Book Review: Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight

Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight is the first story in the Age of Fire series. It’s the story of a hatchling who must battle simply to survive and become the head of his family, but when dragon hunters seemingly kill everyone else in his family, he finds himself on a journey that will reveal more about his kind than he could have imagined.

This cover image was taken from the book’s Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  I like Auron. He’s a very sympathetic character. This is a wonderful take on the hero’s journey from a dragon perspective, and Auron is a great character to do that with. He’s just a character trying to carve out a life, and every time he has the chance to feel like his life is beginning, that life gets turned upside down.

Exposition: Full confession, I read this book years ago. My reading speed isn’t nearly as fast as my blog schedule, so I’m going into my back catalog. That said, I wouldn’t have read the whole series if this story was dragged down. This story moved well, and Auron is such a great character, you find it impossible to stop reading.

Worldbuilding: This is where Knight shines. This book reads like a great stand alone hero’s journey, but it actually opens up an incredible world populated by a variety of creatures. It’s just amazing to see how it all comes together. On its own, this book has great detail and history. I’d recommend this for readers who like the idea of Tolkien’s work, but don’t want that much history.

Dialogue: This was better than average. Even now I can remember particular conversations (not the words but the tone and point of them). Those conversations helped connect me to the characters and understand them better. They were witty or dramatic as needed, but they were always memorable. I’d love to see an animated version of this book.  

Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: Readers of the genre will probably want more than description than this story has, but I thought it was great. I got the exact amount of detail I wanted without getting bogged down. I could imagine the characters and scenes, and that’s all I want a book’s description to do.

Overall: This was a fantastic introduction to an absolutely wonderful series. It’s imaginative. It’s exciting. It has all the drama and power of a human story, but it’s populated completely by dragons. Fans of fantasy can’t miss this chance to read a great story.

Thanks for reading

Matt