lastblossom reviewed Dragonfall by L. R. Lam (The Dragon Scales Trilogy, #1)
Solid in-depth world building, a cast of morally gray characters, and so much queerness to be had. Can take a few chapters to get into.
Dragonfall is not shy about its world building - which is both its greatest strength, and a bit of a speed bump. The first few chapters had me floundering in terms I didn't fully understand, but the path smoothed out considerably once Everen entered, as he provides a great insert for other characters to explain the world to, and I found myself very impressed by the scope of it. There's a LOT of world to get through here: magic, government, history, classes, dragons, religions, and so much gender. Every added detail paints a vivid picture of multiple societies with real weight to them, and the world feels comfortably lived in. The cast is full of complex, morally gray characters, with church-ordained assassin Sorin taking the lead as my favorite, and I hope for only good things for her. The slow burn romance gets steamy in places, with just a hint …
Dragonfall is not shy about its world building - which is both its greatest strength, and a bit of a speed bump. The first few chapters had me floundering in terms I didn't fully understand, but the path smoothed out considerably once Everen entered, as he provides a great insert for other characters to explain the world to, and I found myself very impressed by the scope of it. There's a LOT of world to get through here: magic, government, history, classes, dragons, religions, and so much gender. Every added detail paints a vivid picture of multiple societies with real weight to them, and the world feels comfortably lived in. The cast is full of complex, morally gray characters, with church-ordained assassin Sorin taking the lead as my favorite, and I hope for only good things for her. The slow burn romance gets steamy in places, with just a hint of spice (so far). Plot moves at an even pace, taking its time with each of the POV characters. Most characters are written in third person while the two leads are in first person, with an interesting conceit for Everen that can feel stilted, but has a strong payoff at the end. And speaking of the end, lots of big reveals that open up possibilities for the next two books in the series. I genuinely have no idea what's going to happen next, but I'm glad to be along for the ride.
Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the advance copy. All thoughts in here are my own.
