Podcast Review #124: Iron Dragons
originally published March 19, 2012
Title: Iron Dragons
Author: Derek P. Gilbert
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Released: 13 October 2008 – 22 November 2008
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: Podcast and dead tree
Rating: PG for violence
Iron Dragons was another book I found simply by perusing Podiobooks.com. If this isn’t something you’ve done often in the past, I would recommend it should be something you do quite often in the future. I’ve found all sorts of new and interesting authors by doing this, and that is how I found Derek P. GIlbert, author of Iron Giants.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis:
Dragon pee really stinks.
With that bit of cautionary advice, master dragonslayer Davian begins his tale.
Davian is a Third Level Master of The Order, a group of men who alone have the power to battle the most fearsome creatures on all of Saramond. For thousands of years, the brothers of The Order have protected their world.
Now something has upset the balance of power between man and dragon, and Davian must face what appears to be a dragon that cannot be seen.
But Davian is losing his grip on reality — and the fate of the world rests with a stable hand, an underfed priest, and a gardener from beyond the stars. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)
Production: Iron Dragons production is good. If you’re a picky listener, you probably will find something to complain about, but for most of us, this story was done sufficiently well to engage in you in the story without annoying you with artifacts or other production issues.
Grade: B+
Cast: Derek P. Gilbert does Iron Dragons as a self read, and he does it very well. If you’re a fan of Basil Sands narration and reading style, I’d recommend you give Mr. Gilbert a chance. I finished Karl’s Last Flight and immediately jumped into Iron Dragons. Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Sands have similar enough narration styles that I initially questioned whether they were both pseudonyms for the same writer; however, I am now completely comfortable with the fact that they are indeed two separate individuals.
Grade: A-
Story: This story starts out as a pretty straight forward fantasy story and I greatly enjoy it. Then it diverts into a science fiction story with elements of fantasy, and I continued to enjoy it. Perhaps not as much as I had originally, but still quite good. The synopsis is well written and I am hard pressed to try to say much more about the story without spoilers. So… well.. read the synopsis.
Grade: B
Verdict: Some of you might recognize that Iron Dragons isn’t the first book by Mr. Gilbert that I have reviewed. If you recognized this fact, you actually did better than I did. When I began checking his credentials in connection with Mr. Sands (non existent that I could see), I realized that Mr. Gilbert and written The God Conspiracy which I had reviewed sometime during 2011. I can say I enjoyed Iron Dragons more. It still might be a bit “preachy” for some, but it is well disguised in this story and I had no issue with it. Do I recommend it? Yes.
Disclosure: Nope… still nothing in the bribe department. Is this link not working????
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