Few creatures or images are more iconic and emblematic in fantasy than dragons. Over the past couple of decades, few artists have been more closely associated with dragons than Todd Lockwood, painter, artist, and creator of many draconic images for book covers and role playing games. So although The Summer Dragon is Todd’s debut novel, his name is by no means new. In it, Todd reveals a cast of characters centering on the headstrong, confident, caring, and overall fully realized Maia. In this world, dragons are draft animals, bonded pets, spiritual creatures at the apex of a faith. Maia’s family has been raising dragons for years, rearing them for use by the military. She wants nothing more than to be bonded to a dragon herself. While the chances of this happening aren’t all that bad, the military always gets first right for young dragons (qits) when the need arises. Early on in the novel, Maia and her brother Darian take a little trip in the nearby wilds and are graced with a fly-by of Getig, the Summer Dragon of the title, which some can see as a portend of hope while others see it as a sign of dark times to come. It is certainly a sign, because the story takes off from there.
When she returns to the Dragonry to inform her father and the visiting holy man about what she sees, she is denounced and labeled a harbinger of ill omen. She runs off and gets into more trouble and discovers something else, an invading force of Horrors, nightmarish half-dead soldiers and dragons suffused with strange, green glowing markings. Compounding matters, she is told she will not be bonded to a dragon, but her brother will be. This does not sit well with Maia, to put it mildly. She leaves once again in the hopes of finding a wild dragon she can tame and discovers even greater horrors as well as a wounded wild dragon and its offspring.
There’s quite a bit of conflict throughout the novel, the religious conflict between the church hierarchy and some of its own, conflict between the church hierarchy and Maia and her family, Maia’s internal conflict in thinking she is cursed, and a looming external conflict between the peoples of the Dragonry and the Horrors seeping into their lands. All of these conflicts play extremely well of each other and helped to form a powerful narrative.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Summer Dragon, I’ve loved the covers and art Mr. Lockwood has created over the years but like many, I wondered if his artistic skill would translate to storytelling through the written word. He very easily could have coasted on his name alone, but the novel more than surpassed my expectations. It has all the hallmarks of classic, secondary world fantasy: youthful protagonist, magic and fantastic creatures, and a deep, richly detailed world with a long history. Those elements are a cohesive whole when woven together with Mr. Lockwood’s wonderful storytelling. Maia very easily could have been an annoying “plucky protagonist” but her strengths and flaws balance out to make her a fully realized character who practically walks off the page and sits next to the reader to convey her compelling and enchanting story. While she is indeed headstrong and acts on her emotions like any character of her age might, she’s also got a good head on her shoulders which allows her to see the proverbial forest for the trees and see what is for the best.
The novel definitely takes to heart the classic tropes of the genre and has a refreshingly optimistic tone despite the darkness that is creeping into the world. It is very clear Todd Lockwood has a love of the fantastic and where he could have easily just created a slavish homage to the Epic Fantasy of the past couple of decades, he imbues the tale with a great deal of heart and modern sensibilities. In short, this will please longtime fans of the genre while also having great appeal as a “gateway” to the genre. In some ways, I found a great deal of resonance between The Summer Dragon and the tone and perfect mix of familiar and refreshing Naomi Novik managed to portray in Uprooted. Both novels feature a wonderfully drawn female protagonist set against a milieu with a rich deep history.
Having a book written by a person with a reputation for creating fantastic imagery is a big plus, the book itself is beautiful. The cover is powerful, evocative and there are some wonderful pencil drawings inserted throughout the narrative.
I can’t recommend this one enough, it was a wonderfully enchanting novel and has me eager to read the next installment.
Highly Recommended
© 2016 Rob H. Bedford
First Book of The Evertide
Hardcover | ISBN 978-0-756-40833-6
May 2016 | 512 Pages
http://toddlockwood.com/2016/01/the-summer-dragon/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, DAW
Excerpt: http://www.tor.com/2016/04/01/excerpts-the-summer-dragon-todd-lockwood/
