DM News:Book Review: The Bloodless Princes

[James Thomson]

I liked the first novella in this series, The Fireborne Blade, and hoped to see more adventures with our two heroines. I did not suspect I would get my wish quite so soon!

 

Saralene is now the High Mage, but the former holder of the title (recently deceased) has other plans for her. With her trusted companion, the brave knight Sir Maddileh, she must travel to the domain of the eponymous princes and find some way to prevent her imminent demise. Along the journey, the two will also face a perhaps greater challenge—their feelings for each other.

Instead of the faux academic papers about dragons we had last time, this book breaks up the narrative with some short folk tales from the perspectives of both the humans and the dragons. The same events are seen quite differently, and the fun juxtaposition of the two feeds neatly into the story.

 

Despite the high stakes, this book feels slightly lighter in tone to the first one, particularly with the running commentary of their new feline companion. Which is not a complaint by any means! 

 

If this is all we get with these characters, the book provides a satisfying conclusion to the tale, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if we got more of these bite-sized tales every now and again, much like a fantasy equivalent of the Murderbot novellas by Martha Wells.

 

Recommended, alongside the first one.

 

Thanks to Tor Publishing for the early review copy.

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