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A review by poisonenvy
Novice Dragoneer by E.E. Knight
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
This was a DNF for me at close to midway through the book.
Once upon a time, I read E.E. Knight's <I>Age of Fire</i> series, and I <i>loved</i> it. I loved it a lot. And then, I found this book and it's sequel, <I>Daughter of the Serpentine</i> in the bookstore. I was ecstatic. I immediately bought them both. The fact that their covers are both gorgeous helped in my decision.
And so, I decided to reread the <i>Age of Fire</i> series, from start to finish, so I could be ready to start this new series.
It was... not as good as I remember it. In fact, the only reason I struggled through the last two poorly-editted and flabbergasting books was because of this book.
My first impressions were good. The prose was stronger than it was in the original series (or, at least, it seemed so, though I'm less critical of that sort of thing when I'm listening to an audiobook). There was still sexism in the culture -- which was a problem I had in <i>Age of Fire</i> -- but it was at least acknowledged and the main character, 14 year old Illeth, actually seemed to chafe at it (whereas in the Age of Fire, not a single character commented on the sexist double standards, leading me to believe that Knight didn't notice them at all).
Ileth was also great. Despite a stutter and her sex, she flights and claws for a position in the Serpentine so that she can someday become a Dragoneer.
Except then she's caught making out with a boy and is sent to the Dragon Dancer, a group of women who dance for dragons because the smell of human women make male dragons horny (also one of the most wtf aspects for the main series). I pushed through, right up until a 33-year-old man goes to attack 14-year-old Illeth for plot relevant reasons and decides to... molest her? instead of fighting her? I don't know, that's about the time when I went "Nah, not for me fam."
Maybe other people will like this book more. Maybe I would have liked it more if I hadn't <I>just</i> finished Age of Fire and was already frustrated with the series as a whole.
Once upon a time, I read E.E. Knight's <I>Age of Fire</i> series, and I <i>loved</i> it. I loved it a lot. And then, I found this book and it's sequel, <I>Daughter of the Serpentine</i> in the bookstore. I was ecstatic. I immediately bought them both. The fact that their covers are both gorgeous helped in my decision.
And so, I decided to reread the <i>Age of Fire</i> series, from start to finish, so I could be ready to start this new series.
It was... not as good as I remember it. In fact, the only reason I struggled through the last two poorly-editted and flabbergasting books was because of this book.
My first impressions were good. The prose was stronger than it was in the original series (or, at least, it seemed so, though I'm less critical of that sort of thing when I'm listening to an audiobook). There was still sexism in the culture -- which was a problem I had in <i>Age of Fire</i> -- but it was at least acknowledged and the main character, 14 year old Illeth, actually seemed to chafe at it (whereas in the Age of Fire, not a single character commented on the sexist double standards, leading me to believe that Knight didn't notice them at all).
Ileth was also great. Despite a stutter and her sex, she flights and claws for a position in the Serpentine so that she can someday become a Dragoneer.
Except then she's caught making out with a boy and is sent to the Dragon Dancer, a group of women who dance for dragons because the smell of human women make male dragons horny (also one of the most wtf aspects for the main series). I pushed through, right up until a 33-year-old man goes to attack 14-year-old Illeth for plot relevant reasons and decides to... molest her? instead of fighting her? I don't know, that's about the time when I went "Nah, not for me fam."
Maybe other people will like this book more. Maybe I would have liked it more if I hadn't <I>just</i> finished Age of Fire and was already frustrated with the series as a whole.