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A review by secre
Fate of Dragons by Alisha Klapheke
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Fate of Dragons is an easy going YA fantasy novel with an intriguing world, yet a fairly predictable narrative/character arcs. That didn't stop me enjoying it, but it did feel lacking in some elements. Vahly should be the Earth Queen, the last human and the one with the power to stop the advancing tides of deadly sea water from wiping her adopted clan of dragons out. But despite al her efforts, she has never managed to manifest even so much as a tremor, let alone a landslide. Her magical powers seem non-existent. However, Vahly is determined to find the source of her power, even if it means tracking possible human rituals of old to the supposedly long extinct elves.
The world-building here is absolutely one of the strongest elements of the novel. This world of dragons warring against the sea folk determined to make them extinct really popped off the page. I'm genuinely interested to see how the author expands and builds upon what is a solid foundation here. The characters were a bit more of a mixed bag; some of the dragons were genuinely interested - particularly the Call Breakers - but others, including Vahly herself felt a bit thin. The added romance element was also off-putting, but that's more of a personal quirk. The pacing is a bit uneven as well, and events didn't always seem to flow well. I particularly found the few interludes into the sea world disjointed; despite adding to the world building, there were so few of them that they felt like random insertions rather than building on the plot.
So, an interesting start to a YA series. I'm intrigued enough by the setting to keep reading. If you're looking for clean, quick and light YA fantasy that involves cut-throat mermaids and dragons in a post-apocalyptic world with one sole surviving human, this is certainly worth a shot.
The world-building here is absolutely one of the strongest elements of the novel. This world of dragons warring against the sea folk determined to make them extinct really popped off the page. I'm genuinely interested to see how the author expands and builds upon what is a solid foundation here. The characters were a bit more of a mixed bag; some of the dragons were genuinely interested - particularly the Call Breakers - but others, including Vahly herself felt a bit thin. The added romance element was also off-putting, but that's more of a personal quirk. The pacing is a bit uneven as well, and events didn't always seem to flow well. I particularly found the few interludes into the sea world disjointed; despite adding to the world building, there were so few of them that they felt like random insertions rather than building on the plot.
So, an interesting start to a YA series. I'm intrigued enough by the setting to keep reading. If you're looking for clean, quick and light YA fantasy that involves cut-throat mermaids and dragons in a post-apocalyptic world with one sole surviving human, this is certainly worth a shot.