Firestorm - Reviews

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by Threddy

I thought Firestorm was the first in the Dragon Orb series.
Am I being silly or is this review wrong?

No, you're not being silly. The cover is unusual as it has the series title bigger than the book title. It's an easy mistake to make. It's too late to stop the review going out like this now, but it doesn't really matter. If people look online for Dragon Orb, rather than Firestorm, they are much more likely to find my books straight away. Firestorm seems to be a brand name for lots of things!

[Mark Robson]

Had this through the other day from my publishers. It seems the boy's school sent them this review - I'm going to the school as part of my tour in September. I think I'll be giving this young lad a pat on the back while I'm there!

“Four riders…”
“One mission…”
The dragon Oracle is dying. It needs the four dragon orbs to save it: Day, Dawn, Dusk and Night - these are the four dragon species and each has their own orb.

When I first started this book I was hooked by the thrilling first paragraph. As I got further through the book I found that this paragraph was not alone as each page had me wanting more. The writing style was perfect for the way the author told the story. When I got to the final page I flicked through the blank pages to see if there was more writing or even a note or something and almost cried when I found that there was no more.
I would rate this book 10/10 because it keeps you hooked on every page.
I would recommend this book to anyone over 7 who likes fantasy action.

Review written by Joe - Age 12

I'm not sure I could recommend this book for 7+ ... more like 9+ (and an advanced 9 at that) but I very much appreciated the sentiment. It was also interesting to see a 12 year old boy raving about a book and then recommending it as being suitable for much younger readers. This is the second instance of this I've seen in the past week. It's great to see there are youngsters out there who can be objective enough to make such statements without worrying about if it was 'cool' or not.

[Ian Whates]

What a fabulous endorsement, Mark. It must really give you a boost to receive such heart-felt and unsolicited praise, which seems intended more as an expression of gratitude than anything else.

As someone who's a good deal older than 12, may I add that Joe is quite right!

[Patrick Mahon]

Congratulations Mark - as Ian says, it's a great endorsement of the book. But I'd also agree with you that this is great news more generally, that reading your book made a lad of 12 feel so positive that he was prepared to write a review like this, regardless of whether it seemed cool or not. I hope you feel suitably proud of yourself!

[Mark Robson]

Thanks, guys. I take it from your comment that you've scanned the ARC I gave you then, Ian. Had an interesting lunch with my editor and senior editor today. They have asked me not to close off the series totally at book 4, as they are already considering asking for more stories spinning off from this series. Considering the first book has not even launched yet, I'm taking that as another positive sign.

Edit: Oh and they've brought the launch of Book 4 forward to August 09, so now all four books will launch in a single year!

[Ian Whates]

Hi, Mark,

Yes, now read the arc and have to say that Firestorm is truly impressive. Great characters, the action is, as ever, superbly depicted and I would have to agree with you that this is quite probably your best writing yet! Which is saying something, because the Imperial series was more than a bit special in it's own right.

Terrific news that the publishers are already talking about spin-offs. Congratulations!

[Threddy]

Got Firestorm. I've only read the first few pages so far though. The cover looks fantastic close up.

Good News from the publishers, well done.

Ed - Threddy

[Mark Robson]

Another nice review, this time from Waterstones Bookseller John Lloyd at Waterstones, Bath. He gives the book 4 out of 5 stars and says:

With his experience of high altitude adventure ex Royal Air Force pilot Mark Robson is the perfect candidate to unleash this new soaring dragon adventure. In the distant land of Areth there exists a special bond between dragons and their riders. Armed with a single life mission, bestowed by the all powerful Oracle, four young dragon riders must release their fears and take to the skies under these mighty beasts.

With a truly virtuous bid to set Harry Potter off his lofted mantle ‘Dragon Orb’ contains the special ingredients to make this a fantasy series to remember. A courageous mix of adventure and fantasy, blending into our world with captivating allure, Mark Robson writes with fluid awareness for great character and mythical development. ‘Dragon Orb’ is the inauguration of a fantasy worthy of admiration from an author who continually stresses your greater scrutiny.

[M@.Price]

Wow mark! Awesome book. It is clear you have done a lot of research, and the way you portray the fears Nolita has is brilliant. I thought the link between a dragon and the rider was a fantastic idea, and you made it feel so real.

The whole Earth bit made me laugh hysterically for about 5 minutes, it was pure genious! The way you describe the technology from the point of view of someone that lives in a place with no such inventions or knowlege was very good, and how the charcters managed to understand it- slightly at least- 'A flying wagon'. Brilliant!

Amazing read mark!

[Mark Robson]

Thanks, Matt. Glad you liked it. I'm just proof reading the type-set pages of Shadow this week and I'm very pleased with the second story as well. It adds even more depth to the characters and builds on the quest in a most intruiging fashion. Given all the great reviews that are appearing, I'm hoping that word on this new series is going to spread fast, as I think it could place me on the map if the sales kick off strongly. It's hard to get your name known with so much strong competition out there. Let's hope this one does it for me.

[Mark Robson]

Another very nice review, this time from the Falcata Times: http://members.lycos.co.uk/falcatati...catatimes7.pdf

In case you don't want to plow all the way through the magazine (which has some incredible artwork and interesting interviews) to page 115, here's what they said ... without my added notes in bold, of course(!):

A new tale released by the author of the Imperial Trilogy only this time he's taking his writing in a new direction. Here we see a tale blended with a touch of McCaffrey's Pern, (It's a fair cop!) a hint of Novik's Temeraire (Never read it!) and a dash of Paolini's Eragon (Please, no! Don't compare Firestorm to that!).

Yet what arrives is a unique tale (phew!) that is not only easily accessible by the reader, but also a tale that will keep the reader glued to the last page and clamouring for more.

Robson not only blends all the fantastical elements together but also brings a touch of our own world to the fore with a character who is not only afraid of dragons, but whom the fates make a Dragonrider who is afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Not only does this make for interesting reading it will also allow readers to identify with each character as they band together on an epic quest. Gripping, thrilling and above all entertaining this will have readers clamouring for more and I only hope that the wait for following tales won't be too far into the future.