∎ Descargar Free The Legions of Fire The Books of the Elements David Drake 9780765320780 Books

The Legions of Fire The Books of the Elements David Drake 9780765320780 Books

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The Legions of Fire The Books of the Elements David Drake 9780765320780 Books

Legions of Fire is David Drake's latest foray into the fantasy genre. Being the first book of a planned series, Legions of Fire starts off rather slow since it has to introduce the main characters and explain their backgrounds. About halfway through the story does pick up though so I would rank this as a worthwhile read.

The Pros:
1. A nice blending of Norse, Roman, and Babylonian mythology. This is the kind of thing you would expect from some trashy pulp-fiction novel or even fan-fiction stories but Drake makes it look natural without making it look like he's showing off. He puts his PHD to good use!

2. Magic from mythology. The magic in this novel is the magic our ancient ancestors thought was real. This is not Dungeons and Dragon magic where you cast a spell and get a +2 modifier to your armor. This is the magic we find in stories like Beowulf and the tales of Hercules.

The Cons:
1. Starts slow. Being the first book in the series the book has to take some time to explain the setting and the characters. About midway through the story it does pick up though.

Conclusion:
Well worth buying and well worth reading. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series!


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The Legions of Fire The Books of the Elements David Drake 9780765320780 Books Reviews

This book is set in classical Roman times, although the author protests the city is not Rome. The plot is similar in type to the "Lord of the Isles" books. Anyone who enjoyed them will enjoy this book.
Great
I have read most of David Drake's military science fiction, which I really like, and much of his historical fiction, which I mostly like. This series, The Books of the Elements, seems to lack something that most of his body of work has. It seems to formulaic, as if the author had decided that he had certain points he wanted to make and had to stretch the material to fit the number of books required by the contract. Sorry David, I do really like most of your work!
I didn't know about this series. I love almost all of David Drake's work, particularly when he can highlight the actual history behind his stories.
This book is the first in a planned 4-book series and therefore spends some time introducing the characters and setting. However, one thing David Drake is very good at is developing characters and settings continually while still moving events forward, so it flows more seamlessly than the vast majority of stand-alone fantasy. In fact, it's far more readable than the Lord of the Rings books, as Drake never need long, drawn-out exposition to explain his backgrounds--he integrates them into his descriptions seamlessly.

Drake's writing is masterful. He can describe more about a setting or person in a sentence than most authors can in a paragraph, and more in a paragraph than most could fit in a chapter. Compared to him, most other authors seem repetitive and long-winded, or even boring. I discovered Drake at an early age, and his writing spoiled me to the point where I find many legendary authors, such as Tolkien, almost unreadable.

The characters are interesting, and develop noticeably during the course of events, both in themselves and in their relationships with one another. Drake has become a master at twining separate plot threads together over the course of the story, so that characters separate and come together at crucial moments, each one working and developing separately but also working together.

The book uses historical Rome, elements of Greco-Roman mythology and Norse mythology, and Drake's unique, somewhat-surreal fantasy-land building to create a world that is gritty and realistic while still bizarre and fantastical. The characters are realistically frightened and perplexed by the mystical places and things happening, but don't get stymied or require other characters to explain every detail of the magical world to them like most fantasy. They just deal with it as it comes, despite their confusion and fear, triumphing through their unique skills, their courage, and their friendship. This is what makes Drake's heroes different than most fantasy heroes who either luck into their victories or are utterly unflappable and do not know the meaning of "fear."

That said, I give this book four stars because it's not QUITE as good as Drake's Lord of the Isles books, which may be the best fantasy series ever written. This may be unfair, as this is only one book and the Lord of the Isles series is ten. Regardless, if you liked the Lord of the Isles books, you'll like this. If you haven't read the Lord of the Isles books, read them. You'll probably read this when you're done with them, anyway.
I like the book quite a bit. The alternate universe touched on the mythology of the era without being enslaved by it. Even the character that was closest to a modern era person was the product of a different reality (Rome was a much harsher reality than current life), the players in the game had to reflect that.
While I enjoyed reading the book, I am kinda frustrated that only sells the first and last book of the series of 4. In my eyes that's kinda stupid.
David Drake is a master of military fiction and fearsome horror author. Fantasy may be his bane, though.
In a world like Imperial Rome, we follow four people as they learn magic is very real in their world. And that their world is about to end in fire. The way they learn this, and fight it, is surreal and that surrealism makes the story and story structure awkward. If you can forge through it then you find a splendid payoff, but I understand why others regard this one poorly.
Legions of Fire is David Drake's latest foray into the fantasy genre. Being the first book of a planned series, Legions of Fire starts off rather slow since it has to introduce the main characters and explain their backgrounds. About halfway through the story does pick up though so I would rank this as a worthwhile read.

The Pros
1. A nice blending of Norse, Roman, and Babylonian mythology. This is the kind of thing you would expect from some trashy pulp-fiction novel or even fan-fiction stories but Drake makes it look natural without making it look like he's showing off. He puts his PHD to good use!

2. Magic from mythology. The magic in this novel is the magic our ancient ancestors thought was real. This is not Dungeons and Dragon magic where you cast a spell and get a +2 modifier to your armor. This is the magic we find in stories like Beowulf and the tales of Hercules.

The Cons
1. Starts slow. Being the first book in the series the book has to take some time to explain the setting and the characters. About midway through the story it does pick up though.

Conclusion
Well worth buying and well worth reading. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series!