A review by silquesoleil
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
3.0
read for the 2015 reading challenge: A book by an author you've never read before
The blurb of this book promises “You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw” and I can’t claim that this is a lie, but the question that one has to ask themselves is: do I want to read a novel like this? Somehow, the concept of a common regency era novel whose main characters are all dragons is less interesting once you actually get to read this because those are dragons, you know, you could have done much more fun things with those.
As I had noticed when reading Temeraire, soft-spoken and well-mannered dragons are kind of not that much fun. Especially not when the females of the species are bound by the same oppressive bullshit that can be found in all Western historical novels. So after an initial disappointment, the book turned out to be an okay read, a very light read: the plot comes together neatly, even if it is a bit predictable at times and it contains a court case that escalates quicker than an Ace Attorney game.
It’s no Jane Eyre, of course, hell, it’s even debatable if it really deserves to be called “Pride and Prejudice of the dragon world” and there were half-hearted attempts made to design it a bit more progressive – all of the relevant dragon maidens are described as ‘radical’ free-thinkers (I liked Sebeth most because Sebeth literally gave no fucks, u go, girl, u go flounce your pink) although that doesn’t really go anywhere. Haner gets involved with the abolition movement, but doesn’t actually get to do much in terms of social justice.
So, one should be aware, that it’s essentially a romance novel and not much more.
The blurb of this book promises “You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw” and I can’t claim that this is a lie, but the question that one has to ask themselves is: do I want to read a novel like this? Somehow, the concept of a common regency era novel whose main characters are all dragons is less interesting once you actually get to read this because those are dragons, you know, you could have done much more fun things with those.
As I had noticed when reading Temeraire, soft-spoken and well-mannered dragons are kind of not that much fun. Especially not when the females of the species are bound by the same oppressive bullshit that can be found in all Western historical novels. So after an initial disappointment, the book turned out to be an okay read, a very light read: the plot comes together neatly, even if it is a bit predictable at times and it contains a court case that escalates quicker than an Ace Attorney game.
It’s no Jane Eyre, of course, hell, it’s even debatable if it really deserves to be called “Pride and Prejudice of the dragon world” and there were half-hearted attempts made to design it a bit more progressive – all of the relevant dragon maidens are described as ‘radical’ free-thinkers (I liked Sebeth most because Sebeth literally gave no fucks, u go, girl, u go flounce your pink) although that doesn’t really go anywhere. Haner gets involved with the abolition movement, but doesn’t actually get to do much in terms of social justice.
So, one should be aware, that it’s essentially a romance novel and not much more.