Review: Empire of Dirt by Philip C. Quaintrell

Blub:

THE ECHOES OF FATE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. THE WORDS UTTERED A THOUSAND YEARS AGO WILL COME TO PASS, AND A NEW AGE WILL DAWN…

War is set to ravage Illian. The elves sail from the east. The savage Darkakin rise from the south. Valanis, the dark elf, is finally free of his prison and eager to see his work finished. Only then will he be free of the gods who still haunt him.

A new hope rises in The Red Mountains. There, the last remaining dragons have been discovered. Gideon and Galanör, human and elf, will have to work together if they are to convince Adriel, the last of the Dragorn order, to intervene in the coming war.

Devoid of hope and unsure what road to take, Asher and his companions must decide what role they will play as the realm unravels into bloodshed. The only weapon known to rival Valanis’ power is in a place the ranger has avoided for a long time, a place where, until now, neither man nor elf would dare to tread.

Civil war has shattered the empire in The Arid Lands as the slaves make their stand against the highborns. But, while revolution brews, a greater threat looms. As a thunderous cacophony of steel and savagery marches through The Undying Mountains, who will stand before this army of death…

EMPIRE OF DIRT CONTINUES THIS UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES.

Review:

For a lone ranger, Asher sure has made a lot of friends. Empire of Dirt is a huge step up from Rise of the Ranger, and so far has been an incredibly fun read. You see “if we stand aside, you and your master would have Verda become an empire of dirt.” 

The Echoes Saga consists of 9 books, 3 trilogy arcs, that altogether make The Echoes Saga. This means Empire of dirt is not only the second book of 9, it is also the second book of the first arc in The Echoes Saga. Those are some big boots to fill. After being left wanting more from Rise of the Ranger, I quickly jumped head first back into the world of Asher. 

The story picks up from the moment Rise of the Ranger ends, so it was great to pick up straight away. There were moments in book 1, where the pacing felt slow, not dull necessarily, just extremely slow, it was easy to lose focus at times. But in Empire of Dirt, Quaintrell pulls out all the stops, I couldn’t put this one down. War continues to grow rampant across Illian, the characters will have a lot of work to do, including keeping themselves hopeful, are they all up to the task? Can they deal with the truths they might learn, or will it break them? 

“When given a common cause, humans are capable of a great many things.” 

Being in my mid 30’s, I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy a cast of characters who are mostly all in their 30’s and older; even those who are thousands of years old, act as if they are in their 30’s-40’s. It is extremely refreshing actually, reading an epic fantasy of characters who are the same age as me. Not only do we have the cast he is travelling with now, but we also meet friends from his previous adventures. There are various characters from his past that crop up again throughout the series and this is just the beginning. It is also extremely fun, with some of the entertainment and jokes that are placed throughout the book. They are subtle, but they are enough to make you note them, highlight them, or tab them. 

“Did any of you see the man behind the bar? He had hair on his face!” 

Dragons, they are a common part of classic fantasy. Dragonrider is definitely even more on the rise at the moment and this is not an issue. When described well that image of yourself on dragon back, flying, spiralling, plummeting, that sense of freedom, is invigorating. Gideon and Ilargo’s bond is a feeling anyone would want, that feeling of knowing someone completely, being able to give yourself fully to them, and get the same back. The knowledge shared, the history of Verda, the complexities between humans and elves, the revelations on the purpose of the Dragorn. It is one of the highlights for me; I love lore. 

One of the biggest steps from Rise of the Ranger, is the descriptions used for combat. If you are like me, you are also a movie enthusiast, you might play Dungeons and Dragons, or you have an extremely vivid imagination, those fights you read, need to be as real as those depicted on screen. For me, this was taken to the next level in Empire of Dirt, Quaintrell took what he had built from book 1, and he threw more at it. What can I say? It paid off. 

Empire of Dirt all in all, was even better than Rise of the Ranger, which apart from the slow pace of the first part of Rise of the Ranger, would have been hard to beat. But looking back, this was needed. The stakes are high, the conflict is rising, battles are getting bigger, we are heading for an epic finale of the first arc in The Echoes Saga. I cannot wait to see how this first arc ends.

Read Michael's review of Rise of the Ranger (The Echoes Saga: Book 1)