A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Memoir by Lady Trent #1You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .
All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.
Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.
Which fantasy reader doesn't like dragons!? Well if you are into this theme, don't look any further. Marie Brennan brings you the only book you will need. I heard about this book already back in 2013 but had to wait until Titan was publishing this book in the UK. What really drew me in A Natural History of Dragons was the synopsis and the beginning of "You, dear, reader, continue at your own risk". I have read several stories written from a first person perspective and somehow these books, when written in a good way, bring out the best possible. I am pleased to say that Marie Brennan has done a terrific job with voicing Lady Isabella Trent, and not solely with her adventures but also her personal woes.
What falls to note from the first sentence of the book is that Marie Brennan knows how to write and completely pull you in into her story. Like I already let know is that A Natural History of Dragons is written from a first person perspective, that of Lady Isabella Trent. This memoir is about the earlier years of Isabella and is told from her older self, I was impressed with how Marie Brennan voiced Isabella, she sounds very mature and serious and wants to bring her story over in the best way possible. The narrator Isabella isn't all serious throughout the book, as she reflects on several occasions, she even sort of jokes at her younger self and part with this reflection I think she is understanding herself and her past actions even better. This narration is definitely a big plus for the book.
A Natural History of Dragons picks up when Isabella is just seven years old, from this early age on she has a passion for biology. She stumbles upon her first ever dragon that she names "Greenie" and classed as a sparkling, small dragons. From this point onwards she is intrigued by everything that involves dragons. As Isabella grows up her passion only becomes more and more and this leads to a problem. Marie Brennan introduces a sort of Victorianesque sort of feeling to the story with strong division in society for men and women. Men work and women sit at home and raise kids. Isabella doesn't agree to do the latter. In a matter of some chance Isabella strikes on a "pot-of-gold" in the form of her husband who is supportive in all her endeavors, Jacob Camherst allows Isabella to pursue the things she love. Starting from the middle of the book Isabella persuades her husband to tag along on a expedition to the distant and dangerous mountains of Vystrana, they initially went there to study rock-wyrm's but it soon turns out that some other things, more dangerous things are happening. Dragons living in the Vystrana mountains are attacking and even killing villagers for reasons unknown and wreaking havoc in towns. I think many a reader will not have thought of that the story of A Natural History of Dragons would go into this direction. I do have to mention that it isn't all a flashy display of the mighty reptilians, yes there are scenes and chapter with a focus on the dragon aspect. The story of A Natural History of Dragons is more based on the personal experiences: the happy and the woeful times of Lady Trent in her earlier years of her life and her passion to study, learn and interact with her life long passion, the dragons.
One thing that I am often hesitant about when it comes to first person narration is the characters. Of course the person through which eyes the story is told takes a really shine and this can cause that the secondary characters are mostly superfluous. I have to say that this wasn't the case for A Natural History of Dragons. The focus is naturally on Isabella and her personal life, but several other characters like her husband are really well voiced and shown in an elaborate manner, Isabella, in this memoir, discusses several characters from both how she perceives them but also discussing how they would have felt in several situations (I hope you know what I mean with this and that it makes sense...). Isabella is an interesting characters and Marie Brennan created a very strong heroine. From the beginning of the book you directly see that Isabella has an rebellious air surrounding her, she doesn't want to fall in the strong regime of the current society, she wants to break out and luckily she can. I have already mentioned that you see both the good and bad times of Isabella's life, when she is dealing with her passion for dragons you practically see her glow and shine, but there are also darker periods in Isabella's life like when she misscarries her first child. This caused her to go in a depression, not knowing what to do with her life and pushing everyone away for herself. Showing both the the good and the bad really helped shape Isabella in an interesting character and it seems that several of this bad times only further bolstered her passion.
As for the world that Marie Brennan starts to create in A Natural History of Dragons, ignited my imagination. Like I have already mentioned it lends a influence from a Victorian setting and it feels like an alternate version of Europe. Isabella also describes that there is a revolution going on in terms of science, that somethings in her earlier years took a lot of time, that now in her current state (the old Isabella) goes with a heartbeat so to say. When you have this sort of Victorian setting with not really a steampunk influence but more towards the medieval and with the mystical influence of the dragonic reptiles make it really a world worth dreaming of!
I really enjoyed reading A Natural History of Dragons, it something different than the straightforward epic fantasy book. Writing this book as a memoir was a very nice decision of Marie Brennan and with this she make Isabella a real star of the show. Isabella is complex character, determined to pursue her passion in the natural field of dragon biology, at every costs and when she is confronted by some hard decisions she doesn't back away easily but shows her just what she is made off. The story might not be full of dragons on every pages spitting fire, but the influence of the dragons for me was precisely enough. If you look at the backdrop of the story with Isabella wanting to learn more about these mythical creatures it just hits all the right snares, because you do learn about some of the workings of these creatures. The sequel to A Natural History of Dragons, The Tropic of Serpents is out later this year by Titan Books.
Comments
Post a Comment