So, so bad. Like LE Modesitt Jr. smashed together with Pern, but with even less interesting writing. If you’re looking for a Marty-Sue character to do battle and ride dragons, read this crap. I didn’t even bother finishing it. ( )

World War i through a fantasy lens with the first airplanes replaced by dragons. Small town boy Hal Kailas has always wanted to fly - being conscripted into the Derainian army isn't exactly what he had in mind though. But with peace a thing of the past, his star is on the rise in the uncertain world of war.

Couldn't put it down. ( )

An okay read. The one I liked best being the second book in the trilogy, Knighthood of the Dragon. ( )

A good action yarn ( )

With my fondness for dragons, I found this book at the local library and thought that the picture on the cover as well as the brief description on the back of the book sounded interesting enough to give it a try.

I'm not one to like "war novels" which is what this book mainly deals with. Sure, it starts off with the young character having a run-in with a group of bullies as they attempt to torment a baby dragon and he rushes off to its protection. Unfortunately, his run-in with these kids will end up causing a hardship for his parents, he figures, and the only way to protect his parents is to run away. When war erupts, he finds himself constricted to fight in the army, which he is successful enough at, and soon starts to rise in the ranks. When he is the only survivor of a battle, he switches from ground combat to being a dragonmaster, a relatively new idea in warfare. He isn't a natural in flying, which almost ends his flying career, but soon he not only masters the art of flying a dragon, but starts to make a name for himself and is willing to push the borders of what a dragon and flyer can do in order to finally win the seemingly endless war. And he ends up escalating the conflict, which seems to be a never-ending concept of ground warfare with no one side ever truly gaining an advantage over the other.

If it wasn't for the fact that it does deal with dragons, I don't think I would like this book, but the presence of dragons gives it an additional star. ( )