The Last Tsar's Dragons

by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

• ISBN10: 1616962879
• ISBN13: 9781616962876
• Publish Date: 26 June 2019 (first published 19 June 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tachyon Publications
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 stars

I received a copy of The Last Tsar’s Dragons through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Last Tsar’s Dragons was a joint project between Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple. And being a massive fan of Yolen – and dragons – I knew right away that I wanted to check this novel out.
Set in a time when the Russian monarchy was still in control – but not for long – this novel envisions a world in which the royalty of the land had access to dragons. And all that they would have done with them.
The Last Tsar’s Dragons is a retelling of the Russian Revolution in many ways, but with one major and obvious change; dragons. This fantastical telling is exactly that; fantasy being infused into the real world.

“So the dragons took off, galloping out the door, filling the barn behind them with gold dust that left the dragon boys coughing madly.”

Warnings: So anytime you hear about dragons being used to control a population, you should probably expect to hear some graphic depictions of death and burning. What happens here in The Last Tsar’s Dragons.

If you’re a fan of fantasy and of reading about the Romanovs, then you’re going to absolutely adore The Last Tsar’s Dragons. It’s a fantasy version of the revolution and their forced hiding. And you can quite naturally guess what was added to these pages to make it a fantasy telling.
This was honestly an extremely interesting read. I’m not a historical expect (and I would love to hear an expert’s opinion on this book), but I was fascinated by what I read here. Jane Yolen and Adem Stemple had such a way of writing this tale. It felt organic and rich with history and lore, even taking into account all of the alternations that had to be made.
I do want to stress one point (which I think I’ve made an okay point of doing already, but better safe than sorry): there honestly is really only one major change in this retelling. In many ways, this is still the Russia of history, as are the characters that fill the pages. Dragons have been added to the plot, but the story itself hasn’t been completely altered. Some people may love that, but others may not. It really depends on what you’re looking for. And what you’re expecting, I think.
I’m a huge fan of seeing authors working together on projects like these. So I honestly can’t help but hope that we’ll see more novels from this duo. Or any other new pairing, I’m not picky. I just want to see Jane Yolen work with more authors. Her work would lend well to it.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

Jane Yolen is an expert in dragons. She’s also a seasoned writer, having written children’s books (my youngest loves the “How Do Dinosaurs” book series), middle grade, and adult books. I was quite excited to read this mother-son team-up. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one.

That’s not to say I didn’t like it: there were many things that I felt were well done. The book switched back and forth between a few different narrators, one of which was Rasputin. He was an interesting figure in history so it was cool to read chapters written from that character’s point of view. The religious zeal, combined with an enormous amount of narcissism, made him an intriguing character to explore.

I’m not sure why dragons were even included in the book: they actually detracted from the story, although my dragon-loving self hates to admit it. The rest of it is basically a historical fiction, and the dragons just didn’t fit. I might have liked it better without the dragons, and I hate having to say that.

There were parts that really dragged for me. I felt that certain characters, such as the tsarina, weren’t utilized to the best of their potential. She could have been written in a way that contributed much more to the feel of the time. Instead, she was just kind of annoying.

Eventually, it did fall into a sort of storytelling rhythm, and it moved along well after that. It ended up being an enjoyable story, but nothing to write home about. I liked it, but it’s not one that I’ll pick up again.