The Dragon Lords: False Idols by Jon Hollins Review

The gang are back after the events of Fool’s Gold, and if you thought the first book in this series was good then you’ve got a treat ahead. False Idols starts slowly, serving both those who have waited 12 months for this 2nd book in the series, as well as anyone new to the Dragon Lords books (although if that’s you, you should really be reading Fools Gold first even though this book doesn’t insist on it) but after a few chapters the action ramps up and barely takes a breath for the following 500 pages.

I’ve read books before that have been all action to the point that they’ve become a bit tiresome, but False Idols manages to feel exciting without that level of tedium you’d often get. Even the slower paced sections without the eye-widening fighting have a level of excitement to them, whether that’s the relationships developing and changing between the characters (which takes an awesome twist towards the end) or the build up of a new plan to defeat the dragons, I constantly felt desperate to turn the page and find out what came next. If you’ve been with Will, Lette and co since the start then there’s little chance you’ll get through this without some kind of emotional turmoil, such is the way the characters come to be so likeable, and alongside a perfectly placed dark streak in the plot it’s another key reason why I found it so incredibly difficult to put this down; if you can willingly stop reading during the final 100 pages then you’re a stronger person than I am.

If you’ve read and liked Fools Gold then you need to read this as soon as possible after its release later this month. If you haven’t read Fools Gold, read that right now and then go straight into this – I severely doubt you’ll regret it.  With False Idols, The Dragon Lords has once again combined breath-taking and exciting adventure with some awesome humour and epic battles, and is poised to become one of my favourite ever fantasy series. With the book’s surprising and shocking ending lending itself to a spectacular third story it’s going to be a long 12 months before we find out what comes next.