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A review by camilleareads
Fate of Dragons by Alisha Klapheke
2.0
Alisha Klapheke is one of my favourite authors for her fascinating world-building and the adventurous stories she always gives her readers. This year she brings us a book of dragons, elves, sea folk, and the last human. If you love your fantasy book to have fun adventures and high stakes, then this might be it for you!
Fate of Dragons is an adventure book centering on sort of dystopic-fantasy setting where the world is flooded and the human race is extinct. I’m a big fan of Alisha Klapheke’s Uncommon World series, so I always make it a point to pick up any book she releases. The setting of this book played a part as well.
Vahly is the last of the human race, and had been adopted into the Lapis dragon clan. Her adopted mother, the matriarch, believes Vahly has the power to fight against the Sea Queen and the Sea Folk who plan on wiping out every other race. Although Vahly possesses the Blackwater mark on her forehead – the mark of the Earth Queen – she possesses no powers to save her clan.
From the beginning the book clearly plays on the chosen one trope which does not diminish the fun of the story-telling in any way. I was taken in by the beautiful world Alisha created. The dragons described in her story had the ability to shift into a form that was a mix of human and dragon.
I adored the world-building in Fate of Dragons; from the scaled humanoid dragons to their currency of Lapis Lazuli. I really liked the idea of dragons looking like humans but with scales, reptilian eyes, and talons on their hands. The dragon’s world was interesting to know off from Vahly’s eyes, to see how differently they lived and how she had adapted to the dragon culture. I found the elves magic to be far more interesting! The elves were known to be very secretive and have air magic. What amazed me were the elves’ ability to sort of control light and darkness. Then there are the sea folk who are at war with the dragons. From what I read their society seemed to be more militaristic. The Sea Queen rules with an iron fist winning her battles with cunning and brute force. I was definitely interested by her character and look forward to her arc in book two.
While the world was beautifully imaginative, the characters did not keep up. They are likable but I, personally, found them lacking. Their collective goal was to awaken the Earth Queen’s power and save their clans but individually the characters did not stand out. Vahly is a girl who constantly doubts herself which is expected of a chosen one who doesn’t quite live up to the expectations. I do like her tendency to push through difficult situations in spite of her many obstacles. While I did enjoy the group of characters, there was nothing that drew me to them individually. The lack of flaws and quirks, and individual motivations took away from what could have been a great and fun group to ride along with.
This particular lacking in the novel also made the romance felt out of place in this book that I couldn’t quite warm up to it. I really wanted to root for the two of them because I found Arcturus to be a character with great potential. However, there was not enough natural chemistry between the characters.
The problem I encountered with this book was that the story-telling which was a bit choppy. Though the scenes are wonderful on their own, the flow from one to the next felt inconsistent. The book is certainly plot driven which, for someone who enjoy a deeper understanding of the culture, made it less satisfying.
I’m a bit divided on this book because I did enjoy the storyline and the adventure, and I would continue with book two, however, I would like the characters and story-flow to be as complex as the world-building.
Although this book didn’t make it for, I believe others would enjoy it for
🌺 A fantasy apocalyptic world
🌺 Found family
🌺 A cutthroat clan of sea-folk & shape-shifting dragons
🌺 An imaginative world and culture
🌺 Elemental magic
🌺 A strong mother-daughter bond
Thank you to the author, Alisha Klapheke, for providing me with a review copy of the book. This does not affect my review in any way!
Fate of Dragons is an adventure book centering on sort of dystopic-fantasy setting where the world is flooded and the human race is extinct. I’m a big fan of Alisha Klapheke’s Uncommon World series, so I always make it a point to pick up any book she releases. The setting of this book played a part as well.
Vahly is the last of the human race, and had been adopted into the Lapis dragon clan. Her adopted mother, the matriarch, believes Vahly has the power to fight against the Sea Queen and the Sea Folk who plan on wiping out every other race. Although Vahly possesses the Blackwater mark on her forehead – the mark of the Earth Queen – she possesses no powers to save her clan.
From the beginning the book clearly plays on the chosen one trope which does not diminish the fun of the story-telling in any way. I was taken in by the beautiful world Alisha created. The dragons described in her story had the ability to shift into a form that was a mix of human and dragon.
I adored the world-building in Fate of Dragons; from the scaled humanoid dragons to their currency of Lapis Lazuli. I really liked the idea of dragons looking like humans but with scales, reptilian eyes, and talons on their hands. The dragon’s world was interesting to know off from Vahly’s eyes, to see how differently they lived and how she had adapted to the dragon culture. I found the elves magic to be far more interesting! The elves were known to be very secretive and have air magic. What amazed me were the elves’ ability to sort of control light and darkness. Then there are the sea folk who are at war with the dragons. From what I read their society seemed to be more militaristic. The Sea Queen rules with an iron fist winning her battles with cunning and brute force. I was definitely interested by her character and look forward to her arc in book two.
While the world was beautifully imaginative, the characters did not keep up. They are likable but I, personally, found them lacking. Their collective goal was to awaken the Earth Queen’s power and save their clans but individually the characters did not stand out. Vahly is a girl who constantly doubts herself which is expected of a chosen one who doesn’t quite live up to the expectations. I do like her tendency to push through difficult situations in spite of her many obstacles. While I did enjoy the group of characters, there was nothing that drew me to them individually. The lack of flaws and quirks, and individual motivations took away from what could have been a great and fun group to ride along with.
This particular lacking in the novel also made the romance felt out of place in this book that I couldn’t quite warm up to it. I really wanted to root for the two of them because I found Arcturus to be a character with great potential. However, there was not enough natural chemistry between the characters.
The problem I encountered with this book was that the story-telling which was a bit choppy. Though the scenes are wonderful on their own, the flow from one to the next felt inconsistent. The book is certainly plot driven which, for someone who enjoy a deeper understanding of the culture, made it less satisfying.
I’m a bit divided on this book because I did enjoy the storyline and the adventure, and I would continue with book two, however, I would like the characters and story-flow to be as complex as the world-building.
Although this book didn’t make it for, I believe others would enjoy it for
🌺 A fantasy apocalyptic world
🌺 Found family
🌺 A cutthroat clan of sea-folk & shape-shifting dragons
🌺 An imaginative world and culture
🌺 Elemental magic
🌺 A strong mother-daughter bond
Thank you to the author, Alisha Klapheke, for providing me with a review copy of the book. This does not affect my review in any way!
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