Memory of Dragons

Memory of Dragons is an NA cross-worlds fantasy novel by Michael Munz. Due out 15th June 2020, it's 315 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a well written and deftly plotted fantasy. The parallel worlds/portal trope is popular, but the world building and magic here is unusually good. Fantasy creatures have been sent to earth through a magical rift as punishment or containment for thousands of earth years (turns out politicians from other worlds aren't a lot different than our own) and it's up to protagonist Austin to thwart the bad guy's plans, save the world, and keep the evil dragons from getting loose and running amok. 

The pacing and story arc are nicely controlled and plotted and the whole of the narrative works well. The characterization could have been more finely drawn, but overall the author does a good job of using action and settings to move the story along. The denouement was foreshadowed pretty heavily, there weren't any AHA surprises or huge reveals. Overall a satisfying fantasy with dragons and tragic character backstories. It works very well as a standalone and it isn't clear that there will be more books to come (presumably there will be, but this one ends on a fairly satisfying note).

I would recommend this one to fans of darker crossworlds fantasy such as Lev Grossman, Stephen Lawhead, or even Stephen R. Donaldson. 

Four stars, I'll keep an eye out for more work by the author.