Rating: 3/5
Categorization: Fake Memoir, Regency Period, Fantasy
Length: 334 pages
Plans to Continue the Series: No
What this Story has to Offer You:
Memoir Format
Very Introspective Narrative
Dragons
Ambitious Female Protagonist
A Fantasy Regency Period Setting
The Age of Exploration
Armchair Science
Travel Narrative
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is the first in an arrangement which annals the journal of Lady Trent, "The Worlds Preeminent Dragon Naturalist".
I give this novel a widely appealing rating in light of the fact that while I didn't appreciate it, I do think it was all around created and could be delighted in by a peruser with various tastes from myself.
Going into this story I was expecting a blend of Indiana Jones and Dr. Beauty Augustine, however subsequent to perusing the initial couple of parts acknowledged I was more probable getting Elizabeth Bennett with an irritated trigger finger.
Woman Trent starts her story as a young lady held by interests of the common world when she ought to have been worried with her notoriety and prospects for marriage.
There is almost no time committed to world building on the grounds that the setting and traditions of Lady Trent's house are fundamentally the same as our own reality amid the day and age of Regency England. The nations have distinctive names and there is the expansion of mythical serpents to the set of all animals, yet everything else is essentially the same.
I didn't care for Lady Trent. What's more, I speculate that should be the situation. Ideal in the introductory statements of the diary, Lady Trent herself expresses that she is defective and is not pleased with a few things she has done in her life.
Reasonably, I comprehend why the creator would need the hero to present herself as a fantastically genuine, and in this way defective, person. Woman Trent should be an erudite person, and a pioneer lady. She introduces the actualities as they seem to be, as opposed to revising them to compliment herself.
But since this primary character is an exceptionally polarizing sort, and in light of the fact that this story is reflectively originating from that principle character, in the event that you wind up in my position, not able to put resources into her, whatever is left of the story just crashes and burns. I would have wanted to peruse this book for the rich setting, the witty shrewdness of the characters, or the stunning logical disclosures, however lamentably, there were none.
I am a peruser with little resistance for principle characters who always settle on poor choices. In particular, choices where I as the peruser can't take after the character's thinking for touching base at that choice. It begins to feel like plot occurs for plot's purpose. What's more, on occasion, Lady Trent is precisely that kind of character.
I enjoyed certain things about her. I loved her conflicting with business as usual to teach herself. I making the most of her situating the general population in her life to meet her ultimate objective of going on an undertaking. I even valued her imploring her better half to not abandon her when it came to it.
However, once she gets to the undertaking I could no longer get behind her activities and conduct.
Whatever remains of the characters are very little better. They are loaded with misrepresentation and easy chair science and all inconceivably inspired by their own 'shrewdness'. They show convictions of predominance over their outside hosts. All of which added imprints to the unlikable agenda for me.
I was certainly expecting more experience and more logical disclosure. Amid the main book, Lady Trent is as yet battling to procure her keep in the field of science among her better half and two others. It is little scale. She is restricted in what they permit her to do, and science right now is additionally extremely constrained. I think there might be more experience and more disclosure in the ensuing books, yet this first book was not able persuade me to continue perusing.
Along these lines, to recap, my abhorrence of the characters kept me from feeling for their battles, adversities, and triumphs. Furthermore, at last, I was exhausted by this story. On the off chance that you have a comparable perusing inclination as myself, this book may not be a solid match for you, in any case, if none of what I have portrayed above especially disturbs you then you might just appreciate this arrangement. I listened to it on Audible and suspect that the main reason I completed it was on account of I delighted in the portrayal to such an extent.
Check out the synopsis & more reviews on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12974372-a-natural-history-of-dragons?from_search=true
Thanks for reading!
Amanda