Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
My Review on Goodreads
This was a bit of a slow starter, but I ending up loving it overall. One of Briggs' few books (that I've read) from a male perspective. At first, I struggled to find what I normally gravitate about her writing in this book, but it's an earlier book. However, It became clear as I stuck with it. Briggs has a way of writing pathos that is so distinctive and shall I say, impactful. Also, Ward fits in with her characters who are perceived as "flawed" by society. In this case, Ward has played the idiot to survive his cruel father. It's hard work pretending to be someone you are not, yet Ward has gotten exceptionally good at it. So much that when it's time to drop the act, it's much harder to allow his true personality to shine through.
I loved Ward as the main character. It's so refreshing to have a main character who would typically be considered the "muscle" or "brawn" foil to the "brains" character. And yet, he's a bit of both. I'm not saying he's brilliant, but he's very observant and is what you call a student of human nature. He is quite intelligent and excellent at strategy (playing the long game). Like children of abuse, he has learned very well to watch and learn and he employs those tool very well. He's a protector and manages to manipulate others who believe that have an advantage of him because they are unable to see his depths.
Briggs's books are always on the shorter side, but she packs a lot of story in that short page count. In this book, we get the intrigue (devious plotting, plans and machinations) that you'd see in a thicker epic fantasy like Game of Thrones. For sure, there's some of that kind of treachery and playing games with people's lives in this book. There's some really good action scenes (although not drawn out in gruesomeness). I was not expecting twists and turns in the story. And I will say that you have to be patient if you want the Dragon angle to pay off, but I loved what she did with it. I loved Auric's character as well. Auric has a tortured mien and an inner well of power that is a delightful juxtaposition. The slow development of their friendship and reliance on each other is intrinsic to this novel.
Joe Manganiello was the narrator for this audiobook. I will say that this was so quiet, I couldn't listen to it on a long drive out of state, but I enjoyed his soothing voice on short jaunts to and from work everyday. I appreciate that he used different accents and intonations for the different characters, so even though some of the names confused me at first, I was able to recognize and tell the characters apart based on their voices.
I am so in love with the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega books, and I don't feel that same intensity towards this book. But by the end, I was very involved with the story and I loved the characterization (which is a strength of Patricia Briggs). That's why I gave it four stars despite the shortcomings. I feel like the short length of this book did leave me wanting more. The magic is more on the subtler side, although intriguing. Also, I wanted to explore Ward's relationships with his siblings to a greater degree. I'd definitely like more dragon focused scenes. I think this is a duology, so I'll be picking up the next book soon, and I imagine more of those elements will be in the second book. Having said all that I have, I would recommend this to fantasy readers who want a shorter book that focuses on characters, although with some good, albeit subtle fantasy elements.
I loved Ward as the main character. It's so refreshing to have a main character who would typically be considered the "muscle" or "brawn" foil to the "brains" character. And yet, he's a bit of both. I'm not saying he's brilliant, but he's very observant and is what you call a student of human nature. He is quite intelligent and excellent at strategy (playing the long game). Like children of abuse, he has learned very well to watch and learn and he employs those tool very well. He's a protector and manages to manipulate others who believe that have an advantage of him because they are unable to see his depths.
Briggs's books are always on the shorter side, but she packs a lot of story in that short page count. In this book, we get the intrigue (devious plotting, plans and machinations) that you'd see in a thicker epic fantasy like Game of Thrones. For sure, there's some of that kind of treachery and playing games with people's lives in this book. There's some really good action scenes (although not drawn out in gruesomeness). I was not expecting twists and turns in the story. And I will say that you have to be patient if you want the Dragon angle to pay off, but I loved what she did with it. I loved Auric's character as well. Auric has a tortured mien and an inner well of power that is a delightful juxtaposition. The slow development of their friendship and reliance on each other is intrinsic to this novel.
Joe Manganiello was the narrator for this audiobook. I will say that this was so quiet, I couldn't listen to it on a long drive out of state, but I enjoyed his soothing voice on short jaunts to and from work everyday. I appreciate that he used different accents and intonations for the different characters, so even though some of the names confused me at first, I was able to recognize and tell the characters apart based on their voices.
I am so in love with the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega books, and I don't feel that same intensity towards this book. But by the end, I was very involved with the story and I loved the characterization (which is a strength of Patricia Briggs). That's why I gave it four stars despite the shortcomings. I feel like the short length of this book did leave me wanting more. The magic is more on the subtler side, although intriguing. Also, I wanted to explore Ward's relationships with his siblings to a greater degree. I'd definitely like more dragon focused scenes. I think this is a duology, so I'll be picking up the next book soon, and I imagine more of those elements will be in the second book. Having said all that I have, I would recommend this to fantasy readers who want a shorter book that focuses on characters, although with some good, albeit subtle fantasy elements.
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