The Rage of Dragons

In Evan Winter's debut novel, we follow Tau, a young man of the Lesser caste who is being trained by his father to be a warrior. When his father is killed in a skirmish with the Noble caste, Tau sets his sights on revenge. With the backdrop of castes, dragons, demons, and the underworld, Tau must train to become the best fighter he can be to avenge his father.

I went into this book very wary. I had heard such mixed reviews. People either loved it or hated it. I ended up being in the former group. I was enthralled throughout this whole book. The main criticism I saw people giving about the book was the narrow-mindedness with which Tau sought revenge. He had no other motivations and made a lot of stupid decisions based on that drive. I 100% agree with all of that. But the world and the setting and the action were so amazingly done that I was still able to really enjoy reading this. I also think that by the end of this book, Tau's character really did evolve into something other than revenge, and it made for a very fulfilling ending.

The world building is spectacular. The way it was presented to the reader incrementally was extraordinary. The whole concept of using hell to call a dragon to your defense is so unique, and the way Tau uses Isihogo I thought was cleverly done. The hedeni's were two-dimensional at the beginning of the book, but by the end we really get to have a more well-rounded view of who they are. I'm sure we'll get even more of an explanation in the second book (which I've already requested from my library).

Overall, I really loved reading this book. The action, the world, the found family, and the characters all created a wonderfully woven story that I am so excited to continue.

TW: alcohol abuse, attempted rape, genocide, gore, misogyny, sexual assault, slavery, animal abuse, demons, amputation, murder, war, violence