Life is nothing more than moments in time. To achieve greatness, you have to give up those moments. You have to give your life to your goal.
16 October 2020: 4.5 stars
(rounding upwards for the first time in my life! what is this feeling)
frantically waiting for November 10th
11 June 2020: 5 stars
Such a stunning world with absolutely compelling characters, a hard-hitting premise and a fast-paced plot.
Oh, and let’s not forget the dragons.
The Rage of Dragons has been on my TBR since it came out in 2019 and... you guessed it, I SHOULD HAVE READ IT SOONER. I always say this but I don’t think I'll ever regret it as deeply as I did with this one.
After a DNF in 2019, I decided to give it a second chance.
REASONS YOU WILL LOVE THIS:
1. MAGIC SYSTEM
-the detail
-the caste system places the nobles on top and they’re the ones more likely to become Ingoyama or Indlovu (aka the realm’s best fighters which comes with power and prestige and anything else those two can get you)
-the Gifted comprise only of women and can basically pour power into a warrior and give them strength, speed and agility - they're highly prized for their abilities
-the two classes above can team up to do cool things or do cool things on their own because… privilege (obviously)
-the Lesser may become Ihashe who are basically foot soldiers (better known as the men you can afford to spend in your wars… yikes)
2. CHARACTERS
-IT’S AFRICAN-INSPIRED
-also, Tau Solarin is a stupid boy but I love him (and he’s such fun to follow around)
“How do you strengthen your gift?”
“It doesn’t… You’re born with your gift. It’s always the same.”
“You can’t improve it? Train it? Why are you at the citadel? For the stories?”
that salty-ass mf
I can't imagine a world where the man holding a sword does not have the last say over the man without one.
…right, you probably want to explore different options
-Zuri my sweet, sweet, brave, little girl (ughhh, I love you)
-while we’re on the matter, I’d like to give an honorary mention to Themba, comic relief is always welcome in such stories, which leads me to the next point
3. PLOT
-what’s that? You like revenge plots with characters willing to push themselves to breaking point just for a chance to rain down hell on their enemies?
-look no further:
from the training sessions
He was not the strongest, the quickest, or the most talented, not by any measure. He knew this and knew he could not control this. However, he could control his effort, the work he put in, and there he would not be beaten.
to the battle cries
“Abasi Odili!” Tau yelled from twenty strides away. They turned to face him. “You murdered my father and destroyed my life. I am here to balance the scales.”
to some well-written showdowns
“Get up, Kellan Okar,” the impossibility standing over him said. “Time to die.”
4. WORLD BUILDING
-spectacular
-top-tier stuff right here
5. WRITING STYLE
-fast-paced scenes are actually fast-paced (see the point above about having the wind knocked out of you)
-the slower scenes serve their purpose as well: giving the reader a chance to recover, get some closure or consolidate information and theorise
-also, there are minimal info dumps and may the goddess be praised for that
REASONS YOU MIGHT DISLIKE THIS:
-not enough female MC rep
Executive summary: read it, just read it and have a good time, okay? We can square up later if you don’t like it.
postscript:
The audiobook narration really had me on my knees. First, I'd like to say that it was a good performance but the pronunciation was something else:
1. Taifa
Swahili word that translates to ‘nation’
-correct pronunciation: ta-EE-fa
-what the narrator said: TAY-fa
-big yikes
2. Odhiambo
Luo masculine name (may be used as a first, middle or last name)
-correct pronunciation: o-DHI-a-mbo ("dh" like in "the")
-what the narrator said: o-DI-ha-mbo
-massive yikes