Synopsis:
Vainqueur Knightsbane is your average dragon: A giant, fire-breathing lizard who loves to take naps on his golden hoard, kidnap princesses for fun, and make the life of adventurers miserable. Vainqueur's only pleasure in life is to watch his treasure get bigger, one coin at a time.
So when a would-be thief turned unwilling minion tells him about "classes", "levels", and "quests", Vainqueur wonders if maybe, just maybe, he should consider a career change.
After all, why bother hunting monsters for free when you can get paid for it?
Review: Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand 25/10/20
Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this audiobook free of charge in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I don't think I've ever come across a book like this before.. So a player in an MMORPG describes levelling-Up to an in-game character and inadvertently makes them self-aware but, unfortunately, the character is a Dragon.
So begins the player's servitude to the (self-professed) greatest calamity of the age and his sudden lust to become the ruler of all that he can (and can't yet) see. What begins with the Dragon and Victor forming an adventuring party soon leads to burnt lands, warring nations and an empire of werewolves, demons and the undead.
The situations that the pair find themselves in are varied, imaginative and wonderfully well thought-out considering that each one has to fit a small squishy human and a vastly overpowered creature the size of a cruise ship but at no point did I feel that one of the pair was given the short-end of the stick and I thoroughly enjoyed every situation they found themselves in, whether together or apart.
For a book with such a hugely varied cast of characters and creatures, it would be extremely easy to lose track of the cast but the excellent narration provided by Jack Voraces ensures this isn't the case and regardless of race, gender (or indeed alive or dead) each one felt wholly individual and in fact family members who heard the book refused to believe it was all the work of one man.
I came into the story thanks to the cover art which is fantastic and stayed for the fantastic story and presentation and look forward to whatever Maxime Durand releases next and will also be checking out many more of Jack Voraces' work too.