chantaal's reviews
2267 reviews

Now this is a fun dragon story that I can get behind. 

This story follows Maddileh, a disgrace knight who decides that the only way to rehabilitate her name and her image is to go into a dragon's lair to get a mythical sword called the Fireborne Blade. There's also a lot of magic here, as Maddie has a squire to assist her on the quest, and we also have a few flashbacks where she befriends a female mage. 

The world building here is very solid. Interspersed throughout the novella are brief chapters that are essentially historical accounts of previous dragon slayings, showing how dangerous it is to do so, and discussing the myriad ways knights have died horribly. It builds up some great tension as we follow Maddie into the dragon's lair. 

I won't say much else because there is a LOT more to the story beyond the synopsis that I found was a delight to discover as it unfolded. This was just FUN, and I'm so glad a sequel is already planned.

A lot of old thematic ground is being tread here, making for a boring and eye roll-inducing volume. Bizarre character choices, too. In what world would Rahne ever listen to the Shadow King, even as grief stricken as she is about her child?

And of course the tried and true “mutants who can pass for human don’t understand what it’s like for us so we’ll be manipulated into horrible choices now” storyline is in play with the younger kids. I thought Anole was cool with himself?? 

Plus, a whole lot of time in this volume was spent in the Otherworld and goddamnit I hate it there. 

At least Magick was delightfully herself and we got Warpath in short shorts. 

I went into this completely blind and honestly can’t remember what put it in my radar…thank you, universe. Isekai with a good helping of Magic Made Me Do It (sort of) kicking off a gay romance? I’m here for it. 

Inez is a former space pilot of The Rule, a colonizing force in the galaxy that took her and her friends in before their home worlds were burned to ash. After an accident, Inez is left for dead and spends a decade stewing in resentment and hate until she is dragged back by the Rule and forced to work for them - but she wants to destroy them instead. 

Sui approaches this story from a perspective that isn't seen all too often. Yes, it is a revenge story and yes, it is about one person fighting against a larger fascist military rule, but she's no hero. She's a person barely holding it together. The story follows her as she deals with seeing her ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend (who is now sleeping with her ex-girlfriend), and the Third Sister, one of the ruling family of the Rule. Toxic relationships and bad decisions abound. 

This is more of a character study in the end; while Inez is driven by revenge in a way that you may often see in grander space opera stories, there's nothing here to be said about faciscm, about colonialism, about revolution or society. It's just Inez's story as one person facing her own demons.  That, I think is where this novella felt weak for me. The focus on the character work and the toxic relationships really took away from what I felt was a powerful story about a broken person facing her past and trying to burn it down because she has nothing left to give.

It's certainly an interesting story as a whole, though, and I liked this glimpse into the world. I wish it had done a little bit more to make the world feel more whole, but I did like how close it was to Inez as a character.