A Dream of Wings & Flame

Read Time: 2 Minutes

Kobolds, normally a joke race in any fantasy world, get their time to shine in this sweet progression fantasy by Cale Plamann. Samazzar, or Sam for short, is a freshly hatched Kobold. One of many growing up in a creche with his many brothers and sisters. Unlike them, though, Sam believes he is destined for greatness. After hearing the story of how kobolds are kin, of sorts, to dragons, Sam is determined to better his bloodline and evolve into a full-blooded dragon.

Of course, the lazy Kobolds in his clan make fun of his dream. The rest of them are beyond lazy, most of them refusing to do the bare minimum to stay alive during the harsh winter months. With the help of the old crone in charge of the litter of Kobolds, Tazzaera, he learns the first steps to fire magic – an essential step if you’re going to be a dragon.

What follows is a rather sweet, inoffensive adventure story of Sam and two close friends from the creche venturing into the wide world beyond their cave. The story progresses nicely, the magic system is easy to understand without getting bogged down in the details.

Note: At the beginning of every chapter, we get Sam’s stat sheet. For the most part, this is fairly short, though it does get a little longer towards the end. It’s a little overkill, and I could have done without a good half of them. Still, easy to skip ahead when they’re at the start of a chapter.

Neil Hellegers does a great job narrating, as expected. I’ve enjoyed his voice in another series, and he always delivers quality work. Good voices. Clear narration. Polished production. I did wonder having only known him from the Bad Guys series if I’d have trouble separating the two, but no.

I’m looking forward to more adventures with Sam, and will certainly grab the next one in the series when it’s available.