Title: A Darkening of Dragons
Author: S.A. Patrick
Spec Spot
What's it about?
Pipers and rats and dracogriffs, oh my!
When Patch is found stumbling out of the woods into a small village, he's more then happy to help them with their rat problem, but things don't go as planned. In fact, they go so wrong that he ends up arrested and thrown into the dungeons for the rest of his life.
And then there's an attack on the very castle this piper turned prisoner is being held captive and he finds himself on the run with his new friend Wren, who just happens to be a human girl turned rat (thanks to magic) to face the world and make new friends, starting with a dracogriff with a heart of gold.
The three unlikely friends set out on a mission to keep keep 13 year old Patch alive and hidden, Wren into her true form and Barver the dracogriff to fulfil his mother's dying wish. It's a long journey that will threaten their lives, test their strengths, challenge their new friendships and change their lives forever.
Favorites:
Favorite Characters: Barver (who I thought for his first chapters was Braver) for sure! First of all, he's a dracogriff, a cross between a dragon and griffin. That's pretty awesome! But he's a gigantic teddy bear with a heart of goal, loyal as can be and funny but he's not afraid to get vicious when he needs to. He's so sweet! He's the character that makes me laugh the most, easily.
I also liked Alia a lot. She's powerful, strong and there's just something about her that makes her my second favorite easily.
Least Favorite Characters: Underath wins this title. He's pompous, sexist, arrogant and I just don't see much positive in his personality at all. Though we don't see him very often in the story thus far, he's still managed to become my least favorite character.
Favorite Part: Barver's first attempt to start a fire. Not only did it make me laugh a little, but it was the moment I knew that I was going to love Barver and that it was going to take a lot, and I mean A LOT to change that. It was the moment I knew he would be my favorite character.
Least Favorite Part: I think the part where Patch was in prison. I know it was important and I respect that, but it felt slow and just really dark. Plus there were some things that bothered me in that setter like dead prisoners not found and unsanitary conditions.
Other Thoughts:
First of all, for a book titled, "A Darkening of Dragons", there aren't a lot of dragons in the story. At first I was kind of disappointed when I realized they pretty much have one part, though important, and, other then Barver there's not many other dragons we see but, in the end, I didn't really care. The was engaging and fun. The characters were all imperfect but loveable (well the primary characters at least) and you can't help but to root for them even when you're mad at them or suspect them of not being who you think they are.
I was, however, surprised by the amount of death in this book. Granted it's not particularly gruesome but it is there for sure, in many situations from our three heroes causing, finding it and stories of others, including children dying naturally and otherwise. I do think that it raises the stakes in the book and it does add some excitement to it so I'm not mad about it, just surprised.
My biggest complaint is that no one told me that I'd want to go right into the second book in the trilogy as soon as I finished the first one (which I quickly declared to my husband that I need to obtain the second book right away). So let this be my warning to you, that you'll want to have the second book of the Songs of Magic series, A Vanishing of Griffins on hand when you finish A Darkening of Dragons.
Ratings:
I give this book a
6
out of
10 pipes
But that's just my thoughts. What did you think? Who was your favorite character? Did you love the book? Let us know in the comments.