The Fireborne Blade
Ratings11
Average rating3.6
So I enjoyed this and I do feel the need to read the next book, but within a day of reading it I am finding it wasn't very memorable. I wish goodreads had a half star option. This sits closer to 3.5 than 3 but not a 4.
The characters were a bit flat. I could see this being able to be made longer just by fleshing out scenes and adding depth to the characters. It could be great.
I'm no expert on fantasy tropes or the subverting of tropes, but I know that I don't want that to be the focus of any story. This is more than the story of a courageous knight (who happens to be a woman) and her failed mage of a squire (who happens to be a man) taking on a dragon. The story fits very well within familiar fantasy conventions (the dragon that they pursue is ancient and has a legendary treasure within her hoard), but is told in a way that lives up to those traditions yet feels fresh, imaginative and surprising. For one thing, author Charlotte Bond adds some new horror elements to the classic story. Sir Maddileh and Petras are haunted by nightmares and hallucinations in the dragon's cave. They encounter “dragon dead” (the ghosts of dragon victims who stalk the cave like zombies) and “soot drakes” (deadly pests who infect unsuspecting travellers with toxic soot that will destroy their bodies) as they make their way deeper in. There are also many interesting magical objects, spells, and legendary tales of various mages of old woven into the story, which are a lot of fun to read about.
Even with a low page count, there are interesting backstories for all the characters — even some of the characters within the backstories have backstories. The titular Fireborne Blade definitely has its story and, by the end, Bond manages to bring many of these stories together in a clever and unique way, crafting them into an even bigger story. I love twists; and this novella contained so many surprises which I didn't expect that it kept me delighted and surprised the whole time.
The writing and the narration are also both very well done. The language is descriptive, pleasant and elegant without being flowery or pretentious. There's a good variety of voices and tones, including some guide-book-style chapters which nicely deliver world-building exposition in an engaging way. It is impressive how much of a world is built around a fairly straightforward story and a single core event. It doesn't feel only like the dragon's cave is the entire world. In fact, there is so much going on outside (described mostly in the flashbacks) that when we reach the climax, it doesn't feel like we're seeing sunlight for the first time. The narration by Helen McAlpine is great. She gives each character a varied tone, and her voice is mature enough to avoid the petulance and juvenile air that makes many female narrators skew a little bit “young adult”.
Overall, I loved this story. It was all well-crafted, very fun and satisfying. Even though I don't feel it needs to be any longer, I would love to read more from this world and this author.
4.75 stars
I mostly enjoyed the book. I liked the alternating chapters of history and narrative. The main character was both sympathetic and aggravating (which I like - I'm so tired of the trope of the perfect hero unjustly exiled). I did not really enjoy the big twist at the end though. It felt like deus ex machina, but maybe I was just too thick in not trying to work out the puzzle as it was revealed.
Received this one from NetGalley, so thanks to them and Tordotcom! The narration done by Helen McAlpine was awesome. Good accents, differing tones and variations. Nice and quick.
This has all the feel of an old school classic fantasy, without any of the additional background world building or lore. As a novella, it gets to the point awfully quick, while some of the additional bits that the author dropped did make the world feel whole to me, like maybe they knew it much deeper than they wrote it out. For me, that works quite well. There’s certainly a line where a lack of information can feel like it’s genuinely missing, but this toed that line just enough with its epitaph-esque interlude chapters, bringing a historical background to why they are on the hunt. IE., a complete and somewhat linear story that doesn’t stray from the plot, while appearing to take place in a whole, fleshed out world/universe.
This novella feels like it spawned from the single line of, “I am no man” and went on from there to become its own thing. A feminist, sapphic dragon hunting novella that packs a punch against toxic masculinity and gender roles. And Knight Maddileh is knocking down those barriers and putting mouthy squires in their places.
This was quick, enjoyable, and features quite a twist that I was not ready for. I do wish the actual situation with the dragon was longer, as it appeared like it would be the focal point, and with such a beautiful cover, I was imagining Smaug or GoT level battles in my mind, but there is certainly room for more…and an already announced sequel.
