A review by mayastone
Dragon by Steven Brust

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m reading these books in publication order not chronological order. The events of this book take place before Vlad and Cawti were married. The strange timeline that I’m reading these books on is reflected in the book as well. We are following Vlad during, before, after battle and at random intervals in his life. This format is disorienting, I’m not sure the effect that Brust was originally going for. 

“I’m used to cold, but battle is hot; I’m used to precision, but war is chaos; I’m used to trying to kill, but this kind of fighting involved trying to stay alive.” 

A war between Dragonlords over the theft of a Morganti blade. Vlad’s involvement turns personal when one of the Dragonlords decide to try to kill him at his home. What is the secret behind the seemingly plain blade (plain for a Morganti)? Will Vlad bugg out as planned or will he stick to battle? 

“Proving once again that happiness is minor misery where before was extreme misery” 

After a while the battles ran into each other. The extra stuff is extra stuff. I liked Daymar the most. He is the super powerful but vague character that’s fun to read about.