Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs is the stunning sequel to Dragon Bones. Together, these books form the Hurog Duology. This review is rather short as revealing much more about the story would spoil the plot of the first book in the duology – in other words, who lives and who dies! While Dragon Bones can be read as a stand alone story, Dragon Blood assumes the reader has already read Dragon Bones and is familiar with its characters and the political structure of the Five Kingdoms.
It is four years after the events in Dragon Bones. Ward of Hurog is now the undisputed Hurogmeten, or head of the family of Hurog. He has spent the last few years rebuilding his keep and earning the trust and respect of his fellow Shavig noblemen. He is aware of the rumblings of rebellion in the Five Kingdoms, but he wants no part of it. His goals are to restore his keep and his lands and to achieve prosperity for his people.
Ward’s peaceful existence is brought to an abrupt halt by the sudden appearance of his old friend, Tisala. Tisala escaped the High King Jakoven’s torturer and is on the run. She has joined forces with rebels seeking to put Jakoven’s younger brother, Kellen, on the throne. Kellen has been imprisoned in the royal asylum for almost a decade and his health is deteriorating rapidly. His supporters need to get him out fast and Tisala thinks Ward is just the man they need to help them.
Meanwhile, Jakoven has a grudge to settle with Ward and his family. Soon after Tisala seeks protection at Hurog, the king’s forces arrive to escort Ward to the royal asylum. While his abusive father was alive, Ward had feigned stupidity to protect himself and his siblings from their father’s wrath. Now that his father is dead, everyone has come to realize that Ward is intelligent and perfectly capable of running Hurog. Jakoven, however, wishes to use Ward’s reputation as ammunition to destroy the family of Hurog. Using his latest lover, the evil mage named Jade Eyes, Jakoven plans to torture Ward with magic, then call him before an assembly and have him declared incompetent. Ward realizes that his only chance to save his family and Hurog is to join forces with the rebels and go to war against the king.
Dragon Blood is an excellent Fantasy featuring magic, dragons, dwarves and political intrigue. For romance fans, there’s a very nice love story between Ward and Tisala, but this is not the central theme of the book. Although I don’t read much Fantasy, I adored both Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood. They’ve earned a special place on my Keeper Shelf and I look forward to re-reading them in the future. Grade: A
Also Reviewed:
Dragon Bones (2002) by Patricia Briggs – Book 1 in the Hurog Duology
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I really have to read this author-I’ve heard such good things about her.
@Colette Patricia Briggs is a great author. She also writes the wonderful Mercy Thompson series which is UF.
An A? Sarah I think I need to get these books now!
I haven’t read these series of hers, although I do love her Mercy and Alpha & Omega books so I definitely want to check this one out! Great review.
They are on my shelves and purring to me…:D So weird how her other series don’t give me that “me-wants-now” vibe and this one does.
@Stacy ~ Hope you enjoy them!
@Wendy Patricia Briggs convinced me to like werewolves and now she’s done the same for dragons.
@Leontine Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels trilogy is also purring to me…
I have quite a few of PB other series on my shelves but I haven’t even heard of this one – and an A, now that doesn’t happen very often so I’m with Stacy on this one – Think I need to get these books now!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Briggs really is a great author. Like I said, I was kind of disappointed in this one–but I really just wanted it to be all about the romance between Ward and Tisala (romance reader that I am) so… yeah.
Two other books by her that really fun are Raven’s Shadow and Raven’s Strike.
Well worth an A.
These two books are timeless. A writer like Patricia Briggs can write just about anything and catch me up in her world, although it took me awhile to try the Mercy Thompson books. I wasn’t sure I’d like the heroine. And of course, I did. Sometimes one should just ignore blurbs, lol.
@Book Chick City These are fun reads. I loved the complexity of the characters. No one is entirely good, and only a couple are entirely evil.
@heidenkind I’ve taken note of the Raven books. Thank you!
@Carolyn
So true. I’d never have read either these books or the Mercy Thompson series if I’d been relying on the blurbs.