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Moonworlds Saga #2
Glass Dragons
A broad and complicated novel filled with wonderful characters, woven through with low humor and great courage, and built upon grand acts of heroism and love. It is the tale of Laron, the chivalrous 700-year-old vampire, the appallingly dangerous and beautiful Velander, and the long-suffering Terikel, as they investigate a secret project of arcane magic, a magic so dangerous it could destroy their world . . .
544 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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174 people want to read
About the author
Sean McMullen
138 books96 followersDr. Sean McMullen, author of the acclaimed cyberpunk/steampunk Greatwinter Trilogy, is one of Australia's top Science Fiction and Fantasy authors.
Winning over a dozen awards (including multiple Analog Readers Awarda and a Hugo Award finalist), his work is a mixture of romance, invention and adventure, populated by strange and dynamic characters. The settings for Sean's work range from the Roman Empire, through Medieval Europe, to cities of the distant future. He is a musician, medievalist, star gazer, karate instructor, felineophile, and IT manager.
Winning over a dozen awards (including multiple Analog Readers Awarda and a Hugo Award finalist), his work is a mixture of romance, invention and adventure, populated by strange and dynamic characters. The settings for Sean's work range from the Roman Empire, through Medieval Europe, to cities of the distant future. He is a musician, medievalist, star gazer, karate instructor, felineophile, and IT manager.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2011
It was a good book but I liked the first one better. Its still funny and interesting but I just didn't get the sense of world-ending-disaster from Dragonwall that I did from Silverdeath.
March 5, 2018
This book is about someone who has worked in the palace for many, many years. Wallas was soon captured and his look-a-like wanted to kill the emperor disguised as him. Wallas manages to escape him bindings and make his way out of the castle. He changes himself from a nobleman to a mere peasant. He runs into a drunk fellow named Audry. At a place, formerly known as DragonWall, sorcerers are coming together to try to get rid of the storms by remaking the DragonWall. But it's a very dangerous task...
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT HOW IT IS DANGEROUS AND WHAT ADVENTURES LIE AHEAD FOR AUDRY AND WALLAS!!!
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT HOW IT IS DANGEROUS AND WHAT ADVENTURES LIE AHEAD FOR AUDRY AND WALLAS!!!
Read
October 2, 2019Weird, irreverent, creative but by no means great.
March 17, 2011
(Original review here: http://drying-ink.blogspot.com/2009/1...)
Comic fantasy is admittedly a difficult genre to carry off well. Plenty have failed. Some, like Joe Abercrombie, have carried the trick with remarkable flair - and it's only a pity that Glass Dragons, by Sean McMullen, can't be numbered amongst them. Our two protagonists - a Laurel and Hardy-esque pair - are one trick ponies. Wallas is fat. Andry is thin. Wallas is aristocratic and crass. Andry is lowborn and noble. Wallas has luck with women. Andry doesn't - but later they turn round and love him anyway. *Cough* Excuse me? Just how long ago was it that they wouldn't speak to him? Ah, yes. Two minutes. Wallas, a Master of Royal Music accused of assassination (despite the steadily proliferating evidence to the contrary), flees the Emperor's palace to a nearby tavern, there meeting Andry, surviving a night's carousing though the waterfront - and then accompanying him the next day. Meanwhile, an etheric device is being constructed: the Dragonwall - and it's only a matter of time before one of the involved sorcerers realise that the entire capability of Dragonwall is available to anyone. It's a thin premise, and as Andry and Wallas stumble from slapstick into misjudged love, it only becomes less believable. They're torn from political conflict to etheric machinery in laughably little time - whereupon nobody mentions the previous events. Granted, there are moments of genuine humour - dialogue is amusingly plotted, fast-paced, and hilarious - but insipid, generic characterisation and reused reactions - women to Andry and Wallas, for example - quickly become repetitive. I'm sorry I couldn't like it on reread - but it's a world that works on first try, and it's worth a look for fans of the genre. Otherwise, Glass Dragons won't be making my recommendations.
Comic fantasy is admittedly a difficult genre to carry off well. Plenty have failed. Some, like Joe Abercrombie, have carried the trick with remarkable flair - and it's only a pity that Glass Dragons, by Sean McMullen, can't be numbered amongst them. Our two protagonists - a Laurel and Hardy-esque pair - are one trick ponies. Wallas is fat. Andry is thin. Wallas is aristocratic and crass. Andry is lowborn and noble. Wallas has luck with women. Andry doesn't - but later they turn round and love him anyway. *Cough* Excuse me? Just how long ago was it that they wouldn't speak to him? Ah, yes. Two minutes. Wallas, a Master of Royal Music accused of assassination (despite the steadily proliferating evidence to the contrary), flees the Emperor's palace to a nearby tavern, there meeting Andry, surviving a night's carousing though the waterfront - and then accompanying him the next day. Meanwhile, an etheric device is being constructed: the Dragonwall - and it's only a matter of time before one of the involved sorcerers realise that the entire capability of Dragonwall is available to anyone. It's a thin premise, and as Andry and Wallas stumble from slapstick into misjudged love, it only becomes less believable. They're torn from political conflict to etheric machinery in laughably little time - whereupon nobody mentions the previous events. Granted, there are moments of genuine humour - dialogue is amusingly plotted, fast-paced, and hilarious - but insipid, generic characterisation and reused reactions - women to Andry and Wallas, for example - quickly become repetitive. I'm sorry I couldn't like it on reread - but it's a world that works on first try, and it's worth a look for fans of the genre. Otherwise, Glass Dragons won't be making my recommendations.
July 30, 2009
More sedately paced and less focused than Voyage of the Shadowmoon, but still an enjoyable read. Includes characters from the first book (Terikel & Velander play fairly substantial parts), but I was hoping for more from Laron.
This is the second book I've read by McMullen and, while I can't say I laughed out loud, I do appreciate the humor and lightness of the fantasy - a good counterbalance to some of the dark, grim fantasies out there.
This is the second book I've read by McMullen and, while I can't say I laughed out loud, I do appreciate the humor and lightness of the fantasy - a good counterbalance to some of the dark, grim fantasies out there.
March 9, 2008
Not as engrossing as the previous book, Voyage of the Shadowmoon, but definitely fleshes out the system of the world a great deal more.
September 10, 2009
This is part two of Voyage of the Shadowmoon.
December 21, 2009
Very, very funny. Better than the first and third in the series.
January 4, 2013
It is a really good book, and it draws one in. I love this book because it seem real, yet at the same time, it is another reality.
September 18, 2015
Asdf asdf
July 29, 2016
I really do think this series deserves more love.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews