Spine of the Dragon

Wake the Dragon, Book 1

By: Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Fleet Cooper

Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson triumphantly returns to epic fantasy with the Wake the Dragon series. Spine of the Dragon is a politically charged adventure of swords, sorcery, venegance, and the rise of sleeping giants.

Two continents at war, the Three Kingdoms and Ishara, are divided by past bloodshed. When an outside threat arises—the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world—the two warring nations must somehow set aside generational hatreds and form an alliance to fight their true enemy.

©2019 WordFire, Inc. (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A must-read for any fantasy fan, brilliant and fabulous! One of the greatest talents writing today, Kevin J. Anderson is a master of adventures that are filled with dynamic, unforgettable characters.” —Sherrilyn Kenyon

“A fast-paced, enjoyable read. Concise description is paired with immediate action that plunges the reader irrevocably into a world teetering on the brink of a conflagration.” —Robin Hobb

"Just what fantasy readers lust after—a complex and intricately detailed universe descending into a war. The details of this exotic world are exquisite. The sprawling cast of characters and creatures is fascinating. The action is terrifying. Let the mayhem begin.” —Terry Goodkind

Multiple factions jockey for control of the world.

Anderson wraps another complex universe of magic with political intrigue and a sprinkle of plain old human greed and apathy. Will humanity choose the way of least resistance against a powerful enemy or will the kings unite? Find out in his first book of this sure to be epic series.

Good story, poor performance.

I have enjoyed reading Kevin J Anderson’s other works, but this is one rare time that I purchased the audible version without the kindle book to go with it. Mistake. I hate to say it, but the audio book sounds as though it is being read to a children.

A wonderful new world from Kevin J. Anderson

Great story, lots of intrigue, amazing world concept. It is interesting to see humans as a secondary race rising to prominence. Thanks Mr. Anderson.

Great narration

Love Anderson and this had a quality narrator easy to enjoy. Lots of characters to bring life into the story.

mediocre plot, strange narration

plot was subpar and narrator used same weird voice for all of the female characters. Very meek and high pitched and annoying.

Bad Narration for a Meh Story

From a pure plot perspective, this is a pretty standard fantasy story. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but the plot outline is usable. However, the audiobook is absolutely cringe-worthy because the voice Talent speaks the narrator's Voice as though he were Dracula from a campy Noferatu movie. Another review complained that he sounds like he's talking to children, and that sounds about right too.

The plot outline is OK if generic, but everything is telegraphed from a mile away. The "good guys" are obviously good, and the "bad guys" sound like they're walking around with pointy black hats and a long nose plastered with a giant wart just to make sure the 6 year Olds listening to this drivel know the protagonists from the antagonists.

It's really difficult to listen to this book. If you're still thinking about checking it out, I strongly suggest that you skip the audio book and just go with the Kindle version. Listening to the narrator overact every single sentence like it's the most important thing he'll ever say is mind numbing.

Much much better than his Sci Fi

I read both iterations of his Sci fi cycles, and I can't deny they had merit. That said, I only read those because of his great Star Wars novels.

In any case, he uses the same POV trope of his Eldar (pardon if I forget the fire/ice/tree space opera name, and sans Google, I'll give it Eldar because I remember it as such) novels, but the actual characters and story is so much better, gripping, and worth going though. I was just as annoyed going from character to character, but in this case, it's because I actually cared about them.

Worth the credit? Absolutely, no question asked. Not sure id purchase it, but I only use credits.

The beginnings of a new saga

This is a great beginning of a potentially great saga. Many story threads. It has no resolution at the end making it a book that I will wait with bated breath for the next chapter of the story. Reminds me a lot of the Saga of the Seven Suns.

Took a while to finish but overall very good

I really enjoyed the story. there are a lot of characters so it can be confusing.

great start to a new series.

The book was easy to listen to and the world creation with humans and imortals and magic was superb. Anderson does it again dragging you in and leaving you to struggle in the wait for more.