What do you think?
Rate this book
Halcyon Blithe #2
Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe
Halcyon Blithe, being a young man of good breeding and lineage as well as endowed with the qualities and abilities recognized as great potential, is ready to seek his fortune among those who tend and sail the awesome nautical juggernauts--the dragonships which harness the bodies and strength of living dragons with seafaring technology--as he accepts his rank as Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe.
In the latest chapter of the young wizard's nautical education he finds himself second in command of a captured enemy vessel that must engage a demonship in combat. When he returns to port, Blythe is assigned duty on a dwarven dragonship. It is on this very ship that he and his shipmates encounter deceitful politics before they can regain the security of their Arcanian dragonship and trusted crewmates.
Combining elements of Hornblower with Harry Potter, and Robert Louis Stevenson with Robin Hobb, Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe is a nautical tale rich in magic and intrigue set against a panorama of fantastic naval battles.
In the latest chapter of the young wizard's nautical education he finds himself second in command of a captured enemy vessel that must engage a demonship in combat. When he returns to port, Blythe is assigned duty on a dwarven dragonship. It is on this very ship that he and his shipmates encounter deceitful politics before they can regain the security of their Arcanian dragonship and trusted crewmates.
Combining elements of Hornblower with Harry Potter, and Robert Louis Stevenson with Robin Hobb, Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe is a nautical tale rich in magic and intrigue set against a panorama of fantastic naval battles.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2006
108 people want to read
About the author
James M. Ward
116 books55 followersJames M. Ward (b. 1951) is an American game designer and fantasy author.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 11, 2019
The series continues. There's a bit of power creep in this book, but still enjoyable. Excellent take by Drawmij.
February 12, 2018
This book is rather awkward. There is more of an attempt at a plot, but somehow everything just falls flat. It simply isn't a series for me.
November 8, 2020
Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe by James Ward is the second entry in the series following the eponymous character in a naval fantasy adventure. Unfortunately, this book continues to have all the weaknesses that its predecessor did, and they are compounded by the novelty of the worldbuilding wearing thin.
I’ll begin with the positives of this book. The worldbuilding has so much potential in this book, but nothing is ever explored to the depth I was hoping to see. Still, I enjoyed the small parts the book does include. The dragon was the best part of the book and I wish we got more time talking to it.
Here’s why this book is bad, and I’ve read both books back to back in 2 days, so I think I deserve being able to rant a bit.
First, the plot of this book feels unmoored. Specifically, the book follows Halcyon Blithe around, and can really can be divided into two main acts. The first act is Halcyon onboard the Sanguine and later the prize-ship Durand. The second act is when Halcyon is on the Rage for the diplomatic envoy. While yes, the general plot could be summarized as “following Halcyon Blithe around on his naval adventures at sea during the midst of a war”, the book lacks any greater motivation, tie-in, or even urgency to the plot, which is disappointing. The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik is similar in that it follows the main characters frequently traveling over great lengths, but each of those arcs felt like it had a stronger plot driving it, and this book lacks that. Halcyon Blithe is not a strong or compelling enough character to drive this story on his own.
Second, Halcyon Blithe as a Mary Sue is insufferable, far more so than in the previous book, especially in the beginning of this book. Things that Halcyon Blithe can do/does that come inexplicably out of nowhere and serves to make him the center of attention:
- Page 33, Halcyon Blithe reveals he can speak Maleen perfectly and has been hiding it for reasons.
- Page 66, Halcyon Blithe reveals he has spent 6 years learning how to fight specifically against demons (why is this just being revealed like this to the readers now?!)
- Page 115 had the stupidest falling in love scene ever:
- Page 121, Halcyon Blithe gets more awards and honors on top of being promoted (again) because why not.
- Page 129, Halcyon Blithe apparently looks at people’s hands for fencer callouses and never did that last book when he got owned in fencing. Fun.
- Page 256, Halcyon Blithe continues to have all the magical artifacts to ensure that only he can defeat the foes his ship encounters.
- Page 302, Halcyon Blithe summons his equipment magically for his fight. Like … this is the most broken thing ever. Why doesn’t everyone do this? This just seems like poor world building and almost deus ex machina again.
Essentially, Halcyon Blithe’s existence as a Mary Sue and lack of any character development saps this novel and it is disappointing.
Third, the passage of time in this book is nebulous and only underscores Halcyon Blithe’s Mary Sue like qualities. The first book took place over a span of one month (per the prologue), and the span of time that is covered in this book is a bit indeterminate. How is it realistic that someone with such minimal experience though, like Halcyon Blithe, would receive such continued promotions and responsibilities over such a short time period? It really undercuts the believability of it all.
Fourth, and this is really minor, it drove me crazy with how the third person (limited?) omniscient narrator was inconsistent with how to refer to Halcyon Blithe. Sometimes he was Halcyon. Sometimes he was Blithe. Sometimes he had some titles thrown into it. I found it aggravating that I would get sentences that would go like the following: “Blah blah Halcyon. Blithe blah blah.” It felt poorly written and frustrating, and I forgot to write about this point in my review of the previous book.
I want to give a shout out to the mediocre persistent villain of the novel, Elan Swordson. Elan is a character that the reader is meant to despise, and hates Halcyon Blithe for two reasons. The first is he hates Halcyon Blithe’s demonic heritage, and Swordson comes from a family trained to fight demons. The second is that Swordson is jealous of Halcyon Blithe and is envious of how Halcyon Blithe is continually in the center of attention and can do such little wrong.
Page 315:
So overall, this book was disappointing. It’s basic plot was fine, worldbuilding was okay, but its characters were poor, and Halcyon Blithe’s perfection, lack of any sort of character arc, and relatively flat supporting characters, all cripple this book. I’m going to give this a 2/5. Frankly, don’t spend the time to read this unless you really, really want a naval fantasy novel and can’t find any others. Now, this book could be classified as a YA novel, and should that be an excuse for the weaknesses listed here? Absolutely not. There is no further entry into this series, and while that will leave many mysteries unanswered, it might be a good thing, because the world might not need more Halcyon Blithe.
I’ll begin with the positives of this book. The worldbuilding has so much potential in this book, but nothing is ever explored to the depth I was hoping to see. Still, I enjoyed the small parts the book does include. The dragon was the best part of the book and I wish we got more time talking to it.
Here’s why this book is bad, and I’ve read both books back to back in 2 days, so I think I deserve being able to rant a bit.
First, the plot of this book feels unmoored. Specifically, the book follows Halcyon Blithe around, and can really can be divided into two main acts. The first act is Halcyon onboard the Sanguine and later the prize-ship Durand. The second act is when Halcyon is on the Rage for the diplomatic envoy. While yes, the general plot could be summarized as “following Halcyon Blithe around on his naval adventures at sea during the midst of a war”, the book lacks any greater motivation, tie-in, or even urgency to the plot, which is disappointing. The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik is similar in that it follows the main characters frequently traveling over great lengths, but each of those arcs felt like it had a stronger plot driving it, and this book lacks that. Halcyon Blithe is not a strong or compelling enough character to drive this story on his own.
Second, Halcyon Blithe as a Mary Sue is insufferable, far more so than in the previous book, especially in the beginning of this book. Things that Halcyon Blithe can do/does that come inexplicably out of nowhere and serves to make him the center of attention:
- Page 33, Halcyon Blithe reveals he can speak Maleen perfectly and has been hiding it for reasons.
- Page 66, Halcyon Blithe reveals he has spent 6 years learning how to fight specifically against demons (why is this just being revealed like this to the readers now?!)
- Page 115 had the stupidest falling in love scene ever:
She didn’t hear. She looked into Halcyon’s eyes and found herself enchanted. For his part, he found himself captivated by a cream-colored face framed in white curls. He was lost in her deep green eyes.This had me laughing and I had been waiting for a perfect love interest to be shoe-horned into Halcyon Blithe’s life.
- Page 121, Halcyon Blithe gets more awards and honors on top of being promoted (again) because why not.
- Page 129, Halcyon Blithe apparently looks at people’s hands for fencer callouses and never did that last book when he got owned in fencing. Fun.
- Page 256, Halcyon Blithe continues to have all the magical artifacts to ensure that only he can defeat the foes his ship encounters.
- Page 302, Halcyon Blithe summons his equipment magically for his fight. Like … this is the most broken thing ever. Why doesn’t everyone do this? This just seems like poor world building and almost deus ex machina again.
Essentially, Halcyon Blithe’s existence as a Mary Sue and lack of any character development saps this novel and it is disappointing.
Third, the passage of time in this book is nebulous and only underscores Halcyon Blithe’s Mary Sue like qualities. The first book took place over a span of one month (per the prologue), and the span of time that is covered in this book is a bit indeterminate. How is it realistic that someone with such minimal experience though, like Halcyon Blithe, would receive such continued promotions and responsibilities over such a short time period? It really undercuts the believability of it all.
Fourth, and this is really minor, it drove me crazy with how the third person (limited?) omniscient narrator was inconsistent with how to refer to Halcyon Blithe. Sometimes he was Halcyon. Sometimes he was Blithe. Sometimes he had some titles thrown into it. I found it aggravating that I would get sentences that would go like the following: “Blah blah Halcyon. Blithe blah blah.” It felt poorly written and frustrating, and I forgot to write about this point in my review of the previous book.
I want to give a shout out to the mediocre persistent villain of the novel, Elan Swordson. Elan is a character that the reader is meant to despise, and hates Halcyon Blithe for two reasons. The first is he hates Halcyon Blithe’s demonic heritage, and Swordson comes from a family trained to fight demons. The second is that Swordson is jealous of Halcyon Blithe and is envious of how Halcyon Blithe is continually in the center of attention and can do such little wrong.
Page 315:
Swordson, only with a tremendous effort of will, hid the envy he felt at seeing Blithe seated in a place of honor Elan thought he deserved.Don’t we all, Swordson? I mean, if I had to contend against a rival with plot armor, a million artifacts, exceptional magic and just about anything that the plot demands, I would be envious too. So while Swordson majorly sucks, you gotta feel for the guy. Hell, even the admirals on the tribunal are just as taken aback as I am at Halcyon Blithe’s Mary Sue qualities.
So overall, this book was disappointing. It’s basic plot was fine, worldbuilding was okay, but its characters were poor, and Halcyon Blithe’s perfection, lack of any sort of character arc, and relatively flat supporting characters, all cripple this book. I’m going to give this a 2/5. Frankly, don’t spend the time to read this unless you really, really want a naval fantasy novel and can’t find any others. Now, this book could be classified as a YA novel, and should that be an excuse for the weaknesses listed here? Absolutely not. There is no further entry into this series, and while that will leave many mysteries unanswered, it might be a good thing, because the world might not need more Halcyon Blithe.
December 4, 2012
To bad there are no more in the series this was pretty good but now I am left hanging :-(
January 10, 2022
It's been a long time since I read the first book in this series. This one wasn't bad, but I seem to recall liking the first one a lot more. I like the world set up for the series, and there are some good ideas, but this book just felt... disjointed. More like a series of incidents with no real plot connecting them? "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if THIS happened?!" With no particular thought given to how to get from the last cool idea to the next one. That said, the ending leaves obvious room for a third book in the series, which, to this point in time, hasn't come. That's a little sad, but not tragic.
February 6, 2018
This was a worthy sequel to the previous volume. It showed its Horatio Hornblower influences on its sleeve, but that is not a bad thing. The editing in the book was quite bad, especially for a professionally produced book. I expected better from Tor. There was also one or two places where the author misused nautical terms. All in all, I enjoyed this book.
October 29, 2020
Swashbuckling adventures! Magic and mayhem! Huzzah!
September 7, 2012
The second in a series, this book continues the adventures of the title character, a mage and naval officer in an island military aboard a dragonfrigate – a ship built on top of and powered by a sea dragon.
This book was a $2 clearance pick, and honestly, I wouldn’t spend much more than that on it. The character development, where present at all, was weak, and I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable. There was some interest in the unique setting, but it was hampered by lackluster writing and a meandering plot that only barely kept my interest. Also, I understand that the book is about the star and title character, but I still found Halcyon rather inflated as a hero. It’s been a few months since I read this book and it has already made its way to a used bookstore.
This book was a $2 clearance pick, and honestly, I wouldn’t spend much more than that on it. The character development, where present at all, was weak, and I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable. There was some interest in the unique setting, but it was hampered by lackluster writing and a meandering plot that only barely kept my interest. Also, I understand that the book is about the star and title character, but I still found Halcyon rather inflated as a hero. It’s been a few months since I read this book and it has already made its way to a used bookstore.
February 12, 2008
A bit better than the last one if memory serves. Certainly a lot more action in this one. Editing on it is a bit weird. There's a few descriptions, whole paragraphs, that make a second appearance later in the book...strange...It was like dejavufreaking me out a bit. Ah well. I liked it! Magic, pirates, navy, warfare, dragons, tentacles, trolls, dwarves, elves, mysterious maidens, all the stuff that tempers a great hero like Halcyon Blithe.
August 29, 2009
I liked the first one for its originality, and I wanted to see how the story progressed.
Sadly I was sorely disappointed. This book comes across like a not-particularly-good fan-fiction, even to the point of the odd error indicating that it lacks a proper beta-reader.
The plot felt as if it were being thrown together in an effort to include as much "new stuff" as possible and didn't actually seem to be going anywhere.
I'm not looking forward to the next one nearly as much.
Sadly I was sorely disappointed. This book comes across like a not-particularly-good fan-fiction, even to the point of the odd error indicating that it lacks a proper beta-reader.
The plot felt as if it were being thrown together in an effort to include as much "new stuff" as possible and didn't actually seem to be going anywhere.
I'm not looking forward to the next one nearly as much.
December 11, 2009
Halcyon Blithe is the fantasy equal to Horatio Hornblower, to Ramage and Bolitho.
A good deal of fun in a nicely constructed world. We need to see more of these by Ward and to learn more about the war that is taking place. Our hero grows with each book and adventure. The seventh son of a seventh son, a great and quick read.
A good deal of fun in a nicely constructed world. We need to see more of these by Ward and to learn more about the war that is taking place. Our hero grows with each book and adventure. The seventh son of a seventh son, a great and quick read.
August 14, 2008
A good solid sequel. Proceeding similarly to Hornblower. More magic in this one, but I consider it a good thing. Also, the Dwarven culture in this one is pretty cool.
I'd love to see a gaming world for Ward's universe since he's a game designer. I wonder if already has one?
I'd love to see a gaming world for Ward's universe since he's a game designer. I wonder if already has one?
April 6, 2009
Well, I read the first one, so I read this one... Don't believe the cover quote that says it's as good as Harry Potter--far from it!!
It has enjoyable moments, but overall was a mediocre read. Not my taste, though one or two supporting characters definitely intrigue me.
It has enjoyable moments, but overall was a mediocre read. Not my taste, though one or two supporting characters definitely intrigue me.
March 21, 2008
i didnt like this book. while i really did like Temeraire and others in the same genre, this one wasnt particularly interesting and the writing was leaden (the author should buy a thesaurus).
March 14, 2010
Dragonfrigate Wizard halcyon Blithe is in the tradition of Horation Hornblower with magic. Fun and some learning as to tactics.
August 17, 2010
This book is awesome and I kind of want to fangirl it. Win!
April 13, 2013
Quite enjoyable. Wish there were more.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews