Shadow Raiders: Book 1 of the Dragon Brigade

Written by Robert Krammes and Margaret Weis

Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

The known world floats upon the Breath of God, a thick gas similar to Earth's oceans, with land masses accessible by airship. The largest of these land masses are ruled by the rival empires of Freya and Rosia. Magic is intrinsic to the functioning of these societies, and is even incorporated into their technological devices. But now a crucial scientific discovery has occurred that could destroy the balance of power-and change the empires forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452672229

Reviews for Shadow Raiders

[donw146 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good action and plot twists. The absurd and eccentric behavior of the characters grows on you and I actually found myself chuckling later in the book.

[ailinel-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although this is not my normal genre, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised and genuinely happy with this book. Weiss and Krammes utilize incredible world building and a cast of characters in all walks of society to create a captivating tale of a world made up of islands and continents floating on the Breath, a world of science and magic working together, of ancient secrets returning to seek vengeance, and of an era of dragon riders and the nostalgic captain of the (now disbanded) dragon brigade, Lord Captain Stephano De Guichen. In a world where the church controls magic (which utilizes God’s Breath) and the technology connected to it, history and fear have made certain aspects of magic taboo. Now a group utilizing contramagic have begun destroying ships, cathedrals, and cities. Worse still, there is no known way to defend against this ‘impossible’ and ‘heretical’ magic. Stephano and his group, the Cadre of the Lost, are pulled into a crisis that will likely forever change (or end) their world. Sailing together on Miri’s Cloud Hopper, the Cadre consists of Rodrigo, a gentleman and a genius who takes umbrage at the idea of putting effort in to something, a young magical savant haunted by her past and mute except for when she sings, her older sister and pilot of the Cloud Hopper, Miri, and an ex-military man called Dag. They are hired for a mission by Stephano’s Lady mother, to retrieve a journeyman who has created a process to imbue metal with magic (once thought impossible, but done using Rodrigo’s theory which he never bothered to test). As the attacks increase and a series of attacks centuries in the making begin to come to fruition, their mission changes from political counterespionage to a fight for humanity’s survival.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 Fabulous! I haven't been this engrossed in a fantasy novel in a very long time. Authors Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes create a believable, intriguing world with interesting characters. From Father Jacob, magic-user Priest of the Arcanum to Stephano de Guichen, former Captain in the Dragon Brigade, Weis & Krammes craft an engaging novel full of political intrigue, spies and kidnapping between two nations - Freya and Rosia. Stephano de Guichen leads the Cadre of the Lost consisting of his best friend, Rodrigo, dandy, Dag, mercenary, Miri and Gythe, Trundlers on an adventure for his estranged mother who is searching for Pietro Alcazar, rumored to have created a metal that can withstand contramagic. Contramagic is the magic that the church says does not exist, only it does and it appears that demons from hell have risen up to bring down humanity. The Arcanum, meanwhile is trying to suppress all discussion of contramagic as they control the "Breath" or the magic that rules Aeronne. Then there is master spy Henry Wallace for Freya, and Dubois, for the Grand Bishop of Rosia all tossed in for good measure. Looking forward to book II.

[ronercat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For many years I have been reading Margaret Weis novels, and I have always been struck by her ability to create worlds. This series is no exception. The world that has been created is a collection of large land masses that float on a gas that is used to power their magic. The book moves at a brisk pace and I found myself continuing to read long after I normally would have stopped. The book did a fairly good job of blending together the worlds of fantasy, steam-punk, and political/religious intrigue.

With that being said there were a few weaknesses in the development of certain characters. The motivation and attitude that drove some of them was a bit baffling, and it made the characters lack depth and seem really one dimensional. I am not saying all of them suffered in this manner, but there were a few.

All in all I enjoyed reading the book and I look forward to starting the next one in the series.