WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BOOK!!!
The dust jacket art is truly beautiful. The pages are amazing and thick and so well made. The book just physically looks and feel epic, which is so appropriate a way to house this epic tale.
There are four character's whose point of view the story is told through..
Eed, who lives at the court of Queen Sabran in Inys, but is a secretly a member of the Priory.
Tané, a fledgling dragon rider in the east.
Niclays, a banished alchemist.
Loth, a friend and member of Sabran's court and a brave and amazing man.
This story blends eastern and western cultures and myths to tell a story full of intrigue, adventure, political wrangling, and DRAGONS, that talk, yes talking dragons!!! There is even a section titled "Here Be Dragons"
There are two kinds of dragons in the world of Priory, eastern dragons are water dragons and more reptilian and the western dragons are fire dragons and much like the dragons found in the stories of knights and dragons that most people are familiar with. It's like a blend of Asian and British lore and it is so good! The need to put aside ones own desires and put the greater good first is a common theme in fairytales and modern stories, but in this case it also is a story about respecting differences and not trying to force ones views on each other while still working together to save the world, to form alliances and not conquer each other.
There is also a beautiful queer aspect to this story in the west thread. There are two love threads that weave into the tale, one is between two men and the other between two women. And the problem facing the couples isn't about gender/sexuality, it is about rules about class/royal placement in court and being of the right group to be a companion (no husband and wife titles, married people are called companions).
I fell in love with this book. I can't recommend it strongly enough!!!
(Finished September 3, 2019)
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