A Language of Dragons
Ratings4
Average rating4.1
In an alternate London in 1923, one girl accidentally breaks the tenuous truce between dragons and humans in this sweeping debut and epic retelling of Bletchley Park steeped in language, class, and forbidden romance. Perfect for teen fans of Fourth Wing and Babel.
Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages, be smart, be sweet, and make sure her little sister never, ever has to risk growing up Third Class. She just has to free one dragon.
By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.
With her parents and cousin arrested and her sister missing, Viv is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker—if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.
As Viv begins to discover the secrets of a hidden dragon language, she realizes that the fragile peace treaty that holds human and dragon societies together is corrupt, and the dangerous work Viv is doing could be the thread that unravels it.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
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A Language of Dragons' gives us Hunger Games vibes in a post-WWI world where dragons speak human tongues. The dystopian setting hits familiar YA notes, but offers enough novelty to stay interesting.
The protagonist is divisive – teacher's pet smart and ambitious, but with enough depth to make her compelling, unlike the supporting cast which are two-dimensional.
The book's biggest flaw? Despite promising an epic civil war between dragon-human factions, we mostly get stuck in a house with teenagers learning about the conflict through radio broadcasts.
An interesting debut fantasy novel, which strong YA vibes. Our main character is someone who has experienced early hardship, with many flaws that a teenager/young adult would experience, providing strong character development as she tries to find herself in the midst of everything that has happened and has yet to happen.
The world building is immense, with a well-thought-out class system and politics. Somehow, the co-existence of dragons and humans is completely well written, despite it being loosely based upon the 1920s. The more I delved into this delicately concocted world, I was drawn more and more into its darkest, deepest depths, where nothing is what it ever seems on the surface. It gave me vibes reminiscent of Babel or Blood Over Bright Haven, where a simple basic thing can connect to so many more matters without people realising.
A very interesting piece of work, I look forward to further pieces by S. F. Williamson.
