Entertaining, but not for those looking for high-quality fantasy This book was recommended to me after I mentioned reading/loving Robin Hobb, so I guess I was expecting it to be the same level of depth and quality. Sadly, it was not. The characters are mostly surface, with a few (unsuccessful) attempts to deepen them, and every challenge the protagonist faces is somehow miraculously (and unbelievably) dealt with in a snap. Still a somewhat entertaining read, though, if you like dragons - there were a few new ideas regarding dragon biology/behaviour that made it worth exploring.
A refreshing new series for those that love dragons I could go on about what this story entails, but others have already done that, quite eloquently. What I really found appealing about this series is that we are not dragged into any of the dragon cliches: these dragons are not benevolent or malevolent any more than any other species is a good guy or bad guy. The dragons are not fancy mounts or bound to human riders. We are not sideswiped by blasts of fluffy glitter magic and impossible feats. This is a realistic adventure of a down-to-earth, real creature in this world. It just happens to be a dragon!
I love the Age of Fire series- they are a look at dragons as I'd always hoped: dragons as their own entities. This is a no-frills realistic type of fantasy that is easy to believe in.
Genuinely, for those that love dragons, you can't go wrong with this series. Poignant yet Unsatisfying Aside from a few emotional scenes that connected well with me, this novel didn't offer much. The dragon has family imparted racial memory and sentient thoughts, but thinks nothing of killing and eating hominids (including men and little girls). Some of it may be excused by him being a baby fledgling, but Auron never develops past an 'us vs. them' mentality (as in the dragons on the wane, the humans on the rise). He does make true friends and adopt a human daughter. Good scenes there. After I finished the book, I had the 'this was good' glow I usually leave four star or more reviews upon. Then, I couldn't help thinking about the touching (and well done) ending, and I ruined it.
Throughout the entire book, Auron keeps harping on how dragons need territories far apart so they don't get over hunted. The end paints a pretty picture, but with multiple dragons on an small island, I foresee a major food crisis. So while it was a good end, it didn't address non-obvious plot issues.
The impression I received is that part two 'Dragon Avenger' follows Auron's sister, and part three 'Dragon Outcast' follows the copper dragon (runt of the litter). Stories which parallel this novel, as opposed to more Auron and his life.
Overall, an entertaining fantasy novel you won't want to read a second time.Dragon Champion - Start of a Good Series Dragon Champion, by E. E. Knight, is a promising start to a series. The basic plot is that a young dragon's family is scattered/murdered and he is forced into the world to fend for himself. Along the way he meets a variety of characters from several species that each teach him a little about the world around him in their own way.
This story bends and twists its way around the world that Auron/AuRon calls home and the reader is introduced to the different political climates and conflicts through the eyes of a creature who really doesn't fully understand or relate to any but his own kind. One thing that the author does strikingly well is create a protagonist that is a dragon first and foremost. This is a not a person in a beast's clothing. When starving, he might eat a small human child with no thought of morality - but on the next page, he'll risk his life to save a dolphin who saved him once. The same rules of morality and custom that apply to the modern reader only touch upon Auron's ideas of good and evil. Certainly, he doesn't always act in a manner befitting a 'good' character, but he (almost) always acts in a manner that suits a member of a dying species who is struggling to find a way to save his race.
The action never flags, right up to the end of the book, although the term 'action' might be applied a little loosely. Unique situations and relationships drive the book and give us humans something to relate to: the dragon has as close of a friendship with a wolf as he does a dwarf. He might despise a fellow dragon as much as he does a dragon hunter.
This would be a good book for: those who like "standard" medieval-esque fantasy and yet are sick of sword-swinging, white-horse riding heroes; those who like dragon-related stories; and those who like protagonists who have to use both brains and brawn to overcome obstacles.
This might turn off: young children - or rather, their parents - due to the rather violent entrances and exits of some of Auron's friends as well as the situation of the dragonelles in the Isle of Ice; those who are sick of the Tolkien human bestiary: dwarves, elves, humans, dragons, orcs/trolls (Knight calls them 'blighters', but the parallels exist), and people who want a moral polarity of Good vs. Evil with few characters inbetween the two extremes.
Personally, I think it's a worthwhile read and would recommend it to almost any fan of fantasy.haven't finished it yet but i like it it's a good book. buy it. not often you find a fantasy novel where the dragon's the central character.
