Metaphorosis Reviews
Written on Apr 14, 2024
Summary
A period romance in the style of Jane Austen, but with dragons.
Review
Jo Walton, as she admits in the introduction, really wanted to write a Victorian novel, not much modernized. I’d argue that she hits more of a prior period, and that this is essentially Sense and Sensibility with dragons. The novel is perfectly competent, but unfortunately lacks Austen’s sparkle and humor.
The bones of the plot are very familiar, and often felt like they were forced a little too hard into the skin of the dragons involved. Beyond the fact that they eat each other (and they fly, have claws, etc.) there wasn’t that much in the story that was really dragon-dependent, and the eating therefore often felt startling and artificial. There’s an interesting backstory to the whole thing – a history of conquest by and then freedom from humans, but we don’t learn enough about it to satisfy.
Despite its somewhat juryrigged nature, the story did keep me turning the pages. The characters are engaging, and there’s a good balance of social strategy and ethical philosophy (freeing servants from literal bondage). There aren’t many surprises here, but it’s still fun to see it all develop. I’m not sure it’s a book we needed, but it’s enjoyable. If it fits your parameters, you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, I think you’d be happier with a true Georgian/Regency/Victorian novel or with a fantasy world with deeper worldbuilding.
I’ve previously read Jo Walton’s Farthing (essentially the Mitford family, if I recall) and found it equally competent, but not really to my taste. I’d hoped a dragon-focused book might work better for me, but I’m not sold. I have one more Walton book in my pile, and I hope that one will rely less on props.
