An ambitious fantasy tale that builds an enticing world with simple but effective details.
In Jayaraj’s debut fantasy novel, a young orphan trains to be a dragon slayer and soon questions where his loyalties lie.
The peoples of the world of Adijari are waging war against the dragons. Many different species of dragons have gathered at the Zipacna Mountains, and the elves have constructed the nearby military base of Delthurk. Although it’s elven, other peoples, such as amesha, dev, and qui-lahk, reside at Delthurk as they prepare to fight the dragons into extinction. Twelve-year-old elf Gradni lives at an orphanage, having lost his dragon-slayer father, Yorn, to the reptilian creatures. After Gradni defeats a bully, Delthurk senator Mogurn recruits him to undergo training to become a dragon slayer with the belief that Gradni has what it takes to lead warriors in the final battle against dragons. The young man is in competition, of sorts, with Erdūn, an amesha with whom the Fire Spirit, Ta’ar, has chosen to share his power. Ta’ar hopes that the skilled Erdūn, who’s younger than Gradni, will turn out to be the world’s greatest slayer of dragons. Gradni, meanwhile, trains with Yagura, who’s one of the Disciples of Gaorda, a group of devs that reputedly wiped out the entire species of sesha dragons. The boy hopes to prove his worth on his first mission to the Zipacna Mountains. But he quickly learns why some slayers don’t return from those mountains—and that his loyalties may lie with the wrong side.
Over the course of this book, Jayaraj packs the tale with numerous characters, some of whom are only touched upon, such as the qui-lahk people, who are seen relatively rarely. Despite the narrative’s epic scale, it still moves at a rapid pace, which the author achieves, at least in part, with modest descriptions. The diverse peoples, for example, are distinguished primarily by their skin color: The devs are blue-skinned, for example, while the elves are frequently described as “pale.” Similarly, the differences between dragon species seem fairly minute. This does, however, lead to a pronounced, well-incorporated theme of “fear of difference”; the dragons, it seems, are truly united while the four peoples have a common enemy but often differing motivations. The story largely centers on Gradni, but a few subplots effectively expand Jayaraj’s world. One of the more notable storylines involves the amesha nation of Aristahl, where Ta’ar rules. Aristahl has made weapons and armor for other nations to fight the war against the dragons, causing its own resources to dwindle to the point that it’s headed “toward ruin.” The novel consists of two parts, the latter of which hinges on a drastic plot turn that ultimately reveals the predictable, titular secret and leads to hefty battle sequences in the final act. Moments of intrigue complement the action; some people at Delthurk aren’t as honest as they initially appear to be, and readers are made aware of a “new dragon” at the Zipacna Mountains that’s more formidable than the others.
An ambitious fantasy tale that builds an enticing world with simple but effective details.Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4787-6115-0
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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