fuunosenshi's review
1.0
DNF 60%. Just couldn't give a damn what happened to this people. Everything feels so stiff and artificial, and there's detailed descriptions of some inconsecuential stuff but the battle is not described well.
It's super confusing with the names of the dragons being extremely similar to each other, and the fact that all the riders communicate with each other and their dragons telepathically and also verbally, makes everything way more difficult to follow.
There are riders, but the exact number is never given, nor are their names. Except for one, but she get's killed in the only scene we actually see her riding her dragon. How am I supposed to care she's dead if nobody really cares for her death, not even her dragon, who forgets her less than an hour after she dies and bonds to another rider, when we're told dragons usually die of grief after their rider's death?
And the way this was handled, OMG, like grief over a loved one's death is just something you can heal with soothing and peaceful toughts and that's it. I signed out when they were about to do the same to two kids who just witnessed the death of their parents. Just peaceful toughts and they fucking forget. Right.
And finally, the use of some terms, like "glass" as a measure of time, which is used constantly but never explained (How long's a freaking "glass"? at least tell me how many "glasses" are in a day, so I can understand), as well as some modern words (e.g. collateral, which from the context and based on who uses it might mean "collateral damage", used for the first time in 1961, and so out of context in a medieval world) just took me out of the story.
It's super confusing with the names of the dragons being extremely similar to each other, and the fact that all the riders communicate with each other and their dragons telepathically and also verbally, makes everything way more difficult to follow.
There are riders, but the exact number is never given, nor are their names. Except for one, but she get's killed in the only scene we actually see her riding her dragon. How am I supposed to care she's dead if nobody really cares for her death, not even her dragon, who forgets her less than an hour after she dies and bonds to another rider, when we're told dragons usually die of grief after their rider's death?
And the way this was handled, OMG, like grief over a loved one's death is just something you can heal with soothing and peaceful toughts and that's it. I signed out when they were about to do the same to two kids who just witnessed the death of their parents. Just peaceful toughts and they fucking forget. Right.
And finally, the use of some terms, like "glass" as a measure of time, which is used constantly but never explained (How long's a freaking "glass"? at least tell me how many "glasses" are in a day, so I can understand), as well as some modern words (e.g. collateral, which from the context and based on who uses it might mean "collateral damage", used for the first time in 1961, and so out of context in a medieval world) just took me out of the story.
carina_shephard's review
4.0
Fun read. Enjoyed the worldbuilding. The writing was a bit simplistic. Some elements felt a bit rushed/not foreshadowed enough, and it could be pretty difficult to tell how old a lot of the characters were. However, it’s a clean, fun fantasy for dragon-lovers of all ages.
mizpurplest's review
3.0
I had a hard time getting in to this book because of the writing itself. The mixture of formal and informal language along with somewhat obscure word choice seemed like a blatant attempt to make the story "other-worldly" but ended up just feeling like a stumbling block for me. There was also far too much exposition and not enough actual plot, scene, or character development.
That said, the characters were interesting, and the plot was intriguing, and it pulled me along quickly and entertainingly. I enjoyed it very much, despite plot holes and language density.
That said, the characters were interesting, and the plot was intriguing, and it pulled me along quickly and entertainingly. I enjoyed it very much, despite plot holes and language density.
avalinahsbooks's review
3.0
To start off, the story was a little bit hard to get into. I didn't enjoy the fact that literally pretty much a few pages in, the children just BAM and grow up. Suddenly they're, what, 20? 25? Last time I checked, they were ten. I don't like jumpiness like that, especially when there's nothing to fill the gap. Those decades could have been at least briefly summarized. However, after this first mishap, the story is quite enjoyable. There are a lot of characters, and almost all are pleasant and nice, although none too fleshed out. They're quite archetypical, but it works well in a traditional fantasy story. The story is easy to follow, has good morals and, come on - dragons!
So it would make sense to also talk about the dragons. I'm not expert, as I haven't read many dragon stories (remember the whole "I don't read a lot of fantasy" bit?), but I felt that the dragons were a wonderful thing in this book. They were smart, sentient, they could talk (telepathically), and they were generally honorable and wise. And beautiful as well! The dragons and the riders shared a specific bond that was generally not replaceable, and if a rider died, so could the dragon. One more thing - the dragons chose their own riders. They were not chosen.
Unfortunately, as much as I liked the story and the dragons, I found the setting incredibly lacking. Okay, so maybe I don't read fantasy too often - but I've read my share of good fantasy (think The Fifth Season), and there's one thing those books have, and this one didn't. There was no setting, WHATSOEVER. No back stories about where the dragons came from, no traditions of the world the people live in. Not even a single hint on the time frame or how their society functions. Nothing about lore at all! Good fantasy always has lore - Tolkien even wrote poems! I may not be a fan of his, but we must all agree that it is history and lore that truly make a good fantasy novel. I found nothing of the sort here. We are just to assume what the general store of the village looks like. Or what the herbalist's job is. Because it's like that in every generic fantasy story. Well? NO. I am reading THIS story. I don't want to "have to know". Please take me into this world, and please build this world for me - your reader. Otherwise, I do not see how I could possibly give the book more than 3 stars?
In Summary... Yes, I did enjoy the story! Despite the lack of world-building, it was an alright read. Will I want to read the sequel though? I don't know. Maybe I would consider it. But as an MG story, it is definitely enjoyable, has a natural tone, a good story progression and wonderful virtues. So I couldn't point out anything negative, apart from the fact that it didn't immerse me in the story the way I would have wanted it to. Maybe it was just not a story for me! But it could be for you.
I thank the author for giving me a copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion.
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So it would make sense to also talk about the dragons. I'm not expert, as I haven't read many dragon stories (remember the whole "I don't read a lot of fantasy" bit?), but I felt that the dragons were a wonderful thing in this book. They were smart, sentient, they could talk (telepathically), and they were generally honorable and wise. And beautiful as well! The dragons and the riders shared a specific bond that was generally not replaceable, and if a rider died, so could the dragon. One more thing - the dragons chose their own riders. They were not chosen.
Unfortunately, as much as I liked the story and the dragons, I found the setting incredibly lacking. Okay, so maybe I don't read fantasy too often - but I've read my share of good fantasy (think The Fifth Season), and there's one thing those books have, and this one didn't. There was no setting, WHATSOEVER. No back stories about where the dragons came from, no traditions of the world the people live in. Not even a single hint on the time frame or how their society functions. Nothing about lore at all! Good fantasy always has lore - Tolkien even wrote poems! I may not be a fan of his, but we must all agree that it is history and lore that truly make a good fantasy novel. I found nothing of the sort here. We are just to assume what the general store of the village looks like. Or what the herbalist's job is. Because it's like that in every generic fantasy story. Well? NO. I am reading THIS story. I don't want to "have to know". Please take me into this world, and please build this world for me - your reader. Otherwise, I do not see how I could possibly give the book more than 3 stars?
In Summary... Yes, I did enjoy the story! Despite the lack of world-building, it was an alright read. Will I want to read the sequel though? I don't know. Maybe I would consider it. But as an MG story, it is definitely enjoyable, has a natural tone, a good story progression and wonderful virtues. So I couldn't point out anything negative, apart from the fact that it didn't immerse me in the story the way I would have wanted it to. Maybe it was just not a story for me! But it could be for you.
I thank the author for giving me a copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion.
Read Post on My Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
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