Read All About It: A Natural History of Dragons

I started reading this book while I was on a plane, flying back home from a family reunion. It made the best picture for Instagram--but this book is far more than that. Marie Brennan is really on to something here--I really enjoyed everything about this. It's about a bad-ass lady, some cool dragons, a touch of romance, and some legit science.

A Natural History of Dragons is an overall bad-ass retelling of a journey that makes you feel as if you were in the same story, and it's an interesting expedition that grabs you at the start and keeps you enthralled until the very end. Styled as the memoirs of Lady Trent, looking back on her own past, we get an intriguing narrative about science and dragons, as well as a young lady's efforts to better herself and buck the conventions of society.

Lady Trent is publishing a memoir about her younger years, showing her audience her own introduction to the world of dragons and the science of studying them. Following her through her childhood and to her marriage, we watch as Mrs. Isabella Camherst embarks on her first expedition with a small party, including her husband and an Earl and his assistant. They begin their research in a foreign village with some difficulties--and the difficulties continue as their research moves forward.

With the dragons attacking more people, something strange going on within and without the village, and suspicions laying on their group from all sides, Isabella and her expedition partners are in danger from more than just a dragon's fury.

In my direct opinion, this book is one of the best narratives about dragons that I have read in ages. It's not, strictly speaking, entirely scientific. If you're looking for a straight scientific review of dragon adventures, this isn't quite what you want. Brennan doesn't just put up a straight scientific article--she writes a journal, a full on tale of Lady Trent's formative years that are based in an expansive narrative. This novel is a journal written from the perspective of hindsight--Lady Trent has grown and matured since these days, but she acknowledges her own faults willingly.

Lady Trent is one of the most reliable narrators I've read in a while, criticizing herself even more often than she criticizes others. It's a refreshing point of view, with a subject matter that is always intriguing. Brennan's dragons are well written, unique, and diverse in ways that make my fantasy-heart happy. There's rarely a dull moment, and if there is, Lady Trent is further pushing the narrative to show her growth and the resulting strength of character from her formative expedition.

This novel also isn't just a happy journey. There are trials and hardships, some late nights and dark caves. While we end on a happy note, it is tempered by the responsibilities of realistic characters. Brennan is a wonderfully skilled writer, and this book shows it. Conflict and peace combine to carry a strong narrative with an easy-to-read style and lovable characters.

This is the first novel in a series that I look forward to reading! Until we return to these books, remember--here there be dragons.