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![Shattered Past (Dragon Blood) by [Lindsay Buroker]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51C6GYu0NWL._SY346_.jpg)
Shattered Past (Dragon Blood) Kindle Edition
Lindsay Buroker (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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A bookish paleontologist with a love for mysteries.
An ancient stronghold full of secrets that will take both of them to unearth.
Professor Lilah Zirkander (yes, she’s related to the famous pilot, and no, she can’t get him to autograph your undergarments) is looking forward to a summer in the paleontology lab, researching and cataloging new fossils. But that summer takes an unexpected turn when the king sends her into the Ice Blades to a secret mine where ancient dragon bones have been discovered. Rumor has it that they’re cursed and dangerous, but Lilah is more concerned about dealing with the outpost commander, a fierce officer with the temperament of a crabby badger.
As punishment for irking the king, Colonel Vann Therrik is overseeing the hardened criminals working in the remote Magroth Crystal Mines. He would like a chance to redeem himself—and escape the loathsome duty station—but nothing is going his way. Cursed fossils have delayed production, miners are trying to escape, and now a scientist has shown up, making demands on his time. Worse, she’s the cousin of his nemesis General Zirkander. As if one Zirkander in his world wasn’t bad enough.
Investigating the fossils leads Lilah and Vann into the depths of Magroth Mountain where centuries-old secrets lurk, and a long-forgotten threat stalks the passages. To have any chance at survival, they’ll have to work together and perhaps learn that neither is what the other expected.
Shattered Past is a stand-alone novel set in the author’s Dragon Blood world.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 20, 2016
- File size2375 KB
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Product details
- ASIN : B01AVX32XC
- Publication date : January 20, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 2375 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 240 pages
- Lending : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #80,400 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,827 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy eBooks
- #2,191 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #2,304 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Lindsay is a full-time independent fantasy and science fiction author who loves travel, hiking, tennis, and vizslas. She's written over sixty novels, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and has been twice nominated for a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award.
She grew up in the Seattle area but has itchy feet and moves every couple of years. She's currently living in Bend, Oregon, and working on the next book.
Customer reviews
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This book is special, because it's about Colonel Therrik, who is my guilty pleasure. I've always loved it whenever Therrik shows up, irritated once again with Ridge, becoming unglued by Ridge's flippant and irreverent personality, and speechless (or, actually not so speechless usually) with horror at the love that every other person on the planet seems to have for him and the awe in which he is held.
So, it's kind of a poetic justice when Ridge's cousin is assigned by Angelus to investigate some dragon fossils unearthed by the Magroth Prison gang in their unending search for more power crystals. Lilah Zirkander is a dorky academic widow, a paleontologist with bad jokes and a love of adventure novels she shares with her students. She is also as irritated with Ridge as Therrik is, for similar reasons as he is. Zirkander has outshown her in her quest to be famous for her accomplishments in her field, and she is as tired of her students asking her to get his autograph for them as Therrik is of Zirkander showing him up on the field of honor.
Therrik, as annoying as he is, is also a man of honor, and has worked his whole adult life to overcome the terrible childhood he lived through, which included his father murdering his mother while she tried to protect the young Therrik from being attacked. We get to learn just how bad his life was. Despite being from a noble family, he ends up on the streets after the murder, becomes a thug and a criminal, and eventually is given the choice of going to prison or joining the military. Joining the military gave him the opportunity to become the man he should have been, though with the personality of a bipolar rattlesnake.
There are some classic Buroker scenes in this book. One of my favorites is the moment he discovers that Lilah shares his dislike of Ridge. It's the first time Lilah has seen his smile, and his smile is off the charts. She is floored by how handsome he is. He is also captivated when she demonstrates her knowledge of his weapons collection, the eras the weapons are from, and gives him little details that even he didn't know. She hates teaching as much as he does. The list goes on, and he is smitten immediately.
The rest of the book follows what is not exactly a Buroker formula, but is the heartstopping action she is famous for. No one in the world writes action scenes like she does. I can't imagine where she dreams these things up, but they are always over the top, and edge of the seat thrilling. Whenever I get my hands on one of her new books, I always wait until I have the time to sit and do nothing else but read it straight through, because I will die of impatience if I have to put the book down for some mundane reason like working for a living.
This book is, of course, 5 Stars. Buroker can't write anything less. She is one of my favorite authors, and I will always buy her books without even reading the synopses, or the reviews. They are always wonderful. Whether she is writing as Lindsey Buroker or Ruby Lionsdrake, she's the best. I have devoted an entire Kindle (I have 9 of the things) solely to her. No wasted time searching around in categories looking for her stuff.
Buy this book. If you love the Dragon Blood folks, you'll love this look at one of the characters who has made Ridge's life Hell, on occasion. It's a pleasure to see him so discomfited by the fact that his cousin has fallen in love with his mortal enemy. It's just a pleasure. My only regret is that Deathmaker doesn't show up at any point. Then, the book would have been completely perfect. I love Ridge and Sardelle, but my favorite characters are the flawed ones. The misfits. Buroker writes those people like no one's business. I hope she isn't done with this group. I'm certainly not finished with them.
Finally we get a better grasp on Therrik and why he is the way he is. Knowing about his past helps some in understanding why he acts the way he does. I don't blame him one bit, but I think it's a good example of what happens when you let something fester inside of you for too long. (The more I learn about the old queen and her family the more I hates them lots….) I found myself actually liking him. Well, as long as Ridge is not around then he turns into a grumpy Gus. I like how he works on being polite for Lilah near the end of the story even though he has a serious hate on for Ridge. It was a good comparison to see Ridge through someone else's eyes … especially through someone who doesn’t always have charitable thoughts about him.
I liked Lilah; she was strong, smart, and seemed mostly open to new things. I enjoyed her nerdiness when it came to the fossils and ruins below the ice blades. I was very happy to read more about what might’ve happened 300 years ago and I hope that the mystery is studied some more. Come on new books… I also really enjoyed how she got Vanne to come out of his shell, so to speak, and act like … well a normal human for the most part.
The only thing that I didn’t like about this story … was Kaika and her ramblings about a threesome with a dragon. Let me say first that I am the farthest thing from a prude, but I just didn’t think that this belonged in the story at all. I know that she is known for her sometimes uncomfortable sexual banter, but this was a bit too much and I don’t think it really fit with the story and the style it had for the series to me.
Top reviews from other countries


In theory Shattered Past is a stand alone book in the Dragon Blood series but suspect you'd struggle a little as other characters are referred to throughout the book. Better to start with the first book in the series .... Balanced on the Blade's Edge Balanced on the Blade's Edge (Dragon Blood Book 1)
As usual with a Lindsay Buroker book it is fast paced with brilliant characterisation and plenty of witty quips. More explosions; magic swords and ancient relics and unexpected danger.
This book is very much about Colonel Vann Therrick and who he is. It examines various aspects of his personality including his past. So the big questions are exactly who is Therrick - is he just a bad tempered killing machine or is there a honorable man hiding under this thuggish exterior? Does he deserve his bad reputation?
In the first line of chapter 1 you meet Professor Lilah Zirkander who is a cousin to a certain pilot. She is also interested in dragons ... or at least their fossils. The King has asked for her to go and examine some dragon fossils close to a secret facility and as a result she meets Colonel Therrick. The same Colonel Therrick who hates everything about her cousin ... and reacts negatively to even his surname.
How will Therrick react to working with this Professor Zirkander? Will he be able to keep his feelings regarding her (and her surname) under control?
By the end of this book you may well be considering Therrick in a different light.

I re-read Soulblade before taking up this new book and found it a worthwhile exercise.
Good story that filled in some missing information from the series and gave further insight into the characters.
From my own personal view, there was too much sexual innuendo but that is most certainly a function of my upbringing. Given the characters military background I suppose it was true to life. The sexual activity that inevitably resulted was handled discreetly and did not cause offense.
I can thoroughly recommend this adventure.

Her writing is witty, funny and you want to jump into the book and make friends with the characters in there (other than the baddies of course!). The books are so easy to read, with 'real' characters that you not only believe in but empathise with. There is always plenty of action with lots of twists and turns to the plot along the way.
There is a light-heartedness to much of Lindsay's writing but this doesn't mean that you don't get caught up in the emotions/ feelings of the main characters. Whilst she always makes me smile with her innuendo and sarcasm, she can also bring me to tears, longing and make me anxious too.
The first book in this series is free and I would really recommend you giving it a go. Ms Buroker was one of the first authors I found when I first had my kindle, after not having read for many years. I now have alerts set up so that when she releases a new book I can buy it straight away.
