Rise of the Dragons

Kings and Sorcerers, Book 1

By: Morgan Rice

Narrated by: Wayne Farrell

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

The #1 Bestseller!

From #1 Bestselling author Morgan Rice comes a sweeping new epic fantasy series: Rise of the Dragons (Kings and Sorcerers—Book 1).

Kyra, 15, dreams of becoming a famed warrior, like her father, even though she is the only girl in a fort of boys. As she struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious inner power, she realizes she is different than the others. But a secret is being kept from her about her birth and the prophecy surrounding her, leaving her to wonder who she really is.

When Kyra comes of age and the local lord comes to take her away, her father wants to wed her off to save her. Kyra, though, refuses, and she journeys out on her own, into a dangerous wood, where she encounters a wounded dragon—and ignites a series of events that will change the kingdom forever.

15 year old Alec, meanwhile, sacrifices for his brother, taking his place in the draft, and is carted off to The Flames, a wall of flames a hundred feet high that wards off the army of Trolls to the east. On the far side of the kingdom, Merk, a mercenary striving to leave behind his dark past, quests through the wood to become a Watcher of the Towers and help guard the Sword of Fire, the magical source of the kingdom's power. But the Trolls want the Sword, too—and they prepare for a massive invasion that could destroy the kingdoms forever.

With its strong atmosphere and complex characters, Rise of the Dragons is a sweeping saga of knights and warriors, of kings and lords, of honor and valor, of magic, destiny, monsters and dragons. It is a story of love and broken hearts, of deception, of ambition and betrayal. It is fantasy at its finest, inviting us into a world that will live with us forever, one that will appeal to all ages and genders.

©2014 Morgan Rice (P)2015 Morgan Rice

Critic Reviews

" Rise of the Dragons succeeds—right from the start…. A superior fantasy…It begins, as it should, with one protagonist's struggles and moves neatly into a wider circle of knights, dragons, magic and monsters, and destiny.…All the trappings of high fantasy are here, from soldiers and battles to confrontations with self….A recommended winner for any who enjoy epic fantasy writing fueled by powerful, believable young adult protagonists." ( Midwest Book Review)

"An action packed fantasy sure to please fans of Morgan Rice's previous novels, along with fans of works such as The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini…. Fans of Young Adult Fiction will devour this latest work by Rice and beg for more." ( The Wanderer, A Literary Journal)

"If you thought that there was no reason left for living after the end of the Sorcerer's Ring series, you were wrong. In Rise of the Dragons Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of trolls and dragons, of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy." ( Books and Movie Reviews)

An Amazing Surprise

I wasn't expecting much of this book, but then the plot, the characters and magic, it all surprise me. We still have many many questions to be answered on the next books of the series but that's okay. Morgan Rice make you sympathize easily with her characters and her plot pull you in. There's not a single boring part in this book and... I'm eager for the next one :)

Excellent!

This is an excellent sword and sorcery tale. I was fully engaged from the start and I can't wait for the next in the series. I hope that's not to far off. I love Morgan Rice's Sorcerers Ring series too, so I'm not suprised that this would be just as great as those books. Wayne Farrell is an excellent narrator and a perfect fit for this story. i highly recommend this one.

Wait for second title.

Love the book, and it should be in every fantasy reader/listeners library. But as it sits it leaves to much to a second book. It feels like this is the first part to a much longer book, not series. So for those that don't like waiting for books to come, I would recommend putting this on a your wishlist and calendar to look at when the second book comes out.

Thrilling and left me wanting so much more!

I can't believe how hooked this book had me, it was amazing! I hope they give us another book soon so I don't go crazy!

Dull

Not much happened. What should have been a couple of chapters of intro was most of the book.

seasoned fantasy readers know this story

every one knows what is going to happen every step of the way and we read because we love it, so read on and enjoy.

great read

was a fun read. always better to have multiple voice actors for immersion though. easy to figure out the plot but over all a very fun read.

Very Good!!!!

Where does Rise of the Dragons rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

8-9 - It is very good.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All the characters were very good and easy to follow.

Have you listened to any of Wayne Farrell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I was very impressed. He reads very well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Now I want the next one and they don't have it on audio.

Any additional comments?

Get the next one out on audio ipod quickly!!!!!

great with all the angles. cant wait for more.

iys like Game of Thronrs. great fun. and great read. cant wait to see it all cpme together.

Acceptable but not great

The writing gets very repetitive and the main character is very over the top at times. To be expected when your main character is a teenager, but it reads like the author isn't sure if the main character should be a teenager or a Mary Sue.

It runs into the "strong female character" trope several times, wherein the main character is strong and female, but that's about the limit of her depth.

It's not terrible and if you don't mind repetition, odd phrasing, or very, very YA stories then this is up your alley.

The narrator did a wonderful job and is great with accents.

My advice is to read the reviews here, there reviews of the print version on Amazon, and then avoid it if you aren't 14 and just entering the world of fantasy.

Once started unable to stop listening.

I've listened to more than several fantasy scribes on Audible but this one caught my imagination with both hands. The characters , the dragon
( I love dragons) all seemed to pull you into their space and time.
I'm not a newbie at science fiction and fantasy (I'm 62) but to be able to sit and listen to a quality story and enjoy the narration by a voice that in some episodes has a Burton like sound I'm finding it very difficult to turn it off and sleep. Looking forward to the next book which I've already purchased . If possible I would give a rating of 7 stars. I'm loving it.

Starts off well, but then falls into simplisticity

I enjoyed the beginning, I thought the premise and characters were nicely set up. However, the story increasingly makes use of clichés and unbelievable subplots at the expense of sufficient complexity. By the time the girl meets Theos, I felt like switching off. I have made it to the end but am unlikely to look at the next book in the trilogy.

Ok but could be better

The basic plot of the book is good I generally enjoyed listening particularly through the early chapters. However, some of the the events lack any internal logic (I know this is fantasy but there should still be some sense behind the things people do) and I found this a irritating after a while.

There was also something a little irritating about the narration- but more as a matter of personal taste than any real flaw.