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The Sleeping Dragon
On a fantasy world Tolkienesque to the point of cliché, the five greatest adventurers of the age discover that in five hundred years, the Sleeping Dragon will awake and destroy civilisation.
But prologue aside, this is not their story.
This is a story from a half millennium later, in a world now so utterly transformed by mass-produced magic that it seems heroism itself is rendered obsolete, in which five misfits find themselves tasked with preventing the plague, war, famine, and destruction that the Sleeping Dragon will bring forth.
From the towering spires of Empire City to the wild and bleak Eastern Territories, and from the decadence and glamour of Upabove to a final confrontation upon which rests the fate of their world, this is their story.
But prologue aside, this is not their story.
This is a story from a half millennium later, in a world now so utterly transformed by mass-produced magic that it seems heroism itself is rendered obsolete, in which five misfits find themselves tasked with preventing the plague, war, famine, and destruction that the Sleeping Dragon will bring forth.
From the towering spires of Empire City to the wild and bleak Eastern Territories, and from the decadence and glamour of Upabove to a final confrontation upon which rests the fate of their world, this is their story.
- GenresFantasy
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 24, 2019
16 people are currently reading
472 people want to read
About the author
Jonny Nexus
10 books31 followersI'm a Lancashire based IT guy who moonlights as a writer in my spare time. When not doing that, I spend time with my wife, daughter and dog; read; watch TV, films and the occasional work of theatre; and engage in intermittent bouts of extremely bad roleplaying.
I began my writing career by launching the cult gaming webzine Critical Miss (criticalmiss.com), before moving on to write regular columns for the roleplaying magazines Valkyrie and Signs & Portents, as well as penning the Slayers’ Guide to Games Masters for Mongoose Publishing.
My first novel Game Night, originally published in 2007, was shortlisted for an ENnie award in 2008. My second novel, the offbeat urban fantasy If Pigs Could Fly, will be released in autumn this year.
I began my writing career by launching the cult gaming webzine Critical Miss (criticalmiss.com), before moving on to write regular columns for the roleplaying magazines Valkyrie and Signs & Portents, as well as penning the Slayers’ Guide to Games Masters for Mongoose Publishing.
My first novel Game Night, originally published in 2007, was shortlisted for an ENnie award in 2008. My second novel, the offbeat urban fantasy If Pigs Could Fly, will be released in autumn this year.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 14, 2019
The Sleeping Dragon is FREE on Kindle US and UK until March 17th. A stand-alone urban fantasy which is entertaining, humourous and quite clever. Check it out!
I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Sleeping Dragon was an entertaining and pretty clever piece of writing.
When the author approached me to offer a review copy, I checked out the blurb as I usually would, and was intrigued by the premise of a five hundred-year old world-ending prophecy being brought into play in the modern world where "heroes" were obsolete. I've yet to read a fantasy book where a prophecy revealed during medieval times was to be dealt with in an urban setting.
The story started with a Prologue that described the first part of the book's blurb. Five great heroes of their age - a warrior, a thief, a wizard, a bard and a priest - which make up your typical D&D adventuring party, discovered that the Sleeping Dragon which will awake in five hundred years and destroy the world. Very shortly after, the story moved to the current day where we were introduced to five unconnected individuals who were, in the ordinary course of their day, suddenly whisked away and brought together to a single location by a magic spell.
A glossary that was made available after the Prologue gave a glimpse of what happened to magic in the modern day. It became the essence of technology. Mana was the raw power of magic, and it was also the energy that powered gadgets - those that we know of as televisions, smartphones, cars and flying vehicles - called crystals, whispers, wagons and carpets respectively in this world. I thought this was quite cool and rather clever. Effectively, it combined both fantasy and science fiction into a fun-filled adventure reminiscent of an RPG, albeit in a modern high-tech setting.
Interesting world and magic aside, this was a story of an ensemble cast of characters who were the modern 'not-quite-equivalent-but-close-enough' representation of olden days' heroes. Blade, a famous AdventureSports warrior; Dani, a female grifter; Darrick, a priest; the Storm, a rock star lutist; and Presto, a disgraced ex-wizard. A group of misfits who were way over their head in understanding why and what brought them together, and how they were supposed to be the heroes the world didn't know it needed.
For an ensemble cast in a stand-alone book, I thought that the author did a great job in fleshing out the main characters as much as he possibly could in just over 300 pages. You won't get truly in-depth character development, but it was more than adequate to make me root for them. Combined with its decent pacing, this novel was an enjoyable read.
I also enjoyed the writing, which was humourous, casual yet polished, and effortless to read. The dialogue and banter felt natural, and the action scenes were exciting and easy to visualise. There were also numerous references to our own modern day culture with some social commentary to boot, which were handled with a light touch — more for having a good laugh at ourselves instead of a philosophical lecture.
All in all, The Sleeping Dragon was a great stand-alone that was fun and concluded satisfactorily. If you love urban fantasy and science fiction, but want something different and comical, I recommend giving this book a go.
You can purchase a copy of this book at Amazon US | Amazon UK.
You can also find this, and my other reviews at Novel Notions.
I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Sleeping Dragon was an entertaining and pretty clever piece of writing.
When the author approached me to offer a review copy, I checked out the blurb as I usually would, and was intrigued by the premise of a five hundred-year old world-ending prophecy being brought into play in the modern world where "heroes" were obsolete. I've yet to read a fantasy book where a prophecy revealed during medieval times was to be dealt with in an urban setting.
The story started with a Prologue that described the first part of the book's blurb. Five great heroes of their age - a warrior, a thief, a wizard, a bard and a priest - which make up your typical D&D adventuring party, discovered that the Sleeping Dragon which will awake in five hundred years and destroy the world. Very shortly after, the story moved to the current day where we were introduced to five unconnected individuals who were, in the ordinary course of their day, suddenly whisked away and brought together to a single location by a magic spell.
A glossary that was made available after the Prologue gave a glimpse of what happened to magic in the modern day. It became the essence of technology. Mana was the raw power of magic, and it was also the energy that powered gadgets - those that we know of as televisions, smartphones, cars and flying vehicles - called crystals, whispers, wagons and carpets respectively in this world. I thought this was quite cool and rather clever. Effectively, it combined both fantasy and science fiction into a fun-filled adventure reminiscent of an RPG, albeit in a modern high-tech setting.
Interesting world and magic aside, this was a story of an ensemble cast of characters who were the modern 'not-quite-equivalent-but-close-enough' representation of olden days' heroes. Blade, a famous AdventureSports warrior; Dani, a female grifter; Darrick, a priest; the Storm, a rock star lutist; and Presto, a disgraced ex-wizard. A group of misfits who were way over their head in understanding why and what brought them together, and how they were supposed to be the heroes the world didn't know it needed.
For an ensemble cast in a stand-alone book, I thought that the author did a great job in fleshing out the main characters as much as he possibly could in just over 300 pages. You won't get truly in-depth character development, but it was more than adequate to make me root for them. Combined with its decent pacing, this novel was an enjoyable read.
I also enjoyed the writing, which was humourous, casual yet polished, and effortless to read. The dialogue and banter felt natural, and the action scenes were exciting and easy to visualise. There were also numerous references to our own modern day culture with some social commentary to boot, which were handled with a light touch — more for having a good laugh at ourselves instead of a philosophical lecture.
All in all, The Sleeping Dragon was a great stand-alone that was fun and concluded satisfactorily. If you love urban fantasy and science fiction, but want something different and comical, I recommend giving this book a go.
You can purchase a copy of this book at Amazon US | Amazon UK.
You can also find this, and my other reviews at Novel Notions.
January 22, 2019
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
500 years before, the foremost group of adventurers scry into the future, and find the end of the world. They cast a spell that will find the best adventurers of the future. Unfortunately, the world has changed quite a bit in five centuries.
Our hapless party tries to figure out whats happening, and eventually get to the bottom of things. Fairly good with a novel premise.
500 years before, the foremost group of adventurers scry into the future, and find the end of the world. They cast a spell that will find the best adventurers of the future. Unfortunately, the world has changed quite a bit in five centuries.
Our hapless party tries to figure out whats happening, and eventually get to the bottom of things. Fairly good with a novel premise.
January 20, 2019
I won Sleeping Dragon from a Goodreads Giveaway and fully expected mediocre work. I thought for sure that the modern protagonists would be a rag tag bunch of stereotypical D&D players in the current day. While that had potential to be hilarious, if eye-rolling, the world built by the author was a pleasant surprise. Sleeping dragon is set in a sort of alternate present or future where everything we know as technology is run by magic. The characters are definitely under dogs of a sort, but not totally unbelievable as heroes.
March 26, 2019
The Sleeping Dragon is a comedic fantasy novel which plays with the tropes and assumptions that come with the fantasy genre in clever and amusing ways.
While it has become almost a bit of a cliché for the magic in fantasy worlds to “fade away” before reaching modern times, The Sleeping Dragon does the opposite. It imagines a modern world where magic is very much alive and kicking, and is used to fuel the technology of the time. Cars, televisions, mobile phones… they all have their magical equivalent.
When the eponymous sleeping dragon is set to destroy the world, five heroes are chosen (much to their dismay) to save it. This makes up our core of main characters, who loosely correspond to traditional tabletop character archetypes such as wizard, bard, priest, etc., though with a bit of a humorous twist.
I found that the characters weren’t explored in much depth. They all have their own personalities and backstories, some of which are more touching than others, but I didn’t really ever get the feeling that the characters were the focus of the story. Instead, the focus is very much on the comedy.
The Sleeping Dragon delights in the absurdity of its premise. We’re talking about a book which features over-enthusiastic orc lap-dancers and a religion where people spend the entirety of their lives in a “sacred box”. It pokes fun at any number of ridiculous scenarios, but in a manner that is generally more lighthearted than cruel. The sense of humour felt very British to me (as someone who has spent far too much of his life watching old British sitcoms) but still gives the impression of being very accessible.
The writing style is clean and unobtrusive, never getting in the way of the story or the jokes. Comedy is often a very subjective thing, but I did catch myself smiling and chuckling a couple of times throughout, even if I didn’t laugh out loud.
To sum everything up, this is a book to read if you catch yourself in need of a simpler, lighter read, or in need of a chuckle. It may not be for you if you’re looking for a more serious read with complex themes and characters, but I imagine that in today’s climate… this could be the type of book that many people are looking for.
While it has become almost a bit of a cliché for the magic in fantasy worlds to “fade away” before reaching modern times, The Sleeping Dragon does the opposite. It imagines a modern world where magic is very much alive and kicking, and is used to fuel the technology of the time. Cars, televisions, mobile phones… they all have their magical equivalent.
When the eponymous sleeping dragon is set to destroy the world, five heroes are chosen (much to their dismay) to save it. This makes up our core of main characters, who loosely correspond to traditional tabletop character archetypes such as wizard, bard, priest, etc., though with a bit of a humorous twist.
I found that the characters weren’t explored in much depth. They all have their own personalities and backstories, some of which are more touching than others, but I didn’t really ever get the feeling that the characters were the focus of the story. Instead, the focus is very much on the comedy.
The Sleeping Dragon delights in the absurdity of its premise. We’re talking about a book which features over-enthusiastic orc lap-dancers and a religion where people spend the entirety of their lives in a “sacred box”. It pokes fun at any number of ridiculous scenarios, but in a manner that is generally more lighthearted than cruel. The sense of humour felt very British to me (as someone who has spent far too much of his life watching old British sitcoms) but still gives the impression of being very accessible.
The writing style is clean and unobtrusive, never getting in the way of the story or the jokes. Comedy is often a very subjective thing, but I did catch myself smiling and chuckling a couple of times throughout, even if I didn’t laugh out loud.
To sum everything up, this is a book to read if you catch yourself in need of a simpler, lighter read, or in need of a chuckle. It may not be for you if you’re looking for a more serious read with complex themes and characters, but I imagine that in today’s climate… this could be the type of book that many people are looking for.
January 16, 2019
I won this through Goodreads. I enjoy fantasy novels and this is a good one. The author has put a twist or two to keep one's interest. It's a good read. Enjoy.
February 18, 2019
I first bumped into Jonny Nexus at Dragonmeet way back in 2008. “Game Night? Sure, I’ll buy a copy.” Looking at the spider scrawl inside, I appear to have asked for a dedication for Sue so I could make the book a Christmas present.
Roll on to Dragonmeet 2015. “If Pigs Could Fly? Sure, I’ll buy a copy.” Squinting at the dedication, this time it’s made out to me. I must have learned from last time.
Dragonmeet 2018 comes around, like the well-oiled machine that it is. Jonny sidles up and asks “fancy a copy of The Sleeping Dragon? I have a top-quality advance reader copy I could send your way.” How could I turn him down?
So, The Sleeping Dragon has arrived and been read. It’s 50% bigger than the previous books at 300 pages so wasn’t a quick read - many years have passed since I could just hide away with a book for several hours at a time. I have finished it – a good sign as the shelves here have often become a limbo for books waiting to be picked up and finished (or just plain started in a number of sad cases).
The plot is that a band of heroes are brought together to save civilisation from destruction when the Sleeping Dragon awakens, as predicted by a similar group five centuries earlier. The prologue introduces the conceit that the main characters represent the five primary types in D&D – fighter, wizard, cleric, thief and bard.
The story does feel like how a D&D adventure may play out too – initially a group of strangers are brought together for a vaguely specified mission, obstacles are put in their way, foes are defeated, interspersed with periods of “I have no idea what’s going on” and “what do we do next?”, before the boss level conclusion and avoiding TPK.
Thankfully, it’s not a D&D adventure turned into a book. Those hardly ever work as the chance of players making their characters act in ways that tell a story which anyone not actually there would enjoy reading is approaching zero. Maybe it’s more an idealised version of how the person running an adventure dreams the characters would behave.
A disappointment was the imbalance between the characters. Although there are five on this adventure, they don’t seem to all contribute. The priest, and bard really don’t seem to do much of note except make up numbers before the grand finale, especially compared to the wizard. I would have liked to see more development or usage of their expected traits through the book.
The world the story is set in is similar to our modern world except magic powers devices instead of technology and Jonny uses a range of replacement terms for them. All the names derive from still-magical-but-lower-tech history, such as carpet for flying car, which is a nice touch.
Overall, I found frequent novel or amusing bits to keep me entertained enough to finish the book.
Roll on to Dragonmeet 2015. “If Pigs Could Fly? Sure, I’ll buy a copy.” Squinting at the dedication, this time it’s made out to me. I must have learned from last time.
Dragonmeet 2018 comes around, like the well-oiled machine that it is. Jonny sidles up and asks “fancy a copy of The Sleeping Dragon? I have a top-quality advance reader copy I could send your way.” How could I turn him down?
So, The Sleeping Dragon has arrived and been read. It’s 50% bigger than the previous books at 300 pages so wasn’t a quick read - many years have passed since I could just hide away with a book for several hours at a time. I have finished it – a good sign as the shelves here have often become a limbo for books waiting to be picked up and finished (or just plain started in a number of sad cases).
The plot is that a band of heroes are brought together to save civilisation from destruction when the Sleeping Dragon awakens, as predicted by a similar group five centuries earlier. The prologue introduces the conceit that the main characters represent the five primary types in D&D – fighter, wizard, cleric, thief and bard.
The story does feel like how a D&D adventure may play out too – initially a group of strangers are brought together for a vaguely specified mission, obstacles are put in their way, foes are defeated, interspersed with periods of “I have no idea what’s going on” and “what do we do next?”, before the boss level conclusion and avoiding TPK.
Thankfully, it’s not a D&D adventure turned into a book. Those hardly ever work as the chance of players making their characters act in ways that tell a story which anyone not actually there would enjoy reading is approaching zero. Maybe it’s more an idealised version of how the person running an adventure dreams the characters would behave.
A disappointment was the imbalance between the characters. Although there are five on this adventure, they don’t seem to all contribute. The priest, and bard really don’t seem to do much of note except make up numbers before the grand finale, especially compared to the wizard. I would have liked to see more development or usage of their expected traits through the book.
The world the story is set in is similar to our modern world except magic powers devices instead of technology and Jonny uses a range of replacement terms for them. All the names derive from still-magical-but-lower-tech history, such as carpet for flying car, which is a nice touch.
Overall, I found frequent novel or amusing bits to keep me entertained enough to finish the book.
January 3, 2019
Going beyond the game
Recently, there have been many popular stories set on a modern world that includes magic, from Harry Potter to the Dresden Files. All of these, however, seem to take our world and add magic to it. In the manaverse which Jonny Nexus sets his latest book, he instead takes a medieval fantasy world and builds a modern society grown from it's magical inheritance. So magic doesn't just replace modern science, it IS modern science.
In the days of knights and dragons, you easily knew who the heroes were. In modern society, it is much less clear. Sports figures and rock stars have become modern heroes, even if many do not deserve the title. Modern heroes don't meat in a tavern to talk with a figure in the shadows, so it can take a bit more to bring them together. Trying to find out both who and why they have been pulled from their lives sets off an epic modern day quest, which, like all decent quests, only has the entire world at stake.
Jonny Nexus got his start in the wild world of RPGs ( the real pen and paper kind, not the video approximation that attempts to take the title), and his first book "Game Night" ( and it's sequel short story "Saving Stone" ) takes a fantastic look at gaming and the hilarious things that go on at the game table that all of us who played D&D fondly remember and relate to. Now, while he is no longer following the players, it still has the feel of not just a great story, but of a well run game campaign.
The classic adventuring party of a fighter, thief, cleric, wizard and bard are updated for a world based on magic as science. But the characters quickly move beyond these simple tropes to be people we con care about and are interested in. Making magical modern versions of these classic roles works very well, and made for a great read (a bard as a rick star is simply brilliant).
Even as the book started to reach it's climax it was able to both acknowledge and avoid many of the tropes found in both fantasy and modern adventures. A great story that both gave hints as to where it was going but also had surprises to keep you on your toes.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted more. Not just more stories with these characters in this world, but I wanted to make my own character and play on this world. And I wanted to watch it as well - I would love to have this as my next program to binge watch on Netflix.
Overall a great book, and I just wish it didn't have to end.
Recently, there have been many popular stories set on a modern world that includes magic, from Harry Potter to the Dresden Files. All of these, however, seem to take our world and add magic to it. In the manaverse which Jonny Nexus sets his latest book, he instead takes a medieval fantasy world and builds a modern society grown from it's magical inheritance. So magic doesn't just replace modern science, it IS modern science.
In the days of knights and dragons, you easily knew who the heroes were. In modern society, it is much less clear. Sports figures and rock stars have become modern heroes, even if many do not deserve the title. Modern heroes don't meat in a tavern to talk with a figure in the shadows, so it can take a bit more to bring them together. Trying to find out both who and why they have been pulled from their lives sets off an epic modern day quest, which, like all decent quests, only has the entire world at stake.
Jonny Nexus got his start in the wild world of RPGs ( the real pen and paper kind, not the video approximation that attempts to take the title), and his first book "Game Night" ( and it's sequel short story "Saving Stone" ) takes a fantastic look at gaming and the hilarious things that go on at the game table that all of us who played D&D fondly remember and relate to. Now, while he is no longer following the players, it still has the feel of not just a great story, but of a well run game campaign.
The classic adventuring party of a fighter, thief, cleric, wizard and bard are updated for a world based on magic as science. But the characters quickly move beyond these simple tropes to be people we con care about and are interested in. Making magical modern versions of these classic roles works very well, and made for a great read (a bard as a rick star is simply brilliant).
Even as the book started to reach it's climax it was able to both acknowledge and avoid many of the tropes found in both fantasy and modern adventures. A great story that both gave hints as to where it was going but also had surprises to keep you on your toes.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted more. Not just more stories with these characters in this world, but I wanted to make my own character and play on this world. And I wanted to watch it as well - I would love to have this as my next program to binge watch on Netflix.
Overall a great book, and I just wish it didn't have to end.
February 17, 2019
Reluctant Heroes have great responsibility thrust upon them in this Fantasy / Sci-Fi classic!
Love rollicking fantasy adventures with engaging, dynamic characters? Check.
Love spiraling sci-fi romps with more twists than your average Maze-runner? Check.
Love when your DM wildly extrapolates his weekly D&D scenario into a fevered mixed Fantasy/Sci-Fi progeniture gone horribly right? Check.
A Warrior (or the futuristic Sports equivalent), A Wizard (slash genius, slash suspended magical practitioner), A Rogue (slash thief, slash con-woman), A Priest (with the unfortunate handicap of actually having Faith, a distinct disadvantage in the modern church) and a Bard (because every group has to have some dead weight who no-one minds seeing get punched in the face occasionally, it’s not like musical prowess & swanning about like a diva are actual qualities, right?) get to try to save the world in true D&D fashion. Or get to run away once they inevitably fail horribly.
Both are good, just so long as someone punches the Bard very hard in the face. What more can anyone ask from a great evenings’ roleplaying or a wild futuristic fantasy ride?
Two essential qualities of any well-written adventure are an inability to put the book down and a desire to know what happens next once you turn the last page. This book has both in spades. Jonny Nexus has created a rich spread of engaging characters in an even deeper world, building on the solid pillars of traditional fantasy & D&D roles and the underlying question that opens this world to a glittering futuristic narrative: If Magic was as common and easily available as electricity is to us, what would the world look like? The answers are exhilarating, unsettling and brilliantly developed in The Sleeping Dragon.
Read it and wait patiently for the next installment!
Note: Reviewed from an advance copy supplied by the author
Love rollicking fantasy adventures with engaging, dynamic characters? Check.
Love spiraling sci-fi romps with more twists than your average Maze-runner? Check.
Love when your DM wildly extrapolates his weekly D&D scenario into a fevered mixed Fantasy/Sci-Fi progeniture gone horribly right? Check.
A Warrior (or the futuristic Sports equivalent), A Wizard (slash genius, slash suspended magical practitioner), A Rogue (slash thief, slash con-woman), A Priest (with the unfortunate handicap of actually having Faith, a distinct disadvantage in the modern church) and a Bard (because every group has to have some dead weight who no-one minds seeing get punched in the face occasionally, it’s not like musical prowess & swanning about like a diva are actual qualities, right?) get to try to save the world in true D&D fashion. Or get to run away once they inevitably fail horribly.
Both are good, just so long as someone punches the Bard very hard in the face. What more can anyone ask from a great evenings’ roleplaying or a wild futuristic fantasy ride?
Two essential qualities of any well-written adventure are an inability to put the book down and a desire to know what happens next once you turn the last page. This book has both in spades. Jonny Nexus has created a rich spread of engaging characters in an even deeper world, building on the solid pillars of traditional fantasy & D&D roles and the underlying question that opens this world to a glittering futuristic narrative: If Magic was as common and easily available as electricity is to us, what would the world look like? The answers are exhilarating, unsettling and brilliantly developed in The Sleeping Dragon.
Read it and wait patiently for the next installment!
Note: Reviewed from an advance copy supplied by the author
October 15, 2018
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The world needs heroes - only problem is the society has gone a bit self absorbed... I look forward to seeing what this author does in the future.
February 24, 2019
First of all: I received a free advanced copy, so I might be a little bit biased.
But: The Sleeping Dragon is an utterly and truly enjoyable book, the world building is fantastic and imaginative. So, what is happening in The Sleeping Dragon?
Once upon a time there were real heroes, who knew what they were doing, who trained their whole life to become a hero. But this is not their story. This is the story of five unlikely and probably unsung heroes. They are thrown together in a typical role playing game fashion, stumbling thrugh their adventure without a clue…
I really liked the book, not only because I liked the world building, but I could relate so well to the characters and the choices they made. The underlying tone of classical role playing resonated really well with me – even though I never played any RPG (and you don’t need to know anything about this to enjoy the book).
I do hope, there will be more adventures set in this world – it would be a pity to make up such a cleverly constructed world and use it only once.
But: The Sleeping Dragon is an utterly and truly enjoyable book, the world building is fantastic and imaginative. So, what is happening in The Sleeping Dragon?
Once upon a time there were real heroes, who knew what they were doing, who trained their whole life to become a hero. But this is not their story. This is the story of five unlikely and probably unsung heroes. They are thrown together in a typical role playing game fashion, stumbling thrugh their adventure without a clue…
I really liked the book, not only because I liked the world building, but I could relate so well to the characters and the choices they made. The underlying tone of classical role playing resonated really well with me – even though I never played any RPG (and you don’t need to know anything about this to enjoy the book).
I do hope, there will be more adventures set in this world – it would be a pity to make up such a cleverly constructed world and use it only once.
December 26, 2018
A classic swords and wizardry tale with magically, modern upgrades. I enjoyed the take on the evolution of adventure parties into the future that this story used as a setting. I was disappointed that several main characters were only marginally developed through the story, such as the cleric, but the focus characters had nice back stories.
February 14, 2019
I like this book. One minor criticism I have is that it switches between imperial and metric units. I received a free advance copy from the author.
March 3, 2019
As soon as I read the blurb of this book I knew it was for me. A group of characters that are instantly intriguing and a small glimpse of another world. Not to mention the cover, yes I know, don’t judge a book and all that, but seriously, look at it. Almost sci-fi esque but make no mistake, this is a true fantasy novel.
The Prologue
It’s short and sweet but gives the story a perfect set up. I really liked the characters that you meet in the prologue, maybe there is hope of seeing them in a future novel? They are the hero’s of their age, a group of 5 that have battled evil. What they do sets in motion the events of the book. You also find a map, I love a map, and a glossary which I found very useful, especially in the beginning. Once you get into the flow of the book it all becomes easy to understand.
World Building
The world building feels very natural. It is well explained with enough detail for you to build a picture but not so much that you become overwhelmed. The world itself is recognisable, think all our technology but run by magic. Everything is powered by mass produced magic, the world runs on mana. Throw in some Elf’s, Orc’s and halflings and you have the makings of a great fantasy book.
The Characters
On to my favorite part of this book. Five complete strangers are pulled together tasked with finding and destroying the sleeping dragon. The most unlikely crew you would ever put together and for me that was a massive part of their appeal. You get a short insight into each character before they get mysteriously whipped away from their current life. They haven’t got a clue what they should be doing but they are the closest this world has to hero’s. They are really relatable because they are flawed human beings and for me personally that adds to my enjoyment of the book.
We have Blade, the AdventureSport warrior, one of the most successful adventure warriors of his age. However when we meet him his career is dwindling and he’s desperately trying to stay on top. Presto the wizard, unfortunately he has had his license to practice revoked due to an ‘incident’. Darick the Priest, this one is interesting, a devout follower of the SkyFather but unable to progress in the church due to actually believing in the SkyFather. Dani, the only female of the group, she’s the grifter, quick on her feet with a wealth of knowledge and finally my personal favorite the Storm. He takes the place of the bard, the lute player in a famous band addicted to herb and with a thing for the ladies.
They are such an unlikely group, but they work really well together. There are moments of great humour within the group, complete and utter chaos at times and you wonder how they will ever the get the job done. Within a few chapters I was totally routing for them. They way they interact just drew me in, there is some very clever story telling here.
Comparing to a master of the genre
Yes I am going there. Jonny’s writing is very reminiscent of the late great Terry Pratchett. Jonny very cleverly weaves humour into his story, some subtle, some laugh out loud. His world building is also done in a way in which you can recognise the every day within the fantasy. As I was reading I was reminded of the discworld. Please don’t misunderstand me Jonny has not copied Pratchett, it’s the style that I am remined off and it is a style I very much enjoy.
Final Thoughts
I did find some parts of the book a little heavy going at times. I found myself skipping over a few passages. However I did thoroughly enjoy this read, the characters are brilliant and the pace is good. I can’t wait to see what Jonny write’s next, personally I’m hoping for an illustrated version of the Storm’s biography. A girl can dream.
Many thanks to Jonny for giving me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.
The Prologue
It’s short and sweet but gives the story a perfect set up. I really liked the characters that you meet in the prologue, maybe there is hope of seeing them in a future novel? They are the hero’s of their age, a group of 5 that have battled evil. What they do sets in motion the events of the book. You also find a map, I love a map, and a glossary which I found very useful, especially in the beginning. Once you get into the flow of the book it all becomes easy to understand.
World Building
The world building feels very natural. It is well explained with enough detail for you to build a picture but not so much that you become overwhelmed. The world itself is recognisable, think all our technology but run by magic. Everything is powered by mass produced magic, the world runs on mana. Throw in some Elf’s, Orc’s and halflings and you have the makings of a great fantasy book.
The Characters
On to my favorite part of this book. Five complete strangers are pulled together tasked with finding and destroying the sleeping dragon. The most unlikely crew you would ever put together and for me that was a massive part of their appeal. You get a short insight into each character before they get mysteriously whipped away from their current life. They haven’t got a clue what they should be doing but they are the closest this world has to hero’s. They are really relatable because they are flawed human beings and for me personally that adds to my enjoyment of the book.
We have Blade, the AdventureSport warrior, one of the most successful adventure warriors of his age. However when we meet him his career is dwindling and he’s desperately trying to stay on top. Presto the wizard, unfortunately he has had his license to practice revoked due to an ‘incident’. Darick the Priest, this one is interesting, a devout follower of the SkyFather but unable to progress in the church due to actually believing in the SkyFather. Dani, the only female of the group, she’s the grifter, quick on her feet with a wealth of knowledge and finally my personal favorite the Storm. He takes the place of the bard, the lute player in a famous band addicted to herb and with a thing for the ladies.
They are such an unlikely group, but they work really well together. There are moments of great humour within the group, complete and utter chaos at times and you wonder how they will ever the get the job done. Within a few chapters I was totally routing for them. They way they interact just drew me in, there is some very clever story telling here.
Comparing to a master of the genre
Yes I am going there. Jonny’s writing is very reminiscent of the late great Terry Pratchett. Jonny very cleverly weaves humour into his story, some subtle, some laugh out loud. His world building is also done in a way in which you can recognise the every day within the fantasy. As I was reading I was reminded of the discworld. Please don’t misunderstand me Jonny has not copied Pratchett, it’s the style that I am remined off and it is a style I very much enjoy.
Final Thoughts
I did find some parts of the book a little heavy going at times. I found myself skipping over a few passages. However I did thoroughly enjoy this read, the characters are brilliant and the pace is good. I can’t wait to see what Jonny write’s next, personally I’m hoping for an illustrated version of the Storm’s biography. A girl can dream.
Many thanks to Jonny for giving me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.
December 23, 2020
A would-be parody of epic fantasy, The Sleeping Dragon (well, actually, it's a plot point that the titular object is simply 'Sleeping Dragon,' so the bad writing starts right on the cover) begins with a typically cliche AD&D type adventuring party hearing a prophecy about how the world will end in five hundred years, so they need to set up a sort of secondary prophecy to get analogous, contemporary heroes to stop the end of the world. In the 'present,' the character who would've been a warrior is now a pro sports player. And the character who once would've been a bard is a rock star. And the wizard, thief, and cleric are--a wizard, thief, and cleric. Yeah, there isn't too much thought put into this modernized fantasy world. (Surely, the modern-day thief could at least be an IRS agent or banker?) It is effectively our world, just with computers swapped out with 'oracles,' guns swapped out with 'bolts' (that are even reloaded with mana cartridges), and cell phones replaced by 'whispers.'
Unfortunately, for a parody of doorstopper fantasy novels, The Sleeping Dragon sees nothing wrong with being just as overstuffed as anything Robert Jordan put to paper. It takes half the book for the main characters to figure out they're supposed to, y'know, go on a quest and save the world. Say what you will about the Hobbit trilogy, but it didn't take one and a half movies for Bilbo to leave the Shire.
From there, the narrative collects what seems like moderately more characters than are called for, goes into a number of overly enthusiastic action sequences played almost completely straight (one, in which the heroes try to escape the authorities by playing their way through a game of, ahem, Fantasy Football, was so out of nowhere that I thought my Kindle was on the fritz), and even takes a cue from Return of the King and ends a couple dozen times, with fight after fight as the heroes are confronted by a parade of real villains so lengthy that it could've been thrown together by Macy's on Thanksgiving.
As for the humor, Terry Pratchett has nothing to worry about. Everyone can find something to be offended by:
The Left--the Muslim analogs are characterized as a bunch of mad bombers who keep their women in boxes from birth.
The Right--men, when hit with a Detect Alignment spell, turn out to be significantly more evil than women.
Everyone else--Pitbulls are overaggressive monsters.
And let's not even get to the Orcs of this world, who have all been moved onto reservations, you know, like that one real-life ethnic group. But if the dumb, foul-smelling, and consistently thuggish Orcs are meant to represent Native Americans, I think even Custer would say "hey, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" I'm not against offensive humor, but it should at least be funny. Jokes about Catholic priests molesting children are, if not in bad taste, at least low-hanging fruit. And seriously, what did pitbulls ever do to you, huh? That was enough to take me from a mediocre 3 stars to, well, look for yourself.
Unfortunately, for a parody of doorstopper fantasy novels, The Sleeping Dragon sees nothing wrong with being just as overstuffed as anything Robert Jordan put to paper. It takes half the book for the main characters to figure out they're supposed to, y'know, go on a quest and save the world. Say what you will about the Hobbit trilogy, but it didn't take one and a half movies for Bilbo to leave the Shire.
From there, the narrative collects what seems like moderately more characters than are called for, goes into a number of overly enthusiastic action sequences played almost completely straight (one, in which the heroes try to escape the authorities by playing their way through a game of, ahem, Fantasy Football, was so out of nowhere that I thought my Kindle was on the fritz), and even takes a cue from Return of the King and ends a couple dozen times, with fight after fight as the heroes are confronted by a parade of real villains so lengthy that it could've been thrown together by Macy's on Thanksgiving.
As for the humor, Terry Pratchett has nothing to worry about. Everyone can find something to be offended by:
The Left--the Muslim analogs are characterized as a bunch of mad bombers who keep their women in boxes from birth.
The Right--men, when hit with a Detect Alignment spell, turn out to be significantly more evil than women.
Everyone else--Pitbulls are overaggressive monsters.
And let's not even get to the Orcs of this world, who have all been moved onto reservations, you know, like that one real-life ethnic group. But if the dumb, foul-smelling, and consistently thuggish Orcs are meant to represent Native Americans, I think even Custer would say "hey, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" I'm not against offensive humor, but it should at least be funny. Jokes about Catholic priests molesting children are, if not in bad taste, at least low-hanging fruit. And seriously, what did pitbulls ever do to you, huh? That was enough to take me from a mediocre 3 stars to, well, look for yourself.
March 11, 2019
I've been looking forward to a new book by Jonny Nexus, who made me chortle with Gamenight, his Olympian table top RPG parody, and his well meaning investigators of the supernatural in When Pigs Fly, and I'm pleased to say that this isn't a disappointment.
Set in an industrialised magical world 500 years on from times of high fantasy our reluctant heroes, who start as amusing urban fantasy parodies of the classic adventuring party (The fighter an arena sports star, the bard a glam rock icon, the thief a grifter selling public statues to unwary tourists) but over the course of the book whilst remaining themselves grow into more rounded and better people than they thought.
I enjoyed this one. Although there's no lack of comic asides and tropes aptly punctured, there is also a core of serious thought and, as the pressure grows, no feeling that anyone is invulnerable or guaranteed to make it through to the next chapter or even that there is going to be a happy ending.
Well done Jonny Nexus. I look forward to the next one.
Set in an industrialised magical world 500 years on from times of high fantasy our reluctant heroes, who start as amusing urban fantasy parodies of the classic adventuring party (The fighter an arena sports star, the bard a glam rock icon, the thief a grifter selling public statues to unwary tourists) but over the course of the book whilst remaining themselves grow into more rounded and better people than they thought.
I enjoyed this one. Although there's no lack of comic asides and tropes aptly punctured, there is also a core of serious thought and, as the pressure grows, no feeling that anyone is invulnerable or guaranteed to make it through to the next chapter or even that there is going to be a happy ending.
Well done Jonny Nexus. I look forward to the next one.
May 21, 2021
Look Out, Tom Holt!
There's a current tendency to describe any fantasy with a touch of humour as "like Terry Pratchett" . I'm pretty much convinced it'll be a long time before someone as gifted in the realm of fantasy .com social satire comes along. That said, fantasy as farce ( in it's original sense of being stuffed with characters and incidents) has seen a few champions emerge in that field, Tom Holt currently leading the field, closely followed by Lee Martinez and Christopher Moore. Joining them, after getting close on previous occasions, is Jonny Nexus. If you're a fan of any of these authors, then I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy The Sleeping Dragon.
There's a current tendency to describe any fantasy with a touch of humour as "like Terry Pratchett" . I'm pretty much convinced it'll be a long time before someone as gifted in the realm of fantasy .com social satire comes along. That said, fantasy as farce ( in it's original sense of being stuffed with characters and incidents) has seen a few champions emerge in that field, Tom Holt currently leading the field, closely followed by Lee Martinez and Christopher Moore. Joining them, after getting close on previous occasions, is Jonny Nexus. If you're a fan of any of these authors, then I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy The Sleeping Dragon.
August 23, 2019
I loved this book! A wry take on the fantasy quest genre, self aware and funny.
A modern world where all technology is driven by magic makes the background for this adventure. We see how the traditional roles of wizard, bard, rogue, cleric and warrior might be filled by the modern denizens.
A modern world where all technology is driven by magic makes the background for this adventure. We see how the traditional roles of wizard, bard, rogue, cleric and warrior might be filled by the modern denizens.
July 28, 2019
Love the dog!
Yes you read that right it was the premise of a talking dog and dragon that piqued my interest, but also no dragons
Yes you read that right it was the premise of a talking dog and dragon that piqued my interest, but also no dragons
Read
April 27, 2020As the best and most importantly a couple hours in even
April 14, 2019
Exciting, fun read. Reminded me of Terry Pratchett's style a bit.
August 12, 2019
I have to admit I was prepared to absolutely hate "The Sleeping Dragon," because the author's name, Jonny Nexus is so fake sounding. I mean, if you can't even come up with a good pseudonym , how can you write a good adventure novel spoof?
I am chastened. This person, (construct, hamster, team, whatever), has delighted me with a tale that kept me engaged from the beginning. I loved the characters, enjoyed the situation they found themselves thrown into, and laughed out loud several times.
The ending was like a Beethoven symphony. Just when you thought they had things wrapped up, another evil doer you had forgotten about popped up, snarling, "Not so fast, my little friends!"
And they would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads.
I am chastened. This person, (construct, hamster, team, whatever), has delighted me with a tale that kept me engaged from the beginning. I loved the characters, enjoyed the situation they found themselves thrown into, and laughed out loud several times.
The ending was like a Beethoven symphony. Just when you thought they had things wrapped up, another evil doer you had forgotten about popped up, snarling, "Not so fast, my little friends!"
And they would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids.
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads.
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