Share your thoughts in a quick Shelf Talk!
The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan
In a world where corporations harvest dragon-blood for power, an agent, a spy, and a desperado collide on a quest that could reshape empires. Skyships, ancient secrets, and fire-breathing peril fuel The Waking Fire—a high-stakes adventure with teeth.
Have you read this book? Share what you liked (or didn’t), and we’ll use your answers to recommend your next favorite read!
Love The Waking Fire but not sure what to read next?
These picks are popular with readers who enjoyed this book. Complete a quick Shelf Talk to get recommendations made just for you! Warning: possible spoilers for The Waking Fire below.
In The Waking Fire, did you enjoy ...
... industrial-era magic-as-technology powered by strict rules and exploited by ruthless merchant houses?
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
If the drake-blood “Blessings” and Ironship’s laboratories hooked you—the way Lizanne channels Black and Green to pull off precision ops, or how the Board treats power like a commodity—then you’ll love how scrivings in Foundryside literally rewrite reality like code. Sancia’s break-ins and corporate showdowns mirror Lizanne’s spycraft, while the escalating arms race around world-changing tech scratches the same itch as the White Drake’s game‑tilting potential.
... interleaved multi-POV arcs—thief, spy, and soldier—driving an empire-shaping conflict?
The Grace Of Kings by Ken Liu
You liked how Clay’s jungle slog, Lizanne’s covert assignments, and Hilemore’s naval engagements braid together to reshape nations in The Waking Fire. The Grace of Kings offers that same sweeping tapestry: streetwise schemers, loyal soldiers, and politicos collide across islands and skies, with shifting alliances and battlefield gambits that echo Hilemore’s fleet maneuvers and Lizanne’s long-game espionage.
... ruthless empire-building through finance, espionage, and policy rather than open war?
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
If the Ironship Board’s backroom deals, corporate sabotage, and the Corvantine rivalry were as gripping to you as Clay’s drake hunts, The Traitor Baru Cormorant dives even deeper into the knives-behind-ledgers world. Baru climbs an imperial bureaucracy the way Lizanne navigates spy networks—using numbers, treaties, and betrayal as weapons—delivering the same cold, calculated intrigue that underpins the White Drake arms race.
... flintlock warfare on a colonized frontier that fights back?
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
Clay’s trek through Arradsia and Ironship’s extraction mindset put colonial tensions front and center in The Waking Fire. The Thousand Names hits that nerve: a colonial army faces a rising local rebellion, with battlefield twists and sorcerous surprises that recall Hilemore’s engagements and the dawning horror of what the White Drake’s return might mean for empire and resistance alike.
... salty, seafaring worldbuilding with leviathans, shipboard culture, and harsh maritime law?
The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker
If you loved the brine-soaked detail of Hilemore’s deck life and the drake-haunted seas in The Waking Fire, The Bone Ships plunges you into a maritime culture built on sea-dragon bones. From brutal naval codes to cunning sea hunts, it delivers the same textured worldbuilding and perilous voyages—echoing Ironship convoys and those desperate engagements when the White turns the tides.
Unlock your personalized book recommendations! Just take a quick Shelf Talk for The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan. It’s only a few questions and takes less than a minute.