Book Log 16/2009 Dragon Bones

Patricia Briggs: Dragon Bones
2002

Dragon Bones Introduces Wardwick (Ward), heir of Hurog, a young man terrorised and traumatised by his violent father into playing the imbecile (all brawn and no brains) for the best part of six years as a survival tactic. After one particularly violent beating as a child Ward was left (apparently) brain damaged and his potential for magic was lost. Ward’s brain damage was mostly feigned, however the role he’s been playing since that incident lands him in trouble when his father is killed in a riding accident and nineteen year old Ward’s inheritance is left in some doubt. Is he fit to rule or is he truly an imbecile? Afraid to drop his guise in front of his uncle – who has been left as his guardian for another two years – Ward leaves it too late to establish his competency and finds himself headed for the High King’s asylum when he crosses one of the King’s favourites by offering sanctuary to a runaway slave, Bastilla.

Helped by Oreg –  Hurog’s resident ghost – and his father’s one-time servant, Axiel, Ward goes on the run with a small band of Hurog’s warriors including his mute sister, the escaped slave and his runaway brother, Tosten. He aims to prove his competency by building a reputation as a warrior in the upcoming conflict in Oranstone in the south where the Vorsag are invading. Jakoven, the corrupt High King, is playing politics. Slightly mad, but not stupid, Jakoven is waiting until the Vorsag have overrun Oranstone before he acts, because Oranstone was the seat of a rebellion against him some years before and he wants to make sure that the last of the Oranstone lords are overcome. Unfortunately he hasn’t reckoned on Ward and a small band of Oranstone warriors.

But no one is quite what they seem. Ward is not an imbecile, Oreg is not a ghost, Axiel is not a servant and Bastilla is certainly not a slave. When Hurog’s secret – dragon bones buried deep beneath the keep – becomes known, the invading Vorsag decide that Ward and the bones are a short-cut to gaining magical power. Ward’s ties with Hurog and his determination to right ancient wrongs and protect his home and his people are at the centre of the struggle.

This is told with all Patricia Briggs’ usual flair for a good story and an interesting hero. Ward, big, solid, patient and slow-speaking is far from the typical hero-type, but he’s charming.

I found the viewpoint slightly strange since Ward’s chapters are told in first person, but a few chapters are told from the viewpoint of other characters in third person. It’s a weird sideways jump which I wasn’t all that keen on and each time the transition was made it pulled me out of the story a little. I think I would have liked this better had Ward been in third person, too. But that’s just technical nitpicking; the story flowed well despite that. Briggs creates good conflicted characters. Her women are particularly interesting, showing strength of character as well as arm. Ward’s little mute sister wields a sword as well as the men and Ward is particularly drawn to Tisala, war-leader daughter of one of the Oranstone lords, though this is not explored deeply in this book.

One other small nitpick, having read Dragon Blood immediately afterwards there’s a little revelation on the last couple of pages of Dragon Bones which might have been better saved for Dragon Blood.

Book Log 16/2009 Dragon Bones

Patricia Briggs: Dragon Bones
2002

Dragon Bones Introduces Wardwick (Ward), heir of Hurog, a young man terrorised and traumatised by his violent father into playing the imbecile (all brawn and no brains) for the best part of six years as a survival tactic. After one particularly violent beating as a child Ward was left (apparently) brain damaged and his potential for magic was lost. Ward’s brain damage was mostly feigned, however the role he’s been playing since that incident lands him in trouble when his father is killed in a riding accident and nineteen year old Ward’s inheritance is left in some doubt. Is he fit to rule or is he truly an imbecile? Afraid to drop his guise in front of his uncle – who has been left as his guardian for another two years – Ward leaves it too late to establish his competency and finds himself headed for the High King’s asylum when he crosses one of the King’s favourites by offering sanctuary to a runaway slave, Bastilla.

Helped by Oreg –  Hurog’s resident ghost – and his father’s one-time servant, Axiel, Ward goes on the run with a small band of Hurog’s warriors including his mute sister, the escaped slave and his runaway brother, Tosten. He aims to prove his competency by building a reputation as a warrior in the upcoming conflict in Oranstone in the south where the Vorsag are invading. Jakoven, the corrupt High King, is playing politics. Slightly mad, but not stupid, Jakoven is waiting until the Vorsag have overrun Oranstone before he acts, because Oranstone was the seat of a rebellion against him some years before and he wants to make sure that the last of the Oranstone lords are overcome. Unfortunately he hasn’t reckoned on Ward and a small band of Oranstone warriors.

But no one is quite what they seem. Ward is not an imbecile, Oreg is not a ghost, Axiel is not a servant and Bastilla is certainly not a slave. When Hurog’s secret – dragon bones buried deep beneath the keep – becomes known, the invading Vorsag decide that Ward and the bones are a short-cut to gaining magical power. Ward’s ties with Hurog and his determination to right ancient wrongs and protect his home and his people are at the centre of the struggle.

This is told with all Patricia Briggs’ usual flair for a good story and an interesting hero. Ward, big, solid, patient and slow-speaking is far from the typical hero-type, but he’s charming.

I found the viewpoint slightly strange since Ward’s chapters are told in first person, but a few chapters are told from the viewpoint of other characters in third person. It’s a weird sideways jump which I wasn’t all that keen on and each time the transition was made it pulled me out of the story a little. I think I would have liked this better had Ward been in third person, too. But that’s just technical nitpicking; the story flowed well despite that. Briggs creates good conflicted characters. Her women are particularly interesting, showing strength of character as well as arm. Ward’s little mute sister wields a sword as well as the men and Ward is particularly drawn to Tisala, war-leader daughter of one of the Oranstone lords, though this is not explored deeply in this book.

One other small nitpick, having read Dragon Blood immediately afterwards there’s a little revelation on the last couple of pages of Dragon Bones which might have been better saved for Dragon Blood.

Book Log 17/2009 - Dragon's Blood

Patricia Briggs: Dragon Blood
2003

This is the follow up to Dragon Bones, set four years later. Ward is now twenty-three and rebuilding Hurog keep after the devastation caused in the final confrontation with the invading Vorsag in Dragon Bones. He’s seeking the quiet life after his brief spell as a hero and he’s comfortable in his lordship. All the family suspicions from the previous book have been ironed out and his uncle and cousins support him wholeheartedly. But Ward’s position as ‘Hurogmeten’ still has not been officially ratified by the High King, the tyrannical Jakoven. For four years Jakoven has left Ward alone, but that’s about to change.

Tisala, an old friend from the Oranstone conflict, escapes Jakoven’s torturers and flees to Hurog, starting a cascade of events that lead to Ward joining the rebellion against the High King in an attempt to protect Hurog and all the Hurog bloodline. We found out in the last book that Hurog means dragon, but in this book we discover that it’s literal for the violet-eyed Hurogs are descended from dragons and have dragon’s blood in their veins. And it’s dragon’s blood that Jakoven and his wizards need to wake the most deadly weapon of all time, Farsonsbane.

Everyone knows that Ward's slow wittedness was an act developed to survive his violent father, but there's still a King's Writ issued against him, though it's been dormant for four years. Moving against Hurog, the King demands Ward present himself for examination. Ward plays a dangerous game of politics with Jakoven. Surviving a week of magical and physical torture in Jakoven’s ‘asylum’ designed to break him (reduce him to being an actual imbecile before his hearing) he finally proves his competence before the High King’s court and secures Hurog legally, but there’s rebellion afoot and soon Ward is forced to take sides.

There are some nice character complications written in shades of grey (for minor characters as well as major ones) and Ward develops further as the hero, not only by fighting, but by astute planning and policy, throwing his weight behind Jakoven’s younger brother, Kellen. This time the admiration he had for Tisala in the first book, barely explored, comes to the fore and though the romance is not central to the plot it’s a nice thread running through. Ward and his faithful band of friends and family, including Oreg, Tisala, Axiel and Tosten, once more have to fight to save themselves and Hurog, but this time they have to save the kingdom as well.

As in Dragon Bones there’s a curious mixture of first person (Ward) and third person viewpoints which I’m still not comfortable with, but as before it doesn’t spoil the story. Patricia Briggs writes a tasty traditional fantasy with non-traditional characters and plot twists.

Book Log 17/2009 - Dragon's Blood

Patricia Briggs: Dragon Blood
2003

This is the follow up to Dragon Bones, set four years later. Ward is now twenty-three and rebuilding Hurog keep after the devastation caused in the final confrontation with the invading Vorsag in Dragon Bones. He’s seeking the quiet life after his brief spell as a hero and he’s comfortable in his lordship. All the family suspicions from the previous book have been ironed out and his uncle and cousins support him wholeheartedly. But Ward’s position as ‘Hurogmeten’ still has not been officially ratified by the High King, the tyrannical Jakoven. For four years Jakoven has left Ward alone, but that’s about to change.

Tisala, an old friend from the Oranstone conflict, escapes Jakoven’s torturers and flees to Hurog, starting a cascade of events that lead to Ward joining the rebellion against the High King in an attempt to protect Hurog and all the Hurog bloodline. We found out in the last book that Hurog means dragon, but in this book we discover that it’s literal for the violet-eyed Hurogs are descended from dragons and have dragon’s blood in their veins. And it’s dragon’s blood that Jakoven and his wizards need to wake the most deadly weapon of all time, Farsonsbane.

Everyone knows that Ward's slow wittedness was an act developed to survive his violent father, but there's still a King's Writ issued against him, though it's been dormant for four years. Moving against Hurog, the King demands Ward present himself for examination. Ward plays a dangerous game of politics with Jakoven. Surviving a week of magical and physical torture in Jakoven’s ‘asylum’ designed to break him (reduce him to being an actual imbecile before his hearing) he finally proves his competence before the High King’s court and secures Hurog legally, but there’s rebellion afoot and soon Ward is forced to take sides.

There are some nice character complications written in shades of grey (for minor characters as well as major ones) and Ward develops further as the hero, not only by fighting, but by astute planning and policy, throwing his weight behind Jakoven’s younger brother, Kellen. This time the admiration he had for Tisala in the first book, barely explored, comes to the fore and though the romance is not central to the plot it’s a nice thread running through. Ward and his faithful band of friends and family, including Oreg, Tisala, Axiel and Tosten, once more have to fight to save themselves and Hurog, but this time they have to save the kingdom as well.

As in Dragon Bones there’s a curious mixture of first person (Ward) and third person viewpoints which I’m still not comfortable with, but as before it doesn’t spoil the story. Patricia Briggs writes a tasty traditional fantasy with non-traditional characters and plot twists.