⋙ Download A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent eBook Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent eBook Marie Brennan

Download As PDF : A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent eBook Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent eBook Marie Brennan

The premise of this book is pretty unique in my reading. The book is written, as the title will clue you in, as if it's the memoir of a female natural historian of what is essentially alternate Victorian England. It's a lot to take in but it works surprisingly well.

Our memoirist, the eponymous Lady Trent, starts off the "memoir" introducing the reader to herself as a child and relating her early and lasting fascination with dragons and the research of dragons. From the asides and tone of the book you learn that Lady Trent is now an older lady who has become famous during her lifetime for her discoveries, which let her get away with a lot of things that a less-famous and younger lady would not be able to pull off.

I did like that there were some original ideas in this iteration of dragons - it's always great to see something new brought to the table. With the scientific approach to dragons there was an emphasis on some things that usually get glossed over, like the physics of flight and commercial uses of things relating to dragons (trying to avoid getting adding spoilers). I also liked the quirk of dragon remains being extremely difficult to preserve and this presenting a real challenge for science.

This book really appeals to a lot of things I like - fantasy, dragons, Victorian/Regency mannerisms (fantasy of manners), and a fun adventure. Although there are definitely conflicts and some violence in the book, because of it being told at a bit of a remove because of the "memoir" format it never feels very immediate, which for me worked well with the Victorian/Regency style feel.

While this is not my new favorite book it was definitely an enjoyable read. This was the first book in a series and I'd be more than happy to read the sequels!


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A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent eBook Marie Brennan Reviews

Written in the style of a memoir, the voice of Lady Trent is alternately proper and full of mischief. Although on paper they may sound similar, this has a very different feel from Naomi Novik's Temeraire series as the first-person voice is distictly feminine.

"A Natural History of Dragons" chronicles Lady Trent's early years and her first expedition, leaving plenty of space for future volumes. Thankfully, the story has a satisfactory conclusion rather than leaving the readers with a cliff-hanger as some first-of-a-series books do. The characterizations of various characters other than Lady Trent (and perhaps her husband) are somewhat two-dimensional and the I felt the pacing of the plot was a bit rushed at the end compared to the rest of the book, but the saucy narrative makes the book hard to put down.

As an added bonus, the hardcover copy of the book is absolutely beautiful. The deckled edges combined with text printed in chestnut brown ink immediately evokes the feeling of holding a handwritten journal. Also, Todd Lockwood is amazing as usual and the inner illustrations of various draconic species are stunning and lovingly detailed in an elegant sepia ink. The fanastic cover needs no words. This is definitely a book to purchase as a hard copy.
I love this book so whole-heartily that I came to buy it's sequel (A Tropic of Serpents) and stopped by to leave a review because I just want more people to enjoy the wonder of this book. First off let me tell you, Lady Trent is one of the greatest narrators I have ever had the pleasure of spending an entire book with. I love her. She is a well-developed and lovable woman with real fears, concerns, and desires. She understands her limitations, she just refuses to let them hold her back.
Now on to the real review.
First the cons
Honestly, I can't really think of anything I didn't like about this book. It was just that good, I literally loved every part of it.

Now the pros
1. Lady Trent is a realistic strong woman, she doesn't pretend to be a man. She knows that she isn't. She is a woman and she has a woman's concerns and limitations. She doesn't put down other woman because they haven't achieved what she has and although she does find her friend Manda Lewis's obsession with sensation novels a bit frivolous, I never did get the feeling she actually hated Manda or really held it against her.
2. This book is about dragons. Dragons man. And they don't disappoint, there are some amazing illustrations in the book of these majestic and awe-inspiring creatures supposedly drawn by Lady Trent herself. They really enhance the mood and help you to understand Lady Trent's desperate obsession with figuring out how they work.
3. Jacob, Lady Trent's husband, is a humorous and likable secondary character. I loved him and well I won't say much more. You'll just have to read it.
4. Dragma and Lady Trent's relationship is hilarious and develops quite nicely over the course of the book.
5. The book is an easy and quick read and has a steady pace. It will suck you in and it will be hard to put down. But if you must you can and will you pick it up again it will be easy to get back into the world and the conflict of the story.

Buy this book, you won't regret it! It will be one of the best purchase you will make this year. I promise!
The premise of this book is pretty unique in my reading. The book is written, as the title will clue you in, as if it's the memoir of a female natural historian of what is essentially alternate Victorian England. It's a lot to take in but it works surprisingly well.

Our memoirist, the eponymous Lady Trent, starts off the "memoir" introducing the reader to herself as a child and relating her early and lasting fascination with dragons and the research of dragons. From the asides and tone of the book you learn that Lady Trent is now an older lady who has become famous during her lifetime for her discoveries, which let her get away with a lot of things that a less-famous and younger lady would not be able to pull off.

I did like that there were some original ideas in this iteration of dragons - it's always great to see something new brought to the table. With the scientific approach to dragons there was an emphasis on some things that usually get glossed over, like the physics of flight and commercial uses of things relating to dragons (trying to avoid getting adding spoilers). I also liked the quirk of dragon remains being extremely difficult to preserve and this presenting a real challenge for science.

This book really appeals to a lot of things I like - fantasy, dragons, Victorian/Regency mannerisms (fantasy of manners), and a fun adventure. Although there are definitely conflicts and some violence in the book, because of it being told at a bit of a remove because of the "memoir" format it never feels very immediate, which for me worked well with the Victorian/Regency style feel.

While this is not my new favorite book it was definitely an enjoyable read. This was the first book in a series and I'd be more than happy to read the sequels!