Touched by venom
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15
Ratings1
Average rating3
A "bold debut" set in a "richly detailed, well-imagined world" (Publishers Weekly), the first installment in the Dragon Temple Saga is a vivid tale by a powerful new voice in fantasy....Like her half-breed mother, young Zarq Darquel can’t always hold her tongue. A peasant on a large dragon estate, she goes unnoticed by the Temple of the Dragon—until she accidentally captures the attention of an eccentric and dangerous dragonmaster, unleashing a storm of tragedy. Her clan is plunged into destitution, her beautiful sister, Waivia, sold into slavery, and her mother lost to madness.Desperate to find Waivia, Zarq and her delirious mother flee through the underworld of their land. Consumed with the desire for revenge, Zarq develops a taste for the highly addictive venom of the dragons she has been taught to revere—and with this poison, she imbibes their memories and glimpses a plot for social revolution. But to achieve it, she must defy not just sexual taboos and patriarchal conventions, but the Emperor who rules her nation...
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A very dark fantasy. It doesn't feel like a book on its own really. I can't help but quote Ron White: “I told you that story, so I could tell you this story.” It seems this entire novel is only a backstory for the MC so that we understand her motivations in later installments. I went in expecting something entirely different due to the cover art and blurb, but I still don't think it deserves the hate I've seen in many other reviews. The MC is not likeable, no one is, it reminded me of GoT in that way, but I'm still willing to invest time in the second book. If you could call Zarq a protagonist, I think she will make an interesting anti-hero. The world-building is interesting, but has holes in it and isn't always done smoothly. Too often the MC, who is narrating to the reader, will start an exposition sentence with “Understand,” and it can be jarring. I certainly didn't expect to come away with such an extensive knowledge of female circumcision after reading this, but I had questions that needed answers only some internet research could provide... Also, are the dragons sentient and able to give consent, or not? I'm still not 100% on that part... It's sort of a big deal...
