Series: The Burning #1
Published by Orbit on July 16, 2019
Genres: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 544
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
As a gift-less member of one of the lower castes, Tau is destined to fight and die as fodder in the war his people, the Omehi, have been fighting against the hedenni for almost two hundred years. To increase Tau’s chances of survival, his father has been teaching him from a young age to fight, but Tau plans to outwit his fate and live a comfortable life with his love. Only, before he can carry out his plan, he loses the people closest to him. To gain the power and status needed to carry out his plot for vengeance, he scraps his plan of escape and joins the military.
I picked up this book for the dragons and revenge story. I stayed because Evan Winter has written a great book with compelling characters, and I wanted to see what happened to them. In fact, once Tau sets off on his journey, I could not put this book down. [Note: the dragons factor very mildly into this book.]
The first quarter of the novel introduces us to Tau’s home life, the ongoing war, and the harsh realities of the caste system. I enjoyed learning about Tau’s relationships with his father (Aren), friend (Jabari), and love interest (Zuri). Through their interactions, we’re given a glimpse of the person Tau could have been and sets up a contrast with the person he will become. This contrast makes Tau’s later actions understandable. In his anger and grief, Tau doesn’t always make the smartest decisions, and he does some crazy stuff. But I knew why he acted the way he did, I felt invested in his story, and I wanted to see him achieve justice. I also enjoyed seeing his epic growth. Tau’s pursuit for power takes him, and the reader, on a journey into the mythos of the world and hints at an (even more) epic journey to come.
Tau’s desire to avenge the dead places him at odds with his desire to protect the living. While his capacity for love leads him down the path for vengeance, it also gives him friends and a lover, and the people he meets ground him and offer him a future. I especially enjoyed watching enemies become brothers-in-arms and seeing the heroine support Tau with a quiet strength while developing her own blossoming abilities. In a matriarchal society where a queen sits on the throne and gifted women are elevated to a high caste, women play an irreplaceable role in the Omehi’s military might.
Paralleling Tau’s hurt and his fight for justice is his people’s hurt and their fight for justice. Tau lives in a divided nation. The Omehi fled their homeland to escape one war and they now fight another war, one that Tau will have to fight if he hopes to accomplish his personal quest. These conflicts portray the complexity of human nature and the difficulties of enacting change, even how some attempts at change reveal one’s inherent belief in the system. And yet, this book offers us hope for change. Hope in Tau’s fight to attain strength that the system denies him, hope in the people who fight for true peace, hope in the people who persevere when hope seems lost.
By the end, the side characters feel like they fell to the side. I see why this happened—Tau’s pursuit for vengeance takes him, in multiple ways, on a singular path. I hope to see more of the side characters in future books because they’re fantastic.
The Rage of Dragons portrays an unjust world that cries for justice, but it also fulfills the fantasy lover’s heart. It introduces us to a fascinating world and mythos populated by a characters that feel real and for whom I cheered. I was thoroughly entertained and look forward to more epic adventures with Tau to come. Read The Rage of Dragons for the budding hero, read it for the bromance, read it for star-crossed romance, read it for the epic action. And get ready to watch the world burn.
P.S. I’m excited that there will be FOUR books in this series. And I cannot wait to read The Fires of Vengeance.
Rating R
View Spoiler »Bias Notes
As an POC writer who wants to support other POC writers, I’m predisposed to liking books that feature POC characters and are written by POC authors.
Let’s Chat
Have you read The Rage of Dragons? What are your thoughts?
What do you recommend I read next while waiting for book 2?
I’d love for you to share your answer to one of the questions from my book club’s discussion guide on The Rage of Dragons!
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