Review: The Dragon Legion by Isaac Hill
Blurb:
Broken generations ago in the Cleansing,The Sunborn Bloodline persists.
Dragh the Sunborn Empire’s last son rises in the ranks of the Second Legion, a Legion of criminals. Sent to quell the rebelling Northern Tribes, the last Sunborn son finds himself in a cruel world of politics, murder and betrayal as he struggles to survive.
Welcome to the Sunborn Series, where Empires rise, fall and against all odds, rise again.
The Dragon Legion is born.
Review:
The Dragon Legion is the first book in the Sunborn Series from debut author, Isaac Hill. It’s the beginning of what is promised to be a multi-generational epic, and if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, I don’t know what will.
This story closely follows the character Dragh, heir to the Sunborn King’s throne, and member of the Second, a legion comprised of criminals. The story kicks off with the total upheaval of Dragh’s life, and I thought it was done brilliantly. From the gritty tones and setting of the first chapter through to the end of the book, the pages would not stop flying. Within fifty pages, we are already seeing the legion fight in a siege, have their leader replaced, and more.
In many ways, there is an undercurrent of desperation and urgency to Isaac’s prose; this reminded me a lot of Bridge Four in The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, both in tone and story direction. Occasionally, the prose can be a little too short and punchy, taking away from moments where impact could have been more carefully placed. But this is a small complaint for me, and didn’t impact my overall read of the story very much. Where The Dragon Legion differs from The Way of Kings, however, is in Dragh’s character, who acts with a stoicism I only wish I could adopt in my own life. In the face of many tribulations, both in the past and the near future, Dragh is a realist, and this appears to be the driving force for much of the plot/backstory development.
There are some other really cool things happening with this book too, that I think fills a gap in the current fantasy market. For a start, there is a definite influence from the thriller/crime genre here; this feels like the kind of high-quality page turner you could pick up from Lee Childs or Matthew Reilly and smash through on a single plane ride, fused with classic fantasy. The book does not stop or slow down once. There are also many funny moments that paralleled my own reading experience of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series for the first time, which I loved as a way of breaking up the mood and monotony of a military-driven fantasy.
I don’t mean for the word ‘monotony’ to show that I felt bored reading this story–in fact, I felt quite the opposite. However, I’m not naturally a military fantasy reader, because in that genre, tone tends to hang over the story a little like a storm cloud, and there is never much variation from the ‘army’s needs must’ plotline. Those who are military fantasy fans, though, will perhaps find comparisons to David Gemmell’s character Druss the Legend, who I did actually enjoy reading the many adventures of as a young adult. In that same vein, I found myself reminded of the close character storytelling of RA Salvatore’s Drizzt books, mixed with the quick pacing of Conn Iggulden’s historical fiction novels.
Overall, this is a fantastic, fast-paced military fantasy debut that makes its mark in a world where reinventing the genre wheel is always prioritised. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for innovation in fantasy and sci-fi, but sometimes a book that feels inspired by the classics and does everything it sets out to do well is a welcome read. I can therefore highly recommend The Dragon Legion, and look forward to how Isaac continues the sequence in future.
