I read the shoebox project, by the authors (A piece of Harry Potter fanfiction that is better than the books, novel length found here http://community.livejournal.com/shoe...) and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I printed off the whole thing, was a huge fan, etc. etc. So when this came out I had to get it. It is just as good, if not better that the shoebox project.

Its about a world thats been at war for years and used metal dragons (made with magic) to fight. One of the dragonriders, a professor at a university, and country tutor and a magician are the first person characters and the story flips between them as they meet and interact.

One of the funniest, addictive and best books ever.

HAVEMERCY focuses on four protagonists: Royston, a magician exiled for having a rather too public affair with the crown prince of an allied kingdom; Rook, a hotshot dragon pilot who's caused a scandal of his own with a diplomat's wife; Hal, a Poor Relation living on the kindness of his distant cousin and her husband; and Thom, a 'Versity student who's been hired to subject the Dragon Corps to sensitivity training in the wake of Rook's scandal. Their stories intersect and diverge to varying degrees as their country's hundred years war comes to a head.

I love character based books, and this certainly is that. The big, world-shaking stuff impacts the characters, but it's really just another ingredient in their arcs. It's well done but, to be honest, it's the weakest part of the whole thing.

But really, you shouldn't be reading this for the plot. Nope. You should pick this up because of the characterization.

Jones and Bennett drew me straight in and let me ride around inside their characters' heads. I found it such an easy book to get lost in. Every time I picked it up, I was there. I read on my breaks at work, and I could never quite believe that I'd only been away for half an hour. I'd been puzzling through some problem with Royston and Hal, riding the skies with Rook, fretting over the airmen with Thom. These people feel real. They're nicely fleshed out, and their interactions have the ring of truth. They're a pleasure to get lost with.

(Well, mostly. I can't say as I liked Rook, but he was certainly interesting. And the authors apparently plan to do more with him, so my opinion could change. Some of my very favourite literary characters are people I initially loathed).

The world building is also quite good. The authors introduce a fairly complex society with a steampunky mix of magic and technology. The three-tiered city was just wonderful; I wanted to know more about each and every one of the levels. I found it a fascinating place to explore. It does sometimes read as just another backdrop for the characters, but what a nice backdrop it is!

This really was a great read. Fun, character-based stuff with a good setting. The more I think about it, the more I like it. I really miss these characters, (yes, even Rook), and I'll certainly be reading anything else Jones and Bennett come out with!

(This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

HAVEMERCY is a laudable effort by two young, new writers, containing everything you'd want in a good fantasy: an interesting world with believable societies, tech and magic; finely drawn, memorable characters; epic battles as well as romance and moving relationships; and most of all--talking, fire-breathing, metal dragons and the special corps of men who ride them!

The kingdom/empire of Volstov, ruled by the Esar, has been in a nearly endless war with the Ke-Han Empire across the Cobalt Mountains to the south-east. Volstov has maintained the edge during the conflict because they alone have a small but effective air force consisting of 14 metal dragons flown by the daring pilots of the elite Dragon Corps, who are praised and feted throughout Volstov and particularly in their home base in the captial city of Thremedon (near the border, by the Cobalt Mountains).

Unfortunately, during the long, drawn-out war, there are periods of inaction. The tale opens during such a stretch, which has led to the Dragon Corps being at loose-ends and therefore in trouble. Rook, pilot of one of the fleetest, strongest dragons, Havemercy, has insulted the wife of an Arlemagne diplomat. Skilled and daring, but also wild and uncontrolled, Rook is the uncouth, uncaring, outrageous, foul-mouthed product of Molly, the lowest tier of Thremedon City, and he has a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. Rook is one of the four first-person narrators of the tale. His voice is reminiscent of the swearing, tough-talking anti-heroes in a number of recent books--he reminded me a bit of Sarah Monette's Mildmay character (maybe in concert with the use of Bastion for castle/fortress area of the Esar and the tower of wizards, the Basquiat, and the upper-class, erudite voice of the wizard, etc.?).

There is also Margrave Royston, a wizard who also happens to land in trouble with an international incident. He's awaiting arrest and/or punishment for having indiscreetly had relations with an Arlemagne Prince who then blamed Royston entirely. (Volstov's society is a bit more forgiving of M/M relations, whereas Arlemagne is not, and the Prince was heir to the kingdom, and Volstov was hoping to make Arlemagne an ally in the war.) Royston's title of Margrave had been awarded him by the Esar himself, meaning that he was a magician who had performed great service, in Royston's case, in battle, even though he is already of the aristocracy and has a Talent and is therefore one of the elite magicians.

Thom is the third narrator, a scholar of the 'Versity who has the thankless task of trying to reign in the behavior of the Dragon Corps, a group of men closer than brothers. He goes to live among them, to find out what makes them tick. Rook seems to lead them all on, and Rook makes life for Thom unbearable. But Thom does, gradually, get to know about these men, the battles they fight--and the dragons!

Hal is the fourth narrator. He's a lover of romans, although he gets to read few enough books, being a poor, distant relation of the Margrave and nanny and soon to be tutor to the Margrave's brother, who lives at Castle Nevers out in the countryside--where the Margrave is exiled for his indiscretions.

All four play important parts in the plot, which starts slowly, during a time of inaction, and builds as the war heats up again--and then comes to a crisis as the Ke-Han magicians (who use a different form of magic) hatch a plan to turn the tide of the war and threaten all of the characters as well as the kingdom of Volstov and the outcome of the war.

There is not nearly enough about the dragons, however, that may have been wise, since it could have turned the story into just another man-and-his-dragon story (which may have been just fine). The aspects of the dragons and the life of the Dragon Corps that are shown are definitely fascinating, particularly as viewed through Rook's and Thom's very different eyes. Interwoven into this are Royston's and Hal's narratives, which are much more personal, but reveal intriguing and important things about the rest of society. All four characters are strong and distinct and interesting, and their sections interweave well, never impeding the gradually unwinding plot and building action.

While there is not much shockingly new explored in this book, it is still far from tired and derivative. The voices of the characters are varied and well-crafted and the overall story is told with dexterity and sincerity, giving it weight and easily engaging our interest as well as our emotions.

I had heard nothing about this book before happening to pick it up. It was like finding an unexpected gem and I feel grateful to have stumbled upon it. ( )

If I were to be allowed only one sentence (and one redundant word) for this book I would have to say, "Very, very, very good and exactly what I've been looking for." Luckily, for me anyway, I don't have to keep things confined to one sentence!

Havemercy struck me first when the cover came up in my Amazon recommendations. I've always had a thing for dragons. If you're looking for a story "specifically" about dragons, this might not be it. That is not to say there aren't any dragons, because there are, and for the small amount of page space she gets, Havemercy (said dragon) totally makes her vibrant personality known. The only thing is we unfortunately don't get to see much of her, although she is never far from our thoughts through the thoughts of the characters. However, on the total upside of all this, the rest of the human cast of characters are each very intriguing and I loved reading about each of their trials and tribulations. First we have Margrave Royston, a royal wizard with an amazing talent, both magically and for getting into trouble. His most recent transgression; an all too public affair with the crown prince of his country's newest ally. Hal is a simple country boy with a yearning for both a little affection and a lot of intellectual stimulation, neither of which is available at the home of his cousin, until the appearance of an exiled wizard changes everything for him. Rook is an arrogant dragon rider who cares for nothing other than flying his precious Havemercy and Thom is the unfortunate 'versity student assigned the impossible task of teaching the elite Dragon Corps the ways of manners and refinement.

This story, told in alternating parts, really focuses most on the innermost challenges facing each of them. We get to see how they think, feel, act and react to each other and when they are all brought together, the results are quite gratifying. There is both action (the story taking place during an ongoing war between neighboring countries) and romance (heads up for the said romance being of the gay variety for those that care) mixed along with more personal discoveries for each of the characters which made this an above average read for me and something I'm very happy to have found. It was exactly the kind of engrossing fantasy I've been looking for since finishing Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner books. Highly recommended! ( )

This book has four POVs. One is the Margrave Royston, a sophisticated wizard from the city who's just been exiled to his brother's home in the country due to an inappropriate relationship with a foreign prince. There he meets our other POV Hal, a bright but naïve country boy who tutors Royston's brother's children, somewhat put in charge of looking after the now depressed wizard. On the other side of things is Rook, one of the (fourteen?) pilots of the magical mechanical dragons who have brought the country close to victory in their war. Rook is the epitome of the crass soldier, and after getting himself into his own scandal involving a diplomat's wife, the entire corps of pilots (as most of the rest are not without their faults) is sentenced to undergo “sensitivity training” by POV the last, Thom, a university student, fearful of the infamous pilots but drawn by the opportunities the job may provide.

There's also some business about the war caused by a border dispute between our protagonists' nation and another. It's a little weak, but not really what the book is about for the most part, anyway. What we've really got here is a love story for Royston and Hal, and a story of Thom trying to understand and make some impact on Rook by figuring out why he and the rest of the Dragon Corps are the way they are. Basically, its got a character relationship driven plot, a little humor, a little action, a little magic, and an interesting, if ultimately under-explored, idea for cool metal dragons. It tries to be a little more intelligent, but doesn't get bogged down in certain things like some other more intelligent character driven series I know and love but make me wonder if humans are really such depressing creatures that any fantasy that tries to explore them with any accuracy must be dark and moody. I wouldn't exactly call Havemercy upbeat, but it's clear the authors really want you to enjoy your read, not just because it's intelligent and creative and sophisticated but because it's, well, enjoyable.

Overall, though, I find Havemercy pretty well up my alley and quite commendable, but a little overrated. I think the strongest point of it all is the romance between Royston and Hal. It's warm and sweet and shy and nervous, and full of great UST. Even as the two become attracted to one another, and even as they realize the other might have some sort of similar feelings, much keeps them apart, from their living situation in the conservative countryside with Royston's conservative family, to their misunderstandings about the extent and reason for the other's affections. Admittedly, such perfect and sweet characters and love can annoy me usually if the romance is very central. The well-loved-but-irritating-to-me A Strong and Sudden Thaw comes to mind most of all being yet another 'worldly man falls in love with naïve country boy' story. But I think what Havemercy does that many other overly sweet romances I've read don't do is that it takes a little more in-depth and mature look at the psychology of the characters as they go through this. What we see still isn't horribly original, the characters react to things in action and mind pretty much exactly as we would expect them to. But their thoughts ring true and touchingly and tragically human. It's not blow-away impressive, but it's more than enough to make the sections work. Though at times these parts are rather too slow, and after certain events it becomes a little hard to believe the two STILL don't realize the extent and wholeheartedness of the other's love, this problem isn't as bad as I've seen in other stories, and both are fairly minor quibbles. While it wasn't anything that was going to stick with me forever, I truly enjoyed many of the parts involving these two.

Still, while Royston and Hal's relationship was done well enough to entertain me, I was left, after hearing so many good things about the characters in the novel, rather underwhelmed by them as separate characters. This also goes for Rook and Thom. In particular, Hal and Thom seem a bit bland, and rather too much alike. Both are a very nice sort, awkward and perhaps underwhelming at first, but with an apparent semi-hidden cleverness the particularly smart or observant characters seem to love to remark upon on most every occasion in which it would be semi-appropriate, despite the fact that frankly they both seem quite average despite having a love of studying or books. They're the fairly nondescript sort I remember seeing in kids books with the feeling they were written without too much personality so that the young reader could insert themselves in the protagonists place instead, perhaps feeling that they too were more clever than all the idiots realized. Royston and Rook have more distinct personalities, but they still are not explored with the decent amount of sophistication that the feelings in the romantic relationship between Royston and Hal were.

And then, unlike in the sections with Royston and Hal where the relationship exploration was able to make the sections still quite interesting, Rook and Thom's 'relationship exploration' does not work nearly so well for me. Thom is ostensibly trying to figure out the Dragon Corps and Rook, but most of his time he spends being hazed and upset. His observations are quite anticlimactic. Rook is for too long mean and crass to the point of being unlikable. I assume this personality is supposed to be intriguing for a main character, but really he just seems nothing more than a simple childish jerk. As these things go, while the two never really become good buddies, they do form a sort of reluctant bond which will make them preoccupied with one another and give them more sway over the other. There will be eventual grudging respect, there will be a little opening up. It goes through the usual moves just like the romance section. Only here, it doesn't feel real anymore. The lack was so apparent to me that frankly, I'm surprised not even one other review I've seen mentions this. I suppose Thom's preoccupation with Rook makes sense seeing as how he is the main troublemaker. But whatever change we are supposed to feel from Rook seeing Thom as a trivial, ridiculous nuisance to...whatever else (I'm still not clear on exactly what, besides the obvious and rather lame spoiler answer) was to me quite unconvincing. The sections concerning them aren't badly written or a huge bore, but often during them I felt lost, not really feeling what the words were telling me was true.

The last unfortunate thing is that the war plot seems to take more of a center stage in the end. I had no problem with the idea the plot might more prominent in the end initially, as I assumed the changes it brought about would be being used to further study the characters and their relationships. Interestingly enough, though, this is mostly untrue. The end has many less changes or explorations in characters or relationships and simply goes about wrapping up the conflicts concerning the war. Moreover, the best part of the novel, the relationship of Royston and Hal, goes into fairly steady and unchanging sweetness a little past half way into the book, anyway.

As usual, though, in my desire to express the possible weaknesses of a book, I've probably come out sounding more negative about it than I actually feel. Sometimes after I've read a book, I roll my eyes and maybe want to scratch the author's eyes out with my finger nails, just a little. But reading this, really I just want to pat Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett on the back. They did some things unexpectedly well, and even those areas they missed the mark a bit with were better than I've seen more experienced authors do with such things. I am sort of taking this book as a promise of better things to come when the authors become more experienced.

Less broadly, though, just as a reading experience, since the better parts of the book are mostly in the fist half, by the end I was left with a much more iffy feeling, not exactly sure whether I was glad to have read it or not. Reminding myself of how much I liked some of the first half, though, I think I am. There were multiple parts where a minute, ten, or an hour after I finished a passage I would go back and read it again, just too feel the writing blow by blow again. And even when the rest of it is a little less fulfilling, it's still quite readable. I'm definitely going to try to ignore the hype and wait for a library copy or paperback for these authors' next story, though. ( )