Dragons – they are fearsome, they are powerful, they are magical. Often, these creatures are shown as man’s enemy, in L.R. Lam’s Dragonfall, they are thought of as gods to be revered and worshipped. Mythical creatures not of this world. What humanity doesn’t quite remember is that dragons were real and were banished from the world after humanity turned on them. At the beginning of the novel, one of these dragons – Everen the last male dragon– is looking to break through the Veil to their original homeworld from the world of dark, bleak world to which they have been banished. As the last male Dragon, Everen is the prophesized Dragon who will lead his kind back to the world from which they were banished.
Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the ‘gods’ remember, and they do not forgive.
Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact’s magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge.
The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfil his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completel – -body, mind, and soul – and then kill them.
Yet the closer the two become, the greater the risk both their worlds will shatter.
The primary human protagonist, Arcady Dalca, is a thief in the city of Vatra, in the country of Loc trying to obtain enough funding so they can attend University. She/They are an orphan and has tried to live under the proverbial radar for much of their life. When they enter a tomb to try to steal an ancient artifact from the body of most reviled man in history, the Plaguebringer the action of the novel truly starts. Arcady wants to use this powerful magical object to set right what has been wronged upon them, but their spell doesn’t exactly go as planned. The spell pulls Everen through the veil to her world of Lumet and the two find themselves bonded. It helps that Everen is able to shift into a human or very close to human form allowing him to keep his true dragon form hidden. This is not something either of them wants, although do manage to manage a working relationship since their goals are connected. The thing Arcady wants to use can also help Everen return home.
Much of the novel deals with the conflict between these two characters, their hate-love relationship, and how the magical bond slowly morphs their relationship from antagonists to allies, friends and more. It felt natural and very believable. I found myself feeling empathy for both characters as they navigated their trust issues as well as their overall plight. I wanted to see them succeed even if there was a potential for these linked characters to be at cross purposes. You see, for Everen to succeed, he must kill Arcaday. What I found intriguing about their relationship is how neither was portrayed particularly villainous or evil.
Lam takes a unique approach to telling the story of a world-displaced dragon, a thief, and a Vatra priest church (Sorin). Respectively, that’s second person narrative with Everen speaking to the reader (actually Arcaday), first person from Arcady’s point of view, and third person when the story shifted to Sorin. While I would guess such a narrative trick has been utilized by other writers, I can’t say I’ve encountered it very often and I found it to be very effective. Lam’s nuanced approach to each narrative style gives the novel three unique “voices”. This is an impressive accomplishment since an author capturing and showcasing a single “voice” in their work is an achievement. Here Lam does it in triplicate, with Everen’s being the most captivating for my reading sensibilities, though Lam’s gift for prose is evident throughout the novel.
Sorin is in an equally uncomfortable position, given that her “mentor” and priest Magnes is quite the manipulator. Sorin looks up to Magnes, but he only sees her as a tool. (Side note, the name Sorin kept me thinking about Netflix’s amazing Dragon Prince animated series. I wonder if that was an intentional nod from Lam.) Nonetheless, although Sorin had an important part to play in the novel, their role felt very secondary to the Arcady/Everen storylines.
I enjoyed Lam’s take on Dragons and was reminded a bit of Duncan Hamilton’s recent Dragonslayer novels, at least with regard to the intelligence attributed to Dragons and their conflict with humanity. Aside from that minor parallel, Lam forges a unique story with a fascinating world in which these intriguing characters live. Dragonfall story is compelling and sets the stage for a series I hope to follow through future novels.
Recommended.
© 2023 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | 334 pages | DAW Books
https://lrlam.co.uk/ | https://lrlam.co.uk/work-1/dragonscalestrilogy @LR_Lam
Excerpt: https://issuu.com/astrareads/docs/dragonfall_excerpt
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, DAW Books
