Dream of Dragons (Age of Sorcers series book 8) 5 stars

Dream of Dragons is the final book in the Age of Sorcerers series by Morgan Rice. I give it five stars and applaud how she ties up every plot thread with her large cast of characters. She leaves no questions rattling around in the brain by the end of the story. 

 

 

 

Like real life, not everything goes the way one hopes as the plot takes some surprising twists. It is enjoyable to read an unpredictable story. It keeps me hungry for more. In this case, it costs a few beloved characters their lives. I will say no more because I do my best not to include spoilers in my reviews.

 

Throughout this series, Rice shows the reader how the magic in her world works, enough to understand what various characters are doing as they conjure up what they need in a given circumstance. In this final book, the lines of good versus evil are clear between those wielding these magical powers. This includes dragons, humans trying to get their hands on the amulet which can control the dragons, and three sorcerers, each with their own plan for how things should play out.

 

Watching the members of the royal family grow in their roles in this last book brought a measure of satisfaction as well as disappointment. Not a bad kind of disappointment, but the kind of disappointment we experience in real life when things don't work out the way we would like. The living out of their destinies brings with it a fantastical realism and Rice delivered one scene that really caught me by surprise near the end. 

 

Along with this, there are a few different relationships going on throughout the story, to make you hope boy-gets-girl, or girl-gets boy, and even one case where enemies might just be falling in love. In this final book, all this is resolved.

 

I recommend Dream of Dragons as well as the entire Age of Sorcerers series to fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy “clean fantasy” free of explicit sex. If you enjoy sword and sorcery fantasy, this series is a must-have for your bookshelf.

 

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Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages - 3 Stars

 

I read Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages by Frances & Joseph Gies for a couple of reasons. First of all, for research. My fantasy novels take place in a pre-industrial world with limited technology. I often find bits of history and ancient technology I can adapt and reimagine. This book was a good choice for that kind of information. I also enjoy reading history and learning how, where, when, and why things came about. Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel offers up plenty of that too. If I were rating the book solely on the content, I would give it four stars, but if I were rating based on the organization of information, I might give it a three.

 

The book is quite informative. It reveals the origins of technologies from ancient Greece, Egypt, and China and follows the evolution of these technologies into the Middle Ages. From there, it shows how these innovative ideas spread and morphed into something more sophisticated.

In my opinion, the book got off to a slow start. The first chapter looks at a variety of worldviews regarding the definition of the Dark Ages. It discusses what years encompass the Medieval Ages (since differing world views don't agree on this), along with a brief but general mention of technology from those times and whether or not they were considered good or bad based on the various world views. While this approach may be interesting to some people, I felt it started things off on a sluggish footing. Chapter 2 kindled my interest as the author delved into technologies of ancient Egypt and how they influenced Rome and Greece and how they, in turn, often improved on those technologies coming up with upgraded or modified versions of the same inventions. What they accomplished is quite remarkable, and the book goes on to show that much of today's technology finds its roots in this history. The third chapter looks into waterwheel technology and explains how it changed economics, politics, and more.

The book covers an array of technologies before and after the Middle Ages. The insights are fascinating. However, the organization of the information is not conducive to finding something read in a previous chapter. For instance, if I wanted to revisit the section on bridges and the Crusaders, I would have to remember to look in the chapter on the Technology of the Commercial Revolution 900-1200. I would prefer it organized by "technology and inventions."

I recommend this book to people researching these topics or history buffs wanting to know more about the origins of technologies. However, if you find something of interest you might want to come back to, make sure to bookmark the page or highlight the text, or you might spend quite a bit of time hunting for it.

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Shield of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers #7) - 5 stars

 I have fallen in love with this story since book one, and Shield of Dragons, book seven in the Age of Sorcerers series, did not disappoint. Author Morgan Rice masterfully navigates the Northern Kingdom, Southern Kingdom, and beyond with plot twists, which I give five stars. 

Throughout the first six books in the series, she was able to kill off characters I loved and some I hated. At times, such events kill my enthusiasm for a story. But in this case, Rice keeps the heartbeat of the story steady and pulls the reader along with each beat.

In Shield of Dragons, Royalsport is back under the control of Queen Lenore, and she and Devin have reconnected. Lenore exiles Prince Vars, while his brother Greave returns to life in Royalsport as a changed man willing to take risks. Princess Erin becomes Lenore's bodyguard until she travels to the Southern Kingdom on a dangerous mission. Princess Nerra is pulled back into the story, but she is no longer the sweet, kind princess shunned by people because of the scale sickness. The sickness transformed her into something new. The dragons call her "perfected." But, without providing big spoilers, let me say, the "Perfect" is scary, like a Jekyll and Hyde type personality. Rice offers glimpses that the real Nerra may still be present within the creature she has become and provides breadcrumbs of hope that she may break free.

At the heart of the story is the magical amulet found in book six of the series. In Shield of Dragons, we see it at work. The one who wields it can control a dragon. But having possession of this talisman kills most people by sucking the life out of them. Throughout Shield of Dragons, it changes hands, and as book seven concludes, in my opinion, it is in the wrong hands.

I have grown used to the fact that Rice's books in this series are episodic. I still don’t love this approach to book writing, but with that said, the story is captivating enough to continue to the last book in the series. If you are a fantasy reader who enjoys medieval-type settings filled with wizards, dragons, royals, nobles and peasant folk, and unrequited love, then this book is for you. I’m ready for the final book in this series, Dream of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Eight).

Other reviews in this Morgan Rice series:

Dusk of Dragons (Book 6)

Crown of Dragons (Book 5) 

Ring of Dragons (Book 4) 

Born of Dragons (Book 3) 

Throne of Dragons (Book 2)

Realm of Dragons (Book 1) 

 

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