Scan barcode
A review by onejadyn
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Re-read Aug 2024:
I found myself thinking of this book more than I expected and attempted to start its sequel quite recently. Shortly after starting, I decided a re-read was in order.
Honestly, it's a good story, especially if you go in with the right expectations. There's also just something about the story that makes you look forward to more — Isabella feels incomplete. The narrative voice is so much stronger and more worldly than this version of Isabella, and it leaves you wanting to see the woman she becomes.
Upgraded review from 3.75 to 4.25
---
Original review:
I was looking to get into more non-fiction books, rather than just fantasy. I figured this would be a decent start for someone entirely unwilling to read anything but fantasy.
I don't know what to say about this book. I liked it. Almost loved it. There was something immersive about it. It pulled you into the world, where you did want to believe in Lady Trent and her earnest memoir, her references to previous works that no doubt haven't actually been published in our real world.
It was slow and ordinary, and also filled with dragons. It's almost more a story about rising above the station permitted by your sex than it is about dragons themselves — and on that note, I wish we'd learned more of dragons, for I certainly hadn't expected how much politics would be encompassed in this story.
A village they don't get along with, villagers ready to kick them out, religious disputes, their guide and host missing, the smugglers, the boyars. It engaged me, but I feel sorely lacking in the meat of the research, the latter half of which was summarised after the climax of this town conflict.
Also, Jacob's dead. And no, I am not alright with it. It is deeply unsatisfying and I couldn't believe they'd done it. Just as I was preparing for the journeys they would go on, I realised he was never to make it there with her. There was something real about their relationship, something earnest. It definitely feels as though something is missing without him.
I look forward to continuing with this series. I hope to learn more about dragons too as I do.
I found myself thinking of this book more than I expected and attempted to start its sequel quite recently. Shortly after starting, I decided a re-read was in order.
Honestly, it's a good story, especially if you go in with the right expectations. There's also just something about the story that makes you look forward to more — Isabella feels incomplete. The narrative voice is so much stronger and more worldly than this version of Isabella, and it leaves you wanting to see the woman she becomes.
Upgraded review from 3.75 to 4.25
---
Original review:
I was looking to get into more non-fiction books, rather than just fantasy. I figured this would be a decent start for someone entirely unwilling to read anything but fantasy.
I don't know what to say about this book. I liked it. Almost loved it. There was something immersive about it. It pulled you into the world, where you did want to believe in Lady Trent and her earnest memoir, her references to previous works that no doubt haven't actually been published in our real world.
It was slow and ordinary, and also filled with dragons. It's almost more a story about rising above the station permitted by your sex than it is about dragons themselves — and on that note, I wish we'd learned more of dragons, for I certainly hadn't expected how much politics would be encompassed in this story.
A village they don't get along with, villagers ready to kick them out, religious disputes, their guide and host missing, the smugglers, the boyars. It engaged me, but I feel sorely lacking in the meat of the research, the latter half of which was summarised after the climax of this town conflict.
Also, Jacob's dead. And no, I am not alright with it. It is deeply unsatisfying and I couldn't believe they'd done it. Just as I was preparing for the journeys they would go on, I realised he was never to make it there with her. There was something real about their relationship, something earnest. It definitely feels as though something is missing without him.
I look forward to continuing with this series. I hope to learn more about dragons too as I do.