About

Ascendant is the first book in the Songs Of Chaos series written by Michael R. Miller.

Ascendant book cover

Blurb

Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean.

Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within.

But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows.

Review

Dragon bond is one of my favorite trope. The relationship between Holt and Ash in this book was good, especially their beginning bonding process, magical progress and adapting to Ash's blindness. However, I did wish that there was some extended period of relaxed exploration instead of consistently going from one conflict to another. Given the ending, perhaps I might get my wish in the next book.

I also enjoyed the progression magic system and food based identification of a dragon's magic type. Props to the author for showing how Holt relates some concepts based on his cooking knowledge.

Apart from Holt, I also liked the world weary mentor character, providing knowledge and wry humor. Pacing was fast throughout the book, given the abundance of action scenes.

Also, undead/zombies are one of my least favorite tropes, good that I didn't know before reading the book.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Christine Sandquist's review on goodreads:

Super tropey, but it honestly hit the spot for me. I'm a sucker for dragons, and progression fantasy is always fun and keeps me really invested. This is a traditional dragonrider society vs threat sort of book (think Pern) but with a hard magic twist.

From Sharon's review on goodreads:

A classic fantasy coming of age trope featuring an unexpected protagonist/hero. Really enjoyed. Loved that Ash the dragon is also imperfect - provides a whole extra layer.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2022 bingo categories:

  • Author Uses Initials
  • Self-Published OR Indie Publisher
  • No Ifs, Ands, or Buts
  • Family Matters