A review by zoeyforeman
The Royal Dragoneers by M.R. Mathias

2.0

I’m writing this review after having read the whole Dragoneer Saga, so it can be a bit affected by that (and it’s quite spoileroid, so read on your own risk).

First of all, I would like to say that in this book, you’ve got loads of WTF moments – but unfortunately, they are often WTF in not good way. For example when Jenka finds out he hasn’t got a father, then he discovers he is son of the king – the witch tells him: The seed that kindled you to life wasn’t brewed in a kettle pot. The queen, a loyal sister of the Hazeltine, milked the king’s seed and your mother was impregnated with it. I’m not sure but it sounds quite disgusting to me. In addition, torturing creatures by Gravelbone in front of Richard is also rather repelling. It creates the impression of the book being grim and it’s true for the bigger part of the book. Moreover, in the end, the story doesn’t flow very much.

On the other hand, I like the way how the author describes some things (e.g. the first crimson splashes of spilled life ) and uses sometimes almost poetical language. It’s a pity that later in the book, it appears less and less. Another good thing about the book is that there are so many points of view – you can enjoy story more then. Although the book contains a lot of characters, you don’t get lost in them and Dragoneers are introduced gradually too.

To conclude, ‘The Royal Dragoneers’ is not a bad book, but more experienced fantasy reader could find it not very developed and even boring.

P.S.: Although I did receive the whole Trilogy for free and my review is completely honest, I have to express my disappointment with author's behaviour and arrogance. It's only ruining popularity of his books among readers.

* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.