Review: The Rage of Dragons

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Part One of a Two-Part Evan Winter double feature, we will be revisiting The Rage of Dragons.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that this isn't a generic low-born hero rises to save the world from its ultimate destruction by an ancient evil storyline that fantasy books fall into? We should clap to that. Let's do it and move on.

I've noticed lately a lot of authors struggling with prologues. This year I've seen multiple prologues which should have been the first chapter of the novel. Contrary to that I've also seen at least one novel where the first chapter would've benefited from being separated from the main story. I've been covering newer authors so this is a bit worrying. Everyone is attempting to write novels with prologues and epilogues as if they have to and while some people excel at it, it is not for every story.

The prologue in The Rage of Dragons is an introduction done right. Winter throws you into the thick of a battle that takes place close to 186 years before the rest of the book. I can see where readers might falter as it is also an info dump. A struggle with all fantasy novels is the adjustments a reader has to make when bouncing from one world to the next. It's especially hard for those that read Epic Fantasy. The books that start you off with a Squire or a Kitchen Boy tend to ease you in. The Rage of Dragons doesn't. I tend to read late at night when I am already exhausted. I can see the frustration and lack of accessibility some readers have mentioned but I found that even if there were a lot of places, names, ranks, and magic abilities coming at me that if I kept reading to the next paragraph or page everything would explain itself. Any questions or confusion you may have are dispelled by Chapter 3 where everything is spelled out for you. There is a lot of explanation in this book. You'll either have Tau thinking about the structure of society to himself or characters in conversation explaining how the demon underworld or dragon summoning work. The prologue sets up the bigger story that will unfold over the rest of the series.

This is also where I suggest new writers study on how to write battle scenes. Every writer dreams of being near Abercrombie levels of technique or at least I imagine him to be the plateau to reach. Many entry-level fantasy writers I've seen stumble in this regard. Winter has it down. There is a flow, a dance if you will, that we can visualize. The battles in this book are an artform.

There is a secondary plot that revolves around revenge. I don't know what it is with stories about revenge but I'm a little wary of there always being three people for our hero to overcome. With the murder of his father after losing an impossible duel, Tau swears revenge on those responsible for his death. To kill them without retribution, he follows through with his original plan of becoming an Ihashe which is a group of soldiers made up of lesser-commons. Once in the military, he will be able to challenge anybody including the high noble who ordered his father's death.

Winter has many great side characters. Hadith, Unuak, and Yaw are wonderful. Anytime you read or watch a story that involves characters from different backgrounds banning together in wartime comradery, it tends to feel a little Mulan Montage-esque. I don't feel that here. Each of them comes to terms with Tau in different ways but still stay individualistic enough to not feel regulated to the background. Hadith shines as a strategist. Unuak is a man of few words but his size and strength make up for it. Yaw took on the role of storyteller that spread the legend of Tau throughout his training camp after each victory. Speaking of Victory, a moment I adored came after one of the skirmishes when Tau alone is returning to his tent. The people in the stands start to salute him one by one until they are all standing and saluting. Hadith shows up and advises Tau what to say, then how long to wait before coming inside the tent. Hadith is all about the execution of actions. Other notable characters are Jayyed, Kellan, and Zuri.

Zuri is Tau's love interest. We get to see them develop innocently before Tau is ripped away from the world he knows. However, Zuri is fated as one of the gifted who practices what constitutes as magic in this world and can control dragons as well. I was not expecting her to come back or be as vital a character as she ended up being. One thing about Society in this book is that females were equal or more powerful than men. There are no damsels in distress plots here. It's Tau who is shown to be one of the best fighters who consistently needs saving. It's also easy in literature, mainly fantasy, to have a flawless main character. Tau is flawed by his determination to get his revenge. His bloodlust throws him into situations he has to be pulled out of. Zuri, surprisingly, gives Tau the key to becoming stronger than anyone else he trains with by clueing him in on the notion that anyone can access Isihogo.

I am not a fan of romance but I don't agree with the notion that the love story in this book felt forced. Maybe it's because I was able to roll it off my shoulders and move onto the next bits. I spent a lot of time analyzing the society and war strategies they used so that is where my focus went.

The revenge plot falls apart in exchange for the bigger story taking effect. There is a coup to unseat the Queen because Nobles refuse to give up their titles and self-worth. All roads lead to this moment. I didn't expect to like the Queen. You don't get a true feeling for her until the end of the book where she's trapped in the Keep and must be rescued by Tau, Kellan, and their peers. Based on the interactions between her and Tau I would not be surprised if she turns into his love interest in future books. It's also at the end of the book where Tau's friend from the beginning returns as a member of Kellan's Indlovu. Jabari and his relationship with Tau seemed important during the first few chapters. They even sneak over to a nearby city during a battle to fight side by side. Jabari is being trained by Aren, Tau's father, so the two are sparring buddies. After the events that catalyst Tau into banishment, you never hear about Jabari until the last few chapters from the final skirmish onward. He fades into the background even though he is the one person with Tau when they recover the queen. I'd wondered if the falling out between them would result in Jabari becoming Tau's enemy in a bit of literary atonement. The fact that this didn't happen shows that Winter is not one to fall into the obvious.

And now, the Dragons. It makes me cringe a little to think about Dragons and that is a sign about how far we've fallen as a society. What have Dragons done lately except profess their love of Tacos? Not much, right? If I see a book with Dragons in the title I don't imagine it to be well written. I think it's going to be a cheap fantasy novel. Dragons have moved on to be video game bosses. They have no time for anything literary. Although if I was a dragon, I would horde books instead of Gold. If someone came to steal my treasure I would light books on fire to scare them into leaving me alone. But don't worry because in secret all those books in the burn pile would be The Catcher in the Rye. Do you see what I'm saying? It's hard not to become silly when you start talking about Dragons. This isn't your classic fantasy novel. The Dragons, though important, are secondhand. The relationships between the other characters and the quest for peace between two warring cultures comes first. The dragons may be a part of that, but only as a means to an end and not overbearing. You will not have a Dragon Rider or any silly nonsense like that. They are murder machines summoned as a last resort.

I'll add in a brief shout out here for the demons of Isihogo. I love how different they all looked and acted and how horrifying it came across to be trapped with them. Tau dies hundreds of times to these monsters. Beautiful.

The Rage of Dragons is an inspiration for new writers who think they will never be good enough to make it to one of the big publishes houses. Self-publishing is not rock bottom. If your work is strong enough, the masses will respond. Publishers will see that.

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