I picked up an advanced copy of Between Dragons and their Wrath by Devin Madson when I was deep in my dragon phase a few months back. I really liked it, but I’m glad dragons weren’t the only reason I picked this up. This is much more than just a dragon fantasy. It was a great beginning to an epic fantasy with really interesting world building and politics.
The reason I mentioned being happy I didn’t pick this up solely for the dragons is because they were barely present. We met one dragon and she talks for maybe one page total throughout the book. I get the reason, and I get the title, I think. But make no mistake, this first book does not feature dragons at the forefront. That said, it did feature a great array of characters that are all so incredibly well developed, I just wanted to climb into their heads to pry out their secrets because I have no doubt that even the characters named in passing have secret lives and stories that we may never learn.
Thankfully, we do get into the heads of three characters caught at the center of an unending political whirlwind that is prime for exploding. Tesha is an indigenous glassworker who, quite rightly, hates how her country is being colonized and gentrified. She sees her people denigrated and their customs disappearing in favor of their colonizers. Tesha is prepared to do anything to preserve her people, and proves it by agreeing to a sham marriage. Her POV is the one that I wanted to continue the most. We see her trying to learn the mannerisms of the nobles as she works to keep up the facade, knowing it will be not only her death, but the collapse of everything she hopes she can accomplish for her home if she falters. She is such a great character. Strong and idealistic, she wants to do the right thing and has done that despite the cost to her own happiness. But, the more involved she becomes, the more she realizes she is also just a girl that deserves to also have something good for herself. Near the closing of this book, as she became even more entrenched in her new family, the tension ratcheted up and we’re left on the mother of all cliffhangers.
Our second and third POV characters start off slow. An indigenous laundress for a strange alchemist that stumbles across a discovery she shouldn’t have which leads to her learning way more than anyone ever felt comfortable sharing, and a noble that was exiled from home to fight in a war against monsters in the wastes, who becomes an unwitting catalyst to disaster. Both characters have unique voices and plots that weave slowly into the main story. Ash’s story I absolutely loved because his internal conflict is so delicious. Falling in love, wanting love, but worried it’s one sided. He’s cognizant of his privilege and power and it’s so incredibly refreshing to see a male character that realizes this could be an issue to pursuing a relationship with someone of a different social standing. Naili made me sad because even in this world’s, the choices of women are limited, as are their rights, especially if you are indigenous. Even when she leaves the alchemist’s employ, she is told how her options would have been cooking and providing pleasure had she not proved her usefulness in other ways. The women she interacts with, both good and bad – noble and not – are also trapped by their sex.
What’s really made Between Dragons and their Wrath so great, apart from the characters, was the immense world building. There are so many intricate details layered into every paragraph from explicitly explaining certain things, to the implicit knowledge we receive as characters talk and interact with the world. It is comprehensive and massive and we’ve only barely scratched the surface. You can feel that there is a history behind this world and though we may never know it, the author does and demonstrates it in the steady surety of her narrative.
With amazing characters, detailed world building, and intricate plot, the only place this faltered was pacing. I think, given the enormity of the story being told – three POV characters and three far reaching locations – it is to be expected. Everyone has their favorite storyline, and so when you cut away from it to someone else, it’s frustrating and breaks tension. It definitely worked better in the latter half of the story once were able to piece together the pieces each POV provided, but at the start it was just difficult to maintain interest.
Between Dragons and their Wrath by Devin Madson is absolutely a book I would recommend to fantasy readers that prefer intrigue and worldbuilding with strong characters. The action is slow to build, but given this is the first book in a series, it is to be expected and still delivers an exciting story. Additionally, though I didn’t touch upon it earlier, there are queer characters which made me love this story even more! It was so good to see a spectrum of characters from caste to color to sexual identity. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book to come out!
