The plot is SO interesting! I couldn’t put the silly book down. I do wish Gaven had more spotlight time though, as he was the main character and all. He and Rienne were my favorite characters, and I loved how they both made the perfect team. Gaven and Senya? SENYA?! BAHAHAHAHA, ME NO LIKE HER. Seriously, she creeped me out. A lot. Needless to say, I love where the plot eventually took her in this book. :P
  
  Anyhoo, I can’t wait to read book 2.~ Storm Dragon was a fun read.
• 
  Jacob Dobson

  I got what I expected. Which was a novel based in a pre-fabricated Dungeons and Dragons universe, full of unmemorable characters, unimpactful prose, a predictable plot, and typical fantasy tropes. It wasn't terrible. I got what I expected, but it was also what I wanted. James Wyatt did well with what he had, and probably achieved what goal he or Wizards had set. It was a nice way to grow familiar with the Eberron setting, and I will be picking up the last two books in the trilogy.
• 
  Kyra Dune

  A fascinating and well written epic fantasy novel with a myriad of interesting characters. I very much enjoyed journeying with Gaven as he struggled to find his own way in the midst of prophecy and madness, but I think my favorite character was Darraun. I could read a whole story told solely from his point of view. The main plot of the book came to a satisfying conclusion, while leaving just enough of a lead on to draw me into the next in the series.
• 
  Shaun Welch

  I expected a mildly diverting piece of licensed D&D fiction and I was genuinely surprised at how much I loved it. Storm Dragon kicks off with a pretty straightforward premise and carries through on it, but the cast of characters is remarkable. With rare exception, nearly every named character has an actual story arc.
  
  The character Darraun is my absolute favorite. Eberron is also an incredibly compelling D&D world, and James Wyatt does a wonderful job exploring it in these pages.
• 
  Trung

  After an unnecessarily long while, I finally finished James Wyatt's first book in his Draconic Prophecy series and I must say, I was pleased. As both a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and of fantasy, Wyatt did a good job of blending good writing with just enough to please any nerd who had a character spend time in the world of Eberron. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.
• 
  D

  Honestly, this was amazing. Cart is my favorite character. Ended really well that I don't need to read the next title, but I probably will. LOVE THIS BOOK. Despite being in the adult section, I can see a teen greatly enjoying this work.
• 
  Frank Jarome

  Was enjoyable, but a little disjointed/jumpy at times... not entirely sure where the rest of the series is going. Will likely check them out to find out, though
• 
  Matt Keevil

  Wasn't a bad book, was a slow read... Nothing that forced you to read more. Story line wasn't great but I enjoyed the characters.
• 
  Bradley Convissar

  Started off slow, but by the end I was hooked. Looking forward to the next book
• 
  Nobbynob Littlun

  Enjoyable story, plenty of action, characterization was passable. Most of the interest was generated by the Eberron setting, and without knowing that backdrop it might be confusing at times.
• 
  Neil Francis Laguipo

  THE STORY ITSELF IS AMAZING
  
  I love the storyline, characters, settings, prophecies and the great escape. However, the battle scenes are very unexciting it shouldn’t be straightforward.
• 
  Blind_guardian

  I love the world of Eberron and it's really cool to read a novel set in that world by one of its designers. The one issue I have is that Wyatt is a game designer and at times writes very much like one. I like the descriptions of the cities the characters go to, but it feels like it shifts into sourcebook mode for a moment before returning to narration.
  
  Looking forward to reading the next two books, and will be incorporating the events in this book into my own Eberron campaign.
• 
  Saskia (Smitie)

  Ok story and characters, but nothing special. The world building is eleborate, but not deep enough to get my interested in more stories. Also, I think this book could be better if it was a stand alone story. The ending felt forced to squeeze in a opening for a sequel. All things considered it was enjoyable, but average.
• 
  Levi

  Read it a bit back already and even though the plot is not the most special or original in the world of fantasy, Wyatt could engage my mind through his special way with words, inspiring my very core to really think about how one should depict and what words one should use to describe a scene.
• 
  _

  This novel focused on the lore of Eberron, such as the Draconic prophecy, dragonmarks, and changelings.
• 
  Terry O

  Pretty good
• 
  Conan Tigard

  I have read a lot of fantasy books for Wizards of the Coast, but only one other in the world of Eberron. I really like the character of Cart, the warforged and would love to know more about these interesting man-made creatures. As for Gaven himself, he is an interesting main character that at first you don't quite understand.
  
  As the book progresses, I found myself liking him more and more. Most of his life has been controlled by others, and now he has the power to rule his own destiny. James Wyatt's writing is good and quick with a lot of action throughout the story.
  
  I did find myself getting a little confused when one of the characters turned out to be a shape-shifter and I couldn't quite remember who they started out as. A list of characters in the front of the book would have been a nice feature, like in Agatha Christie mystery novels.
  
  Overall, I quite enjoyed Storm Dragon and look forward to finding out what happens next in the next installment in the Draconic Prophecies series. The way this book ended, I will wait with baited breath to find out what happens next.
  
  I rated this book an 8 out of 10.
  
• 
  Kurt

  Not that wonderfully written, but full of great information and characters that a D and D ners such as myself enjoys.
  
• 
  Eric Richardson

  I abandoned this book after it failed to capture my imagination.
• 
  Nicole Baratta

  Storm Dragon: The Draconic Prophecies, Book 1 (The Draconic Prophecies) by James Wyatt (2008)