Book Review: City in the dragon’s eye by Jordan Loyal Short
CITY IN THE DRAGON'S EYE by Jordan Loyal Short is a fantastic example of what indie authors can achieve without having to be beholden to the traditional publishing system. It's a work that deserves every bit of praise as works like THE FIRST LAW TRILOGY or GAME OF THRONES, which is not something I say lightly. It's also available on Kindle Unlimited, which is something that has a somewhat deserved reputation of having diamonds among much-much rough. This is definitely a diamond and probably my No. 1 read for 2024.
The premise is that it is a steampunk novel set in a fictional land called the Continent that Jordan Loyal Short has a delightful map at the start of the story for. The various powers have just finished a brutal war that exhausted every single side and had no clear winner. Hmm, that sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?
The protagonist, Viktor, is a young man who finds himself disfigured by harnessing forbidden magic to save his fellow troopers' lives. It has resulted in him receiving a dragon scale, called a "tumorling", that is going to grow across his body until it consumes him. He can't keep a job, is shunned by society, and is desperate for any possible salvation from his doom.
The second protagonist, Izola, is a disgrunted associate professor who wants to be respected as a woman in her field but has made the mistake of getting involved with her former professor. Divorcing him after a long marriage, he's since sought revenge against her by sabotaging her career. Finally, there's Devin, a spoiled nobleman's son who finds himself in over his head with a local crime boss when he can no longer rely on his father's protection.
I really liked the book's villain, Doctor Obberman, as well. He's a mad scientist and member of the Thule Society (another paralell with Weimar Germany) that wants to harvest the power of dragonlings like Viktor in order to overthrow the existing government. He's a charismatic figure that you can understand why individuals would initially be taken in, especially when he targets the most vulnerable of society.
The world-building is excellent, the prose well-done, and the characters extremely relatable. I think this is one of the best indie books I've read in the past five years. It's up there with Richard Nell's KINGS OF PARADISE and Rob J. Hayes' WHERE LOYALTIES LIE. The fact it is also available on Kindle Unlimited is also great value for your buck if you belong to that subscription service. It's a great antidote to the typical Medieval European fantasy that I love but we're a bit oversaturated with.
