New Books In Literature

The Draconis Memoria series is comprised of a trilogy set in a world where drake (dragon) blood is a prized commodity, the basis of the trading fortune of the Ironship Syndicate. It is a brilliant, savage adventure. When I jumped in with Anthony Ryan’s latest release, ominously named The Empire of Ashes (Ace, 2018), I soon realized I couldn’t do justice to the detailed, intricately plotted series without reading all three. In for a penny, in for a pound. August, September, and October found me delving into a world with various cultures: a decadent empire, complete with a doddering emperor, and another continent in thrall to a powerful corporation. There were steaming jungles, barren mountains, and ice floes overlaying ocean-bed volcanoes In addition to the challenges of noting the terrain and politics, there are multiple points of view, as in most adult epic fiction. From my reading, two main characters emerged, and tied together the evolving narrative. Lizanne Lethridge is a ruthless Special Initiatives Agen