The Dragon Round
(Dragon Misery #1)
by Stephen S Power
fantasy
copyright 2016
read in January 2020
rated 4/10: bad but could be read
[05jan20 aside: This is a very negative review. I did not *enjoy* the book but I can see a lot of good stuff in it. For me, I want a book to enjoy. I want characters with a more positive attitude. For example, treat the dragon as more than just a beast of burden. And I would like to have fewer major characters dying. That said...]
[05jan20 aside: This is a very negative review. I did not *enjoy* the book but I can see a lot of good stuff in it. For me, I want a book to enjoy. I want characters with a more positive attitude. For example, treat the dragon as more than just a beast of burden. And I would like to have fewer major characters dying. That said...]
As I read this book I wonder, Will anything good come of all this? I reach the end and realise, No.
This is a well-written -- sort of -- but comprehensively miserable book. One character is, perhaps, likeable but does very little. Though seems fated to do more in a second book. Of the rest, a few are sympathetic but none are pleasant.
"Well-written"? Sort of. Each scene reads well, is interesting, creates an interesting world. Put it all together and the result is unpleasant.
The author has two writing tricks which are overdone. The sudden shock: Enjoying a stroll in the jungle, a lion eats him. That sort of unannounced surprise. Uncertain results: The lion licks its lips, looks hungrily at his companion... and the story jumps to an unrelated action. Is his companion eaten? Who knows.
These two tricks work well -- once. Then they become annoying.
The central dragon is about as smart -- or as stupid -- as a dog and is seen as just a new-fangled war-horse with armour and flamethrower. There is no fondness for the dragon, just various nasty people wondering how to use it for profit. Unpleasant.
btw: There is no mention that this is the first book of a series. Yet it clearly is intended to be the first. Nothing is wrapped up, there is no conclusion, no ending, neither happy nor sad... Miserable, in fact.
At the top I have said that this book is #1 of "Dragon Misery". That's just my name for it.
I have a quick look at the author's website. As far as I can tell, he attempted to write book two and the publisher rejected it. I feel sorry for Power as a struggling-to-succeed author. I won't be sorry if book two never appears.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"[The] truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is." ... Winston Churchill
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