INITIAL THOUGHTS: Enjoyable read about a strong lady character enamored by the scientific study of dragons. However, in the age this...moreRATING: 4.5 Stars
INITIAL THOUGHTS: Enjoyable read about a strong lady character enamored by the scientific study of dragons. However, in the age this book is set, this type of educational pursuit is improper for a woman. Its also a story about an expedition in search of dragons which lead to other polictal battles. With beautiful, lyrical language Lady Trent's story is told in first person, holding the reader on the edge of his/her seat throughout the novel.
SUMMARY
When a young girl shows more interest in boyish pursuits of science, nature and biology, she is harshly reprimanded by her mother after she is caught, red handed, dissecting a starling. From this point forward, Lady Trent tries her best to smother her love for the sciences. She refocuses herself on more proper lady-like pursuits so in the end she may find a suitable husband and make her family proud. When it finally comes down to arranging her marriage, her doting father does his best to chose suitors who would be tolerant of Lady Trent's boyish ways. He does succeed in finding her the perfect mate, Jacob, who then allows Lady Trent to accompany him on a scientific expedition to study dragons. And so her adventure begins....
BACKGROUND
From Marie's Website "Marie Brennan is a former academic with a background in archaeology, anthropology, and folklore, which she now puts to rather cockeyed use in writing fantasy. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she spends her time practicing piano, studying karate, and playing a variety of role-playing games."She's an accomplished writer and A Natural History of Dragons is just one of many great books she has penned.
SETTING PACE AND STYLE
Set in a fantasy world in the past, The Natural History of Dragons begins. The writing is beautiful, fitting to the times, entertaining and descriptive in the ideal way. The dialogues felt real. I find the tone of this hard to describe. Lady Trent's memoir definitely has a certain air or ambiance which is easy to loose yourself in. With a great knack for detailing her escapades, Lady Trent, the main character and narrates her story in first person.
CHARACTERS AND PLOT
Lady Trent is an strong-willed, ambitious woman with tomboyish tendencies. Brave and bold, she's not afraid to speak her mind. Sometimes, though she guilty of allowing her emotions to override her common sense. She occasionally will blurt something out, only later realizing the consequences of her actions. Being compassionate, intelligent and curious with a lot of tomboyish nature makes her an admirable female lead in this story.
Jacob (her hubby) is endearing, patient and very understanding. He's a model spouse, a perfect match, as he's so tolerant of Lady Trent's strange quirks and traits. I loved to see him treat her as an equal, even though he does have some internal battles, I felt he loved his wife so much he would stand behind her in whatever she wanted to pursue. This made Jacob one of my favorite characters in the story.
Plot: A woman and her husband join an expedition to a foreign country to study a specific breed of dragons - a memoir.
RECOMMENDATION
I recommend this book to historical fantasy readers who enjoy beautiful writing with whimsical tones. Those readers who look for rich prose and a fantastically detailed story, involving expeditions, adventures and of course dragons should give this one a try.
PERSONAL NOTE
Haven't we all read our share of books where a father sets up a marriage for his daughter and then she ends up being unhappy for the rest of her life, because her heart lies with another? Well, in A Natural History of Dragons we get something completely different! Finally, a historical fantasy story, set in Victorian Times where a father arranges a marriage in his daughter's BEST interest! Amazing! This is just one of many exciting features of this fun, clean entertaining read.
Another stand out characteristic of this book is the beautiful illustrations. The cover gives the reader just a little taste of what's to come inside. The beautiful hand drawn illustrations makes me want to go out and actually buy the hard copy so I can continue to admire them. Here are some examples:
This is an enjoyable read about a strong lady character enamoured by the scientific study of dragons. However, in the time this book is set, this type of educational pursuit is improper for a woman. Its also a story about an expedition in search of dragons which lead to other polictal battles. With beautiful, lyrical language Lady Trent's story is told in first person, holding the reader on the edge of his/her seat throughout the novel. This story captivated me with action, adventure, battles, dragons, mystery and suspense, a perfect mix of all the characteristics which make up a great story.
Science, dragons, ancient ruins possessed with demonic kings (part dragon and part human) strange politics and plenty of historical fantasy, this book has proved to be very unique. With plenty of unexpected twists and turns I was excited from the first page turned.
One aspect I didn't like was how the author chose to conclude, not because the ending was poorly written, more so because it wasn't what I wanted to happen. It wasn't the ending I would have picked if I were writing the book. I can't really say more without spoilers! I'm curious why Marie chose to go in the direction she took this one. What I did appreciate is the story stopped in a good place, however, it eluded to another expedition in Lady Trent's not so distant future, which I will really most definitely look forward to reading.
RATING
This one earns a 4.5 out of 5 Ring Rating. I deduct a half of a ring because I was unhappy with the direction the author took the story in at the conclusion.
4.5 out of 5 Rings (Captivating ~ Looked Forward to Reading)
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