Storm Riders

Starred review from May 20, 2013
This rousing second chapter in the Dragon Brigades epic fantasy series (after Shadow Raiders) is set in an intricate magical land that floats on the Breath of God. Bitter rival empires Rosia and Freya are threatened by Bottom Dwellers, evil demons that live on the planet’s surface. Freya’s wily puppetmaster, Sir Henry Wallace, and Rosia’s formidable schemer, Countess Cecile de Marjolaine, lead an immense and fascinating cast through intrigue and derring-do, first scheming against each other and then teaming up to battle their mutual enemy. They’re abetted by a variety of dragons, such as the noble mansion-dwellers of Rosia and the wild iridescent youngster that Cecile’s estranged son, Stephano, yearns to ride into battle; the beasts are standouts in the genre, wistful, intriguing, and utterly convincing. New readers may be lost without a dramatis personae, maps, and a synopsis of earlier action, as this complex universe is prone to rapid shifts of scene and personnel, but the multifaceted action and well-drawn characters will keep any fantasy fan’s excitement at feverish pitch, a particularly impressive feat for a middle book.

Starred review from July 1, 2013
Action, adventure, revenge, political intrigue and magical technology soar in the second volume in the Dragon Brigade series (Shadow Raiders, 2011). Father Jacob Northrop and Sir Ander Martel have confirmed the identity of the bat-riding, demon-disguised attackers responsible for massacres and collapsing buildings. The Bottom Dwellers, descendants of an island sunk by powerful magic, have spent 500 years plotting retribution against all other countries of the world and developing the use of contramagic, spells which destroy other magical constructs. Unfortunately, the mere mention of contramagic is considered heretical, and the Grand Bishop will do anything to hide the church's complicity in the Bottom Dwellers' plight. Meanwhile, Capt. Stephano de Guichen of Rosia and his friends are powerless to counter the threat, as they're stranded on a remote island--unless Stephano can persuade the island's wild dragons to help. And Freyan spymaster Sir Henry Wallace also opposes the Bottom Dwellers (whom he inadvertently funded), while seeking what advantages he can for his own country. The novel is a great ride, offering shifting political alliances, thrilling battle sequences, angst-y romance and hairpin plot twists. Basing each fantasy nation's language and culture on a European country is a bit of a cheat, but that's outweighed by the floating palaces, magically steered dirigible ships and wyvern-drawn carriages. The series is also blessedly rich in strong, intriguing female characters, including Miri, the stubborn captain of the balloon ship Cloud Hopper; her mute, damaged but magically powerful sister, Gythe; Eiddwen, the ruthless mistress of disguise who serves the Bottom Dwellers; and especially Countess Cecile, the true power behind the Rosian throne, who has hidden her marriage to an executed traitor and her love for their apparently bastard son Stephano so that her many enemies will not target him. Sheer epic fantasy fun.

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July 1, 2013

The continual war between the island kingdoms of Freya and Rosya gives way to a greater threat when both are attacked by a ruthless group of outcasts calling themselves the Bottom Dwellers. With their contramagic unraveling the islands' own protective magic, the Bottom Dwellers seem unbeatable until the former captain of the Rosian Dragon Brigade and his companions befriend some wild dragons. At last, they might possess a chance to defeat the Bottom Dwellers, provided they can enlist the help of a recalcitrant church. VERDICT Veteran storyteller Weis and her cowriter continue the saga begun in Shadow Raiders with this tasty mix of epic fantasy and swashbuckling action that should please fans of dragon-based fiction.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
The world inhabited by the rival empires of Freya and Rosia is on the brink of disaster. The Bottom Dwellers, bent on revenge, are destroying every magical construct they can reach. Eventually, this will cause Freya and Rosia to fall, literallythe known world floats on a gas called the Breath of God. Former Dragon Brigade captain Stephano, leader of our intrepid band of adventurers, has information to get back to his motherand thus the Rosian courtfrom a Freyan spy who realizes that the only way to defeat the Bottom Dwellers is to unite Freya and Rosia. Of course, as the story begins, they're trapped on an island. That's not all: there are secrets considered heretical by the church, which are key to understanding the enemy's contramagic. A very solid piece of epic fantasy, with conspiracy and plotting as well as a great deal of action, Storm Riders carries on an entertaining story to a cliff-hanger that guarantees readers will want the next volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)