The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is the first book in a new fantasy series by Bradley P. Beaulieu. Released 5th Dec 2023 by Penguin Random House on their DAW imprint, it's 496 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out in 4th quarter 2024 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is the start of an epic political high fantasy series and readers should be prepared to spend some time with the world building and character backgrounds which that entails. The plotting is deliberate and not fast. The world is intricate and there are numerous primary and secondary characters. The book does not include a list of dramatis personae; the ebook format makes content searching much easier.
The chapters alternate points of view between numerous characters; each chapter is labeled clearly with the point of view, but it does make keeping track of the story more challenging. This is not an light-beach-read, it requires a considerable effort to keep track of the cast of characters, the political machinations, and the deliberate pacing (some will say slow).
Four stars. Definitely one for fans of heavy political fantasy and intricate world building. There are dragons, which is a definite bonus. It would be a great choice for public library acquisition, home reading, and gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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