Lora Durance
Why does a book about dragons have so little actual dragons in it? Especially when they’re the best part? The hype for this series seems like it’s driven by networking and big publishing money. Good writing and pacing and a great hook, rallying dragon lovers everywhere. But hard pass for me on the rest of the series. Here are a few reasons why:
Insultingly ableist: I have the same hypermobility disorder, so I found MC’s attitude toward healers and her “just push through the pain” plot device internal dialogue not only bullshit but insulting. Rock climber here, and you do NOT just “push through” when your wrist ligaments or other joints pop out of alignment while you’re in the middle of moving because literally it’s like a when your chain comes off the bicycle and no matter how you peddle, you’re NOT moving. To turn down healer powers because “people would think I’m weak” when 1. They already do and 2. You ARE because you have a disability made my blood boil. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have access to a magical healer. You wanna tell an asthmatic, if you take that albuterol during your 5K people will think you’re weak! And when they literally can’t breathe and all the oxygen is disappearing from their tissues, they’re waving away the inhaler. “No, no I’ll just push through it.” So. Incredibly. Insensitive.
Not believable: Having been a military spouse, I found the world building silly at best. Popped me right out from almost the first chapter — if you’re going to wage war, you don’t kill 99% of your canon fodder in ego-based military exercises. Maybe you use these exercises to cull the herd, to find the diamonds and leaders, to spot weakness points. But you don’t unalive the infantry. No, you reassign them to the front lines. You’d think the author wasn’t actually a military spouse or at least wasn’t paying attention. Finally as a survivor or sexual assault and with a first-hand knowledge of the realities of a brutalistic militaristic culture, the LACK of attempted SA and rape felt like either a marketing ploy to keep from having to add content warnings or to prevent the inevitable backlash reviews that claimed the author was making some kind of statement or referencing the very really sexual assaults experienced by 1 in 5 females attending the U.S. Air Force academy in the y2k era, for example, or it was a Pollyanna oversight by the author that smacks of unseriousness.
Again, fun action scenes, spiciness was nice, somewhat memorable moments. Passing on next in series.
Why does a book about dragons have so little actual dragons in it? Especially when they’re the best part? The hype for this series seems like it’s driven by networking and big publishing money. Good writing and pacing and a great hook, rallying dragon lovers everywhere. But hard pass for me on the rest of the series. Here are a few reasons why:
Insultingly ableist: I have the same hypermobility disorder, so I found MC’s attitude toward healers and her “just push through the pain” plot device internal dialogue not only bullshit but insulting. Rock climber here, and you do NOT just “push through” when your wrist ligaments or other joints pop out of alignment while you’re in the middle of moving because literally it’s like a when your chain comes off the bicycle and no matter how you peddle, you’re NOT moving. To turn down healer powers because “people would think I’m weak” when 1. They already do and 2. You ARE because you have a disability made my blood boil. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have access to a magical healer. You wanna tell an asthmatic, if you take that albuterol during your 5K people will think you’re weak! And when they literally can’t breathe and all the oxygen is disappearing from their tissues, they’re waving away the inhaler. “No, no I’ll just push through it.” So. Incredibly. Insensitive.
Not believable: Having been a military spouse, I found the world building silly at best. Popped me right out from almost the first chapter — if you’re going to wage war, you don’t kill 99% of your canon fodder in ego-based military exercises. Maybe you use these exercises to cull the herd, to find the diamonds and leaders, to spot weakness points. But you don’t unalive the infantry. No, you reassign them to the front lines. You’d think the author wasn’t actually a military spouse or at least wasn’t paying attention. Finally as a survivor or sexual assault and with a first-hand knowledge of the realities of a brutalistic militaristic culture, the LACK of attempted SA and rape felt like either a marketing ploy to keep from having to add content warnings or to prevent the inevitable backlash reviews that claimed the author was making some kind of statement or referencing the very really sexual assaults experienced by 1 in 5 females attending the U.S. Air Force academy in the y2k era, for example, or it was a Pollyanna oversight by the author that smacks of unseriousness.
Again, fun action scenes, spiciness was nice, somewhat memorable moments. Passing on next in series.