Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "dragons"

Dragon Bone Soup
Edited by DW Brownlaw and P. C. Darkcliff
Publisher: Independently published
Release date: December 9, 2019
ISBN-10: 1673703976
ISBN-13: 978-1673703979
https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Bone-So...

When I reached the end of Dragon Bone Soup, I realized I had just finished my favorite short story anthology I have ever read. As a writer of sci-fi short stories myself, I knew I was going to have to up my game to compete with all these folks. Especially regarding preciseness and word economy.

I also realized trying to point out the highlights of the sixteen diverse fantasy and light science fiction stories would result in a very long book review. After all, writers from three continents take readers to dystopian futures populated by dragons, witches, spirits, elves, trolls, and magicians. But no matter how non-human these beings might seem, every story explores the humanity of even the most exotic of characters. This includes the first-person narrative, "I, Dragon" by David Bowmore.

I would like to call special attention to the first two stories in the collection, "LA EMBRUJADX" by Carmen Baca and "The Witch of Wickershaw" by Brandy Bonifas as they both hooked me into this collection straight-away. Other contributors include Steve Carr, P.C. Darkcliff, R.A. Goli, Shawn Klimek, Mark Kodama, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Zhen Liu, Lynne Phillips, Sam M. Phillips, Daniel Craig Roche, Copper Rose, L.T. Waterson, and G. Allen Wilbanks.

For readers who like to know about the authors they experience, the editors added a section of interviews at the end of the book with each of the writers describing their craft. Some might think of this section as padding as each story is indeed short, most around 3,000 words or so. (The editors provide a word count for each story in their introductory notes. ) Well, if you're not that interested in all the biographies and writing approaches of the creators, or maybe only interested in a few of the contributors, the interviews are not essential reading. I wager, however, that most fellow writers will appreciate the opportunity to read sixteen windows into the creative process. For non-writers, you could think of the interviews as icing on the cake, if you can imagine icing on bone soup.

If you like sci-fi or fantasy, you won't want to pass up this collection. Perhaps not every entree will be your cuppa tea, to mix metaphors again, but there will certainly be enough offerings you'll consider special treats.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Feb. 16, 2019:
https://waa.ai/TxOJ

Lumina, Volume 1 The Dragonlite Legacy
PADDY TYRRELL
Publication Date: December 1, 2019
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
ASIN: B0827TDXQM

https://www.amazon.com/LUMINA-Dragonl...


Review by: Dr. Wesley Britton

The first pages of Paddy Tyrrell's Lumina are a perfect model for how to start a novel. First, we're dropped into the middle of an action scene. Second, we are vividly introduced to two of the book's primary characters. Third, we immediately get insights into one of the main conflicts of the book, a cultural clash that defines a world in turmoil.

In but a few pages, we get striking samples of Tyrrell's descriptive gifts and begin to see the themes of intolerance and prejudice that are analogous to too many eras of our earth's history. I liked the fact this is the breed of science-fiction where character, world building, and cultural interaction are the thrust of the story and not exotic weaponry, space flight, or really strange creatures, although we get no shortage of the latter. I admit, these days I dread the idea of yet another overused dragon in my reading, but I have to say Tyrrell has a number of clever ways to play with dragons and baby dragons in her yarn.

Very quickly in Lumina, we can see the various paths of various distinctive characters in what opens up to be an other-worldly epic although many of the plots seem very grounded in earth lore. For example, one storyline involving the royal court of one country seems based on the life of concubines in an ancient Asian country. Other stories are obvious takes on the heroic quest involving the search for a lost brother, finding unlikely allies in a brewing war, and overcoming intolerance between humanoid species, especially against the golden-skinned genetically-engineered "Bronzites" who are excluded from human society.

So many characters in this book are memorable, some extremely admirable, such as Davron Berates who has to choose between friendship and his people along with his internal conflict over accepting his love for a strange Bronzite woman, the magical Chrystala who transforms in ways no one expected. Then there's my favorite, the lovely Salazai who suffers from the slowest-acting poison ever conceived. These characters and their friends and enemies are all center stage as war explodes in a multi-layered conflict spreading over a very wide and bloody canvas. The carnage of the climatic battle scenes is so epic it's amazing how this volume of the series could end on such a gentle note.

While this volume is a very long read, it's a welcome thought to know there is more to come that will hopefully resolve issues set up in the final chapters of book one. I want to know what will happen to the survivors of the war that left many heroes dead on the battlefield.


This review was first published at BookPleasures.com on May 16, 2020:


https://waa.ai/eesh