Rogue / Julie Kagawa

Rogue

(Talon Saga #2)

by Julie Kagawa

fantasy, young adult, romance

copyright 2015

read in January 2017

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

A light-weight, easy-to-read romantic fantasy, with dragons. It follows Talon but there is no real need to read Talon first. Rogue is a complete story with its own beginning, middle and end.

It has its own end -- despite the cliffhanger ending. The actual adventure is all wrapped up. There are larger issues to be tackled but this adventure is complete. The "cliffhanger" deals with the uncertainty of the three-way romance... It's that sort of book :-)

This is a book for teenage... girls. That's the target audience. I enjoyed the book and I'm neither teenage nor girl.

There's violence, threats, sudden death. Still, it's rather sweet. Centred round a sweet teenage girl that you just have to like. And her two boyfriends, the human and the dragon. Plus the loyal, surly, super-smart side-kick, for when being super-cool is just not enough.

It's written to a rather satisfactory formula. Occasionally unbelievable, even within the modern-day fantasy genre. One scene sticks in my mind, as a different type of unbelievable:

The heroine and a boyfriend are in a crowded casino. Security spots them. They avoid the guard... he walks past them, searching... they avoid eye contact, look casual... the guard does not spot them.

This girl has a wild mass of fiery red hair... Is the security guard blind?!

But, hey, it's all a lot of fun. It's fantasy with dragons. Modern young characters who make me wonder if the author gets out much. The scene in the drug den is definitely anti-drug. And there's a young adult cliche which was not obvious to me for quite a while...

The cliche is, deliberate adult suppression of young innocence. Where the world would be a better place -- if only the evil older adults did not force the teens and younger adults into a cruel attitude to "the enemy".

In other books, I've had this trope smashed in my face. Kagawa does it a little better, with a bit more subtlety. Or, at least, with a little less of the attitude that adults are cruel and evil *and* stupid.

It's fun. It's easy to read. I enjoyed it.

June 2018: 

Read this again... Didn't mean to, just picked up a book, started reading... recognised it but was quite happy to read to the end. It's that sort of book: pleasant, exciting, light... enjoyable.

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