Anthony Ryan continues The Draconis Memoria, his alternate world fantasy of dragons and empires with The Legion of Flame. The sequel does not have the dynamic integrated plotting of The Waking Fire. Attention drifts among too many characters and plot lines. Hopefully the conclusion to the trilogy will pull all the action together for a satisfying ending.

First of all, Iet me just say that I liked the print version infinitely more than the audio version of this series. The audio version of The Waking Fire dampened my enthusiasm for a book that I would have otherwise enjoyed and I decided to forgo that route on this installment. I’m quite glad I did because I managed to finish The Legion of Flame in a pretty timely manner and as you can see by the page count above, it’s no small book.

The Legion of Flame picks up immediately after the events of The Waking Fire and promptly introduces readers to a new POV. Though Sirus appeared in the first book, I have no recollection of him which really says something about both my memory and the lasting impact the book had, huh? Sirus is hiding from the legions of Spoiled and drakes dominating his city but is shortly captured, transformed, and essentially enslaved to the White. The White drake of legend has decided to wrest control of the world from the humans by either burning/devouring them or transforming them into Spoiled and this POV follows that journey.

“This is a kind of legion never seen before. A legion of flame, with which our monster-god will burn the world to cinders.” – Anthony Ryan

Claydon Torcreek and the crew of the IPV Viable Opportunity are intent on journeying southward to the arctic ice based on a vision Clay had near the end of The Waking Fire. Their journey is quite perilous, though perhaps no more so than the journeys of our other characters, but the result could save the world from the White drake’s horde. Clay’s journeys have both had very classic adventure vibes, the first akin to explorations into the heart of Africa and this one reminiscent of documentaries I’ve seen on explorations of both the North and South poles with more than a dash of Indiana Jones thrown in. Stories like this make the world feel bigger!

Lizanne Lethridge remains my favorite of the characters because I’m partial to espionage. She remains as formidable as ever and surprisingly humble for one hailed as a hero and given the moniker Miss Blood for her actions at Carvenport. I actually prefer her role in this book- she contrives to infiltrate the Corvantine prison-city of Scorazin where she intends to track down the source of another of the Mad Artisan’s designs. I found myself relishing her POV chapters above the others because they were brutally fun and piqued my curiosity.

Overall, I thought the story wove together very well though there are some elements that I found irritating. I can’t explain it, but I struggle to enjoy many stories where past peoples were more advanced than those presently living. I always get a serious case of the eye-rolls when I read it particularly when it’s suddenly revealed and characters are simultaneously amazed and reduced to mere brutes intellectually. Also, I’m pretty sure they did more traveling than Bilbo Baggins and he managed to kill (or at least help kill) the dragon in only one book. Other than this, I enjoyed the story and will definitely be continuing on with at least one more installment!

ompetition has been harsh this summer. As we pass through June and July, I have seen so many strong releases that it is getting increasingly hard to stand out from the pack. Or so I thought, until I got my hands on Anthony Ryan’s next installment of The Draconis Memoria, The Legion of Flame. Continuing the story of Lizanne Lethridge, Clayton Torcreek, and Captain Corrick Hilemore as they attempt to stave off a reptilian apocalypse, Legion picks up almost exactly where The Waking Fire, book one in the series, left off. The White has awoken and is gathering an army of dragons and Spoiled, and doom is coming. Cue our heroes rushing around to a variety of places to try to save the world. The cast has been expanded again, but telling you about the new POV and characters are direct spoilers, so you will have to settle with trusting me that they are excellent additions to an already great group of people.

One of my few complaints with the first book in the series was that while the story and world were inventive and fun, it felt like a lot of the finer details were glossed over in favor of the action. Why do the Corvantine Empire and the Ironship Protectorate hate each other so much? Who even is the Blood Cadre? Why didn’t Hilemore get more screen time? Luckily for us, The Legion of Flame explores more of the world and politics, giving us a much better understanding of why these conflicts exist and who the major players involved in them are. Liz is given a mission to go to the Corvantine Empire to attempt to negotiate a treaty between the Empire and the Ironship Protectorate in the face of the impending attack from the White and his legion of flame (see what I did there?). While we don’t spend a lot of time in Corvus proper, the time we do spend there is rich in detail and gives a much better understanding of the empire and its ruling class. While this is going on, Clay and Hilemore begin a voyage to the South Pole, in an attempt to fulfill the vision Clay saw when he got some white dragon blood in his mouth (gross).

Here we come upon another complaint of mine from book one that is remedied. Hilemore felt like an awesome, but unnecessary, addition in The Waking Fire, with Clay and Liz given a significantly larger portion of screen time. While he still has less chapters than the two of them, he is greatly expanded upon in a way that I felt was beneficial and added a measure of naval fun to a story that had mostly revolved around “Magic Indiana Jones” and “Magic Girl James Bond”.

Speaking of “Magic Girl James Bond”, Liz’s mission takes her to Scorazin, a prison city in the Corvantine Empire that “no one ever escapes from”. I loved this. While it did expand upon the unfortunate and unnecessary (in my opinion) romance between Arberus and Liz, the time she spends within its walls was fast-paced, full of intrigue, and action packed. There were twists aplenty and I was constantly waiting for her next chapter so I could continue the excitement. Liz continues to claw her way up the ranks of my favorite characters with her brilliant competence, interesting mix of cold secret agent mentality and strong moral compass, and asskicking prowess. Character growth is something that I have given Ryan a hard time for in the past, but watching Liz change as she is put through trial after trial is one of my favorite parts of this series.

Touching back on the romance, it seemed like it was a little forced, and only existed to add some unnecessary tension to Lizanne’s story line. Additionally, Liz’s motivations and drives become a little cloudy and hard to understand around the two thirds point in the book and I had a bit of trouble following the logic of her actions for a few chapters. However, this lack of clarity only lasts a short while and soon the book returns to the streamlined and exciting plot that pervades this entire series.

While it continues the overall story, and sets up book three with an absolutely tantalizing cliffhanger (the suspense is actually killing me), The Legion of Flame contains a remarkably tight story arc of its own, expanding many of the existing plotlines and spinning a whole tapestry of new ones that captivated and astounded me. I spent a ridiculous amount of my time reading this book having absolutely no idea where it was going. The characters are grasping at straws as they try to come up with ways to combat the White, and the narrative structure mimics this beautifully. I was worried that the reveals and twists at the end of the book would not live up to the build up and I was extremely happy to be proven wrong. I am barely able to contain my excitement for the next installment in the series, and continue to be impressed by Ryan’s growth as an author with each of his novels.

If you’re looking for an end of the world driven by dragons, great characters, and a fast-paced but intricate story look no farther than The Legion of Flame. The Quill to Live heartily recommends this book and series.

Rating: The Legion of Flame – 9.0/10

I did not think Anthony Ryan could top Blood Song, but he has. This is quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read. The adventure element of this novel has raised the bar for all future fantasy novels.

The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan

Pros: excellent world-building, great characters, well paced, exciting

Cons: cliffhanger ending

Refugees flock to Feros, where Lizanne Lethridge, aka Miss Blood, is given the first of a new and even more dangerous series of missions to perform in the Corvantine Empire. Clay has convinced Hillmore to sail South, hoping to find something that will help them defeat the white dragon. Meanwhile, the white is gathering its army of spoiled, training them to overrun the world.

This book starts off with little reminder of the events of The Waking Fire, so it’s worth rereading it. One of the characters thought dead returns as a point of view character, giving insight into the actions of the white dragon’s army.

The world-building continues to be excellent. You learn more about various governments and see how the drakes interact from a different point of view from the first book. Clay’s mission provides a lot of questions, which I’m hoping will be answered in the next book.

There are two appendices, one for dramatis personae, which is helpful as several names are similar and the cast is large, and a second with the rules for the card game Pastazch.

Lizanne is probably my favourite character, making difficult decisions and still being influenced more by her emotions than a good operative should. I was surprised by where her choices lead her. Clay seems to grow as the book progresses, which I appreciated. I was disappointed that Tekela wasn’t in this book much, considering how she’d grown in the previous book. I was hoping to see more of her development. Loriabeth gets a good amount of page time, which was nice. Her skills have improved a lot and she’s a solid supporting character.

The pacing was wonderful, with a lot of action and cliffhanger chapter endings, propelling you through the book at a rapid pace. There’s little wrap up here, with the final chapters leaving several characters in difficult positions. This is only a negative in that since the next book isn’t out yet, I can’t immediately find out what happens to them.

I’m really looking forward to book 3.

Spoiler Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Waking Fire, the first book in Anthony Ryan’s Draconis Memoria series.

The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan (US Cover)There is a scene in the second chapter of Anthony Ryan’s second novel in the Draconis Memoria, The Legion of Flame, in which Lizanne Lethridge, spy for the Ironship Trading Syndicate, is called before the board to review her actions during the first book. But the woman more famously known as “Miss Blood” after defending the city from an invading force, surprises everyone by laughing at the men and women who run the powerful Syndicate. In a world run by private corporations concerned primarily about profits and shares, Lizanne’s decision to resign from the Syndicate seems to be an unprecedented decision.

As a woman who has been on the front lines, Lizanne recognizes what the board cannot – the world has irrevocably changed, and the awakening of the white dragon is more than just a threat to the company’s bottom line – it’s a threat to humanity’s survival. Even as she knows the board will never take her advice, she tells them the only thing she can – that the world has changed, and if they want to survive in this new landscape, they should forget about profiting through the production of dragon’s blood and forge new military alliances in the desperate hope of fending off this new threat.

It’s a stirring speech, and after the incredible worldbuilding and excitement of the series’ first book, The Waking Fire, it had me excited to dive once more into the action. But the problem with changing the game as thoroughly as Ryan did in the span of a single novel is that it takes time to rearrange the pieces for the next act, and it feels like that’s much of what The Legion of Flame is – a novel dedicated to resetting the board in time for the third book.

The Waking Fire (cover)The Legion of Flame returns to each of its three main characters from The Waking Fire, where Ryan introduced readers to a fascinating world packed with dragons, pirates, machine guns, political machinations and an interesting magic system in which “blood-blessed” individuals can draw specific powers from the blood of different colored dragons.

This time Lizanne Lethridge is tasked with infiltrating Scorazin, a city that now functions as a prison for the Corvantine Empire, and finding the Mad Artisan to assist in the war against the white dragon. Of the three stories, this is the most compelling, as Lizanne finds herself in an entirely new environment complete with its own politics, relationships, and history. Watching how the various gangs live side by side, battling daily for a living in a city where everyone is a dangerous criminal, is fascinating, and Lizanne’s ability to navigate this world even without a ready supply of dragon blood to fuel her magic shows that even without such powers, she remains a force to be reckoned with.

Claydon Torcreek, the unregistered blood-burner who inadvertently awakened the white dragon in the opening book, returns alongside Captain Hilemore, determined to fulfill the future he glimpsed after drinking the white’s blood. Convinced that he and Hilemore must travel to the far south to combat the white dragon, they begin a journey to fulfill their destiny – whatever that may be.

After thoroughly enjoying Claydon’s story in the first book, this portion of the story was disappointing. Claydon remains a likeable character, but I was never totally sold on the wisdom of trying to make the vision he saw after drinking the white dragon’s blood come true, and while the discoveries Claydon makes during his quest may interest others, they fell completely flat for me. While I enjoyed reading the book, once it was over I found myself disappointed by how little the plot advanced.

The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan (UK Cover)Hilemore returns as a third point-of-view character, though he remains the third wheel behind Lizanne and Claydon. His scenes do, however, include some of the most interesting action scenes as he keeps his makeshift crew together and fends off dragon attacks.

Ryan introduces a new point-of-view character in Sirus, a wealthy youth whose city is overrun by dragons and their savage Spoiled warriors. He soon learns how the white dragon has gathered so many Spoiled so quickly, and provides readers a glimpse of the dragons’ preparations for war. Again, these scenes are entertaining, but by the end of the book, that story thread results in nothing more than chess pieces being moved into place for the third book.

Ultimately, this was a strange book that entertained me while reading it, but left me feeling somewhat hollow at its conclusion. If you enjoyed The Waking Fire, you will probably enjoy The Legion of Flame, and when it’s complete, you will want to read the forthcoming third book in the series. But this is definitely a book that suffers from “middle book in a series” issues. Here’s hoping that Ryan now has all the pieces in place, and can deliver on the incredible promise of The Waking Fire. With this series, he has the characters, worldbuilding, and magical system to deliver, and now, thanks to The Legion of Flame, he has all the characters positioned for a fiery conclusion.

What? No!!! No no no! That ending is killing me! To say that I didn't see that coming would be an understatement. And the way we leave Clay at the end of the previous chapter...Ugh! Anthony Ryan has definitely mastered the cliffhanger chapter. This time around I did resist the urge to peek ahead though.

After reading The Waking Fire back in December I was looking forward to reading this sequel, and happy that I wouldn't have to wait too long for it. This book was everything I was hoping it would be, except maybe for that ending! There is never a dull moment in these books and I enjoyed catching up with Clay and Lizanne and the rest of the characters. I think the only thing I didn't like so much were the chapters from the Spoiled's point of view, but it did give us more insight into the Spoiled and the drakes. Out of the different story lines in the book I think I liked Clay's the most. The journey he goes on was full of interesting revelations and he just continues to grow on me as a character.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I really need to know what happens next! But unfortunately it won't be released until next year.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me a copy of this book to review.

The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan is the second book in his The Draconis Memoria series. The Legion of Flame picks up after The Waking Fire left off. Being an epic fantasy there is a lot of detailed information, as the story line progresses. In this intense world, the humans and blood blessed (humans who drink the blood harvested from dead dragons), are in a fight for survival in a war against the onslaught of all dragons (blue, black, green, red and the new ultra powerful white). It is also a world filled with magic, war, danger, destruction, ships, and dragons.
Lizanne and Clay, who are both blood blessed, continue as the main characters with POV’s in this series. Hilemore, the captain of one of the fleets, also has some POV;s, and Sirius, who has been captured by a white drake (dragon) now has his own POV, as he has been changed into a human-spoiled controlled by the White. With the danger escalating, and the world very much in danger of being destroyed by the attacking Drakes; Lizanne, Clay and Hiemore take on various assignments to stop the enemy before it’s too late.

Lizanne, after being successful in her last mission, will now go undercover to a city that is a prison for rough tough mean prisoners that survive in the city of undesirables. Lizanne, who is an agent and assassin for the syndicate, is determined to find someone who has the ability to build items that could help fight the Drakes. Clay follows a vision to also discover more about the Drakes, and someone who might be able to help them win this war. Hilemore must push his men on the ship to fight the continued attacks by the Drakes. Each of them faces terrible odds of survival, especially Lizanne and Clay.

What follows is an exciting, dangerous, intense storyline filled with non-stop action. All three of our heroes are on their own, with no contact; and as the tension grows, we fear for their lives. The journey for each will take them to depths of hell. To tell too much more is difficult, as in fantasies there are many details that need to be read to understand. I loved Lizanne, as she was some tough heroine, who refused to ever give up. I liked Clay too, but to me Lizanne stood out the most.

Anthony Ryan does a masterful job in writing this complex story that intensifies the further we delve into the horrors we witness in a world that is falling apart. As in most fantasies, this is a big book, just under 600 pages. If you enjoy epic fantasies, in a sort of sci-fi dystopian world, with lots of action, then you should be reading this series.

I thought this was a fantastic sequel and it makes me so excited for the next book. It did take me a little while to get back into the flow but I think I should have reread the first book to refresh my memory of it. The writing itself is great and so easy to get into. I love the characters as well - they are all so well written and I've come to really care about them. The setting and magic system is also amazing - it's basically set in a world where you gain powers from drinking drakes (dragons) blood. The plot development was so good. I was hooked throughout and I loved how it ended. It makes me so excited for the next book. Basically I loved this sequel and I will definitely be eagerly anticipating the next book. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy fantasy.

The Legion of Flame is the much anticipated sequel to Anthony Ryan's The Waking Fire. In this fantasy world, drake blood from the different species gives superhuman abilities. We continue to follow Clay from the previous book and a new character Lizanne.

Now, I'm actually reading these books backwards, but this story was easy to dive into. I didn't need much prep in order to follow along with the continuation and the world building was awesome. I loved Clay. He seemed to move the story along quickly, and Lizanne was intense and an awesome chick.

I would recommend this read to anyone who likes dragons and dystopian fantasy world building.