The Dragon's Egg

Dragonfall, Book 1

By: David A. Wells

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Seventy-five years ago, the dragons fell from the sky. We thought they were just meteorites - six terrifying explosions rang the world like a bell. When the dust settled, we went on with our lives as though nothing had happened.

More than a decade later, five of the eggs hatched. The dragons that emerged were small and weak. They kept to the shadows, working in secret to persuade people to do their bidding, offering magic as payment and reward. Years passed...and still we didn't notice the evil growing in our midst.

The war began suddenly. Survivors called it the "apocalypse" - nine billion people killed in an afternoon. Then the dragons revealed themselves, burning huge swaths of what remained, taunting and mocking and murdering the survivors.

Four leaders arose: the Wizard, the Dragon Rider, the Monk, and the Dragon Slayer. Allied with the rebel dragon, they waged war for years until they, too, were defeated, scattered, or killed.

When the war ended, only one dragon remained...but that single dragon was enough to plunge the world into tyranny.

©2015 David A. Wells (P)2016 Podium Publishing

Acting out of character

PG 13: No sex, some cussing, lots of blood and gore. Told in 3rd person, set in modern world /USA in a post-apocalyptic setting, about 65 years after dragons hatched and detonated man-made bombs all over the world. Tyrant dragon and his priests and dragon guards rule the world through dark blood magic, having outlawed technology, electricity, etc. Characters span gender and age, with the young hero Benjamin 16 years old and his wise grandfather Cyril about 80.

Why two stars? Characterization is weak. The characters feel like cardboard. Imogen, an adult woman, cries all the time. No reason is ever given for the horrible way Franklin treats Benjamin, even though twins usually share a bond. Frank is repeatedly stupid (like leaving camp without a weapon) but he’s also depicted as shrewd and calculating.

But the worst characterization breach? No reason is given for wise old Cyril to summon a demon in the presence of two untrustworthy people (Nash and Frank), despite his own dire warnings about what could happen if anyone draws the demon’s attention. So why didn’t he have them bound and gagged before the summoning? Why not use the tranquilizer gun to put them to sleep? Apparently, Cyril is not wise. He’s quite stupid. Careless. Thick as a brick. Despite all the chapters extolling his wisdom. Character breached badly to drive the plot. Grrr.

Derek Perkins is an excellent narrator, but this story doesn’t allow him to shine. He deserves clever dialogue and interesting characters.

I tried so hard to enjoy this book

I wanted to like this book. I really did. The world building was awesome and I was really interested in the lore behind the world he was creating. Yet, I couldn't finish the book.

The audio performance was good, but there was a serious lack of imagery and if there were some descriptions, they were pretty vague. This led me to be taken out of the story many times, as I had to try and figure out what each character looked like by the voice the narrator had given them, on top of their vague descriptions.

Not only was the imagery not really there, but his over use of "[name] said" made the book feel lazily written and not as expanded upon as it could have been.

Honestly, if the imagery and better descriptions were there, I probably would have finished and enjoyed this book, as the world is a very interesting one. That being said, when you can barely visualize the characters nor the environments, it leads to a very confused reader and a rather lackluster book, no matter how good the story is.

A brilliant beginning!

I listened to Mr. Wells's Sovereign of the Seven Isles series and really enjoyed the books. He's brought his ability to tell a great story to a whole new level with this book however. He creates a mesmerizing post-apocalyptic world combining sci-fi and fantasy in a brilliant and original way and pulled off one of the most enjoyable books I've read or listened to in a few years. I have the second book downloaded and eagerly await starting it. I would recommend this book to any fan of the sci-fi or fantasy genres and I believe it's a great book for anyone who enjoys a good story to grab up even if you typically don't follow these genres. Give it a try, I guarantee you won't regret it!

Wyer Rider

Great book worth the cost will read all three. Just about anyone could enjoy the story line.

Cool story

I love the book but one thing that drives me nuts is that one char. can be so clueless and whinny... He really distracts from the story..

Abupt end.

What made the experience of listening to The Dragon's Egg the most enjoyable?

Derek Perkins of course.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

To be honest, it felt cut short...like the story was just beginning and then TA-DA it's over (until the next book) but not in a cliffhanger sort of way..in a "I had to get a book out by my deadline and this is what you got" kind of way.
It's interesting, but frustrating...and believe me I'm into a lot of unfinished series right now and I just don't feel the sense of closure at all that you even get from reading one book.

Which character – as performed by Derek Perkins – was your favorite?

Homer. My feet hurt.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

...this is a silly question.

Any additional comments?

It's a good start to a series, but it does end abruptly. You do care for the characters and it's a little bit of a Mary Sue..or..Gary Stu? the guy version? It's a very interesting post-apocalyptic setting which is the most intriguing to me that I think I'll seek out other books of that genre, but for all the build up there was no climax or anything, just a ''oh this happened and now the book is over."
Maybe wait until 3 books are out before you start with this series simply for the fact that the story is a bit forgettable at this point. The 2nd book is due out this November so that's a good thing, but honestly this book doesn't hold up to others as far as writing goes...still a fun listen.

Derek Perkins is a gem as always.

Exhausting to constantly generate the required forgiveness

You have absolutely stock characters all the way through... I mean absolutely stock. If there were a witch, she would have a cauldron and be namer Broomhilda and mutter specifically about eye of newt. — The big brute fighter is literally named “Hound” ... (because it’s not like the name is so generic there should be a genre-wide moratorium on anything like it...) and much the same, there’s a point where a posessed girl literally says, “Brittany doesn’t live here anymore.” ... because, why write anything? But you don’t really have expressed descriptions of the characters to begin with. So it appears the writer and editors know they come stock, and are fine with it. So naturally, you’re not at all compelled to care about them. Because why would you...?

great story

great story took me about two days to finish it couldn't put it down love the characters loved the plot and audible hurry and get Book number 2

Different and very good

I do not understand why we need to criticize imaginations, I enjoyed this and that does not mean everyone will enjoy it, it also means we need to allow for different tastes.

Captivating!

I love the lore, characters, plot of this world! Can't wait to read more especially now that we're learning more of tech and magic as well as how they relate to one another.

This is a fun mix of scifi and fantasy.

fantastic book

really enjoyable, a fantastic set of characters and a plot that will leave you wanting the next in the series

A Dark Dystopian Fantasy

A brilliantly dark, thought provoking fantasy. I really enjoyed the concepts of magic and reality. It takes a little while to warm up, but oh boy, once the action starts it does not stop. Excellent story telling!

good book and a brilliant listen

since listening to audible books ive only come across three authors and three narrators and david a wells has writen some good stories and the narrator derek perkins is brilliant at bringing these characters alive with each own voice.
and when i listen to him i find myself lost in that world.

Disappointing and slow moving

I have read a number of other books by Wells and this has some interesting bits but is a poor and slow story. The plot is simplistic and predictable.

One character can ruin a book

Would you try another book written by David A. Wells or narrated by Derek Perkins?

I think I would as I loved the idea of the story but definitely not another one in this trilogy

Any additional comments?

If this book did not have this one character in it I would have loved it but to me the constant hate and annoyance you are meant to feel for him takes away from the story. I often found that how people acted towards him didn't make sense to me either and so it would take me out of the story.

A great start to the trilogy

Fast paced and with a great character set. A combination of Dragons, magic and technology make for a super story. Not a dull moment. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Dragon fall

Thoroughly enjoyed this listen.
Well read easy listen.
Good story line.
Would highly recommended it

a good start

this was a excellent book that's seems to have started the set off really well can't wait to listen to the next book

unbelievably engrossing

this was my first audio book, I was half way through reading another book when I came across this and for the last 12 hours I have pretty much non stopped listening to this story is would recommend it to anyone!

WARNING ADDICTIVE READING

This book is best read when you are not expecting to do anything else. Brilliant and very entertaining.