Katherine
429 Reads
Rating: 2.5/5
Overall, I’m disappointed I didn’t like this more. It’s got good ideas that were dragged down by problems in the worldbuilding and writing.
Pros:
- Unique dragons and dragon academy set up
- Physical science based magic
- Mostly realistic portrayal of how indigenous peoples are treated by colonizers for land and resources (honestly, a bit too optimistic but it would be depressing if it was fully realistic)
- LGBTQ+ rep, disability rep, neurodivergence rep
- Enjoyable character dynamics
- Very slice of life
- Calling out the absolute colonial and societal BS with the main character’s willingness to speak for herself
- The chapter titles make a story too, which I liked
Cons:
- *Very* slice of life- don’t expect much of a plot beyond “Indigenous girl goes to dragon school and encounters obstacles”
- Headache inducing terminology because of the mixed Viking, Germanic, and English fictional culture. The world is essentially an alternate history + dragons version of Earth. Yes, some of the words we use for certain concepts in math and science would be different. However, the world is SO heavily based on the real world (it even uses the Julian calendar), that I cannot fathom why the author felt it was necessary to change the names of geometry (anglereckoning), alchemy/chemistry (skiltakraft), hypothesis/experiment (vermutun/versuch), and elements like carbon (kolfni), hydrogen (vetna), etc. Perhaps this was to make you feel lost like Anequs, but all it did for me was make it so I had to mentally translate everything as I was reading and it was more annoying than anything. You use the word coal, why not carbon? It’s like driving down a familiar road, but all of the sudden the road is full of potholes.
- Repetition. There were two times that I noticed a large passage that was repeated verbatim. And a lot of the book is repetitive, even if not verbatim.
- Random Norse mythology asides? It’s already long, I’m not sure why these are here.
Rating: 2.5/5
Overall, I’m disappointed I didn’t like this more. It’s got good ideas that were dragged down by problems in the worldbuilding and writing.
Pros:
- Unique dragons and dragon academy set up
- Physical science based magic
- Mostly realistic portrayal of how indigenous peoples are treated by colonizers for land and resources (honestly, a bit too optimistic but it would be depressing if it was fully realistic)
- LGBTQ+ rep, disability rep, neurodivergence rep
- Enjoyable character dynamics
- Very slice of life
- Calling out the absolute colonial and societal BS with the main character’s willingness to speak for herself
- The chapter titles make a story too, which I liked
Cons:
- *Very* slice of life- don’t expect much of a plot beyond “Indigenous girl goes to dragon school and encounters obstacles”
- Headache inducing terminology because of the mixed Viking, Germanic, and English fictional culture. The world is essentially an alternate history + dragons version of Earth. Yes, some of the words we use for certain concepts in math and science would be different. However, the world is SO heavily based on the real world (it even uses the Julian calendar), that I cannot fathom why the author felt it was necessary to change the names of geometry (anglereckoning), alchemy/chemistry (skiltakraft), hypothesis/experiment (vermutun/versuch), and elements like carbon (kolfni), hydrogen (vetna), etc. Perhaps this was to make you feel lost like Anequs, but all it did for me was make it so I had to mentally translate everything as I was reading and it was more annoying than anything. You use the word coal, why not carbon? It’s like driving down a familiar road, but all of the sudden the road is full of potholes.
- Repetition. There were two times that I noticed a large passage that was repeated verbatim. And a lot of the book is repetitive, even if not verbatim.
- Random Norse mythology asides? It’s already long, I’m not sure why these are here.