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gerd_d's review
2.0
What struck me while reading the story was how similar it felt to Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus" in its use of present tense and switching back and forth between past and present events.
But unlike Erin's story "The 19 Dragons" becomes awfully hard to follow, and frankly, by the end I wasn't able to tell what it was all about.
There are three storylines that unfold and sort of meet by the end:
The earliest of which explains why the dragons chose to turn human,
the middle part that details how the war escalated into a devastating world war, and the main storyline playing out in the now, the chase after the person responsible for the deaths of the dragons.
Feeling highly convoluted in its storytelling, it would have helped if the author had dated the single chapters, each of which is focused on another dragon, to give the reader a better sense of time. As it stands we often find out only towards the end of a chapter if it was meant to play in the now or then.
Still, it has some great reading moments; it manages to be lyrical, funny and features a sigh worthy romantic scene.
But unlike Erin's story "The 19 Dragons" becomes awfully hard to follow, and frankly, by the end I wasn't able to tell what it was all about.
There are three storylines that unfold and sort of meet by the end:
The earliest of which explains why the dragons chose to turn human,
the middle part that details how the war escalated into a devastating world war, and the main storyline playing out in the now, the chase after the person responsible for the deaths of the dragons.
Feeling highly convoluted in its storytelling, it would have helped if the author had dated the single chapters, each of which is focused on another dragon, to give the reader a better sense of time. As it stands we often find out only towards the end of a chapter if it was meant to play in the now or then.
Still, it has some great reading moments; it manages to be lyrical, funny and features a sigh worthy romantic scene.
amburhostyn's review
4.0
Before reading The 19 Dragons, I read another of S.M. Reine's books, Six Moon Summer, and I loved that one. I wasn't surprised when I read and loved The 19 Dragons, too.
I was surprised by how different the two books were, though. The author's voice, and the tone of the books were completely different, and I thought that was fabulous. It just shows how much versatility S.M. Reine has that she can write two completely different books and excel at both of them.
The 19 Dragons isn't a long story, and it isn't one that gives you a tonne of information about the characters. If ever there was a story where you learned only what you needed to know about characters, this was it, and because of that, it's a bit mysterious. It's also full of destruction, and has characters that make you beyond curious to know more. Each chapter you learn a brief amount about each of the characters, and if you haven't already guessed, the characters are the 19 dragons. As the world crumbles around the characters, you are slowly learning about them, and you can only guess at what the intentions of each character are.
I loved the mystery in this book, and how the descriptions were brief, yet incredibly vivid. It was completely enthralled me, and I highly recommend The 19 Dragons. It's the perfect quick read, and I think fans of Steampunk will thoroughly enjoy it. :)
I was surprised by how different the two books were, though. The author's voice, and the tone of the books were completely different, and I thought that was fabulous. It just shows how much versatility S.M. Reine has that she can write two completely different books and excel at both of them.
The 19 Dragons isn't a long story, and it isn't one that gives you a tonne of information about the characters. If ever there was a story where you learned only what you needed to know about characters, this was it, and because of that, it's a bit mysterious. It's also full of destruction, and has characters that make you beyond curious to know more. Each chapter you learn a brief amount about each of the characters, and if you haven't already guessed, the characters are the 19 dragons. As the world crumbles around the characters, you are slowly learning about them, and you can only guess at what the intentions of each character are.
I loved the mystery in this book, and how the descriptions were brief, yet incredibly vivid. It was completely enthralled me, and I highly recommend The 19 Dragons. It's the perfect quick read, and I think fans of Steampunk will thoroughly enjoy it. :)
oliviacornwell's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this one. I got it as a Kindle freebie. I wanted a short read, and this one was. I liked how it introduced each dragon in each chapter and told the story at the same time. It didn't feel slow because of the introductions, and it drew me in. I wanted to know what was going on, why, and who was responsible. It was suspenseful read. The formatting for certain parts (especially the end) was interesting. The way the end was formatted was cool, and fit the moment.
pandemoniumpizza's review
4.0
The 19 Dragons is a steampunk novella. It is about 19 dragons whose lives are linked to 19 pillars that hold up the 19 provinces of the land. I really enjoyed reading The 19 Dragons as it was very original and thoroughly entertaining.
There was a very unique prose to The 19 Dragon which I really enjoyed. The writing has a sort of poetic element to it that makes it a really different and enjoyable read. The writing style gave the whole story a feeling of reading an old fairy tale sort of story.
The story itself was very unique and I really liked it. The story was quite mysterious which kept me reading on as I just had to know more about the 19 dragons and what was happening to them, not to mention who was doing it.
I also loved that there was a twist in the story that I did not see coming. It was really awesome to see that as it’s not very often that books surprise me anymore.
Overall, I thought that The 19 Dragons was really enjoyable and extremely well-written. The 19 Dragons is awesome. It’s got enough steampunk elements for fans of steampunk but at the same time I think that it would be a good read for those who aren’t the biggest fans of steampunk. If it sounds like your kind of book definitely check it out because it is really good and you will not be disappointed in it!
There was a very unique prose to The 19 Dragon which I really enjoyed. The writing has a sort of poetic element to it that makes it a really different and enjoyable read. The writing style gave the whole story a feeling of reading an old fairy tale sort of story.
The story itself was very unique and I really liked it. The story was quite mysterious which kept me reading on as I just had to know more about the 19 dragons and what was happening to them, not to mention who was doing it.
I also loved that there was a twist in the story that I did not see coming. It was really awesome to see that as it’s not very often that books surprise me anymore.
Overall, I thought that The 19 Dragons was really enjoyable and extremely well-written. The 19 Dragons is awesome. It’s got enough steampunk elements for fans of steampunk but at the same time I think that it would be a good read for those who aren’t the biggest fans of steampunk. If it sounds like your kind of book definitely check it out because it is really good and you will not be disappointed in it!
nexusgoblin's review
3.0
The 19 Dragons is a short novel that tells a single story spread out over 19 different characters. The Device has been stolen and with it the immortality of the Dragons. The Second Dragon leads the chase to find out who is systematically trying to destroy each dragon, and bring their world to a crumbling end.
I can’t say I was overly fond of the way this story was told, but it does make it feel rather unique and it does pass very quickly because of it. It’s like there is a hidden narrator telling you all that is happening, but is never named, and they lend a sort of documentary style quirkiness to the tale. I did really love the idea of having Dragons be deities of sorts, and that each section pf land that floats in the unending void is connected to one of the Dragons. With each dragon that is slain a piece of the map drops from existence, and all the humans living on that land are wiped from existence. Each Dragon has it’s own personality, and it’s own way of adapting to the human world. Some have adapted better than others to say the least. However because of the quirky style of writing, I feel like a lot of the details are missed. We get the gist of their personalities, but some of their unique motivations are missing. And of course with very little world building it comes off as a quick fairy tale rather than a full story, which is fine…but slightly unsatisfying given the rather cool concept.
Overall I think this was a fun read for a rainy evening, but I would have loved to have more involved so that I could truly immerse myself in the steampunk like world that Reine created. Oddly enough I think I’ve had this ebook for so long that the author has pulled it from Amazon.
I can’t say I was overly fond of the way this story was told, but it does make it feel rather unique and it does pass very quickly because of it. It’s like there is a hidden narrator telling you all that is happening, but is never named, and they lend a sort of documentary style quirkiness to the tale. I did really love the idea of having Dragons be deities of sorts, and that each section pf land that floats in the unending void is connected to one of the Dragons. With each dragon that is slain a piece of the map drops from existence, and all the humans living on that land are wiped from existence. Each Dragon has it’s own personality, and it’s own way of adapting to the human world. Some have adapted better than others to say the least. However because of the quirky style of writing, I feel like a lot of the details are missed. We get the gist of their personalities, but some of their unique motivations are missing. And of course with very little world building it comes off as a quick fairy tale rather than a full story, which is fine…but slightly unsatisfying given the rather cool concept.
Overall I think this was a fun read for a rainy evening, but I would have loved to have more involved so that I could truly immerse myself in the steampunk like world that Reine created. Oddly enough I think I’ve had this ebook for so long that the author has pulled it from Amazon.
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