selky's review against another edition
5.0
[This review assumes you have read the series in order]
In Dragon Champion and Dragon Avenger, we can see how much a dragon learns from their parents as a hatchling affects the rest of their life--from knowlege of the world and history to lessons and teachings. In Dragon Outcast, we find out the Copper does not recieve that luxury and we get to experience what its like for a rejected dragon to truly "overcome on his own".
As hard as it was to read about the deaths of the family for the third time, seeing it through the Copper's eyes made it all the more heartbreaking. His hatchling experience made me teary-eyed and I couldn't put my book down until at least one pleasant thing happened to him.
With this iteration, Knight has stretched his sii and saa into his dragon-filled world. By that I mean, as much as I have fallen for this series, I feel that he is more comfortable writing the lore of his world with this installment. We did not have to be introduced to every race like in Auron's tale nor did we have to dive into the politics of hominids to explain the state of the world like with Wistala's story.
We do get to explore an area that was mentioned in the first books as well as a complicated dragon society not unlike Silverhigh. The 4th book is in the mail for me and I can't wait to read what happens next!
In Dragon Champion and Dragon Avenger, we can see how much a dragon learns from their parents as a hatchling affects the rest of their life--from knowlege of the world and history to lessons and teachings. In Dragon Outcast, we find out the Copper does not recieve that luxury and we get to experience what its like for a rejected dragon to truly "overcome on his own".
As hard as it was to read about the deaths of the family for the third time, seeing it through the Copper's eyes made it all the more heartbreaking. His hatchling experience made me teary-eyed and I couldn't put my book down until at least one pleasant thing happened to him.
With this iteration, Knight has stretched his sii and saa into his dragon-filled world. By that I mean, as much as I have fallen for this series, I feel that he is more comfortable writing the lore of his world with this installment. We did not have to be introduced to every race like in Auron's tale nor did we have to dive into the politics of hominids to explain the state of the world like with Wistala's story.
We do get to explore an area that was mentioned in the first books as well as a complicated dragon society not unlike Silverhigh. The 4th book is in the mail for me and I can't wait to read what happens next!
ladyanne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.75
This book fulfills all the potential of the previous two books. It follows the life of the Copper hatchling who was driven out of the nest and forced to be an outcast. This book has a much more compelling plot than the previous books. Although it still covers a period of many years, most of it is spent in the dragon society of the Lavadome, where there is a clear sense of advancement and growth even if the plot goal shifts. The Copper also learns and acts much more intentionally than Auron or Wistala did previously. I feel like he grows more as a character as well.
And we get more dragons! I'm always excited to see more worldbuilding, and the dragon society answered a lot of questions raised in earlier books. It also fixed a few problems - there is a lot less emphasis on female dragons existing only mate and raise hatchlings, and the female characters have depth and power.
If you weren't impressed by the previous two books, I'd encourage you to give the series one more chance. This is where it gets good!
And we get more dragons! I'm always excited to see more worldbuilding, and the dragon society answered a lot of questions raised in earlier books. It also fixed a few problems - there is a lot less emphasis on female dragons existing only mate and raise hatchlings, and the female characters have depth and power.
If you weren't impressed by the previous two books, I'd encourage you to give the series one more chance. This is where it gets good!
Review Breakdown:
Characters: 3.75/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Plot: 3.75/5
Overall Impression: 4.25/5
Total Rating: 3.64/5, round to 3.75
Characters: 3.75/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Plot: 3.75/5
Overall Impression: 4.25/5
Total Rating: 3.64/5, round to 3.75
poisonenvy's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Age of Fire series right now is a reread from about 2012. I remember back then reading this series and loving it a lot.
I'm not so sure I do anymore. It's still fun enough, and entertaining, I guess. I haven't given up on it yet, and I still fully intend to finish it (though, I think this'll be the last time I read it). But there's a lot of things about these books that make me 😐
The whole male dragons getting "excited" when they smell young human females is uncomfortable AF and it's a very, very strange choice. Since this doesn't happen with female dragons, I'd actually forgotten about it from my relatively recent reread of Dragon Champion. But yes, it's still weird and uncomfortable.
There was a lot of like, weird dragon sexism in Dragon Avenger that I was more or less willing to overlook, but then you get this book where the main female character doesn't seem to have any consistent characterization. She's what the author wants for whatever situation the author wants her to, regardless of it makes sense with her characterization or past choices. Also, this book really drives home how almost boring Wistala's story was in relation to her two brothers.
And there's emotions seem to lack any real emotion, at least to my senses. Things happen, but it doesn't really dive into the motivation or the emotions behind decisions. This is not to say this book was entirely devoid of emotion. There were some parts that I absolutely emphasized with. But I think my taste in books has changed over these last 10 years to enjoy writing that's more on the emotive side, and this just doesn't hit the right notes.
Like I said, this book is fine and it's entertaining, and I'm not planning on dropping the series (it's not impossible that I will, but at the moment I'm not, and I seem to recall enjoying the last three books more than the first three books). I do have a particular soft spot for underdog's-meteoric-rise-to-power stories, and this scratches that itch (and almost makes me want to reread Harry Turtledove's Krispos series), and if nothing else, I'm always a sucker for books told from the POV of a dragon. Sapient dragon stories are 100% some of my favourite fantasy tropes.
I'm not so sure I do anymore. It's still fun enough, and entertaining, I guess. I haven't given up on it yet, and I still fully intend to finish it (though, I think this'll be the last time I read it). But there's a lot of things about these books that make me 😐
The whole male dragons getting "excited" when they smell young human females is uncomfortable AF and it's a very, very strange choice. Since this doesn't happen with female dragons, I'd actually forgotten about it from my relatively recent reread of Dragon Champion. But yes, it's still weird and uncomfortable.
There was a lot of like, weird dragon sexism in Dragon Avenger that I was more or less willing to overlook, but then you get this book where the main female character doesn't seem to have any consistent characterization. She's what the author wants for whatever situation the author wants her to, regardless of it makes sense with her characterization or past choices. Also, this book really drives home how almost boring Wistala's story was in relation to her two brothers.
And there's emotions seem to lack any real emotion, at least to my senses. Things happen, but it doesn't really dive into the motivation or the emotions behind decisions. This is not to say this book was entirely devoid of emotion. There were some parts that I absolutely emphasized with. But I think my taste in books has changed over these last 10 years to enjoy writing that's more on the emotive side, and this just doesn't hit the right notes.
Like I said, this book is fine and it's entertaining, and I'm not planning on dropping the series (it's not impossible that I will, but at the moment I'm not, and I seem to recall enjoying the last three books more than the first three books). I do have a particular soft spot for underdog's-meteoric-rise-to-power stories, and this scratches that itch (and almost makes me want to reread Harry Turtledove's Krispos series), and if nothing else, I'm always a sucker for books told from the POV of a dragon. Sapient dragon stories are 100% some of my favourite fantasy tropes.
lordsith77's review against another edition
5.0
3rd book, told in the crippled copper dragon's point of view, and what happened to him, after leaving his brother and sister. Another great story in this world, of dragons, men, elves, dwarves and other hominids.
adelaidemetzger_robotprophet's review against another edition
2.0
In the recent past, I’ve found it difficult to review sequels or books in an ongoing series because sometimes plots can get repetitive or thinned out after the first installment. That isn’t completely true here with the first three of E.E. Knight’s Age of Fire series.
The first one was a great introduction to the series and stayed true to the praises that supported it--it was a great adventure but, with me being sensitive, I knocked back a star or two for the animalistic brutality of the main character. The second book I enjoyed so much more because of the emotion and enlightenment the character went through to achieve victory. However, unlike his first two siblings, the Copper in this book is followed by nothing but heart-breaking bad luck and has to achieve victory through harsh circumstances. Kill because you‘re forced to, lose everyone you love because you‘re not meant to be happy.
I shouldn’t be whining because of this. Knight’s done a great job at taking three different characters and creating three different paths around the same tragedy. But that’s just what I was saying when I said these books aren’t “completely” repetitive. Yes, different things happen, we meet different characters, but the plot kind of remains the same: Dragon escapes terrible tragedy, dragon is on its own for a while, dragon finds animal friend that helps it transition into the next stage of the story. Did all three of them need an animal friend in each book? The Dragonblade’s appearance in each story doesn’t count because his importance is vital to each story but, come one, the animals are just their to drive the story.
But, I’ll be sure to pick up the next book the next time I see it for a rainy day…or when I’m in the mood for dragons.
The first one was a great introduction to the series and stayed true to the praises that supported it--it was a great adventure but, with me being sensitive, I knocked back a star or two for the animalistic brutality of the main character. The second book I enjoyed so much more because of the emotion and enlightenment the character went through to achieve victory. However, unlike his first two siblings, the Copper in this book is followed by nothing but heart-breaking bad luck and has to achieve victory through harsh circumstances. Kill because you‘re forced to, lose everyone you love because you‘re not meant to be happy.
I shouldn’t be whining because of this. Knight’s done a great job at taking three different characters and creating three different paths around the same tragedy. But that’s just what I was saying when I said these books aren’t “completely” repetitive. Yes, different things happen, we meet different characters, but the plot kind of remains the same: Dragon escapes terrible tragedy, dragon is on its own for a while, dragon finds animal friend that helps it transition into the next stage of the story. Did all three of them need an animal friend in each book? The Dragonblade’s appearance in each story doesn’t count because his importance is vital to each story but, come one, the animals are just their to drive the story.
But, I’ll be sure to pick up the next book the next time I see it for a rainy day…or when I’m in the mood for dragons.
buonsai's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ketreads's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ginn's review
3.0
I think of all the hatchlings' stories I like the one of the Copper the best, despite what he did to his family. He's the underdog, having to struggle to live despite being somewhat deformed, has a lot of bad things happen to him, yet in the end comes out on top.
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