Book Review: Regent (The Balance of Power #1) by Brian Rathbone (Three Stars)
“Perhaps in that the old prophecies had been right. Perhaps she had no choice but to become an avatar of death. Is a sword only used to kill?”
Dragons and magic, what can go wrong? Lots. Both in the plot and in the storytelling. Lots of emoting and adults acting like teens.
“Forgotten are those who fail to achieve. Doomed are those afraid to fail.”
Though the first of a new series, Regent assumes readers have read the previous series. Late in the second half, “new” characters appear from previous books. Doesn’t end with a cliffhanger; ends falling off the cliff. Not ending, per se.
“I cannot kill you because I have seen that future as well, and the only thing worse than a future without dragons is a future without dragons and humans. Now there is no other way. You must choose.”
Quibble: “Piling the dark-shelled muscles onto the indented slab…” Eating muscles? No, mussels.
“Not that one.” Durin’s sick feeling intensified as a low grinding noise filled the halls and the stone beneath their feet trembled.
As a Matter of Fancy 
Yes, an on-target review. The cover is wild in a good way for this book.