Robots and Vamps

Reviewed by Matt

Disclosure: The hardback version of this novel was purchased by the reviewer’s own hard earned cash.

This novel was definitely what I would call a “cover art purchase” as I was not aware that it was being released. While we were on our weekly Friday bookstore trip, I spotted The Adamantine Palace on an end cap display. The cover art was jaw dropping, an armored knight riding an armored dragon, I knew I had to read it. Because we all known that if the cover art is cool then the story will follow suit (insert sarcastic chuckle). Actually, for the most part, The Adamantine Palace is a solid debut novel by Stephen Deas with very little weaknesses but not quite a homerun either. This is first book in a planned series known as The Memory of Flames.

This first question the reader should have about The Adamantine Palace, does the story really center around dragons? The answer is a solid yes. Mr. Deas’ spin on this subject is that only the very wealthy and royalty are allowed to own dragons. There are only two types’ of dragons, hunting and war mounts. The hunting dragons are smaller and more agile than the powerful and bulky war mounts. The breeding of the dragons is closely monitored by the Alchemists to make sure that each and every dragon is drugged throughout its life. If a dragon is taken off the drug then they turn into a very dangerous animal bent on destruction of humankind.

One of the plot threads involves a rare all white dragon, called Snow, escaping its handlers thereby being free from the power of the Alchemist’s drugs. Slowly Snow begins to realize what captivity has meant to the dragons and the prison they have kept in for a very long time. But being a dragon, which means that they are also animals with bad tempers, Snow looks to seek revenge on all humans and especially the Alchemists.

The other more predominant plot thread is a political thriller. This is pretty much of a straightforward telling for the struggle to become the next Speaker of the Realms. The Speaker is a Queen or King who is nominated into that position and will serve the next ten years as the unchallenged ruler over the realms. The current Speaker, Hyram, has agreed to follow a past agreement and name Queen Shezira as the next Speaker. But there is plot by Prince Jehal and Queen Zafir to subvert this agreement that is pretty ingenious once it all comes at the end of the novel.

For me, the two best authors of being able to structure a taught, tension filled political type fantasy story are Brandon Sanderson and Ken Scholes. Mr. Deas is just a step behind in his story as I didn’t quite feel the tension as the layers of the story unfolded. When the final betrayal hit, it was only a minor surprise as it was foreshadowed all throughout the story. I felt that the story was missing a certain level of apprehension that is created when putting characters into bad situations.

The one main quibble I had with the story was the pacing. As with any debut novel it can be alittle erratic at times. For the first hundred pages the story is building nicely and the reader is introduced to all of the characters. The novel is getting into a good rhythm when it suddenly veers to the left. Out of the blue we are introduced to the dragon Snow and its struggle to become independent. It was a very jarring transition. All the characters that the story had been following previously are forgotten for the next fifty pages or so. Eventually the two stories are then melded together. From this point forward both of the stories have equal time and everything works out fine by the end.

The other quibble I had was that there was no map. For some reason I really like referring back to a map in fantasy stories in order to keep track of the action. This is not a fair criticism to the author or the book but I just like my maps. Probably goes back to my D&D days?

While not wholly original I did enjoy the symbiotic relationship between the humans and the dragons.  They form a sort of a horse-master type of relationship.  The humans do care for their beasts, but they still are beasts who can breathe fire.   There are enough fascinating elements in the story to build upon in future volumes.

The Adamantine Palace is an above average debut fantasy novel but not quite in the same level as The Warded Man or Lamentation. It is very solid story with no major missteps or gaffs but in the end, I did not get totally suck into the story. Mr. Deas has created a very interesting world with a subculture that involves dragons which should serve for some very fascinating sequels.

Author’s site: Stephen Deas