Review: Entertaining, but needs work on continuity and tone
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2014
I feel like this book, which initially drew me in because I'm a sucker for fantasy of any kind, isn't quite sure what it wants to be. It is clearly targeted for a younger audience (YA), as the writing is quite simplistic and the general tone of the story is at a more basic level. However, the author has also included various adult themes that were quite jarring as I read through the book. Double entendres and sex scenes in a YA book don't necessarily make for comfortable reading. The fact that I am a bit older that the target audience meant that this discontinuity didn't bother me too much, but it still made for a slightly distracting experience as I read through the story. Compared to some of the earlier Dragoneer books, Rise of the Dragon King had a different feel, as if the author rushed through it or was trying to evolve his style as the series continued. The new characters were great, the old ones were developed further, but something about the plot and the characters and the writing style that never quite clicked for me. I still read the book and enjoyed the story, but I was slightly let down. The fact that I know Mathias has more in him than this is why he gets 4 stars, because I could see what he was trying to do, but he just missed the mark in this one a bit. He gets the benefit of the doubt, and I'll probably grab the next one to see where our characters end up....that King Richard is always getting himself in trouble, I've got to know how that story eventually plays out....