When portal-mage Harkon Bright and his apprentice are asked to help select a new captain for the immense skyship Iseult, they quickly find themselves embroiled in its Machiavellian officer’s court. Meanwhile, their new recruit, Elias, struggles to adapt to his unexpected gift of life while suffering dark dreams of an ancient terror.

As the skies darken and storm-clouds gather on the Dragon Road, the crew of the Elysium come face to face with deadly intrigues, plots from beyond death, and a terrible darkness that lurks in the heart of a thousand-year storm.

Skyfarer was one of my biggest surprises last year…I had no real idea what to expect going into it, and wound up having a complete blast reading it!

Dragon Road is the second book in Joseph Brassey’s series, The Drifting Lands. It picks up not too long after the events of Skyfarer, but in a way, the book is rather self-contained. There are references made to things that happened in Skyfarer, but it’s not a direct continuation of the story. I suppose you could even read this first, but hmmm….I don’t see why you would.

This time around, the crew of the Elysium finds themselves aboard a much larger vessel, the Iseult. It’s a massive, sprawling, living ship…more of a floating city, really. The captain of the ship has mysteriously and suddenly died, leaving things in a bit of a chaotic state. Harkon Bright has an old connection abroad the Iseult, and he’s asked to help mediate the selection of the new captain. There are three candidates for the job, all with their own unique motive for vying to become captain…some more reluctantly than others.

The plot & location of this book really allows for some critical character development, particularly for Elias. We really get to see so many sides of this character, and witness his struggle to not only be accepted by the crew of the Elysium, but to accept himself. Or rather, accept this new version of himself, while trying to reconcile the horrific events in his past.

Additionally, Brassey has a lot of fun with the “will they/won’t they” dynamic between Aimee & Elias, and there’s more than a few really great/awkward moments of romantic tension.

Brassey writes these books with this incredible mix of gravitas & intensity, played against some truly epic-in-scale, whiz-bang action sequences. It’s like a fucking bonkers sci-fi popcorn movie, but with sincere attention to character development & some heavy, gut-punchy moments. There’s a lot going on in this book…skyships & magical swords & NECROMANCY & giant space monsters & & &…The Drifting Lands is shaping up to be such a great series!