Spoiler Free Summary: Dragon Rule by E.E. Knight is the fifth story in the Age of Fire series. Dragons have taken dominion over the upper world. Three sibling dragons have three very different views on how humans should be dealt with. One brother would ignore them. The other brother would isolate from them. Only the sister sees a third option. Can she help humans and dragons coexist?
Character: This book handles a lot of the same tones of the last book. In fairness, it continues to develop the new relationships that began when the three siblings reunited. This book is harder for me to remember than others. I think it’s because the book was building to a climax. I didn’t mind the anticipation so much because I was already in love with the characters.
Exposition: Since I don’t remember much about the book, it means that not a lot of really great things happened, but it also means the exposition was fine. I absolute remember boring books. Knowing the end and knowing the first three books more familiarly, I think this book was set up, so it falls short of the books around it. What made this book easy to read was the relationship between these characters.
Worldbuilding: Just when one thinks Knight couldn’t be more imaginative, he takes a rich world full of creatures and characters and flips it around, writing a story that is much more about the new dynamics and polities of a new empire. This keeps the worldbuilding (the most awesome aspect of this series) fresh.
Dialogue: I’d be lying if I said I remembered any one conversation. What I can say is I remember how the conversations made me root for reconciliation and peace between the siblings. There’s no doubt how much each character had grown, so I found myself wanting to see that in their growth, they found some way to come together.
Description: The vague memories I have of this book dwell on the political themes, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for vivid descriptions in action, which I tend to prefer in my stories. However, I know that I fondly remember the series as a whole for having simply amazing detail intricately woven into solid prose.
Overall: I remember this book least, which I suppose makes it my least favorite in a series, but in this case being my least favorite is like getting Chips Ahoy! when I wanted homemade cookies. It was still pretty great; it just doesn’t compare well with others in the series. Take that with a grain of salt, though. If you like political intrigue and drama, you’ll love this book. I don’t actually like either of these, but I still liked this book.
Thanks for reading
Matt
M.L.S. Weech 