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siavahda's review against another edition
4.0
HOW DARE YOU STOP THERE, RACHEL AARON
HOW DARE YOU
Argh, the cliffhangers in this series! No, I'm not really complaining - especially since I know that, unlike a certain tv show featuring a certain pair of monster-hunting brothers, Aaron always delivers on her cliffhangers, and the beginning of book five will no doubt jump right into the action.
BUT SO CRUEL, AARON. SO CRUEL.
Other than that, what is there to say? This is book four in a series that has just gotten stronger with every installment - book one was fun, book two was excellent, book three had me shrieking, and Dragon of a Different Color continues the trend: better, bigger, with even higher stakes and yet more of Aaron's incredible world-building revealed. Everything fits together so perfectly; hints and clues dropped as far back as book one blend seamlessly together into new revelations about the world, the magic, and the characters and their history - not to mention the problems and enemies they face. I can't talk much about the plot without giving spoilers for previous books, but suffice to say that this series about Quetzalcoatl-descended dragons, ridiculously badass mages, cat-shaped death spirits and the nature of humanity and magic continues to be one of my very favourites, and I both can't wait to get my hands on book five, and am dreading it. Because it's supposed to be the last, and I don't ever want this series to end!
HOW DARE YOU
Argh, the cliffhangers in this series! No, I'm not really complaining - especially since I know that, unlike a certain tv show featuring a certain pair of monster-hunting brothers, Aaron always delivers on her cliffhangers, and the beginning of book five will no doubt jump right into the action.
BUT SO CRUEL, AARON. SO CRUEL.
Other than that, what is there to say? This is book four in a series that has just gotten stronger with every installment - book one was fun, book two was excellent, book three had me shrieking, and Dragon of a Different Color continues the trend: better, bigger, with even higher stakes and yet more of Aaron's incredible world-building revealed. Everything fits together so perfectly; hints and clues dropped as far back as book one blend seamlessly together into new revelations about the world, the magic, and the characters and their history - not to mention the problems and enemies they face. I can't talk much about the plot without giving spoilers for previous books, but suffice to say that this series about Quetzalcoatl-descended dragons, ridiculously badass mages, cat-shaped death spirits and the nature of humanity and magic continues to be one of my very favourites, and I both can't wait to get my hands on book five, and am dreading it. Because it's supposed to be the last, and I don't ever want this series to end!
chloefrizzle's review against another edition
4.0
Fun showing off the strengths of our leads. And, wow, a lot of worldbuilding in this book.
cristoc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
aix83's review against another edition
3.0
Apart from the main characters and the way the book is written I liked everything. Isn't this a weird thing to say.
2.5* rounded up.
I so wanted to like this book, which is why I keep pedalling through the series, but it has so many grating problems.
The good parts:
- The worldbuilding is really nice.
- The magic system is great, complicated but well thought out while not being over the top.
- I liked the Chelsie/Xian subplot, which is the main plot of this book from my standpoint.
- Xian, the Qilin, a luck dragon, is the best gimmick I've read in years. There's oodles of awesomeness in that idea alone to save the book.
- Amelia.
- Bob.
- Ian and Svena.
- Emily Jackson and her magical golem body made out of miles of spellwork cast in thin stripes of metal. Really cool way to implement a cyborg/Robocop within a magic system.
- Even Myron is a cool antagonist. He's got that wicked labyrinth magic and major character development.
The bad parts:
- Julius finally realized the F clutch if Chelsie's and only because he was told. Really dude, just now? I already had a theory since the last book that he's stupid but this is the last piece of evidence.
- Now Marci is stupid too. While her slightly mercenary, grey nature made a lot more sense than Julius' incorruptible not-of-this-world pure pureness, now she's become silly too. When she argues with Myron in the Merlin tower in the Sea of Magic she doesn't have any other arguments than her selfish desires and what feels good to her. She's judging what the last Merlin did before having the background, before understanding his actions, and then she clings to magic because she likes using it and because she likes power. That's it! Sure, later on they discover that having magic means that the afterlife exists for all humankind, but that's not what she had in mind as her argument, is it. She just had whiny self-entitled this-feels-good-to-my-tummy I-am-such-an-optimist pseudo-arguments. Who cares if a few people - or a few million- die, there's always more where they came from.
- Exposition and major info-dumps disguised as dialogue. Instead of showing us the world, the book is doing minimalistic descriptions and then it has people talking each other to death. Talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking, the whole book is talking. It could have shown us how things in the magic world move, how they interact, what happens in reaction to various things but no. It's safer that we're told.
This book is an improvement compared to the one before, which was even more boringly written and where Julius was even more hateably stupid (the difference between forgiving the villain and putting her in charge where she can continue to manipulate and hurt others).
2.5* rounded up.
I so wanted to like this book, which is why I keep pedalling through the series, but it has so many grating problems.
The good parts:
- The worldbuilding is really nice.
- The magic system is great, complicated but well thought out while not being over the top.
- I liked the Chelsie/Xian subplot, which is the main plot of this book from my standpoint.
- Xian, the Qilin, a luck dragon, is the best gimmick I've read in years. There's oodles of awesomeness in that idea alone to save the book.
- Amelia.
- Bob.
- Ian and Svena.
- Emily Jackson and her magical golem body made out of miles of spellwork cast in thin stripes of metal. Really cool way to implement a cyborg/Robocop within a magic system.
- Even Myron is a cool antagonist. He's got that wicked labyrinth magic and major character development.
The bad parts:
- Julius finally realized the F clutch if Chelsie's and only because he was told. Really dude, just now? I already had a theory since the last book that he's stupid but this is the last piece of evidence.
- Now Marci is stupid too. While her slightly mercenary, grey nature made a lot more sense than Julius' incorruptible not-of-this-world pure pureness, now she's become silly too. When she argues with Myron in the Merlin tower in the Sea of Magic she doesn't have any other arguments than her selfish desires and what feels good to her. She's judging what the last Merlin did before having the background, before understanding his actions, and then she clings to magic because she likes using it and because she likes power. That's it! Sure, later on they discover that having magic means that the afterlife exists for all humankind, but that's not what she had in mind as her argument, is it. She just had whiny self-entitled this-feels-good-to-my-tummy I-am-such-an-optimist pseudo-arguments. Who cares if a few people - or a few million- die, there's always more where they came from.
- Exposition and major info-dumps disguised as dialogue. Instead of showing us the world, the book is doing minimalistic descriptions and then it has people talking each other to death. Talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking, the whole book is talking. It could have shown us how things in the magic world move, how they interact, what happens in reaction to various things but no. It's safer that we're told.
This book is an improvement compared to the one before, which was even more boringly written and where Julius was even more hateably stupid (the difference between forgiving the villain and putting her in charge where she can continue to manipulate and hurt others).
heidipolkissa82's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookish_satty's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
After the explosive ending of Book 3 regarding Marci and Amelia I started reading Book 4 immediately. I loved this installment even more than Book 2 which is saying something. We get to see two separate part of the story taking place at the same time but in two different dimension from Julius's and Marci's POV. We learn more about Chelsea's past and about the F clutch dragons also the relationship between Chelsea and them and the reason for the concealment of their dragons. Moreover we get to meet the Golden Emperor and how his luck magic works. We also get more of Bob, his pigeon and his cryptic shenanigans which was an awesome treat for me. On the other realm we learn more about the lost magic and Ghost and the overarching plot regarding Leviathan and Algonquin's ultimate plan. We meet DFZ in the flesh which was so shocking and Myron gets his due at the end which made me very happy.
This installment is the best in this series so far. This is full of action, suspense, mystery as well as the development of familial and romantic relationships of our favourite characters. I'm so sad that I've only the last installment to read now. I'm gonna miss these guys so much. Hopefully I will be doing more rereads of this series in the future.
P.S. - I loved the audio narration very much. Adding Vikas Adam to my Favourite Audiobook Narrators' List!
This installment is the best in this series so far. This is full of action, suspense, mystery as well as the development of familial and romantic relationships of our favourite characters. I'm so sad that I've only the last installment to read now. I'm gonna miss these guys so much. Hopefully I will be doing more rereads of this series in the future.
P.S. - I loved the audio narration very much. Adding Vikas Adam to my Favourite Audiobook Narrators' List!
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, what a rollercoaster. For a book that cover such a small time frame in character's lives, A Dragon of a Different Color is unputdownable.
My only regret is that Bob does not appear much. I missed his quirky behavior and his cute pigeon.
This series is so addicting, that I just clicked trough and continued reading the next part. Thank God they are all published. I don't know what would have I done, if I had to wait a year for the sequel!
My only regret is that Bob does not appear much. I missed his quirky behavior and his cute pigeon.
This series is so addicting, that I just clicked trough and continued reading the next part. Thank God they are all published. I don't know what would have I done, if I had to wait a year for the sequel!
marklpotter's review against another edition
4.0
Always Leave Them Wanting More
Since the first book in this series I've not finished one where I immediately wanted to start the next. I'm impressed with Rachel Aaron's abilities and each book has proven me right. I'm convinced that I'll be reading every word she writes from now on.
Since the first book in this series I've not finished one where I immediately wanted to start the next. I'm impressed with Rachel Aaron's abilities and each book has proven me right. I'm convinced that I'll be reading every word she writes from now on.
vagaybond's review against another edition
5.0
personal enjoyment - 5 stars.
There's so many tropes that get me excited about these books - kooky seers, underdog heroes, general urban fantasy stuff. There's a lot of heady magic science in the series but it's explained in digestible ways, and there's
writing in general - 4.5? at least.
I don't know how you can make a crescendo of high stakes plot happen so much and so satisfyingly.
diversity/representation shit: potentially 0 stars, pending my own research.
(I know this is very critical for a 5 star review. Bear with me. I'm rating it 5 stars for the algorithm and the above reasons. These criticisms would knock it down to three stars overall tops. I'm not taking it into account because I don't know enough.)
I worry there's a lot of content involved in the books that I personally can't tell if are represented respectfully (specifically related to Indigenous cultures, Chinese cultures, other stuff) and I feel like it's really dubious At Best that the big bad evil character is literally named Algonquin. And that she is literally an ecofascist (death to humanity as revenge for environmental stuff, which is largely white supremacist bc it ignores decolonial environmental struggles). And that she is described with a guise of a "Native American woman"
Like, I don't know enough about the full details of the different stuff involved here.
It's possible there was a sensitivity reader, or that there's some kind of bigger implied meaning. She's named an *exonym* for an Indigenous group and dons the face of people she may have fucked over. But that all feels like a ridiculous long shot. The majority of people in general don't know that colonial forces have largely been the ones to pick the most commonly used names for Indigenous peoples. So it seems doubtful. It kind of strikes me that maybe the author liked the idea of people named after Indigenous groups and just did a slightly more amount of googling for something she saw as more unique.
But again! I really do not know! This just strikes me as gigantic red flags and I still need to do more research.
And it's not the only thing that gives me pause from being able to actually recommend this series.
There's just a lot of stuff that I don't feel it would be responsible for me to vouch for as good or okay to any of my friends.
There's also no (canon) queer or disabled representation. Bob has pinache and flamboyance but that's about all.
I love Marci and Julius. And the Heartstrikers that are involved in the plot actively at this point. I love a protagonist who can relate to that feeling of being happy to see people you care about enjoying their family... and being unable to help feeling sad that you don't get to have that.
I think there's also some issues w/r/t paradox of tolerance in these books but it's kind of growing on me that they seem to take restorative justice approaches to characters that have fucked up. A Steven Universe energy but with adult dragons and life or death magic and stuff like that.
And it's definitely more enjoyable to see characters prioritizing communication over hasty decisions and potential miscommunication for once.
There's so many tropes that get me excited about these books - kooky seers, underdog heroes, general urban fantasy stuff. There's a lot of heady magic science in the series but it's explained in digestible ways, and there's
writing in general - 4.5? at least.
I don't know how you can make a crescendo of high stakes plot happen so much and so satisfyingly.
diversity/representation shit: potentially 0 stars, pending my own research.
(I know this is very critical for a 5 star review. Bear with me. I'm rating it 5 stars for the algorithm and the above reasons. These criticisms would knock it down to three stars overall tops. I'm not taking it into account because I don't know enough.)
I worry there's a lot of content involved in the books that I personally can't tell if are represented respectfully (specifically related to Indigenous cultures, Chinese cultures, other stuff) and I feel like it's really dubious At Best that the big bad evil character is literally named Algonquin. And that she is literally an ecofascist (death to humanity as revenge for environmental stuff, which is largely white supremacist bc it ignores decolonial environmental struggles). And that she is described with a guise of a "Native American woman"
Like, I don't know enough about the full details of the different stuff involved here.
It's possible there was a sensitivity reader, or that there's some kind of bigger implied meaning. She's named an *exonym* for an Indigenous group and dons the face of people she may have fucked over. But that all feels like a ridiculous long shot. The majority of people in general don't know that colonial forces have largely been the ones to pick the most commonly used names for Indigenous peoples. So it seems doubtful. It kind of strikes me that maybe the author liked the idea of people named after Indigenous groups and just did a slightly more amount of googling for something she saw as more unique.
But again! I really do not know! This just strikes me as gigantic red flags and I still need to do more research.
And it's not the only thing that gives me pause from being able to actually recommend this series.
There's just a lot of stuff that I don't feel it would be responsible for me to vouch for as good or okay to any of my friends.
There's also no (canon) queer or disabled representation. Bob has pinache and flamboyance but that's about all.
I love Marci and Julius. And the Heartstrikers that are involved in the plot actively at this point. I love a protagonist who can relate to that feeling of being happy to see people you care about enjoying their family... and being unable to help feeling sad that you don't get to have that.
I think there's also some issues w/r/t paradox of tolerance in these books but it's kind of growing on me that they seem to take restorative justice approaches to characters that have fucked up. A Steven Universe energy but with adult dragons and life or death magic and stuff like that.
And it's definitely more enjoyable to see characters prioritizing communication over hasty decisions and potential miscommunication for once.