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A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan (view source)
Revision as of 08:28, 3 October 2022
, 08:28, 3 October 2022no edit summary
It seems surprising that fantasy hasn't gone down this route often enough – the scientific quest. Oh it's alright to have copious people plodding around known lands, interacting with the known, but what came before then – the explorers, the people new to such lands as where be dragons? Add to that the blunt, matter-of-fact style of the Victorian diarist and you have a sterling and compelling work, that brings the old (dragon lore) to us in a new/old way (Victoriana fantasy) and gives us a completely new story (all these brilliant pages).
Isabella is a brilliant creation. The aging ageing explorer, revisiting her past with the knowledge of the old, still has a great immediacy in putting us in her world, whether it be the grand dame of dragon science, flouncing around in trousers of all things, or the scientific genius seeing society through struggling eyes. It's clearly Victorian – but yet isn't, however much Scirland sounds like it might be where Scotland is, and however much Vystrana might be Bulgaria, or perhaps Georgia when some Russian-styled names crop up. The months are wilfully oddly named, and we're immediately informed this is written in the year 5658.
What our author has thankfully avoided doing with this exemplary world-building is making parallels to our own existence. Yes, she borrows some very Earth-bound words here and there, but this narrative isn't supposed to equate to Victorian imperialism, or Victorian sexual politics, or suchlike. When those things are there they're dressing, not forced metaphor. As such this isn't designed to be anything other than a grand narrative of the fantastical, and it certainly is a fantastic one. The voice of the storyteller, the whole world scene, and the whole intelligent plot (minus that which is too guessable) are all reminders of what I enjoy most about only the best in fantasy. It's a compelling book, with the authority of a great writer, and it's the start of what surely will be a wonderful series.
We also have a review of [[Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons 3) by Marie Brennan]].
In journalese, this works as a cross between such as [[The Lost Journals of Benjamin Tooth by Mackenzie Crook]] and a less ribald work by [[:Category:Jesse Bullington|Jesse Bullington]]. You might also enjoy [[Supersaurs 1: Raptors of Paradise by Jay Jay Burridge]]. There have been other [[A Queen In Hiding by Sarah Kozloff|series openers]] we're not so keen on.
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