Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Une histoire naturelle des dragons

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Une histoire naturelle des dragons by Marie Brennan

17 reviews

nassuada's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I really wanted to rate this book higher as it has all the things I usually love about books - dragons, science, a really interesting premise, and an outspoken woman as the main protagonist. I loved the first half of the book. The worldbuilding really hooked me, and there was a lot of really strong characterisation that defined everyone's motivations. But it started to fall flat afterwards when the main plot took over, and I found myself skimming the last few chapters. I really didn't like the ending, either - it felt like the author was in a rush to wrap everything up.

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meganpbell's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I should have been obsessed with this book—I am totally the target audience! However, the main character’s xenophobic stance toward the village she’s intruding upon as a researcher does not change enough to give me confidence in joining her on an expedition to the version of colonial Africa in the sequel. I wanted more dragons, more science, and a more intersectional feminism. I would highly recommend Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina series instead!

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bea_reads_books's review against another edition

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The main character is xenophobic, sheltered, self important, and whiny. I thought this book would be about dragons but they were barely included. I enjoyed the first 1/3 of the book but it went downhill very quickly after that.

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novella42's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the angle of writing a 19-yr old character from the vantage of an older woman publishing her devil-may-care memoir. Perhaps because of that, I liked the protagonist more than I expected. One of my favorite parts of the story was Kate Reading's performance as audiobook narrator, as she was a phenomenal fit for pretty much every character. The voices, emotion, and nuance she brought to the story gave it a rich texture that I would have missed if I was simply reading the text. (I'm familiar with her work in Sanderson's Way of Kings and was impressed how much more her voice seemed to come alive with this story. Maybe she really resonated with this story in particular?) The scientific mindset and world building were excellent, and it's always lovely to have more examples of women in STEM fields, even in the fantasy genre. I took away a star because unfortunately I'm not very into mysteries and the book's pacing was slow for me. I almost didn't get the audiobook finished before the library reclaimed it, but I also enjoyed dipping in and out of it for a few weeks. Not every story calls for a fast pace, and this one was well told.

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