Copper Chain

The Shifting Tides, Book 3

By: James Maxwell

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

When a desperate king threatens Dion and everything he loves, only dangerous magic can keep him safe.

Dion, now king of Xanthos, is finally in command of the naval fleet he's always dreamed of. But his hopes for peace are jeopardized when King Palemon, in dire need of ships to rescue his starving people from the frozen wastelands of the north, invades the Salesian city of Malakai.

Too weak to confront Dion directly, Palemon turns to magic: mysterious copper chains from the lost civilization of Aleuthea, which have the potential to control dragons...and Dion.

With the people he loves in danger, and his own freedom at risk, Dion's only hope is Chloe and the power she struggles to tame.

©2017 James Maxwell. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Entertaining

Not my favorite book in the series. It is entertaining but definitely not the strongest in the series.

I really wanted this to be the last.

I enjoyed the book and the writing. The narrator remains great! BUT, I really wish the series ended, it would have easily been done and would have made sense the way this book was going, but nope. One paragraph saves the enemy almost like an after thought. Honestly, who knows how many books there will be in this SERIES, at this rate probably 6.

Fast read

The third book in this series has done well to build the characters and move the storyline. Our Star crossed lovers seem never to get a break and a new antagonist is mucking up the world. I’m about to start book 4 and hope it is as good as the first three books.

I think the author has done well in creating a world that is somewhat recognizable but interspersed with the fantastic. I like the magic, the beasts, the similarities of Egypt, Greece and Roman lifestyles. She has woven a nice tapestry of familiarity and fantasy

Excellent!

I love this series so much, I can’t hardly put it down. One of the best I’ve ever read.

A great continuation of the story

The depth of character and the increase in the intricacies of the story definitely leave you eager to move on to the next book

Best author and narrator

The last few months I have read 12 books by James Maxwell. loved all. especially the voice of Simon Vance.

Better and Better

This series is like a fine wine. It just keeps getting better. I am hooked on the amazing world-building and fantastic characters this author brings to life. While there are a lot of moving parts, and a huge cast, the author skillfully weaves this story in such a way that the reader is able to keep up with it all-- no easy feat. The story line itself is like a majestic tapestry made of so many threads: each thread is necessary for the grand design to be completely realized and appreciated.

If you are new to this series, don't jump in here. Start at the beginning of the series with "Golden Age" so that you're able to enjoy the entire masterpiece.

Very good book

I enjoyed this book more than book 1. it was an interesting story and I got to enjoy hearing more from the main characters.

Saga Continued

An excellent continuation of an adventurous story with compelling, multidimensional characters in a world of danger and fantasy.

Good but frustrating!

This is a great series except for the fact that some of the characters make decisions that are sooo frustrating. I’ll give an example below:
SPOILER
When Dion chose to willingly be captured and have the copper chain wrapped around his neck. Even if they have your wife, being captured prevents you from recovering her. It just doesn’t seem like something a rational person would do. There are so many different ways he could’ve handled that situation that didn’t include becoming enslaved. Maybe it’s just me but I almost stopped listening I was so annoyed.

Plot holes detract from a fantastic srory

The narrator, Simon Vanve, is phenomenal. He has a different voice for each character, even from the same accent areas. Amazing!!

Maxwell writes w exquisite colour; the descriptive languaging is evocative, compelling and beautiful. His world building is on par w Sanderson- just - WOW.

So when a king allows himself to be captured (ONE guard overcome? Seriously?) and set in motion the end of the world, all for a woman he has known barely a month, wit no regard for his Kington, it just isn't believable. Great writing follows the character, it doesn't bend the character so carefully - and skillfully - built until this point to acrobatically accomplish a plot twist. Dion has been a crafty and dedicated leader so far, and suddenly the wellbeing of his lands are a non issue? in his months of captivity, he doesn't have a moment of thought for his peoples. And when the leverage becomes a non issue, all he can think of is revenge. WHAT?
Other things, like a potentially mortal wound on a main character's neck suddenly forgotten and unnamed, are occasionally found.
So although the quality of writing is peppered w deep potholes that temporarily derail the careful reader's journey, the exquisite word craft of dialogue, scenery, world craft and depth of character make this a very worthy read.

Another lovely notable is that Maxwell writes diversity characters well. As a female, cis gender sci fi and fantasy fan, I have often had to stop reading books for the misogynistic, homophobic and even racist manners in which characters are portrayed. Maxwell masterfully navigates the inside of character's hearts and minds to convey both authenticity of the slave owner character and the grotesque awfulness of intersectional inequalities and slavery. Fantastically done and much, much appreciated.

SO close to perfect! All he needed were more skillful beta readers.

All in all, a very worthy read/listen.

Great story

I loved this series, sorry that it's ended. I look very forward to next book

Loved it!

Usually by 3rd book tbe story loses momentum for me but not this time, I'm still gripped!!!

If you like GofT and Tolkien's Ring saga then you'll probably enjoy this series

If you like Game of Thrones and Tolkien's Ring saga then you'll probably enjoy this series. Less characters and convoluted plots than GofT, thankfully. I've read the first three books in this series and looking forward to reading/listening to the fourth. The author moves the story along at a good pace, I didn't get bogged down. There are plenty of high tension moments, times when I was just breathing a sigh of relief and then...BAM the unthinkable would happen and I was thinking 'how the h**l are they going to get out of this one, or how the h**l is the author going to resolve this' and the resolution was unexpected and satisfying. Enjoyed listening to the voices of the narrator.

Brilliant

Absolutely love this series... it’s captivating and so well written ... can’t wait to read the last one 👍

Excellent Narration of an impressive engaging story

The narrator does an excellent job of creating many unique characters, helped by a storyline that covers multiple threads. Even if you think you are a Magic dragons type,

Great story

Listened to all three books great story , characters amazing loved it . Can't wait for book 4 .

Good but lacking something

I enjoyed this book like I have the others, but something was lacking. I didn't get drawn in by characters or the story to the extent of the previous books.