Spine of the Dragon

Wake the Dragon, Book 1

By: Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Fleet Cooper

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.

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.

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.

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.

Great story line. Too bad about the narration

The story is everything. So true and so flawed if the narration is sub-par. I kept waiting to get used to the narration, but couldn't get past the awkward pauses and too-structured reading. I get the publisher's desire to be "high fantasy" but this time it backfired. I am a big fan of Kevin, so will pivot to Kindle, but won't finish the audio book.

Excellent

loved this book. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the criminally-underrated Winds of the Forelands by David B. Coe (read that after you read this one). There are kings and ancient races, politics and betrayal, bloodshed and magic. You know, the good stuff.

There are a lot of characters, so there was a bit to keep track of at first. But once I got to know them better, I was fully invested in all of them. And they are just so convincingly written, too, especially the bad guys, and the people who aren't all bad but do bad things. It was really easy to see why they did the things they did, even though they were reprehensible and short-sighted.

One thing I've noticed in this book and Anderson's other fantasy series I read, Terra Incognita, is that he is a master of theme. Many authors don't bother with it, while others come off as didactic and their themes contrived, shoehorned in to make a point. Not so with this book. Anderson *shows* us his themes in a way that springs naturally from the plot and the actions that his characters take. In a way, their fruition seems inevitable, but never predictable.

Regarding the narrator's performance, at first he seemed to go overboard in intensity when it wasn't warranted, but after a while, I got used to it and actually started to enjoy it. He does the different characters really well so it was always clear who was saying what.

Overall, if you're looking for a deep, sometimes violent fantasy novel filled with clashing cultures and ideas that you can get lost in, you should pick up this one.

Story is good, pacing can be uneven.

A solid opener for KJAs, new Fantasy. series. I'm hoping it has a fixed arc and doesn't just go on wandering forever.