Nice Dragons Finish Last

Heartstrikers, Book 1

By: Rachel Aaron

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Fantasy, 2016

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don't cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience. Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ - a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit - Julius has one month to prove he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he's going to need some serious help to survive this test. He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons....

©2014 Rachel Aaron (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Vikas Adam's streamlined voice can smoothly shift from the easygoing tones of Julius to the venomous arrogance of his mother, Bethesda.... Adam pays close attention to the characters and their evolution. For instance, as Marci becomes further empowered, the nervous quaver in her voice lessens. This is urban fantasy at its best." ( AudioFile)

Amazing!

Any additional comments?

You guys, this book was amazing! I did not want it to end. From it's well developed characters to it's witty dialogue, Nice Dragons Finish Last is a must read for everyone!!

This is without a doubt on of my favourite books ever! I devoured it. Everything was amazing and I'm going to list all my loves, though there aren't any dislikes because this book was magnificent.

I adored all the characters. Julius is the runt of the fearsome Heartstriker litter and has spent his whole life trying to avoid his many family members. His mother has had enough and sent him off to Detroit to try to prove himself. Before she sends him though, she seals his dragon within it's human form. Now Julius is no fearsome Dragon but he misses the abilities his dragon form gave him.

Julius is sent to the heart of the DMZ with one goal in mind and that was to survive and try to win his mothers favour before she eats him for being too nice! Julius goes to his brother who gives him the task of retrieving a runaway Dragon who doesn't want to be found. Seems easy, right? Wrong, Detroit is the magical capital and there are people and things here that will kill Dragons on site. that's why Julius is perfect for the job, with his Dragon sealed, he is no threat to anyone. With no money, no resources Julius has to find help in a city that wants to kill him.

So yay, poor Julius is thrown out of his family for being too nice and told unless he turns into a proper Dragon his mother will eat him (literally). Despite the very real threat hanging over his head, he doesn't change. He is nice, polite, strong and brave! I loved him!!

Then we have Marci. She is forced to run to the DMZ because her father was killed and the man who killed him wants her as well. She stole something from him that he is desperate to get back. She does a job for an old woman and ends up living in a house haunted by a dead cat! She is a mage and a strong one at that. She is desperate for money though and one evening ends up asking Julius if he needs any Mage services. Julius has no choice but to take up her offer of help because the runaway Dragoness is at a party filled with magic users. Marci and Julius strike up an agreement, with neither aware of what they are in for.

Marci is a spunky and brave Mage. She is not afraid of doing things that need to be done and when she says she will do a job, she really does it. She will take no crap from anyone, no matter what they are! She is awesome. I adored Marci and Julius together, they really work well together and each brings certain strength that compliments the other. Julius being nice and Marci being tough!! I loved seeing their friendship grow and hope we see it grow a bit more in future books!!

Julius has a lot of family but their were 3 major players in this book, Justin, the favourite brother who wields the families blade. He is everything that Julius isn't but still comes to Julius aid. Then we have Chelsea, she is the Dragon enforcer and is sent to right any wrongs that happen. She cleans up the Heartstriker messes and has a tough time in Detroit for various reasons because a lot can go wrong!

Then we have Bob. Bob was awesome. He is the Heartstriker seer and as Julius says, is quite mad! There are only ever 3 seers! Bob is hilarious at times and I can't wait to read more about him in the next installment!

The world building is another thing I adored. Magic came back into the world, along with many magical creatures and Detroit has a lot of them!! I loved finding out about the world and the creatures, I mean they even have a creature that eats magic from other creatures!! I loved when the gang are underground fighting the things in the water! So many fantastical creatures in one book!

There were so many laugh out loud moments in this book as well. I found myself flying through the book and not wanting to put it down. I laughed so hard near the end when Bob said the Star Wars quote! It was epic!!

Anyway, I think you can tell how much I loved this book!! It's so well written that you find yourself immersed in the world along with Julius. The author has created a magical and fantastical world filled with amazing characters. I adored everything about this book and urge everyone to read it!

I listened to the audio and it was epic. I wasn't just listening to it, I was in the story! It really brought the story to life and the narrator was fantastic. I loved how he did Bob!! He did a lot of different voices and did them so well. The book is brilliant but the audio was the icing on the cake. It's one I know I will listen to again and again and again!!

Light Urban Fantasy

I am not a big fan of urban fantasy -- where magic has somehow entered the modern world -- and where various magical creatures (dragons in this case) use cell phones, order pizza, and drink coffee. Still I enjoyed this book and would probably buy the next book in the series. The main character is good -- and he does experience some genuine character development. And his brother Bob and sister Jessica are also pretty good. But the main female character got a bit annoying -- implausibly focused on her own interests even when she is about to get herself and the hero killed. The performance was good. I especially liked the dragons with Russian accents.

Ahhhh nice listen

This author has the same skill set as Lev Grossman, Neill Gaiman to create an original fantasy, with great characters & story. If you like both authors mentioned you will like this book. The only difference there is no swearing or sex include in this story. Narator was spot on. This is one of the few books that I listened almost straight thru. Only disappointment is book 2 is not out.

great book

very similar to web mage series by Kelly McCullough. the magic is creatively used, and the story pulls you along through the book never slowing down.

imaginative and playful

really good story plot moves quickly, narrator has a pleasant voice and does different voices for character dialog. I got book to right away I have to know more about this world.

Great Story

Where does Nice Dragons Finish Last rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love it Listened to it twice already & really want the 3rd book ASAP

Really pleasant listen

If you could sum up Nice Dragons Finish Last in three words, what would they be?

magical hilarious entertaining

What did you like best about this story?

This book moved at a fast pace, the action had lulls so you could relax but they were not long enough for you to get bored and want to skip ahead.

What about Vikas Adam’s performance did you like?

Very smooth read, I did not notice any bad chops or mispronounced words. Excellent voicing for characters, enough so I could hear a voice without being drawn out of the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No this is a 12 hour book it took me a couple days listening on my echo pausing when I was disturbed by people wandering in, or activities distracted me. But entertaining enough that I rushed people so I could get back to my story.

Any additional comments?

Funny for all ages, nothing I would not feel comfortable listening to with a child around. Some kissing and longing but no sex and the violence was minor and mostly magical.

Nice

Good story telling, mostly well paced, interesting characters, decent world building, nice take on some common paranormal creatures. Overall enjoyable. Very Nice.

Well Done. YA Category

I'd heard the title before, but it wasn't until the Anniversary Sale that I opted to buy. I'm glad I did. This story is everything it's hyped to be without true horror. It has a slight romantic interest without escalating the story to sec. A relaxing "read". Yes, Adam's narration is everything it's hyped to be. Again, Well Done!

A review from a middle aged dude

As a middle aged guy my biases thought I was the wrong target audience for this book since its a "young adult novel" with handsome dragons. I happened to get it during a buy 1 get 1 audible promotion and now I'm on book 5 (the latest book).

The characters are smart, when try to be non-violent they have to persuade other people with words and Julius takes multiple angles and perspectives to convince other characters, starting from less risky to eventually desperate pleads. There's a consistent internal logic in every character's arguments and motivates. Which is just intelligent writing for me.