dragons

The Fireborne Blade

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by Charlotte Bond
First sentence: “On my oath, I, Sir Nathaniel, do swear that what I am about to tell the Distinguished Mage is the truth.”
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Release date: May 28, 2024
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There is violence and some pretty gruesome deaths. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Maddileh is a knight. She’s managed to get herself disgraced – it was something to do with an ex-lover and punching him in the face because he was an ass. She figures that there’s only one way to reclaim her honor: get the legendary Fireborne Blade from The White Lady Dragon. It’s impossible, but she’s going to do it.

Of course, it’s not that simple. Her story is interspersed with chapters that are histories – some oral, some told by others – of knights who fought dragons and often didn’t live to tell their tales. If the White Lady is anything like these… then how is Maddileh going to survive? The narrative also jumps in time – sometimes you’re present with her and her squire in the tunnels, others you’re getting her backstory.

This slim novel is utterly compelling. It’s tight, it’s giving me dragons in a way I haven’t seen dragons before (yay for that), and it’s got characters I care about. The publisher is comparing it to Fourth Wing, etc. but that’s not it: it’s more comparable to T. Kingfisher, Martha Wells, or Nicola Griffith than the sprawling, over-dramatic Fourth Wing. This prose is SPARE. The action is intense. The romance is incredibly understated. It’s masterfully done, and I hope it finds an audience because I think it’s fantastic. (Bonus: the sequel is out in October.)

Audiobook: Iron Flame

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by Rebecca Yarros
Read by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Others in the series: Fourth Wing
Content: It’s super sweary, super violent, and lots of on-screen sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Spoilers for Fourth Wing, obviously.

This picks up right after the events of Fourth Wing, with Violet recovering from the venin attack. From there, they go back to Basgaith for graduation and year two. But this year is a lot different. First off, Xaden and his dragon are stationed away from the War college so he and Violet are basically forced to spend their weekends together because of their bonded dragons. Of course, they don’t mind. (#sexytimes) Then there’s the wacked-out, facist new head of the war college, who has it out for Violet – like to the point of nearly killing her several times. And then there’s the whole rebellion and the fact that Navarre is hiding the impending Doom from its citizens. 

On the one hand, Soler is still delightfully unhinged (especially sped up 1.5x) and makes these books enjoyable. Because, there’s so much that is just plot holes. I was actually shouting at the audiobook this time; Violet – nay, all the characters, really – were just slow and not askign the right questions. And there were several WTH moments. And then there was the fact that it was just a LOT. A LOT of violence. A LOT of sex. A LOT of trying to make relationship work. A LOT, period. 

Will I read the next one? Maybe. Probably. They’re still fun, even if this one wasn’t as much fun as Fourth Wing was. 

Audiobook: Fourth Wing

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by Rebecca Yarros
Read by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: It’s super sweary, super violent, and lots of on-screen sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Violet Sorrengail was supposed to be a scribe. But then her father passed away and her mother – who is the general in charge of the flight battle school – has different plans for her. Violet – frail, sickly Violet – is given no choice: she has to join the battle school. The place where you either graduate or die. The book takes place over the first year, as Violet learns to navigate the cruelties of the school, makes – and loses – friends, and finds an unreasonable attraction to the son of an executed rebel leader, Xaden Riorson.

My first reaction when listening to this? It’s not objectively a good book. Like, the writing is not great. But, it’s a lot of fun. I think it helped that Soler was slightly unhinged reading the book. She was chewing through scenery, which honestly, is what this book needed. It’s not a book to be taken seriously at all. That said, Yarros is a good storyteller. There was a lot of action, the battle scenes were pretty intense, and there were some nice surprises as well. I will probably read the second book in the series, just to see where it goes.

So, do I respect this book? No. Will I recommend it? Depends on the person. Do I understand why it’s the Big Thing that it is? Oh yeah. I get it now.

Tidesong

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by Wendy Xu
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some bullying/strict parenting on the part of parents, which might be triggering. It’s in the Middle Grade Graphic novel section of the bookstore.

Sophie comes from a long magical line of women who have taken care of the island and communicated with the dragons in the sea. Sophie wants to make her mother and grandmother proud, and get into the magic academy. So she s shipped off to live with her Great Aunt and learn how to refine her madic for her aplication process. She’s not great at magic though and keeps messing up, which makes her Auntie Lan irritated. Sophie is attempting some magic, which goes wrong, and accidentally gets her magic entangled in with a young water dragon, Lir. He’s human, without memories of who he really is, and they can’t get their magic detangled.

I’m not making this sound anywhere near as good as it really is. It’s a little bit learning to make your own path in the world – Sophie learns that it’s not the wishes of her elders that she needs to follow but her own hear – and a little bit learning how to be a good friend – which means not remembering that other people’s wishes are valid as well your own. It’s a solid coming-of-age story, one where Sophie really learns to shine, but in her own, special way.

Xu is an excellent storyteller, and this is no exception.

Dragondrums

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by Anne McCaffrey
First sentence: “The rumble-thud-boom of the big drums answering a message from the east roused Piemur.”
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Others in the series: Dragonsong, Dragonsinger
Content: There is some bullying and one very off-screen sex scene. It would be in the YA section of the bookstore if we had it.

Piemur — who was a minor character in Menolly’s story of the first two books — takes front and center in this one. A few turns have passed since we last heard from our friends in the Harper Hall, and Piemur, known for his clear boy soprano has had the worst thing happen: he’s started to go through puberty and his voice is changing. That means, he’s no longer the center of all the choruses, and Master Robinton needs to find something to do with him. That something is learning the message drums. Except precocious Piemur does it too well and he’s bullied. One thing leads to another and Piemur finds himself stranded on Southern lands, without a hold, but with a stolen fire lizard egg. Will he ever find a place again?

In some ways, I felt this was just “Dragonsong: part 2”. I guess McCaffrey felt like Piemer needed an arc ‘like Menolly’s: he was bullied, and pushed out of a place he thought he loved, he went holdless, he found joy in a new place. There are some Pern politics in the backdrop that give it a bit more depth than Dragonsong — the tension between the new dragon riders and the Oldtimers in the south, for instance. But, it was mostly just a reprise. Except that Piemur is a delightful character, and Menolly’s in the background giving him support. So: it’s really a better Dragonsong than Dragonsong is. In fact, this might be my favorite of the trilogy, as much as I want to wholly love Menolly’s books.

It holds up as a triolgy, though.

Dragonsinger

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by Anne McCaffrey
First sentence: “When Menolly, daughter of Yanis Sea Holder, arrived at Harper Craft Hall, she arrived in style, aboard a bronze dragon,”
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Others in the series: Dragonsong
Content: There is some bullying. It would be in the YA section of the bookstore if we had it.

This picks up exactly where Dragonsong left off: with Menolly, discovered by Masterharper Robinton, arriving with her nine fire lizards at Harper Hall to become an apprentice. It takes place over her first week, where she makes some friends and a lot of enemies, gets into more trouble because of her fire lizards, and tries to find confidence in herself.

I think this one is better, overall, than Dragonsong, but only because there’s a lot more going on and a lot fewer awful people. In the first book, it’s Menolly against the world. In this book, Menolly makes some friends and it isn’t quite her vs. everyone. Though it seems that in McCaffrey’s world, Menolly’s enemies are mostly empty-headed girls, which bothered me. I disliked the lack of female support, and the one-dimensionalness (not a word, I know) of the other women in the book. M pointed out that most of the secondary characters are one-dimensional, but still, for all of Menolly’s talent and awesomeness and that I’m glad she learned to stick up for herself, I kind of wished she had developed more of a circle of female friends rather than becoming “one of the guys”. But, the book was published in 1977, so maybe that’s too much to ask.

At any rate, it was a fun little read.

Dragonsong

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by Anne McCaffrey
First sentence: “Almost as if the elements, too, mourned the death of the gentle old Harper, a southeaster blew for three days, locking even the burial barge in the safety of the Dock Cavern.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! (Though I’m not entirely sure you still can.)
Content: There is some emotional abuse and injuries. It would be in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

I wrote about this about 14 years ago (I have been blogging for a very long time!) but I thought I’d give each of these a proper post of their own (because once you read the first, you kind of have to read the rest).

Menolly is the youngest daughter of the Half-Circle Sea Holder. He’s a strict man, in charge of the whole hold (think a small medieval city) and he doesn’t have time for Menolly’s “twaddlings” — her foray into music. She has a gift for songwriting, but because she’s a girl, her father (and mother) believes that she’s a disgrace because she should be doing women’s work. Not music. After a knife accident supposedly renders one of her hands useless, Menolly runs away. And inadvertently impresses nine fire lizards. She doesn’t think much of this until a dragon rider finds her, and brings her back to the Weyr. It’s there that she learns her true worth.

It’s a fantastic story. You can’t help but feel for Menolly’s plight in the Sea Hold, stuck with parents who don’t understand her desires and dismiss her talent as “useless”. It’s so very easy to hate her parents and her siblings (well, there’s one brother who’s okay) because they just don’t understand or care. And when Menolly gets to the dragon weyr, her life changes so drastically. There’s one scene where all the people at the weyr are fussing over her, helping her get new clothes and a haircut, and Menolly bursts into tears because no one has ever been this nice to her.

It’s a story about a girl persevering even though everything’s against her, and it’s a joy to read. And there’s bonus bits for those who have read all the other books as well. (Or at least the original trilogy.) The best thing is that it still holds up all these years later. Such a good book!

Fireborne

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by Rosaria Munda
First sentence “Later, he would be known as the First Protector, and under his vision the city would transform.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is a lot of violence and some mild swearing. It’s in the YA section (grades 9-12) of the bookstore.

This book has been on my radar for a while. One of the teens in the teen review group I run at the bookstore loved it. And then it won the Young Adult Speculative Fiction Cybils. And I finally got around to reading it (thanks, COVID19!)

Lee is the son of one of the former rulers of Callipola, the same rulers that were overthrown in a revolution ten years ago. Lee’s kept his memories (he was only seven at the time) to himself as he grew up in an orphanage and then, later, as one of the chosen dragon riders. Annie is the daughter of Highland farm workers, who were heavily taxed and then murdered by the former rulers. She landed in the same orphanage as Lee and also became a dragon rider, and became Lee’s close friend as they grew up.

Fast forward ten years and Lee and Annie are vying for the position of Firstrider, leader of the dragon fleet and on their way to becoming Protector. Lee seems to be the obvious choice: he has talent and skill and charisma. The problem: his exiled family has shown up and wants to take their position back as Rightful Rulers of the island, and they want Lee to help. The question: will he join his family? Or will he stay true to the values of the new republic he has chosen to serve? And for Annie: can she rise to the situation she is constantly being told she’s unworthy of? And will her knowledge of who Lee is get in the way?

This really is fabulous. Incredibly well-told and captivating, I found I couldn’t put it down. Both Lee and Annie, as well as most of the minor characters, were well-developed, and had incredible arcs. Munda thought through her characters well, and I found them to be complex interesting people to spend time with. I loved the slow-burn romance, even if I could see it coming, enjoying the circuitous path Munda took to get her characters there. I loved her version of dragons; it felt more Anne McCaffrey than anything else, but it was also its own thing. Munda took her time to create a lore of her world, and I found myself wanting to know more.

It was an incredible read I can’t wait to see where Munda takes these characters and this world next.

The Tea Dragon Festival

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by Katie O’Neill
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s really nothing objectionable. It’s a bit long for beginning readers. It’s in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

From what I understand, this world is introduced in The Tea Dragon Society, so I kind of feel like I’m coming into this a little blind.

There is this world where dragons are shapeshifters (I think?) and they protect villages. There are also talking animals (I think?) and the tea dragons are kind of like little goats that you can harvest leaves from to make tea (I think?).

This book has to deal with a small village (in the mountains, so they only eat what they can forage) and a dragon that was supposed to be protecting it but had fallen asleep for 80 years. And with figuring out what you’re good at and doing that and not what People Expect you to do.

Or something like that

It’s just a weird little book. The art is gorgeous, though. I’d love to have some of O’Neill’s paintings; she does such lush landscapes. And I did admire that she has a deaf character that does sign language, though that was a bit challenging to depict in a graphic novel format. I do appreciate, too, that this is a tame little inclusive fantasy without any violence or conflict. Though that kind of means there’s not much meat to it either.

Good for those who want pretty pictures and a light story.

The Girl with the Dragon Heart

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by Stephanie Burgis
First sentence: “Once upon a time in a beautiful dirty, exciting city full of people and chocolate and possiblities, there was a girl so fearless and so daring that…”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There’s some tense moments. It’s in the middle grade section of the bookstore.

So Silke has managed to help make peace with the dragons, and she and Adventurine are happily helping make chocolate. Except, Silke still wants more: she misses her parents who disappeared with the Elves six years ago. She wishes she had a better home than on the riverbank with her brother. She just wants… MORE. So when the Crown Princess asks her to be a spy during the “diplomatic” visit from the Elves, Silke jumps at the chance: If she succeeds, not only will she get to live permanently at the palace, she might find out where her parents are.

But, it’s not all roses and chocolate (well, there is some of that). It’s hard fitting into court culture, especially for someone who needs to move as much as Silke, and it looks like the Elves may be able to trick their way into and out of just about everything. And maybe, just maybe, Silke’s talents like in something other than spying.

This is still a super sweet (but not cloying!), super fun middle grade series. I adore the characters — there was probably not enough Adventurine here, but I’m curious about Sofia, the younger sister princess, because she was whip-smart and intriguing. I did want to shake Silke sometimes, but overall, I enjoyed where the book went.

The other nice thing about this series is that it doesn’t rely on the previous one. Sure, the events of Dragon played into this, but it really was its own stand-alone story, and it came to a very satisfying conclusion.

I definitely will be picking up the next one. Eventually.