Continuing saga of warrior slave Drakis, dwarf Jugar, Mala, Urlani, manticore Belag, the Lyric, chimerian Ethis and elf Soen. The western devotional wells of the Rhonas Empire elves has fallen. The Rhonas Empire is tracking the fleeing slaves to annihilate them. Belag is leading 60,000+ mixed races towards the northern lands to escape the domination of the elves and to align themselves with the "prophet" Drakis. Drakis is trying to get Mala home but in order to do so he is pointed in the direction of the citadels of the lost human empire whose magic stopped flowing centuries ago. The dragons are awake. Subterfuge, betrayal, suspense, epic battles all ensue. ( )

The second book in the Annals of Drakis picks up right where the first book left off. It feels like one big book has been chopped in two, or probably three, really, and we are getting the middle part of that big book. It reads like the middle part. Kind of slow, everybody traveling, and only getting somewhere at the end, setting up the third book. So be aware. If in the middle of the book you think, "Come on, something important happen!" it isn't until the end that things really pick up. We've seen this before in other series, and while I was very enthusiastic about the first book, this one cooled me off. Let's hope the next book heats things back up again. ( )