A Fire Before the Drey
The first thing which must be said about this book is that the cover is absolutely stunning. If the face of this novel doesn’t draw you in, then the premise certainly will. It is quite difficult to ignore a story with a beautiful cover design and a promise of adventure.
Now… Did the story deliver?
Personally, I think A Fire Before the Drey is a book full of potential. I won’t say it didn’t deliver, but it did disappoint in a number of ways. The first thing is in the writing itself. It was not very strong and read almost like the author’s very first book.
When you promise an adventure of friends where vows and commitments will be tested, I’m going to head into the book expecting a tale that is strongly character-driven with a cast of powerfully developed individuals. Sadly, that is where the story fell flat.
This book was described as an epic fantasy. That might be stretching things, considering the read was only about 200 pages. And that’s what I found so disheartening, because this could have been three times as long and twice as enjoyable if the author had taken the time to work in proper world building and character development. Instead, it felt like half of a story or a short prequel just to garner interest.
The lack of character development really hurt the novel. There was very little given beyond an initial description of each person. Dark hair, dark eyes, wearing nice clothes. So much was missing that I wasn’t even aware one of the characters was a dog until it was described as barking—midway through the book. Before then, I had honestly believed this was a group of four friends—not three friends and a pup.
Beyond that little complaint, the book was interesting. The concept of the Drey and all the creatures which lived within was very unique. There was mystery behind the connection of the long-lost brother, and the journey to get to him had all the perfectly combined elements of fantasy, action, and adventure.
The dual storylines were much appreciated, and the battle sequences were easy to follow. This book had no lack of creativity and delivered on potential. I just wish it felt more complete.
One pleasant surprise, however, was the message of faith woven into the novel. I was not aware that the author or his work was Christian, but that became very clear by the end of the story. As a fellow Christian, I was more than thankful to read an action-packed fantasy novel without the foul language or crudeness that is far too common in secular fiction. The fact that the characters remained true to their faith in the Creator and His righteousness, even in the midst of a life-threatening trial, put a smile on my face.
Overall, I did enjoy this story. I wish there had been more to it. I wish there had been much more world building and character development, but I think there is plenty of promising potential. As with most things, I’m sure this author’s writing will get better in time, with every book that is published. So there’s every reason to believe the rest of this series will be twice as good as this.
A Fire Before the Drey is available now on Amazon, click here to read now.