

Author: B. Pine

Publisher: Silver Leaf Books

ISBN: 978-1-60975-031-2

After Falestia this is another fantasy fare offering by Silver Leaf Books. This series is written by B. Pine and speaks of a world that has once gotten destroyed and Human life is slowly clawing back to normalcy. But the world has become a difficult place because superior specie, Dragon, has an eye on some children that have the potential to destroy Dragon world. So, they go around slaying, traumatizing and threatening these special children just to make sure that they either remain under their claw or simply do not develop enough potential that would threaten their existence. But the issue is not that of Human versus Dragon.

There is politics at play here too; Dragons are divided into two groups and their rivalry is both bloody and treacherous. Humans are either pawn in the larger game or they are used or abused by these powerful species for their ulterior motives. Then, there is politics and rivalry between Humans as well. One young lad is singled out for the color of his eyes while a young girl is shunned by her mother for her skills. In short, this has several disturbing issues that probably a child below thirteen would either find difficult to comprehend or would find it too disturbing to read. Gore in fiction, especially involving children is a major concern and it doesn’t help that the details have been given out effusively.

A slight restraint could have really helped this series to reach out to larger segments. It could have been better if children characters weren’t given such young age groups. A seven year old slaying heartlessly or watching her mother’s violent death evokes pity as well as revulsion. This is adult reading material and certainly not for kids but would adults bother reading about lives of kids is something that requires serious probing.

It could have helped if the volume of the book was reduced as well because at times too much frolicking of children also makes it a tedious read. May be the idea was to balance the gore, but seeing children suffer in a children centric book is never a pleasant read. In fact considering the creative power of the writer, it would have been better if there was one major show down probably at the end to justify the three books. There are fights, plenty and gory, but a major show down is what a reader expects and that kind of climax just does not build.

(The review was done in exchange of a free copy and for http://www.bookpleasures.com)