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| A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan |
Book title:
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent
Author:
Marie Brennan
Genre:
Fantasy
Published: February
5, 2013
351 pages
You continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one's life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten.
Isabella, Lady Trent, is a world-famous dragon naturalist. In the first part of her series of memoirs, she narrates how she became obsessed with dragons as a little girl, how that passion led her to choose a husband who would allow her to continue her study of dragons, and how she embarked on her first expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made her first discoveries.
Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent is the first book in the adult fantasy series The Memoirs of Lady Trent. The book is set in a fantasy world that vaguely resembles the 19th century world. Isabella grows up in Scirland (the fantasy equivalent of Great Britain) with a growing fascination with dragons. The worldbuilding with its many nations and cultures is intricate, and this first book seems to only skim the surface of the fantasy world.
I suspect the writing style of this book may be divisive. If you don’t like reading memoir-style writing, this book might not be for you, but I absolutely loved Isabella’s voice. She’s fierce and determined, and in her youth was at points rather reckless and naive, but the memoir has a refreshing don’t-care attitude of an older woman narrating the story of her youth.
The negative things I have to say about this book are very minor. I would have loved it if there had been more dragons. The characters only encountered a few of them, and the latter half of the book was taken over by a mystery plot that I didn’t find nearly as interesting as the scientific discoveries they made concerning the dragons. I hope there will be more dragons in the later books in the series.
There was also something that happened at the end of the book that I was hoping wouldn’t happen, even though I could see it coming. However, these few minor things didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book, and I gave it five stars. If you’re interested in a more scientific approach to dragons and light academia fantasy in the vein of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series, definitely check out this book.
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