Dragon Hunters: The Chronicles of the Exile: Book 2 by Marc Turner
The second in the Chronicles of the Exile series shows us how epic it is by giving readers a list of characters at the front (there are many to keep track of) and a large map of the areas featured in the novel so you know what Marc is talking about. I thought I would be referring to it all the time, but I was surprised at how Marc laid the story out for readers.
Back in When the Heavens Fall: The Chronicles of the Exile: Book 1, The Book of Lost Souls had been stolen by a dangerous necromancer intent on resurrecting an old race and challenging Shroud for the underworld. Shroud wants the book back and sends his man to get it, but as is usually the case, these two aren't the only ones who will quest for it.
While the first novel was about getting back the Book of Lost Souls, Dragon Hunters has the Storm Lords readying for the annual dragon hunt where the Dragon Gate is raised for a sea dragon to come to the sea, but as Imerle Polivar is close to leaving the Storm Lords, she intends to sabotage the hunt as payback for them ousting her. As it happens, she isn't the only one who wants to see the end of the Storm Lords, someone else wants to see the end of their powerful and terrible reign.
One thing I have noticed is the fact that since George RR Martin introduced his huge cast of characters with his A Game of Thrones novels, many have tried to give out that same immense world look that would interest old readers and new alike. Marc has done this well enough at the start with a list of characters with odd and instantly memorable names to go with them - not forgetting the wonderful map that stands out as a cool piece of artwork and illustrates just how big this world is. And although it is primarily about the hunting of a sea dragon, these vast characters have a lot to reveal about themselves, who they are and what they are plotting, that there are more stories surrounding them than we first thought. Unlike other novelists, this book can be read without having to read the first in the series, but I would advise reading the first one as Marc's work merits reading his other novels. In a world where anything could happen next, Dragon Hunters book 2 is a fine epic that ranks high alongside others in the titan series.
