If the size and weight of The Dragon’s Legacy isn’t enough of a hint, this book should come with a warning: The Dragon’s Legacy is Epic Fantasy. Its author knows exactly what that means. Epic world building, epic scale, epic plots and in some cases epically written sentences. You really need to take time to smell the flowers to get the most out of this book – it’s not a ‘relentlessly-paced action in a non-descript world’ sort of book. Likewise, if you’re tired of stereotypical female roles within fantasy, you will want to pick this up for something a little different. I was engrossed enough to forgive the obvious red haired heroine trope, and the comparative inspirations from our own world. It takes talent to make the sand drift from between the pages as Deborah does.
Published by Titan Books, The Dragon’s Legacy is just that; the first in a promising epic fantasy series. It’s a layered world of complexities where the religions and magics all collide. The author sets the stage for a final battle we won’t see for a while, but based on her style I am certain it will be an impressive one. The reader is introduced to the global factions who, each within their own cultural understandings, walk on eggshells in ever-present fear of waking the dragon. While the Earth Dragon remains unseen, its sleepy presence is constantly felt throughout the book, the myth and lore built up around it clearly feed into each race and society’s beliefs.
From the publisher:
In the heart of the singing desert, the people are fading from the world. Mothers bear few live children, the warriors and wardens are hard-pressed to protect those who remain, and the vash’ai—the great cats who have called the people kithren for as long as there have been stories— bond with fewer humans each year.
High above, the Sun Dragon sings a song of life and love, while far below, the Earth Dragon slumbers as she has since the beginning of time. Her sleep is fitful, and from the darkness of her dreams come whispers of war… and death.
Sulema is a newly minted warrior of the people and a true Ja’Akari—a daughter of the unforgiving desert. When a mysterious young man appears in her home of Aish Kalumm, she learns that the Dragon King is dying in distant Atualon. As the king fades, so does the magic that sings the Earth Dragon to sleep.
There are those who wish to keep the dragon trapped in endless slumber. Others would tap her power to claim it for their own. And there are those who would have her wake, so they might laugh as the world burns.
The main (but not only) perspectives are those of the female warriors of the Zeera and Hafsa Azeina, their powerful Dreamshifter. Her grasp of the needs of her people and her daughter Sulema are powerful drives for this character, though she may not be the popular character in the book. Sulema too plays an important role, and much of the world’s fate rests upon her shoulders. We’re allowed to grow with the characters, and while it’s not to everybody’s taste, it was a freedom I enjoyed.
The male perspectives aren’t any less genteel. Bare breasted warrior women can be a distraction after all, but so can life and personal ambition. The almost maniacal ambition of Sindanese Emperor leaves the reader no doubt where the trouble will come from for The Dragon King and those in Atualon. Ismai and Mattu both stand out as future thorns.
Threats lurk far closer than that of the dragon, fading magic, or even the Sindanese. Shadows have a vicious appetite, while the vash’ai (bonded saber tooths) aren’t all they appear either. The machinations of magic, politics and personal ambitions makes for a complex, deep read. As is to be expected of epic, not all the questions posed at the beginning of the adventure are answered in the first book. It suggests a promising and well thought out series.
The huge cast of characters can be a little tricky to keep up with, but true fans of epic will be used to the impressive scale. The Dragon’s Legacy only touches the edges of what the author has in mind for Sulema and the others. This isn’t a book for those who like loose ends tied at the close of the cover, but for me it lived up to expectations; like any good epic you find yourself wanting more of your favourite character. There can be no doubt that re-reading it will reveal more, something fans of epic are beginning to expect.
I’ve seen The Dragon’s Legacy compared to Dune and G R R Martin – and perhaps on both scope and a political level there are similarities. For me I feel it does Deborah A Wolf and her debut an injustice. There are comparisons to be made with the sweeping deserts of Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince series, (right down to the red haired princess), but what she presents is a far more intricate and mindful story. I’m seriously looking forward to seeing more from Deborah.
ISBN: 9781785651076
Hardback: 512pp
Publication date: 21 April 2017
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Titan Books
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by Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com © 2017
