Rating: 
Summary: Bad Style
Review: Hey, I love Stackpole. I have read all of his Star Wars and Fantasy novels. I haven't picked up a Battletech book yet, but if he keeps writing novels in third person, I very well might have to to get back to the Stackpole I like. I thought Talion: The Revenant was a fantastic book. I thought Once a Hero was a great book too. As well as the x-wing series and The Dark Glory War. Great books. I couldn't put any of them down. Whats the secret? Stackpole's choice of first-person narrative. I was severely disappointed in Fortress Draconis when it wasn't first person. The other characters whining was very frustrating. It's all they seemed to do. I don't really care about Wil.. sorry.. wilburforce.. or whatever his name is. The fat mage is okay, but seriously... you think a person could grow up. Resolute wasn't in this book at all.. oh he was there physically, but perhaps had a full page of dialogue total in the book. Woo woo... In the Dark Glory War, from the beginning you thought seomthing horrible was going to happen to Hawkings. You were drawn into his life and his struggles. You were angry when he was hurt, and happy when he rejoiced. Everyone he knew around him died or thought that he betrayed them. There was no "I'm safe because I'm the hero" feeling to the book, as there was in the last two. Lets all be honest here... Wil didn't die.. that would be absurd.. he is the "Norrington". Reborn in fire, and what not. No one in that little group can die.. and that is what is sad. I honestly don't care enough about any of them to wish them to live. Crow, and why do they still call him Crow? Is the only interesting character but he is rarely talked about. Instead the story focueses on annoying characters such as Wil, Kerrington (?) and Alyx? See, I don't even remember their names the book was so bad. Frankly, I believe Stackpole should have ended it at the first book. He lost his writing style (his strongest boon) in every following book as well as depth of character. There is no suspense.. because no one can die - I mean OMG they are the heroes!!! They couldn't possibly be hurt or in threat of death for long. If you like Stackpole, don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Style
Review: Hey, I love Stackpole. I have read all of his Star Wars and Fantasy novels. I haven't picked up a Battletech book yet, but if he keeps writing novels in third person, I very well might have to to get back to the Stackpole I like. I thought Talion: The Revenant was a fantastic book. I thought Once a Hero was a great book too. As well as the x-wing series and The Dark Glory War. Great books. I couldn't put any of them down. Whats the secret? Stackpole's choice of first-person narrative. I was severely disappointed in Fortress Draconis when it wasn't first person. The other characters whining was very frustrating. It's all they seemed to do. I don't really care about Wil.. sorry.. wilburforce.. or whatever his name is. The fat mage is okay, but seriously... you think a person could grow up. Resolute wasn't in this book at all.. oh he was there physically, but perhaps had a full page of dialogue total in the book. Woo woo... In the Dark Glory War, from the beginning you thought seomthing horrible was going to happen to Hawkings. You were drawn into his life and his struggles. You were angry when he was hurt, and happy when he rejoiced. Everyone he knew around him died or thought that he betrayed them. There was no "I'm safe because I'm the hero" feeling to the book, as there was in the last two. Lets all be honest here... Wil didn't die.. that would be absurd.. he is the "Norrington". Reborn in fire, and what not. No one in that little group can die.. and that is what is sad. I honestly don't care enough about any of them to wish them to live. Crow, and why do they still call him Crow? Is the only interesting character but he is rarely talked about. Instead the story focueses on annoying characters such as Wil, Kerrington (?) and Alyx? See, I don't even remember their names the book was so bad. Frankly, I believe Stackpole should have ended it at the first book. He lost his writing style (his strongest boon) in every following book as well as depth of character. There is no suspense.. because no one can die - I mean OMG they are the heroes!!! They couldn't possibly be hurt or in threat of death for long. If you like Stackpole, don't read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome book! Better than Fortress
Review: I think this book is awesome and even better than Fortress Draconis. The reason is because there is a lot more action and a lot more development into the story. Both are great books, but now people have matured and now become 'badasses' =) Definitely get this book, well I probably don't have to tell anyone. I bet anyone who read Dark Glory War and Fortress Draconis have already purchased this one. Have fun!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book! Better than Fortress
Review: I think this book is awesome and even better than Fortress Draconis. The reason is because there is a lot more action and a lot more development into the story. Both are great books, but now people have matured and now become 'badasses' =) Definitely get this book, well I probably don't have to tell anyone. I bet anyone who read Dark Glory War and Fortress Draconis have already purchased this one. Have fun!
Rating: 
Summary: Hardly any Raging Dragons, but still a good book
Review: If you are looking for Raging Dragons, this isn't the book for you. While dragons do make a cameo appearance at the end of the novel, they do not rage. However, don't let that stop you from reading this wonderful book, the second in the series. If you have not read, "Fortress Draconis", please do so before reading this book or you'll be totally lost. There is a "prequel" to this story call "Dark, Glory War", which I have not read, and have not felt that I'm missing anything by not reading it. Start with Fortress Draconis and move on from there. The author is clearly improving as a writer with this novel. His story moves along at great pace and there's hardly a dull moment. He is obviously not writing a Jordanesque series that will last for all time without coming to an end, so that is very good. What would take Jordan four books to write, Stackpole takes care of in four chapters. It's a fun read, goes by quick and is a perfect light read if you are interested in a good fantasy story full of swords, sorcery and those omnipresent bad "orc" like characters that are so easy to kill but seem to be endless in numbers!! The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, all the women are beautiful and the action doesn't stop. While I enjoyed the novel, I was a little annoyed at some frequently used plot contrivances, such as the "Innocent, Ignorant, Beautiful Girl who Lives with the Bad People but Doesn't Know They Are Bad", as well as what will prove to be a trick ending designed to annoy some people. There's also a rather awkward and unnecessary "May-December" romance, which does not make a whole lot of sense except that the girl may be looking for a father figure. Outside of that, great book, enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Hardly any Raging Dragons, but still a good book
Review: If you are looking for Raging Dragons, this isn't the book for you. While dragons do make a cameo appearance at the end of the novel, they do not rage. However, don't let that stop you from reading this wonderful book, the second in the series. If you have not read, "Fortress Draconis", please do so before reading this book or you'll be totally lost. There is a "prequel" to this story call "Dark, Glory War", which I have not read, and have not felt that I'm missing anything by not reading it. Start with Fortress Draconis and move on from there. The author is clearly improving as a writer with this novel. His story moves along at great pace and there's hardly a dull moment. He is obviously not writing a Jordanesque series that will last for all time without coming to an end, so that is very good. What would take Jordan four books to write, Stackpole takes care of in four chapters. It's a fun read, goes by quick and is a perfect light read if you are interested in a good fantasy story full of swords, sorcery and those omnipresent bad "orc" like characters that are so easy to kill but seem to be endless in numbers!! The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, all the women are beautiful and the action doesn't stop. While I enjoyed the novel, I was a little annoyed at some frequently used plot contrivances, such as the "Innocent, Ignorant, Beautiful Girl who Lives with the Bad People but Doesn't Know They Are Bad", as well as what will prove to be a trick ending designed to annoy some people. There's also a rather awkward and unnecessary "May-December" romance, which does not make a whole lot of sense except that the girl may be looking for a father figure. Outside of that, great book, enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Continues to Develop Brilliantly
Review: Michael Stackpole has done a splendid job of not writing a filler in a trilogy. This book has stunning plot twists, great action when needed, and breaks for breathing and thought when needed. The story moves along realistically yet with all the elements you'd expect from a good fantasy epic. Stackpole has also devoted energy to developing the characters further despite all the action going on. Well done.
Rating:
Summary: Continues to Develop Brilliantly
Review: Michael Stackpole has done a splendid job of not writing a filler in a trilogy. This book has stunning plot twists, great action when needed, and breaks for breathing and thought when needed. The story moves along realistically yet with all the elements you'd expect from a good fantasy epic. Stackpole has also devoted energy to developing the characters further despite all the action going on. Well done.
Rating:
Summary: strong epic fantasy
Review: The evil sorceress Chytrine rules the frozen lands of the North with a cruelty that rivals nothing the world has ever seen before, but also lusts after more as she obsesses with becoming the Empress of the South. To accomplish her quest, Chytrine searches for the seven broken parts of the Dragon Crow's because that artifact will enable her to control dragons and subsequently the world. Quite formidable without the dragons, Chytrine's army is conquering the southern nations. Her opponents seem less menacing to the Sorceress than they did when they defeated her a quarter of a century ago. Backed by the heroic but battle veteran Crow and rookie sorcerer Kerrigan, Princess Alexia of Orkennell leads an army struggling to defeat Chytrine. While her foes organize and southern kings plan on a conference to stop her, Chytrine hunts Will Norrington of the Prophecy, because she believes he, or one of his bloodline, is the only individual who could destroy her. Life seems bleakest for Alexia and her allies for Chytrine's forces appear invincible even without the dragons. Michael A. Stackpole's latest epic fantasy is a classic good vs. evil tale that will thrill genre fans due to an action-packed story line and strong heroes risking their lives to stop an ostensibly insurmountable malfeasance. Though they hurt and love, each one knows the stakes if they lose. They make mistakes, suffer setbacks, and know pain yet keep rising up as if they are the greatest generation through courage, cunning, camaraderie, and caring that hooks the reader to learn what happens WHEN DRAGONS RAGE. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Getting closer to the Glory of the Dark Glory War again.
Review: There's a lot of truth in a number of the other reviews here, in as much as that the title may be a tad misleading (dragons only become a focus later in the story, and they are a lot more political-minded than enraged) and that this book is better than Fortress Draconis but still not as good as DGW. It's better than FD because you already know the characters, are ready to learn about yet more new players, feel better at home in the "universe" Stackpole's created, and get to see further development on all fronts (Human, Elven, Aurolani, urZrethi, etc).
It's still not fully up to par with the "prequel" (this sort of thing makes it hard to talk about "first" or "middle" parts, get it ?) because the development is spread over four characters that relate the story as it evolves (Alexia, Will, Kerrigan, and Adrogans ... okay maybe one more, but she has only a few chapters) whereas DGW gave you that much more debt on the psyche of one character, Tarrant Hawkins. Knowing just a tad about the author from reading nearly all of his books, frequently checking his own website, and especially his replies to reader-reactions ... I don't think he'll even consider changing his preset plans because of what the reader thinks, but I agree it would be nice to regain a stronger focus on Crow/hawkins in the next book (whether it's first of third person narrative): there are tons of threads waiting to be taken care off ... especially confrontations with Nefrai Kesh & Nefrai Laysh, and of course Myrall'Mara.
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