The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan
Rating: 3 / 5 stars
The Waking Fire is my first book by author Anthony Ryan and I couldn't wait to dive into such an intriguing premise - the blood of drakes bestowing powers on select persons born with the potential to wield those powers, the varying powers of drake blood according to their color, and the human civilization intent on profiting from their deaths.
Three different points of view reveal the story from various stages of development. Lizanne Lethridge is the granddaughter of a renown inventor. She is also a high-ranking Blood-blessed, an Extraordinary Initiative, able to wield powers when ingesting drake blood. Tasked to follow up on a lost expedition, she discovers that her beloved mentor will stop at nothing to see her own agenda fulfilled.
Claydon Torcreek, the estranged nephew of the respected chief of the Longrifles Independent Contract Company, is an unregistered Blood-blessed. He finds himself unwillingly recruited to continue searching for the fabled White drake. From his perspective, we learn the most about these drakes that have been hunted to near extinction and their lost cataclysmic history, a history that is about to repeat itself unless Claydon can somehow find a way to stop it.
Corrick Hilemore is the new second Lieutenant of the sea vessel, Viable Opportunity. He finds himself on the front lines of a war between the Ironship Syndicate, of whom he serves, and the neighboring Corvantine Empire. His point of view affords us a front-row seat for intense sea battles but little else, in my opinion.
Green, Blue, Red, and Black drakes grant specific powers when their blood is taken in by the Blood-blessed. Instant healing, heightened senses, physical prowess, trance communication, firepower, and telekinetic abilities are the blessings of drake blood. This commodity is the basis for commercial profit, but not only is the supply dwindling, the potency is weakening, and no one knows why. As we learn more of the legend surrounding the White drake and its long-forgotten history, the other drakes seemingly rise up in revolt, and the people who have long profited from their demise find themselves defenseless.
Nearly 600 pages and I still find myself wishing for more drake history and action, even though they were the foundation of the story. The book could have done away with Hilemore’s point of view and would not have been found lacking. His perspective simply told of the ongoing battle between the two major world powers, which in the big scheme of things, was insignificant. Perhaps that was the point. I sure could have skipped reading all those pages trying to drive that point home.
The Waking Fire is “Book One of the Draconis Memoria” which means, prepare for multiple installments. Regardless of how circuitous the story became, I am a sucker for dragons and simply had to find out how the book wrapped up. The ending leaves plenty of loose threads to weave into more of the overall story arc. I will most likely pick up the next book, because dragon blood-infused power is irresistible to me. Hopefully, the next installment will have a more direct approach and contain more of what I actually crave: drakes.