My next “fresh” read is a return to James Harrington’s Drakin series, with a book that happens between the previously published books. The book stays true to the series but also reads differently…

The book takes place a couple of decades after book two (I think it’s 50 or 70 years). The opening goes to characters fro the first two books – Qira, since book two a senator, and Rayia with Jagger – the pair form the first book who are nearing the end of their natural lifespan. This answers one of my unanswered question from those books – Rayia’s lifespan – almost right away. It also mentions when did dragons gained the ability to shapeshift, answering a lingering question from the next book, Empire of Ashes. Then, it introduces the major villain, a creature lurking in shadows, more powerful than the dragon lords from book one.

After that, the attention turns to a high school where humans and dragons study together, focusing on Asher and Taryn, a pair that doesn’t understand each other but are made to work together on a science project. For a while, it seems to be a typical high-school story, until Taryn becomes haunted by way too vivid nightmares – and cause her to lose control over herself. Soon, it becomes obvious there’s something worse going on.

Then, pretty much a single moment starts a downward spiral that brings Asher and Qira together to stop this hidden evil from becoming a threat to both dragons and humans. The ending, however, isn’t much about combat but about overcoming one’s inner demons for all the involved characters.

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Read date: 29.-31.5.2021
Published: 23.5.2021 (announcement)
Amazon link (Goodreads still hasn’t listed the book properly, so no link there yet as it may get broken soon). Book not yet rated apart from me.
My rating: 85%
Length: 349 pages (Kindle edition)
My highlights

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As said above, the book stays true to the series but is more psychological rather than a war story, as is the case with the other books. The ending is quite emotional, and so is seeing off some of the returning characters. And while the book answers many lingering questions I had from the other books, it may’ve raised one or two new questions…

As I was re-reading the first two books before release (and will read the last one right after this), I can make some direct comparisons and connections. Reviews for the previous books: Story of Rayia, Orphans of Haven, Empire of Ashes.