Tag: james bennett

Raising Fire (Ben Garston, #2) by James Bennett

Raising Fire (Ben Garston, #2) by James Bennett
raisingfire

Red Ben, a dragon, is the last of his kind. He is a Remnant, one of the few magical creatures left to walk the earth after the sealing of magic by King John in 1215.

However, laws have been broken, the ancient guild of knights that was tasked with guarding the lore has been slaughtered and the religious branch of the pact is after Ben.

Meanwhile, the last fairy who guards the enchanted sleep of all of the magical creatures, as well as other ancient magics, has gone missing. Could things get much worse? Probably. Ben isn’t holding his breath.

I like the world James Bennett has created.

I also like Ben. He reminds me of a draconic Harry Dresden. He’s magic, cynical and sometimes makes mistakes when he’s tired.

And, like the wizard Harry Dresden, Ben protects the unsuspecting public from great evil and all manner of magical mischief makers.

“Ahead, an open space spread out before him. Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, at least offered a safer battleground. With a snap of his wings, he pushed himself after the dragon, flying beyond firing range. A moment of grace that he knew wouldn’t last. He was already too late.” pg 112

Raising Fire is the sequel to Chasing Embers. It delves more deeply into the legend of the fey and how they left the world, and their creatures, behind.

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In the great brier of fabulous beings, the Fay were like roses made of steel. The petals might look pretty enough, but if you didn’t watch your fingers, you’d quickly find out that they were sharper than razor blades.” pg 165

Readers also get to meet Jia, the Guardian of the East. A young being when her parents are put into the enchanted sleep, Jia grows and matures without her family and only the fairy that put them to sleep for a teacher. She plays an important role in this story.

Jia traipsed behind Ben through the valleys of treasure, her eyes wide, her feet crunching over jewels, kicking the occasional urn from her path. An enchanted light illuminated the cavern, shimmering from the treasure itself, gathered over centuries into a bed.” pg 202.

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Warning: Raising Fire ends on a cliffhanger. If such things bug you, you may want to wait to read it until the next book is out.

Recommended for readers who enjoy cynical heroes, urban fantasy and dragons.

Thanks for reading!

Chasing Embers by James Bennett

Chasing Embers by James Bennett

I seem to be on a dragon themed reading kick lately. And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s awesome!

Red Ben is a dragon, masquerading in human form so that he can walk down the street without everybody freaking out. Hundreds of years before this, he signed a pact called the Lore with a bunch of other magical creatures and knights, in which, he essentially agreed to hide his existence from humanity at large and the knights, in turn, would protect him. Tonight, he was attacked twice. What’s up with that? Ben doesn’t know, but he’s going to find out. He’s also had a falling out with his lady fair. Hiding your true nature from someone doesn’t make for a healthy relationship, but Ben’s enemies seem to know Rose’s (the girlfriend) name. So, now, he has to save his hide, her life, and still preserve the Lore.

Meanwhile, in a desert in Africa, an ancient power is awakening…

I enjoyed Chasing Embers. I really dig the basic premise that there’s a magical world existing alongside ours but we just can’t perceive it. Also, the idea that the Magna Carta wasn’t a political document but a secret, magical pact is fun too.“John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou, doth decree and grant this day, by common counsel of our kingdom, this Pact devised by the Curia Occultus and witnessed by those guardians of our realm. Those Remnants of the Old Lands, which yet linger amongst us, shall forthwith succumb to the Long Sleep…” loc 362, ebook.

The other magical creatures are straight up creepy- like magical creatures should be in my opinion. Also, Bennett seems to ascribe to the Terry Pratchett view that too much magic use thins the veil between worlds and draws attention of the things outside of this world to the magic user, which is also pretty creepy: “The nether wasn’t space, nor the ambient cosmos, but a place that lay beyond, or between, as inner as it was outer. Perhaps it was the raw, empyreal stuff of creation, for all Ben knew. Things lurked in that astral sea, creatures hungry for life, and all magic had its price. When a person drew on the nether- drew on it like a thread in a carpet- they risked unravelling the world entire.” loc 393, ebook.

The romance between Ben and Rose is just the perfect amounts of dysfunction and sparks (nothing graphic in here though for folks who look for such things): “I miss you,” she said, quiet and fierce. “I hate you.” Defeated, Ben rested his head on her shoulder, smoothing down the flowers on her dress. He let her anger hit him like a wave, tasting her muted fury at her love for him. Since he’d first crawled out of his egg, it had always been this way. Some women went for the knight. Others wanted the beast. Neither stood a chance of a happy ending.” loc 711, ebook.

Ben’s angst at his long-lived existence reminded me of Atticus in The Iron Druid Chronicles. He loves deeply but, at the same time, he realizes that those he loves aren’t going to be around that long: “Your love of humans. Do you never grow tired of it? You might as well love a sunbeam that flickers through a cloud. This world was not meant to hold them. Time will take them all so quickly. A blink in the life of a god.” loc 3112, ebook.

What kept Chasing Embers from being a five star read to me is that I thought Bennett explained himself too much. Leave some of the plot mysterious and murky, like magic itself. I don’t need to be spoon-fed why this happened or that happened. Otherwise, this was an excellent read. There’s some language in here and a few disturbing, physical descriptions, but nothing that a mature teen couldn’t handle. Highly recommended for urban fantasy and dragon readers!

Some read alikes: Hounded by Kevin Hearne or Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for a free, digital advanced reader’s copy of this book for review purposes.  And, thank you for reading!