Alta (Dragon Jousters #2) by Mercedes Lackey

Look, complex litfantasy this is not, but as always, what I am appreciating about Mercedes Lackey's writing is that sometimes you just need straight-up, uncomplicated escapism. And her love for animals – and the care of her made-up dragons – shines through in the writing. Yes, there are some absolute coincidences that drive the plot forward, with Vetch/Kiron being in the right place at the right time, but honestly, I'm here for the dragons and the nod at ancient Egyptian themes that run throughout the world building.

Book two sees Kiron establish himself in Alta after fleeing from enslavement in Tia with his dragon Avatre. But all is not well in his homeland, as he discovers, and despite the prestige he has managed to garner, thanks to his relationship with Avatre – a tame dragon as opposed to the ones that artificially subdued so that they can bear riders – he needs to overthrow an insidious horror threatening the very fabric of his home before they can deal with the threat posed by the belligerent Tians.

Yeah, some of the world building is a little on the nose, as if Lackey has only slightly polished off the names and gods of ancient Egypt, and yeah, the characterisation and plotting is somewhat on the surface, but I'm still sufficiently engaged with the story. It's fun. It's light. And it has dragon-flavoured adventure. Bite me.

Joust (Dragon Jousters #1) by Mercedes Lackey

On my continued mission to pick up books by authors whose works helped shaped me as writer, I'm so glad I've made the time to read Joust by Mercedes Lackey. For those of you familiar with Jane Yolen's and Anne McCaffrey's worlds, you'll be on familiar turf with this one, which I feel will appeal directly to people who enjoy the minutiae of caring and training dragons. If you're looking for a high-romping adventure with flashy swords and fire-breathing beasties, this is not your book.  

We start the story with Vetch, an Altan serf tied to the land that has been conquered by the Tian people. A twist of fate sees him serving as a dragon boy for a well-respected Tian dragon rider, or jouster, as they are called, and he quickly immerses himself in this new, fascinating world. Vetch realises that the dragons might be key to his freedom, and when certain events played out (I won't spoil), I could already see where the story was headed. And oh, was it satisfying.

Now apart from the dragons, the other reason why Lackey's world scratched my itch was that she based her Tian culture on the ancient Egyptians, which was a bold choice that I enjoyed very much, even if some of the naming conventions were a little too close to the original. Then again, I am an armchair Egyptologist, so I know perhaps a little bit more about the culture than the average Joe Public. As always, Lackey paints a vivid picture that makes her writing easy to immerse into in Technicolor detail. 

The other thing is that Lackey knows her stuff when it comes to falconry, and she's based her dragons' behaviour and physiology on raptors, which helps to lend a veneer of plausibility to the overall premise. (My introduction to her writing was with her Mage Wars books that featured her gryphons...)

The question I keep asking myself is why have I not made a concerted effort to read more of her books. She's an absolute joy, and her stories have thus far never failed to hit the mark with me. 

Joust is an easy-to-read, comfortable fantasy novel that offers a slow build that's clearly an origin story setting up for the three books that follow. I'm immediately rushing off to get the next one...

Ash Kickers by Sean Grigsby

Ash Kickers by Sean Grigsby is another casualty of my vain attempt to tame my TBR pile. The book was out in 2019. It's 2023. Go figure. But anyhoo, better late than never, hey? In this action-packed caper we meet Tamerica Williams right in the midst of dealing with a dragon. She and her team, garbed in mech suits and armed with laser swords and other, assorted gadgets and weapons, are the thin wedge standing between humanity and certain extinction, now that the dragons have returned and weaponised human wraiths to do their bidding.

In a nut shell, I'd describe this book at Ghostbusters, by way of Reign of Fire, with light sabres. 

Tamerica is a smart mouthed, kick-ass heroine who doesn't take flak from anyone, least of all her boss, veteran fire-fighter Cole Brannigan. But even she feels way out of her depth when a new beastie arises from the ashes – an honest-to-goodness phoenix that noms on dragons. Surely that would be a good thing, right? Nope, it's not, for Reasons I'm not going to go into for fear of spoilers.

Grigsby's prose is sharp and quick, his dialogue is snappy, and he delivers a fast-paced, no-punches-pulled, high-octane race against a big bad to end all big bads. He doesn't give readers time to get too comfortable, but foregrounds teamwork, camaraderie, and doing what's right, even if it means upsetting authority figures. And might just get you killed in the process.

I did find the world building to be completely bonkers, but if you can dive into genres such as Ghostbusters and suspend disbelief, then you shouldn't have a problem with this setting. I'll admit I'm always a sucker for dangerous megafauna, and dragons, fire-breathing or not, are most certainly my jam.

I'll close by saying if you're looking for a measured, sedate story that unpacks gradually, with nuanced layers, this is probably not going to be it. This one's all about kicking scaly posteriors and slaying one heck of a nasty bird.

Dragon Blood: Omnibus by Lindsay Buroker

This was another one of those 'included in your subscription' books I decided to give a spin on Audible. Dragon Blood: Omnibus by Lindsay Buroker contains the first three books in her series, and I'll say straight up that I was hooked from the get go. If gunpowder fantasy and aircraft with a side order of romance is your jam, then these novels will no doubt hit the mark. And I admit freely that I am quite fond of well-written fantasy romance. Actually, scratch that, it's my not-so-guilty pleasure.

Book 1 is Balanced on the Blade's Edge and introduces us to the rather roguish Iskandian Colonel Ridge Zirkander, the devil-may-care pilot who has annoyed his superiors one time too many – he essentially gets his wings clipped when he's put in charge of a prison in an isolated mountain fastness. Which sets him up to cross paths with the sorceress Sardelle Terushan and her somewhat snarky talking soulblade (!!!) after she's spent 300 years in stasis. The only complication is that magic is a wee bit infra dig. Nah, scratch that, if anyone with even a scrap of magical ability crops up, they're as good as dead. But the two need to work together, because an evil empire (of course) wants to lay its grubby mitts on Iskandia.

Book 2 is Death Maker, in which we encounter Lieutenant Caslin Ahn, who's been captured by the Cofah Empire and is facing a wee bit of a tight spot in a prison. But her fortunes change when she runs into the notorious pirate Tolemek "Deathmaker" Targoson, who also has beef with the empire. Not only must this unlikely pair escape prison, but they need to figure out what to do about a rather nefarious plot. More than this, I won't say for fear of spoilers.

Book 3 is Blood Charged, and it brings us full circle back to Ridge and Sardelle, and other familiar faces, as they embark on a quest to find out how the Cofah empire's scientists have laid hands on a secret ingredient that might give them the upper hand in an ever-escalating war.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll steer clear of particulars when it comes to plot points. Overall, this is a fun, pulpy offering of fantasy that often made me think of the dynamics I encountered in the Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean movies – these are not books to take too seriously. They're fun, filled with adventure and action, and the romance elements don't overpower the narrative, which in my mind is a perfect blend. I've seen SomeDude™ kvetch in the reviews that 'no adult male would want to read this'. Well, that comment says more about him than it does the stories. 

Okay, so maybe I *am* the demographic (adult female), and I thoroughly enjoyed these stories for what they are: good, escapist fun. Also, I'm carrying on because DRAGONS! Yes, I am not ashamed to say that I love stories that have dragons in them. And I have my Suspicions and Many Thoughts about where this series is going, and if the author intended books 1-3 as loss leaders on Audible, she definitely has me invested enough to sink my fangs into the rest of them when they pop up on my TBR list.

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Finally … It only took me a few years to finish reading the final book in Christopher Paolini’s four-book Inheritance Cycle, aptly named Inheritance. Now I have many thoughts and feelings on the series, and they are…complicated.

And perhaps here I must add that it is telling that Paolini hasn’t published anything since 2011, according to his Wiki page, though apparently the books have sold well and he is apparently still writing.

My overall opinion of Paolini’s writing is that it’s adequate. He carries a story, but the prose is workmanlike and doesn’t sing off the pages. The setting itself is stock-standard Tolkien, while the overarching narrative arcs across the four novels follows a rather Star Wars-esque, farmboy-turned-godlike-hero fighting the Evil Big Bad. With a side order of Dragonriders of Pern, of course. To be quite honest, not much in the four books really stands out for me beyond the ever-escalating conflict with the evil king Galbatorix that culminates in the big battle at the end. Granted, I had gaps of years between reading the books, so I’m hard pressed to recall anything that knocked my socks off. Okay, I lie. I love dragons. Any interaction with Saphira was sufficient to make me happy.

I don’t feel a particular connection with Eragon, however – he’s very much an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances. I mean, who wouldn’t want to feel an awesome bond with a dragon? (There’s a reason why I’ve reread all Anne McCaffrey’s DRoP books at least three times.) The first half of Inheritance plodded along, and judging by how long I took to actually read this book, it’s an indication that I struggled to remain engaged. Though I’m OCD enough to actually finish, despite my lukewarm assessment.

Things eventually picked up during the second half, but to be quite honest, I think I mainly soldiered on because the book was a review copy that landed on my desk a long while back, and I’m laden with an additional burden of guilt that my copy has an author-signed bookplate.

Okay, okay, the cycle isn’t unreadably bad. But in terms of fantasy, the books don’t cover fresh ground, and are essentially a remix of the tropes that initially gained popularity in Tolkien. Not that I have an issue with standard, D&D-style fantasy. Hells, I’m a huge fan. But I need a bit more oomph, a touch of an author’s identity creeping through, breathing life into a setting beyond the elves, dwarves, and dragons.

The Inheritance Cycle could have benefited immensely from having its sprawling narrative pared down and streamlined. Three books instead of four, perhaps. That might’ve gone a long way to sort out the pacing issues. Something else I fear hampers the story is the sin of Too Much Awesome – in other words, characters who are so super-powerful, so soon in the story and with so little apparent effort, that they are akin to gods. It’s incredibly difficult to build tension with decent try-fail cycles if your main characters can almost literally move mountains with a mere thought.

I think if the Inheritance Cycle is your introduction to fantasy as a genre, you’re probably going to lap it up and it’ll act as a gateway to other authors (it can be hoped). So in terms of it being so immensely successful and possibly getting so many folks reading fantasy, it’s not such a bad thing (hey, any successful book that gets folks reading is awesome, in my mind, even the FSoG phenomenon, as much as I love to put the hate on it). But the writing for the Inheritance Cycle could have been stronger, more nuanced in my opinion. Therein lies the rub. Paolini was in his mid-teens when he wrote Eragon, and it was also very much a case of being in the right place at the right time in terms of his parents’ involvement in the publishing industry and the immense support he received from them. He had the kind of head start most authors can only envy, and while this sort of good start is no guarantee of success, Paolini hit that magical sweet spot many can only dream of. Whether he’ll ever be able to follow up on these books, remains to be seen.

The Children of Húrin by JRR Tolkien #review

Title: The Children of Húrin
Author: JRR Tolkien
Edited by: Christopher Tolkien
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008

There’s a reason why I keep going back to Tolkien when I end up discussing the fantasy genre or even just how to approach the creation of epic worlds. Not to say that Tolkien was the first (because he had precursors who’re rarely, if ever mentioned), but he was most definitely the first in the genre to gain legendary status (and now has JK Rowling snapping on his heels).

Though by contemporary standards, I argue that Tolkien is not for everyone – his style is rather dry, patriarchal even – and it’s clear that this is a man who was obsessed with world-building rather than characterisation. While The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings appear to be perennial favourites with legions of new readers each generation, Tolkien’s other works are perhaps left for the die-hard fans.

The Silmarillion is a prime example. I butted heads with it during my teens when I’d just finished my first immersion into The Lord of the Rings. I hated it. Didn’t finish it. I went back to it years later, and was absolutely blown away – not by the writing so much – but by the sheer mass of imagination. The scary thing was realising that the events that transpired in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were only a thin sliver of Tolkien’s entire creation, now that was astounding.

And I found myself wishing that he had gone on to write more, because what we’re left with is but a skeleton.

It’s taken me years to read The Children of Húrin. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy path to tread. Tolkien makes you work for it – the language usage is more akin to sitting at the fireside listening to an old storyteller recount a saga than the immersiveness of current authors such as Mark Lawrence, George RR Martin or Robin Hobb.

Having recently completed a university course on Greek mythology, I can draw parallels between that and how Tolkien approached The Children of Húrin. This is not a comfortable story. The heroes are tragic, flawed. Túrin’s hubris results in his inevitable downfall, and his victory against Glaurung is pyrrhic. The dragon itself is but a dark mirror, reflecting a twisted truth that paralyses heroes. Ophelia-like, Niënor is flotsam, cast adrift in a dark tide; though her love is pure, it is misdirected. I saw the greater tragedy approach from a distance, and could do little more than wait for the ultimate wrapping up of cruelties.

There is little that is noble about any of the characters in this story. Even the elves are cast in such a way to show that they too suffer through their excessive pride – something that the dread Morgoth doesn't hesitate to exploit. The antagonist is but the catalyst around which the others trip and fall, however for those who have distance from the situation, it is easy to make a judgment call.

If you’re a die-hard Tolkien fan, like me, and you’re yet to read The Children of Húrin, I’ll fully recommend it. It’s not quite as heavy going as The Silmarillion, and it’s going to fill in a good few gaps in your fantasy geekdom. As a template of epic tragedy, this one’s got it all. At time of writing (a week since completing my read-through), I’m still smarting and bruised. And feeling as dissatisfied and annoyed as I was at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition. And I’ll read this one again. And again. Because: elves, dragons, beautiful worlds, sadness and tragedy.

PS, if you’re emotionally correct and easily upset by bad stuff that happens to good people, go read about unicorns pooping rainbows. This book will make you very, very angry and you’ll probably ask for it to be banned from your library.

Charred Heart by Lizzy Ford #review

Title: Charred Heart (Book 1# of The Heart of Fire series)
Author: Lizzy Ford
Publisher: Smashwords edition

Chace is a dragon shifter, and has been cursed to be so for a thousand years and unlucky in love to boot. Predictably, he’s a bit world weary and wants nothing more than to be fully human and live out his normal allotment of years, preferably  with a woman to love. But you can’t always get what you want; due to his age, as well as his powerful magic, he also finds himself cast in the role of de facto protector of a rapidly dwindling number of shifters.

Skylar is a slayer unique in her ability to track shifters and help capture them so that they can be safely rehabilitated – all this according to the organisation she works for. Skylar fully believes that shifters are a danger to humanity and need to be neutralised. Her beliefs are challenged when she meets her match in Chace, the shifter she understands is the last dragon on earth.

The sizzling connection between Chace and Skylar is undeniable – the major obstacle to their relationship the salient fact that they belong to opposing factions, each believing they have the right of things. But time is running out. Chace has made a deal with a powerful shifter in order to regain his humanity at the worst possible time when he truly needs his magic to protect his fellow shifters from extinction. Not only that, but he still has an important life lesson to learn before he can claim the woman who may possess the other half of his heart.

A quick look at the uglies: Not that much to complain about, to be honest. Lizzy Ford holds her narrative together well. There was on niggle where I had a bit of a head-scratching episode when a supposedly nocturnal shifter was seen out and about during the day (or what I pretty much assumed was the day). At times Ford writes a bit fast and misses environmental details, but not so much that I got my knickers in a twist. I felt also that the magic system was a wee bit too insta-magic at times – too effortless, but the overall pacing was strong enough to not make this too much of an issue.

The good stuff: You really can’t go wrong with Charred Heart. You’ve got two lively protagonists, both of whom are totally kickass and whose interaction entertains both verbally and between the sheets. Chace’s bad decisions come back to bite him in the posterior, and it will be interesting to see how he gets himself out of his predicament in book two. The passion between Skylar and Chace is wonderful to behold and Ford has put a lot of effort into her world-building to deliver a solid, thoroughly readable saga. This series is well worth dipping into; there’s more than enough bang for your buck.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini #review

Author: Christopher Paolini
Title: Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle #3)
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf, 2008

Ooookay. Paolini's going to string along the die-hards who're OCD about reading an entire series, and the same issues that dogged book two are present in book three. Not a helluva lot happens in Brisingr until right at the end. Lots of random battles, a new sword is forged, lots of details about the ongoing war. We find out some Top Secret Stuff about dragons that, predictably, comes into play and reveals a glimmer of hope.

Some of the writing is extremely clunky. Mine twitchy little editor's red
pen itched and itched for me to have a chance to do its thing.

But yeah... So I read this for the same reason that I'd probably read an exhaustive bit of fanfiction. Because this is still pretty much the plot of Star Wars smooshed with Lord of the Rings and Dragonriders of Pern. The writing is average. The characters and dialogue are passable.

My main gripe is the pacing... Lots of slogging to get to the exciting battle sequences at the end.

But what gives this story it's fourth star is the imagination. I like the world-building. I like the concepts Paolini plays with. They're not new, but they're fun, and I enjoyed this novel despite the obvious flaws. Deathless prose this is not. This is not the present era's answer to Tolkien, but I'm still motivated to find out how the heck Paolini's going to wrap up all the threads.

Personally, I think Eragon is an insufferable little Marty Stu, but I like Saphira, so I'll put up with his wangsting about who his daddy is.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini #review

Title: Eldest
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books, 2007

Okay, it's been quite a while since I read Eragon, so when Inheritance landed on my desk I reckoned I needed to brush up on the back list before I dove into book four. After all, I love dragons, love epic
fantasy. Now I do recall a lot of book reviewers and bloggers going on about how this saga is basically Star Wars with dragons, and a serious nod to Tolkien. And yes... they're right.

The elements Paolini blends so far as I can see in book two are very much Luke Skywalker goes to Dagobah to train with Master Yoda. And Eragon spends *most* of this novel either travelling or training... or pining after Arya. Perhaps the more exciting story arc is that of his cousin Roran, who shows a surprising transformation and leads the entire Carvahall in revolt against the Empire.

And Roran is the one who shows the most dramatic changes, turning from the dull farmer to the unlikely hero who ends up (unsurprisingly) playing a pivotal role near the end. There was only one plot point that really bothered me and that was related to why the Ra'zac didn't succeed in taking him when they had that chance. That part felt a bit contrived.

The main point that bothered me about this novel was the pacing. The first 75% is SLOW. Very, very slow. Sure, there's a lot of fascinating backstory *if* indulging in copious amounts of history a la Silmarillion is your thing. I was sufficiently invested to deal with it, but yeah... Things only started getting exciting when battle was imminent.

Eragon as a character is a bit flat. He's the archetypical hero who's impatient, stubborn and allows his emotions to get the better of him. I suspect Arya will still be his Achilles tendon later in the saga, but she's definitely a massive chink in his armour.

My verdict... The story isn't perfect, but for die-hard fantasy fans it's probably going to be sweetcakes. I admit I enjoyed it despite itself. Paolini takes existing tropes and he puts his own spin on
them. This isn't a *great* novel but it's a fun novel, perfect for a holiday read or to while away the time while commuting, like I did.