The Black Mausoleum

They were seeing the death of the realms, of everything they knew, stark and irrevocable.There was nothing left, nothing but ash and sand and salt and ruin.What the author envisions here is nothing new, but his approach is undeniably visceral. The Black Mausoleum is a stand-alone novel, but there’s a lot of potential catch up to do if, like me, you’re unfamiliar with the trilogy that preceded it.The waking of the dragons had changed everything, and now nothing mattered except food and water [...]

I was fairly grumpy about the first three volumes of the Memory of the Flames umpteenology, mainly because the author not only killed off virtually every character along the way, and in the most cavalier fashion, but also destroyed most of the infrastructure of his created world. Mind you, it was an exciting ride, without a second’s breathing space between bouts of mayhem and destruction, the dragons were mind-blowingly awesome, and the first chapter of the second book remains one of the best [...]

rantingdragon/review-oI’m generally not in the habit of spoiling earlier books in a series. However, Stephen Deas’s latest dragon novel is something of an exception. While it is set in the same world as his A Memory of Flames trilogy, and is thus highly influenced by the events therein, it is a stand-alone novel in most ways. If you’re thinking of jumping into Deas’s dragon stories, The Black Mausoleum makes a great starting point with all its sheer epicness and wonderfully grim moral am [...]

If I could give negative stars to a book, I would. Hold onto your hats, readers - I'm about to spit nails.First of all: I like grimdark. Not all the time, and not too much at once, but I. Love. Grimdark. Mark Lawrence, George R.R. Martin, Joe "I-Will-Never-Trust-Again" Abercrombie. Gimme. Gimme all of it. The grimmer and darker and bloodier and stabbier and You-Will-Never-Look-At-Humanity-With-Hope-Again-ier the better.But this book. This book. This book is why people like me - who love grimark, [...]

The first thing that strikes you about this book, and the whole series is the amazing art work. So many books sit gathering dust on the shelf in bookshops, with bland covers rehashing some old formulaic imaging. Not so the fantastic visuals on this series.This is not your average series with dragons, this is a whole new world, with just as much imagination and skill in world building as the greats like Tolkien. Every aspect has been examined, thought about, written and brought to life. Character [...]

"What did it matter who took the Silver King's power? In the great long scheme of things, it was a battle of one species against another."This stand-alone sequel was quite a departure from the first three books in the series. The post-apocalyptic scourged waste within the lifetime of civilisation is reminiscent of a science-fiction setting, the survival of the most viley self-absorbed dregs of humanity reminiscent of the message of The Walking Dead, that chaos and destruction favours those with [...]

This and more reviews, interviews etc on Dark Matter Zine, an online magazine. darkmatterzine. This review was written by Rebecca Muir for Dark Matter Zine.The Black Mausoleum is the latest in a series of novels by Stephen Deas about the Dragon Realms. It is the only book in the series I have read, and I found it a little difficult to pick up the back story. By the end of the book I had some idea of what had preceded this story but I would have found a review of the story so far helpful. As I pi [...]

This is a review for the David Gemmell Legend Awards website. This is the first book that I've read by Stephen Deas. It shares the same world as his Memory of Flames Trilogy and takes off chronologically after that series. The highlight for me is the overall premise of the book. The dragons are at the top of the food chain, and since they are no longer enslaved by the humans, they are now exacting their revenge. Nearly every city he describes is a puddle of ash and bones. In fact, it seems the d [...]

OK fantasy battling dragons but pretty thin

Daring and new, I'd say. The ending of the first trilogy left the world in ruins, and now those who remain must try and survive. Easily the most imaginative novel in the series so far, and on of the most imaginative novels I've read the last few years. There is so much in the world that you get a tantalising glimpse of; so much you want to explore; so much you just want the story to delve further into.The main characters are an interesting mix, and show genuine growth throughout the novel. Most [...]

Interesting book. Everything was back dated so to speak. 22 days before, 20 days before etc. and some flashbacks describing the scene or area a chapter or section of the book was taking place. Then bam you are in current day, time, place in the world.Skorjl and Jassan were an interesting pair. It has been a long time since I read Order of the Scales so I forgot some things and had to go back and reread a bit. Kataros was cool and so was Siff.The book was good, not great like the last Jordan/Sand [...]

Well Mr Deas I think that I can forgive you the cliff-hanging ending to the last trilogy now. This is a non-stop rollercoaster of a book; I gulped it down. The first trilogy dealt with the rise of the dragons due to the stupidity, arrogance, bitching and in-fighting of the dragon lords. Dragons in this universe are total killing machines with very few weaknesses and amazing strengths (reincarnation, telepathy, not to mention the usual fire, claws etc) and had been reduced to bestial slavery due [...]

Wasn't as big a fan of this as I was of the main Memory of Flames Trilogy, the characters didn't quite resonate with me as much the main character's arcs did in that. The standalone doesn't offer as much scope for development as the full trilogy (excepting the main character who has appeared previously) The bulk of the plot is a journey, which felt similar to the latter bits of Kemir's arc in the original trilogy, though in that case it was alternating with Jehal's/Zafir's political back & f [...]

Stephen Deas' most recent foray is every bit up to his usual high standards. It's a fast-paced read, especially for a high fantasy, and the plot is deftly woven. The characters are very well fleshed out, each distinct and intriguing in his or her own right. The only trouble I find in reading Mr. Deas engaging series is that there is really no character to cheer for, no one to get behind and connect with. Everyone is amoral to one degree or another, and although it makes for great and gritty sche [...]

Set a couple of years after the previous trilogy. Humanity has been defeated by the dragons and forced into a rat-like existence hiding in small pockets and deep dungeons. A couple of characters sense a new hope has emerged, however, and decide to seek it out. These are damaged characters from a destroyed society, and so you know it just won't work out very well for most or all of them. This is portrayed fairly well. The quest they are on is described effectively. There is lots of travel, but no [...]

Absolutely gorgeous descriptive narrative, fascinating and three dimensional, complex characters (as usual), and very intriguing plot. I loved this book for the most part, but it left me with so many unanswered questions (mild spoilers to follow). The ending was a bit unsatisfactory because of this, and because it felt like the overall story of this world was not significantly advanced by the actions of the characters in this book. Otherwise this was a wonderful book, and I am hoping for more an [...]

Don't read this if you want to be happy. Otherwise, do.That glimmer of hope I thought I saw? That light at the end of the tunnel? Yeah, it was an oncoming train. Don't know why I thought it would be anything other than miserable. The story is much tighter in this installment than the last two, it's a fairly straightforward quest. The sense of hopelessness in the face of really terrifying dragons remains, and there really does need to be some hope soonBut all round a much better, more interesting [...]

A rather unexpected ending to a fine series. After reading 'Order of the Scales' I was left wondering how it would be topped off. And Deas certainly manages it.The world that was built up in the last 3 books certainly comes crashing down and many of the more magical things that were hinted at are finally reveled.

Flames, flames and yes more flames. This great world I felt a part of from start to finish. The dragons really come to life within Stephen Deas' books. You really feel like you are riding them. Excellent stuff.A great book and indeed author for any fantasy reader.

This is the fourth book in a series. It’s a great take on dragons. The first book starts out with a pretty standard view of them working with humans. By the fourth book, it is anything but standard. A fun read!

ahhhhHHH dragons

Very readable, if you ignore the stench of male ego anyway.

Okey book and with an unusual ending that I like. Full of antiheroes and people trying to survive in a world dominated by dragons.

Ugh.Ham-handed rape-as-plot-device with a mediocre fantasy world and lackluster dragons with a BSG reincarnation gimmick.I'm pissed that I own this book.

I had some issues with Kataros, but overall it was a fun read. Really made me want to play Skyrim again!