The magic really informs the tactics of battle, which adds an extra layer to the battle scenes. The magic system is really interesting, with different gifts and their uses, and some interesting philosophical concepts of the soul. There’s a helpful glossary at the back if you’re like me, and struggle to keep military ranks straight, but things are well-explained in the text as well. The world is fully realised, and while there is a lot to take in at first, it’s no more complicated than any other fantasy world. It’s brilliant to see an own-voices African-inspired setting for an epic fantasy, and I thought this was done in really gorgeous detail. There’s a rigid hierarchical society, a demonic plain, plenty of sword fights, and one young man striving to achieve his goals. It’s a coming of age epic fantasy in the classic 70s and 80s tradition, with an African-inspired setting that brings some freshness to the genre. Tau is pretty hard to like, and yet his story is so compelling that I did find myself dragged along with him.
It reminds me a lot of Karen Miller’s Godspeaker trilogy, in as much as it’s narrowly focused on the rise of a character hell-bent on revenge, and though their actions are understandable, you come to realise that they may not necessarily be all that morally clean themselves. The Rage of Dragons follows Tau, a young, low-status man whose world is rocked when he experiences the sharp end of the caste system he lives in, and swears an oath to become good enough to end the nobles who caused him such pain. Trigger warnings: Misogyny attempted rape both mentioned and seen rape mentioned battle gore discussion of blood purity and views of mixed race people as lesser, including the use of ‘savage’, ‘native’ and ‘heathen’ in perjorative ways.
Ownership: Proof sent free of charge by Orbit.
The Rage of Dragons is an epic, own-voices, African-inspired fantasy with a morally ambiguous protagonist you can’t help but be compelled by – but also a shocking absence of female characters with agency…
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