I really really liked this book. I've read dragon books before, but I still feel like this one will stand out. The world was was really unique and well-written. I'm all for elaborate fantasy worlds, but there was beauty in the simplicity of this world. There was nothing hard to understand, no elaborate maps or leadership to learn, no fantastic powers or anything like that. Just dragons and their relationship with their riders. A very simple political world, people with different color wristbands for their place in society.
I also thought it was a really interesting start to the story. Most stories are a corrupt government, the series goes through overthrowing that government, and then ends when a new, better system is begun. This story actually starts 10 years AFTER something like that has happened and shows where it goes. Yes, this rule IS better in many ways than what came before but of course its not perfect.
I LOVED the main characters. Lee was especially well done and complex. He is the son of an old dragon rider, the ones who were overthrown. No one in this new government knows who he is, and yet he's risen to become a dragon rider himself, and actually believes in the better rulership and new methods. So when surviving members of his family come and try to overthrow the new rulership, his struggle over which side he will take is really really well done. And there was a scene toward the end that was SO well-written that I was extremely emotional. Without spoilers, it wasn't just what was happening but how it was written that made it so emotional.
Annie was also incredible. Her chapters perfectly capture what it's like to be awkward and unconfident. But she was still such a great character and overcame so much. Her relationship with Lee was so realistic.
I'm pretty close to 5 stars on this book. The characters were awesome, the world was simple yet great, the writing was incredible. I'm really looking forward to the next books because I bet they WILL be 5 stars if they continue like this one.
I also thought it was a really interesting start to the story. Most stories are a corrupt government, the series goes through overthrowing that government, and then ends when a new, better system is begun. This story actually starts 10 years AFTER something like that has happened and shows where it goes. Yes, this rule IS better in many ways than what came before but of course its not perfect.
I LOVED the main characters. Lee was especially well done and complex. He is the son of an old dragon rider, the ones who were overthrown. No one in this new government knows who he is, and yet he's risen to become a dragon rider himself, and actually believes in the better rulership and new methods. So when surviving members of his family come and try to overthrow the new rulership, his struggle over which side he will take is really really well done. And there was a scene toward the end that was SO well-written that I was extremely emotional. Without spoilers, it wasn't just what was happening but how it was written that made it so emotional.
Annie was also incredible. Her chapters perfectly capture what it's like to be awkward and unconfident. But she was still such a great character and overcame so much. Her relationship with Lee was so realistic.
I'm pretty close to 5 stars on this book. The characters were awesome, the world was simple yet great, the writing was incredible. I'm really looking forward to the next books because I bet they WILL be 5 stars if they continue like this one.