His Majesty's Dragon

Yes, I loved this book, and the irony is that had it not been offered free for the Kindle, I never would have read it. Let me be more blunt, actually. Not only would I not have read it, but I would have scoffed at it.

“His Majesty's Dragon”?? Come on. At best I would have read the title aloud in a mocking tone and escaped the fantasy/sci-fi section with haste. See the cover art? Just like every other magic-y, Lord-of-the-Rings-y, fantasy book you see piling up in bookstores. What's to differentiate one from another? They all blend together into a haze of something that might as well be labeled “for fans of this genre only.”

But it was free for the Kindle. So I took a look. I checked up on some reviews, and the Washington Post was very favorable. What the hell, I need metro train reading, let's try the first few pages.

Hooked. Schooled.

It's smart, it's charming, it's subtle. It respects the reader, the characters are fully realized, complete with quirks that are just visible enough to fool you into thinking these people (and dragons) are real.

So smart business model. I'll be buying all the rest in the series forthwith. Stupid-sounding titles or no.

Oh, and having read the book, the title's not actually stupid. Hmph.