Chasing Embers

Written by James Bennett

Narrated by Colin Mace

"A thrilling fusion of myth and modernity," revel in this explosive debut fantasy of magic and mayhem that"will have you rooting for dragons over humans and loving every minute of it."(Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author)

There's nothing special about Ben Garston. . .or so he'd have you believe. He won't tell you, for instance, that he's also known as Red Ben. That the world of myth and legend isn't just a fantasy, as we've been led to believe. And he certainly can't let you know the secret of what's hiding just beneath his skin. . .

But now a centuries-old rivalry has just resurfaced, and the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered. Something is hiding in the heart of the city -- and it's about to be unleashed.

Behind every myth, there's a spark of truth. . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Sep 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781478968184

James Bennett

James Bennett is a British writer raised in Sussex and South Africa. His travels have furnished him with an abiding love of different cultures, history and mythology. His short fiction has appeared internationally and the acclaimed Chasing Embers was his debut fantasy novel. James lives in London and sees dragon bones in the Thames whenever he crosses a bridge.

Reviews for Chasing Embers

[tldegray-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three stars because I liked the story even while some of the writing was overblown at times and heavy on the info dumps. I liked Rose very much; she deserves better than Ben. Ben is a jerk and even though he eventually admits it himself that still wasn't enough to make me like him. The world interested me, especially tying the treaty to the Magna Carta. I'll probably read the second book when it's available.

[kmmsb459 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was interesting. The author is very poetic, however, sometimes it took twice the time to tell the tale and I unfortunately was often aware of that and thus taken out of the story.n I still think it's worth the read.

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

I really wanted to like this book. And I don't actually think the story is bad in any way. However, the writing style really put me off. It was far too descriptive and I just couldn't focus on what was actually happening. The other reason I didn't like this book is because I didn't really care about any of the characters. I wasn't able to form a bond with any of them enough to want to read more about them. Like I mentioned before, this story isn't a bad one at all. It's got plenty of action and a fast-moving pace. However, it just didn't cut it for me, and so I'm going to have to add this to my DNF list. I hope that others who are interested in urban fantasy will still give this novel a shot because there is definitely potential in the overall story!

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[ilonita50 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book via Goodreads first reads for an honest review, thank you!

The cover of the books has this beautiful red shining, I suppose tail of the "dragon-thing" and the main character's name is Red Ben, although no matter how far I was my image for him was everything but not red.

I really enjoyed the language and the way plot creates the scenes, atmosphere. The book very much reminded me of a TV series ages ago, called "Highlander", I blame it to the old tale and England's part, as well as living like forever and the dialogues, action scenes.

Overall, of course, the Chasing Embers involves loyal main character, Ben, who has given his word to once sealed peace deal over the "creatures" war by the Pact and actually follows it. On the other hand there are those also sworn, but found it too difficult and boring to actually follow the rule, thus rule-breakers are more than Ben could ever have suspected..which will lead to action and fantasy, mythological, religion and historical elements as well as witches, evil and relationship between Ben and Rose. Its about fighting what you believe for. Action, action, action. Nice!

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this, it kept me reading last night until the end. It did suffer a bit from the author needing to add new descriptions into the mix of things but at the same time I liked the metaphors. I absolutely adored the retelling of the myth, with the charming illustrations (which sadly aren't credited, that I can see). Ben Garston is not telling all of his secrets but some are going to come out when he is attacked and the truth can't be hidden from everyone. He wants a quiet life but no-one seems to be willing to let him.

And he's fighting promises he's made but to protect those he loves and the world he may have to break some of the rules, which may have long-term effects.

I liked it, the cover said it may contain traces of dragon and it did, and it satisfied this urban fantasy dragon lover.

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hundreds of years ago, the non-human sentient beings of the world acknowledged the overwhelming power of King John of England and signed a treaty forcing them into indefinite hibernation while waiting for their creators to return from wherever it was that they went. Only one representative of each type of being is allowed to remain awake, provided life is kept quiet and socially invisible. The dragon who waits is Red Ben, known these days as Ben Garston, a wealthy man who likes his drink.

As you might imagine, the Supernaturals aren't really very happy to be so constrained; plots and alliances abound. Dragons are rather forceful creatures and Ben interrupts his boredom by acting as a kind of policeman for the human wardens of the treaty, forcing everybody to behave properly.

One evening while minding his own business at a bar, the door bursts open and Ben is assaulted by a knight yelling THE TREATY HAS BEEN BROKEN while bashing Ben around. Ben gets out of the brawl alive and sets off to find out what the #@%$!$ is going on.

Ben's adventure takes him to Egypt and Somalia and other places in the ancient world where he must fight an undead being who is not part of the Treaty. We follow along having a good time all the way.

Ben is an imperfect hero, although I put a lot of his failings down to ennui. There isn't a lot to do when you aren't allowed to fly around burning things.

I received a review copy of "Chasing Embers" by James Bennet (Orbit) through NetGalley.com.

[theyodamom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the story, the developed history and myths. I reread some of the amazingly beautiful descriptive scenes, they awed and left me breathless. The action was nail bitting worthy. The book was an epic movie in written on pages. This epic-ness made it hard to read at times.
There was so much information dumped, so many extremely detailed details, written with such artistic flourish that the book felt heavy. I could only read for short amounts of time, my brain needed time to rest after struggling to unwind the woven words into meaning. This was not an easy book to read, it had to be savored slowly taking time to contemplate the events both past and present.
Ben the man who is not a man but a red dragon from lore lost with time, was trapped in a web. He had lived centuries hidden, long lonely centuries with humans never knowing his secret. He has a woman, Rose, that he cares for but knows it can not last, and he doesn't have the nerve to be honest with her. Her safety, his secrets and the world will all be trapped in a tornado of ancient myth come to the present. His secrets are held in check by a pact.
It is a pact him and others not human made after years of slaughter and near extinction threatened them when the Fae left this world. This world full of suppressed magic and lore is ruled by humans with a hope that the Fae will return and the magic will once again be free. Witches, Egyptian gods, spirits, Fae and more. When the pact is broken everything bleeds and worlds collide .
I don't think I'll continue with the series. It was a story I loved but was so difficult to read it took some of the pleasure out of reading. I would go see the movie !