Unbound: A Dragon Rider Fantasy (Songs of Chaos)

Talia, Holt, Pyra, and Ash come into their own in this sequel to Ascendant! Michael R. Miller had a herculean task ahead matching the exciting pace and filling his world with more loveable characters, and he pulled it off with aplomb. I daresay that while sequels are rarely as good as the original, this is the rare exception that is in many ways better than what came before.

Talia is given more time in the spotlight, and her struggles to unite Feorlin as she deals with political intrigue and increasing peril from the scourge, other kingdoms, and even the Dragon Rider Order itself make her every bit the compelling protagonist that Holt is, if not moreso.

As for our main pair, as Holt and Ash struggle to accomplish the mission set forth for them by the Life Elder, it is Ash who gets to show us just how much he has grown, and whose quiet assurance manages to keep Holt on the right path even when things are at their darkest.

Even Osric Agravain is given a compelling arc, a descent into madness and hopelessness from which it may take a miracle to recover.

The stories of Sovereign and Rake are expanded on, and loveable new characters like the science minded drake Abaranth are introduced to flesh out the cast.

Overall a compelling read that mixes political machinations, swords and sorcery in a way I think would make even JRR Tolkien proud.

Peter Kenny does a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. His narration is on point, and while I initially found his changes to Ash and Pyra's voices a bit jarring (Ash in particular being a bit hard initially to tell apart from Holt's voice), this was only a very minor nitpick, and I quickly got used to these new voices, as well as loving the new ones he managed to create. Abaranth's fussy, stereotypical scientist voice in particular got a chuckle from me and warmed me up to him right away, and mystic dragon Eidolon's aged, world weary voice came across wonderfully.
My only regret now is having to wait another year or more to continue the adventures with these amazing characters. Bravo, Michael R. Miller. You've done a masterful job of showing why thr stories most worth telling are the ones that feature dragons!

Hopefully you read book 1. This book didn't disappoint. Now I await the next book with excitement.

Love this series. Will be looking forward to the next book. And will definitely be buying more of Michael R Millers books

Book is beautiful with a detailed cover and binding.