The Last Dragon Princess
Cynthia Payne
Sep 2018
367 pages, Kindle, paperback
Debut novel, Fantasy YA
Provided, author
✭✭✭✭✭
The cover is very attractive and colorful. Reds and purples are always good for a dragon species book. The artwork is lovely.
The story is a good one, too, with a complex plot that has twists we don’t see until we’re on top of them. The world building is excellent and totally different from any I’ve encountered before. This is fantasy with a touch of sci-fi. Maybe reminiscent of McCaffrey and her Dragons of Pern series in a slight way. And then there’s the mythology of it all with the gods in miniature. I loved that the gods were child-sized. Usually, the gods are larger than life.
Being the last and least of her kind puts Danu in a unique position. Then she finds out there is more to her than any of them knows and she is the biggest and strongest of her kind. But it takes the sacrifice of her twin brother to bring it about. She’s not sure it’s worth it.
The characters are well done. Each one is an individual and quite unique. Each has their own personality and their own focus.
The pace was good with the varied crises the community faced. The Coming of Age Ceremony to choose a new King. The rot in the Council. Calmus and his perfidy. The loss of the strong warriors of the flock. The lack of cooperation of the higher castes. The food shortage. The field fungus. And the Creators. The tension was constant and sometimes peaked a bit more than at others until the ultimate confrontation and Danu’s collapse.
Who is Danu to trust? Garm? A Spark by caste, so not a strong Warrior, a rogue, and outlaw in love with Danu. Pyrrha? Garm’s mother and like a mother to Danu? A breeder past her prime who only wants to see Garm and Danu happy together. Or Calmus? The Councilman in charge. And Danu’s father! Conspiring against her to take control and worse.
Definitely a really good book, especially for a debut novel!
Highly recommended!
a thoughtful reveal 