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A review by connoras
Dragonmaster by Chris Bunch
2.0
Savage dragons, violent magic, deadly battles: what's not to love? Great and inventive ideas, but the quality of writing not to my liking.
I read this series many, many years ago and loved it. Over the weekend I fondly remembered certain scenes and resolved to read it again; sadly these scenes were better in memory.
Reading it again as an adult—particularly having taken an interest in creative writing in the 15-or-so years since reading it for the first time—I found the writing to be unexpectedly disappointing. I don't think my issue was with the author's style, but with poor execution of the craft itself (particularly, the golden rule of "show, don't tell" was grossly unobserved).
I can't give an evaluation of the story, characters, world building, or themes because I couldn't get past the first 100 pages this time round, and there was very little development up to this point. Gritty adult fantasy with potential. 2 stars for the memories.
Note: This is an edit. I posted the original review 4 months ago with the disappointment of shattered expectations still fresh and a list of literary criticisms raging in my mind; the original review was pretentious and melodramatic, possibly offensive in parts, and has caused me some discomfort in the period since.
I read this series many, many years ago and loved it. Over the weekend I fondly remembered certain scenes and resolved to read it again; sadly these scenes were better in memory.
Reading it again as an adult—particularly having taken an interest in creative writing in the 15-or-so years since reading it for the first time—I found the writing to be unexpectedly disappointing. I don't think my issue was with the author's style, but with poor execution of the craft itself (particularly, the golden rule of "show, don't tell" was grossly unobserved).
I can't give an evaluation of the story, characters, world building, or themes because I couldn't get past the first 100 pages this time round, and there was very little development up to this point. Gritty adult fantasy with potential. 2 stars for the memories.
Note: This is an edit. I posted the original review 4 months ago with the disappointment of shattered expectations still fresh and a list of literary criticisms raging in my mind; the original review was pretentious and melodramatic, possibly offensive in parts, and has caused me some discomfort in the period since.