The Dragons of Dorcastle - Jack Campbell

GoodReads Summary: For centuries, the two Great Guilds have controlled the world of Dematr. The Mechanics and the Mages have been bitter rivals, agreeing only on the need to keep the world they rule from changing. But now a Storm approaches, one that could sweep away everything that humans have built. Only one person has any chance of uniting enough of the world behind her to stop the Storm, but the Great Guilds and many others will stop at nothing to defeat her.

Before anything else, let me say that I really enjoyed the way the book was written: It is accessible, easy to read, easy to digest and, well, fun.

I also enjoyed the setting: A place where magic exists, but in which technology wasn't ignored due this. So you have pistols, rifles, even cell phones, but people that can make things burn and go through walls with the power of their minds.

What I didn't like, though, was the way the relationship between the two main characters evolve. It feels a bit forced and not something that develops naturally. Also, one of the characters seem only to mirror the other (there are reasons for this in the story, which I'm trying really hard not to spoil), so it's not like they are really feeling that, they are more like mirror the feelings of the other -- which, again, feels forced.

Also, I have some trouble with the pacing. You're reading a tense discussion, with blatant disregard of one of the character's opinion, and then it cuts to some memory or internal thought for 3 or 4 paragraphs, and then you return to the same discussion. I see no problem in things like when the plot is just slow, so you can give some character building at that point, but in the middle of a heated discussion? The whole tension just breaks and it feels like the discussion is not that tense anyway -- so, no repercussions, which isn't what actually happens.

But is isn't a bad book, and it sets a whole universe for exploration in the next books.