March to Other Worlds Day 20: Chronicle of Dragon by Craig Halloran

Day 20 Chronicle of Dragon by Craig Halloran

The Hero, the Sword, and the Dragon is the first book in a fantasy series by the author of the superb Supernatural Bounty Hunter series (which I spotlighted in Occultober 2020). While it’s my understanding that dragons are becoming increasingly common figures in urban fantasy romances, in classical fantasy they are usually the bad guys, so I was interested in seeing how Halloran would handle building a series around one.

 

First up, the dragon of the title is the hero—not the anti-hero—and he’s not quite a dragon yet. He’s descended from one, but whatever makes dragons grow their scales hasn’t happened to our hero yet. He’s stronger and faster and hardier than normal humans, but he’s not a fire-breathing lizard yet or even close to becoming one.

 

The second interesting twist that Halloran has put on the series is that classic fantasy activity—heroes slaying monsters and bad guys—threatens to get our hero into trouble. Blood lust is bad for dragons—although we’re not told why at the beginning of the book. This means that our hero has to find a non-hack-and-slash way of winning the day—or else. Now before you start thinking of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (“Violence is not the answer!”), let me assure you that there is a ton of action in this opening book. It’s just that there is also a ton of consequence that is clearly going to fuel the entire series. I’m anxious to see where it takes him.