Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - A Natural History of Dragons

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

39 reviews

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I love any world that has dragons in it, but I didn't enjoy how Victorian all the main characters were. I know, that's how it was meant to be, but I found all the misogyny and xenophobia left a bad taste in my mouth.

It's written as a memoir, so the fictional author as the narrator is writing about a time in the far past, and she does say that she finds some of the sexism to be ridiculous now, but she still makes weird "men vs women" statements that just reinforce harmful gender stereotypes.

She also read as very Victorian British, in that she was a noble from a colonizing nation

on a journey to a colonized nation, full of privilege and perceived superiority. She freely insults the local people and culture and looks down on them for having less than her, and in the end, has barely any more appreciation for them when she leaves.

This book felt written from the perspective of a colonizer with the assumption that colonizer cultures are better than others and everyone should aspire to be like them.

She's also very callous about killing dragons for science, which I didn't appreciate, as someone who respects nature and living things.

Still, I enjoyed the dragons and I enjoyed the mystery plot. I just wish it had more modern values.

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canyongoblin's review against another edition

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I don’t appreciate the Victorian Era misogyny in the book. I understand that is a real part of the Victorian Era, but I don’t feel like Isabella is the strong female character I was hoping for in this book. Mostly, I got to one scene…

where she was kidnapped

and decided I didn’t like that she kept apologizing to her husband and felt so much unjustified guilt for something out of her control. It gave me victim blaming vibes. I really hope her character grows a backbone by the end, but I couldn’t get through it.

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rainbowrachel's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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zotty's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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flowerpaladin's review against another edition

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I really wanted to like this book so badly. But I just couldn't connect with the main character at all. Her voice is so dry and dispassionate... I guess from the premise I was sort of hoping for a fantasy version of Amelia Peabody. I'll also add that her husband is about as bland as a sack of potatoes. There is zero romance in this book, which was disappointing for me. And the relationship with the husband was odd... it felt like Isabella was being painted as a pseudo-feminist, but her husband still babied her and didn't seem to respect her as an equal, and she was sort of okay with it? The last straw was when they

butchered a dragon "for science,"

and she was totally okay with that, too. This book is definitely NOT for dragon lovers, I'll say that much! The dragons are animals and treated as such, and the main character is more interested in sketching their muscles and bones than understanding and appreciating them. It just felt a bit weird and off... like I said, hard to connect with her.

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sevensableyes's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-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

Love, love, love.

I knew when I first heard the premise of this series, that I would adore it. And I do. Isabella is fast becoming one of my favourite protagonists, along side Keladry (Protector of the Small series). This book made me feel very nostalgic for my dragon/dinosaurs phase. Isabella's passion is infectious.

The worldbuilding feels very natural, and is fairly easy to keep up with. I think it's because the world will slowly unravel throughout the books, following Isabella's adventures into different parts of the world. I really like how there is no magic system; it's just dragons. It makes them feel like real and vulnerable animals. I'm looking forward to seeing more species.

I loved all of the characters. I liked that

Jacob was a good husband; it would have been very easy to write him as dismissive of Isabella's passions, but he was truly lovely

. I'm fairly certain

Isabella and Mr Wilker will become closer in the future (not romantically)

.

This book ticked all the boxes for me, and hopefully the rest of the series does too.

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featherinthewind's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

A magnificent read about dragons and history that had an underlying note of love. I really did enjoy this book but boy was I not expecting that ending.

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mileskayden's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I loved the first 1/3 of this, if anything it was more the pace of the book that created a falling out of love and into a like sort of vibe. I was so excited for dragon anatomy and really, we didn't learn all that much about any dragon's. Only a single breed was the main focus of this story, and if anything it took a back seat and that was a disappointment.

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novella42's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the angle of writing a 19-yr old character from the vantage of an older woman publishing her devil-may-care memoir. Perhaps because of that, I liked the protagonist more than I expected. One of my favorite parts of the story was Kate Reading's performance as audiobook narrator, as she was a phenomenal fit for pretty much every character. The voices, emotion, and nuance she brought to the story gave it a rich texture that I would have missed if I was simply reading the text. (I'm familiar with her work in Sanderson's Way of Kings and was impressed how much more her voice seemed to come alive with this story. Maybe she really resonated with this story in particular?) The scientific mindset and world building were excellent, and it's always lovely to have more examples of women in STEM fields, even in the fantasy genre. I took away a star because unfortunately I'm not very into mysteries and the book's pacing was slow for me. I almost didn't get the audiobook finished before the library reclaimed it, but I also enjoyed dipping in and out of it for a few weeks. Not every story calls for a fast pace, and this one was well told.

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flyingryndeer's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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