Wrath of the Dragonfather

by Zachary C. Parker

Forged in the fires of conflict, the Iron Kingdoms is a fantastic realm where the combined power of magic and technology thunders across a landscape shaped by war. Dominating the field of battle are rare individuals who have mastered both arcane and martial combat and who boldly lead mighty armies in the ongoing struggle to claim victory over these ancient lands.The Dragons of Immoren Have RisenThe nation of Cygnar has temporarily secured an invaluable dragon athanc—a stone of incredible power—from the forces of the Nightmare Empire of Cryx, but the Cryxians are not the only ones still seeking the stone. While Cygnar’s armies march off to war, two of its greatest heroes, Major Victoria Haley and Constance Blaize, find themselves swept up in what could be the final chapter in a conflict between dragons older than the nations of the Iron Kingdoms themselves. As the clash between the dragon Everblight and his brethren unfolds, the only hope for the two warcasters to save the land lies in deciphering a series of prophetic messages from the athanc itself. Yet another, more sinister threat waits in the wings. Will their efforts be enough to alter the course to ruin, or will all of Cygnar burn beneath the progeny of the Dragonfather?

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, War

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2016

About the author

Zachary C. Parker is a staff writer at Privateer Press where he writes for the award-winning WARMACHINE and HORDES tabletop miniatures games. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and a former editor for Shock Totem Magazine. In his free time he reads, murders people living inside his word processor, and tests the grandfather paradox with the time machine in his closet. He lives in Washington with his wife and obligatory cats.

Reviews

[William Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish I could give this one a better rating. To be fair, the 2-stars does not reflect upon the Zachary Parker's writing. Parker does an admirable job propelling along the non-stop action of the piece. The real problem comes in with the framework crafted around the story Parker was tasked with. Ultimately, while a great deal of things take place, nothing actually HAPPENS. The books concludes by effectively returning to the status quo with virtually no consequences of any measure. For the capstone of a story five years in the making this is unacceptable. This isn't Parker's fault, far from it. It feels like the author poised several moments with the potential for consequences of lasting importance but was denied by the powers at be.

Overall it's a fun read but not one destined to last in your memory.

[Shawn Lazaros · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who has followed the Iron Kingdoms evolving story arc with the development of the game, "The Wrath of the DragonFather" serves as a nice closer to the story regarding the mysterious Athanc from the Devastation, Vengeance and Colossals books, as well as serving as a good transition tale for the induction of the Mark III rules set for Warmachine and Hordes. The story is hard to put down for anyone who has followed the stories, but as a written piece, it's a meh story, lending itself to a narrative that really kind of makes the reader feel like they're watching a sunday morning special. There's just enough description to keep the reader engaged, but not enough detail in the story to make it feel like something memorable.

It's not a bad book overall, and enjoyable, but also very regular paced and linear with its formula and story.

[Jeremy Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to a major story arc within the Warmachine and Hordes story line occurs in this book. There are several positives to this story including having the dragons fight, when they have spent the story until now hiding or scheming. Seeing the many struggles of the characters and how they come together to put there differences aside is done really well. However, the main issue with this story is that one can see that the main character that the story is told through does not seem to really be in peril or have difficultly in completing task, but that is also kind of her character.

[Dev Null · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genuinely fine, just nothing to get excited about. As with much of the Warmachine fiction, it tries to shoehorn way too many unnecessary characters in, so none of them get much in the way of development. And the book really needs a background in the setting to understand much of what is going on. (Which is fine, really; its unlikely anyone who doesn't play the game is going to read these...) For those familiar, it fills in some of the backdrop to the game nicely.

[Flora Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

For fans of the warmachine and hordes this is a must. Turuk says Hi! The other Dragons after a while run away like divas.
Haley surprises with her amazing pair of steel.
In the end circle needs to be the cleaning crew cuz all the corruption on the nature.

[Steve Juranich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a really fun wrap-up of the "loose athanc" storyline that has been occurring throughout the Warmachine & Hordes books. A great amount of action as well as big dragons trying to rip each others' throats out. Good times.

[Scott Carmody · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dragons awaken! Some great scenes that I hope have some later ramifications. However at the end nothing really changes which while necessary, makes the book a bit duller in the overall ending.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid adventure

I liked the book a lot, but I feel like its more a 3/5 if you aren't familiar with the setting