Book Review: The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood

Pros: great characters, interesting plot, immersive storytelling

Cons: 

Maia’s always wanted her own bonded dragon to raise, and this year’s larger than usual clutches have given her hope that her time has come. But a northern aerie has been decimated by the Harodh and their unnatural horrors, its qits killed or taken, and the Dragonry’s needs for new dragons to fight the menace trump a young woman’s. 

The appearance of the fabled Summer Dragon, witnessed by Maia and her brother, puts them at the center of a power struggle between their aerie, the Dragonry, and the Temple. Because Maia’s getting her dragon this year, one way or another. 

With the exception of two prequel scenes, the novel’s told from Maia’s point of view.  Maia’s a fascinating character.  She wants a lot from life but she’s willing to put the work and effort into earning things for herself.  She courageous in the face of horrors, and determined to do what’s right.  She’s a character who speaks her mind and tells truths the adults around her are too tactful, or scared, to say.

There are a fair number of twists to the plot, especially towards the end of the book.  The pacing is great, with some time to get to know the principle characters followed by several tense chapters, then some down time to learn about new characters before things get tense and dangerous again.

The storytelling is descriptive enough to draw a picture of the location and action, but not so detailed so as to bog down the narrative.  When the action is on, reading this is more like watching a film, incredibly immersive.

I loved learning about dragon raising and riding.  Lockwood introduced the necessary terms along with their meanings so there’s no sense of feeling lost, unaware of what’s going on.  There’s also no unnecessary exposition.  We learn with Maia and the qits.

The focus of the book is on a fairly small area.  There’s a map that shows the wider world, and a few times events happening elsewhere are recounted.  People and dragons with various colourations are mentioned, along with which geographic area they come from.  The religion is cribbed from aspects of Christianity, though it’s not a direct representation.  

There’s an overwhelming sense of hope in this book - that hard work, courage, and determination can overcome all obstacles.  This made it feel like the fantasy novels that came out in the 80s, rather than the grim dark currently popular.  It’s got a freshness to it that I enjoyed.  Having said that, there are some very dark moments and I could not believe some of the revelations. 

Todd Lockwood is one of the best fantasy artists ever, so it should come as no surprise that he’s drawn his own cover, map, aerie schematic, and section illustrations.  The interior artwork is all black and white sketches, but they are gorgeous.

The only negative I found, is that while I got to know the protagonists really well, I didn’t feel much connection to the supporting cast.  One character in particular I would have liked to know more about, and events with them during the climax didn’t hit me with the emotional punch they might have, had that connection been deeper. 

I’ve long admired Lockwood’s artwork and now I admire his impressive writing skills too.  This is a fantastic debut, one that’s perfect as an introduction to the genre as well as for long time dragon lovers.

Stranger Than Fiction: Bats

Last week I went to Bird Kingdom at Niagara Falls and one of their exhibits dealt with nocturnal animals.  I happened to be there when the bats were fed, and it was absolutely incredible watching them.  I've seen bats before, of course, on TV and in real life, but I've never really examined how they moved.

Some of them dive bombed the food dish - grabbing food as they passed or landing in the dish to feed. Others hung from a branch above and reached down to grab some food, using their feet and/or their thumbs as anchors.

Still others landed below the dish and climbed up a branch, using their thumb like a hook to pull them up to the food dish or hung from the dish's platform itself, using their thumbs to hold on while using a foot to bring the food to their mouths.

More than anything, watching them fly and climb made me think of dragons.  I suspect there's a reason dragons tend to be portrayed with leathery bat wings.  The movements of the bats shoulders as they climbed really had the look I remember from CGI dragons in films.

I never realized how articulate their thumbs (the bit sticking out the top of the wing) were.  In fact, I've never given consideration to the fact that their wings are - quite literally - their hands (there's the thumb up top and the four wing bones are labeled as fingers).  It's amazing watching them move.

If you ever get the chance to watch bats in person - doing more than hang around or fly too fast to see - I highly recommend it.

Here's a short video I took.  I apologize for the poor quality.  The cage was dark so I had to lighten the video quite a lot for the bats to stand out.  The song playing is "The Goya Discovery" by Derek R. Audette.

Bats from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

Shout-Out: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed —at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren't big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire's control.

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it's not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn't allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen. Torn between Corin's quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off.