Pretense reviewed How to Slay a Dragon by Cait Stevenson
Review of 'How to Slay a Dragon' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Having enjoyed and followed the author’s responses over on AskHistorians, I was excited to hear that Stevenson had published a book as well. Though I didn’t formally study the medieval period, it’s adjacent to what I did study, and is nevertheless a deeply fascinating and interesting period of time. People don’t give it enough credit. As a fantasy reader, I also like how medieval elements and tropes often find their way into the narrative—and as Stevenson points out in this book, often times inaccurately. Sometimes the medieval period was even wackier than you’d expect, wackier than any fantasy novel. Imagine that.
This book was short and a quick, enjoyable read. I found myself laughing out loud a few times and not wanting to go to sleep because of how interesting it was. I had several tabs open looking up figures or concepts that were mentioned in the book. Suffice …
Having enjoyed and followed the author’s responses over on AskHistorians, I was excited to hear that Stevenson had published a book as well. Though I didn’t formally study the medieval period, it’s adjacent to what I did study, and is nevertheless a deeply fascinating and interesting period of time. People don’t give it enough credit. As a fantasy reader, I also like how medieval elements and tropes often find their way into the narrative—and as Stevenson points out in this book, often times inaccurately. Sometimes the medieval period was even wackier than you’d expect, wackier than any fantasy novel. Imagine that.
This book was short and a quick, enjoyable read. I found myself laughing out loud a few times and not wanting to go to sleep because of how interesting it was. I had several tabs open looking up figures or concepts that were mentioned in the book. Suffice it to say, it engrossed me. Stevenson’s writing style is casual, relatable, and amusing. This might not work for everyone—but after a long while of reading dense, academic texts, this humorous and palatable style was exactly up my alley. True, Stevenson does tend to name drop certain events or historical figures and leave a few empty threads here and there, but the nature of the book is such that it is more of an anthology of medieval tropes and events, not a strict narrative nor deep dive into any one topic. Consequently, it’s a great place to dip your toes in if you know little to nothing about medieval history, or even if you do—just don’t expect a deep breadth of research to be dropped into your lap for you. I enjoy looking things up and reading secondary sources on my own time, so I don’t fault the book for this.
The framing of the book could have been done better, I agree. The ‘fantasy hero’ shtick is ultimately irrelevant and not too convincing, but perhaps it is more of a marketing or situational thing to immerse the reader in the medieval world… personally I felt that even without this element, the immersion wouldn’t have been lacking. People have been the same for eons, medieval or not. I also appreciated Stevenson’s particular interests in figures such as Mechthild of Magdeburg, whose name I surely will not forget, or referencing particular saints several times. I could almost feel myself on the periphery of the medieval world. It made me want to go to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance again. If you’re a fantasy fan, or a medieval history fan, this book will have something for you—at the very least, it’s a quick read with plenty of levity.
