Ascendant

A Dragon Rider Fantasy (Songs of Chaos, Book 1)

De: Michael R. Miller

Narrado por: Peter Kenny

From the author of The Dragon’s Blade Trilogy and the narrator of The Witcher series, comes the start of a new dragon rider epic combining the best of Eragon and Pern with the hard magic of Brandon Sanderson and Will Wight.

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.

Holt has one chance to survive. He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon's magical core. A unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come, and prove to the world that a servant is worthy after all.

Winner of the 2021 National Indie Excellence Award for Fantasy!

Bronze Medal, 2021 YA Epic Fantasy in the Reader's Favorite Award

Finalist, 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Fantasy

Gold Medal, 2022 Science Fiction & Fantasy eLit Awards

©2020 Michael R. Miller (P)2020 Michael R. Miller

Dragons, zombies, and coming of age story

Old riff, done well and with new twists. Flavors of Anne McCaffrey, xanxia/ LitRPG without the game mechanics, and zombies. Comes off as YA because of clean language and no sex scenes— not a negative unless that is what you were looking for. Satisfying character development, and growing complexity after a simple start. Great reader for these characters. Will buy next book pre-sale :-)

It is not often I give 5 stars!

Finding good books can be a challenge. Good books for me usually mean – clean (no sex and limited to no profanity), an engaging storyline, and believable characters. I really think it says a lot about an author who can craft a story without feeling the need to include “adult content”. Because of my unusually high standards, I often find it hard to discover good books. So I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered Ascendant (Songs of Chaos Book 1) by Michael R. Miller. It meets all my qualifications and is story I can recommend to anyone (child and adult), without reservations.

Miller describes this series as “combining the best of Eragon/How To Train Your Dragon with eastern inspired magic systems of Xianxia and cultivation fantasy”, and I would agree. However, I would take it one step further and say that Miller’s style of writing is far more developed than Christopher Paolini’s Eragon. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved Eragon and read and re-read it as a teen.) However, Miller’s Ascendant delves more deeply into the characters; you see the character’s internal struggles, which makes them more relatable and even more courageous because you know their fears and insecurities.

What I liked most about this story is that it affirms the dignity of life, even that of the unborn. Holt is tasked with destroying a dragon egg because the Matriarch sensed an imperfection in it. However, Holt is unable to follow through with the task because it “just feels wrong” (Chapter 5). Later, when an opportunity presents itself, Holt rescues the dragon egg, intending to protect it until he can release it into the wild. Of course, things don’t go as planned, and the dragon egg hatches before Holt can release it. The dragon inside is blind.

As the story continues both Ash (the dragon) and Holt face many obstacles, one of which is the hostility of the other dragons who believe Ash should not be allowed to live. Holt feels increasing guilt for the struggles Ash faces, both because he is blind and because he is ostracized by the other dragons. When Holt mentions this to Ash, Ash sums it up quite nicely saying “Never worry about my eyes – I’m glad to experience the world as I do rather than not at all. As for others of my kind, they can accept me or not as they choose. I will not allow my own worth to be determined by them.” (Chapter 54)

In today’s society where we can abort the unborn simply because we do not want the responsibility of raising a child or because the child is going to be born with “imperfections” (disabilities/deformities), this book provides a reminder that all life has value. Whether or not the author intended this, I do not know. However, I will say it is refreshing and one of my favorite aspects of the book. I look forward to the second book in the series and in the meantime will enjoy his other book series – The Dragon’s Blade.

I will be adding this book to my Favorites list, and it has even made it in the top-10.

Surprisingly Well-Developed and Accessible

LitRPG-style stories can feel like a bit of a grind sometimes (pun intended) due to corny-feeling rank and experience systems, but this story of Holt and Talia is well-rounded with the intriguing and exciting story and likable characters being prioritized well above LitRPG elements. The world feels rich and deep as well, with a larger challenge overlaying smaller obstacles that range from political intrigue to personal loss to courage in the face of disability to a straight-up terrifying local invasion. I will definitely listen to the next installment if/when it becomes available.

I am in LOVE with this new series.

Michael R Miller's Ascendant (Book 1 in the Songs of Chaos series) is a wonderful adventure for those missing great dragon rider stories.

An homage to McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern series, with the moving of damaged eggs and the feeing of the hatchlings. This is a new spin, with magic and new types of dragons.

Holt and Ash must grow up quicker than any dragon and rider of the Crag. Intrigue in the palace court and betrayal by those sworn to protect the land from the Scourge. Two dragons have survived the attack and must help those on their travel to the palace.

Watch this new series by a young author! I foresee many years of wonderful adventures.

Enjoyed!

I truly enjoyed this book, love the Author,it was one I didn’t want it to end. Can’t wait for the rest of the series and will be checking out Mr. Millers other works.

Great Listen

Quite enjoyed the story and characters. Looking forward to starting book 2 and finding out what happens next! For those who finish book 1 I highly recommend reading the novella about Brode.

top 5 favorite book

One of the best I've ever read. I cant recoommend reading this enough. Ash is my favorite.

I'm Glad I Decided On This

I seriously debated whether to get this book or not, but finally decided to take a chance. I'm so glad I did! I totally enjoyed listening to this book. I actually preferred it to Brisinger.
A youth, on the brink of becoming an apprentice cook under his father, steals an imperfect dragon egg set aside for destruction. This story follows his path as he and his dragon, despite being rejected for their imperfections, grow in strength and responsibility. The author did a good job of showing the process of a boy seeing his ideals slowly replaced by the realities of the world around him.

Unfortunately, the sequel isn't out yet, but I knew that when I bought it. I'm keeping a credit available for it. Take a chance on this book if you like books about young men growing up with dragons, books by Paolini or Mccaffrey, or books with swords and magic.

I would rate this YA book PG, only for the blood and war.

I recommend this book.

An unexpected surprise

I wasn’t looking for this and it came across my attention. I gave it a try and loved it. Great story, nice twist and the ending had me wanting more. Can’t wait for the next book.

Great Book

It was a fun coming of age story. The Dragons and magic were interesting. The series has a lot of potential. I am looking forward to a sequel.