‘A Language of Dragons’ by S.F Williamson is a freaking masterpiece! Dark(ish) academia meets Bletchley Park meets… dragons?

Vivian Featherswallow is a really interesting protagonist. She’s ambitious and knows what she wants - study dragon languages and be the youngest to do it. And then her parents are arrested for treason and her priorities shift. She ends up taking a ‘mysterious’ job and her life and the lives of her family are literally on the line!

In this world, dragons and humans live alongside each other in a London where humans are split into three classes and can never mix. I found the world building really powerful and so interesting so learn about the segregation at play.

And we have such diverse characters with really unique motivations. We meet some actual rebels and Viv’s world view is really challenged. She has a lot of tough decisions to make and unlike in so many books she actually really thinks about them.

This was just fun! (Apart from the ending, I’m not sure if I’ll ever forgive Williamson for that.) Relationships are done so well here. This is a must for fantasy, academia and dragon fans. It’s a love letter to languages and translating.