By E.K. Johnston
As this is book two in a duology, this review will be as spoiler free as possible.
See review for book 1 here.
Return to the parallel universe where dragons exist and they are pests on a grand scale. Siobhan McQuaid is our narrator/bard and Owen Thorskard is our dragon slayer. Together they join the Oil Watch (the branch of military that focuses on dragon maintenance protecting oil rigs).
LOVE this universe. Wouldn't love to live in it. Love reading about it.
Again, I am floored by how tailored this book seems to be for me. Of course, that'd be highly narcissistic - I'd still like to think so.
Siobhan is dealing with injuries sustained from last book - living the nightmare any musician would live: the fear of being unable to play. Johnston does an excellent job of incorporating the hurt that a musician could suffer, but Siobhan's bard-heart refuses to let her stop hearing the music. Interwoven are her descriptions of how she'll interpret scenes or what instruments she'll use to represent people.
Owen remains our stoic hero, and thankfully, not the romantic interest of Siobhan. Too many times in YA there are male/female friendships that inevitably become romantic. I hate that. It's overplayed and it's too easy. The friendship between these two is strong and believable.
There is a dragon in this book that is the Kraken of this dragon world. Let me tell you. Shivers. Chills. Oh, it is glorious and terrifying.
For making a world that I could dive into again and again and not be disappointed:
5 STARS
The Gripe:
Passing through reviews on this series is that it's titled "The Story of Owen" and this book focuses mainly on Siobhan. My question is: Was it ever really about Owen?
Isn't it about the creation of the story? Siobhan is the author, the chronicler who tells the story. It's as if we are witnessing an author write a best seller. In this case, a composer creating music around a tale that will be passed around.
The title is clever. I refuse to believe that Johnston didn't know exactly what she was doing. To simply expect it to be about Owen, when being told by Siobhan, is a shallow interpretation.
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