Review – The 19 Dragons

Title: The 19 Dragons

Author: S.M. Reine

Genre: Steampunk

Publisher: S.M. Reine

Publish Date: July, 7 2011

Available at: Amazon

From Amazon:

DEAD GODS. WAR. AND THE END OF THE WORLD.

There are nineteen provinces in the Land held aloft by nineteen pillars. Above the earth there is sky, and nobody knows what goes below except the Nineteen Dragons.

That is all you need to know, but that is not all there is to be known.

The Device has been stolen and the godlike Dragons have been rendered mortal. Someone is murdering them one by one, and each death brings the world closer to its end. Unless the the Device is somehow restored to its deceased owner, the Dragons are doomed to destruction– and the human world will go with them.

Review:  (There are spoilers in this review.)

This is a strangely compelling story with its unusual formatting and odd cast of characters. There isn’t any one protagonist that truly seems to have stuck out until the end when Number Two saves the day along with her cousin dragon Number Five who is also  Number 19. Yes, that point is rather confusing.

Yet somehow it all works in favor of the novella. There are odd twists and turns at every corner of this story. It keeps the pace up and kept me engaged. There were dirigibles or air balloons and air gun ships. There were other automaton that weren’t well-described and I felt like they could have been to give the story more of a Steampunk flavor.

Otherwise I was very pleased with the way the story went. It flowed around the 19 dragons and their colorful tales. Each of them were unique and flavorful with their own unique characteristics. I don’t consider that an easy task when you consider there were 19 of them. Some of them passed more quickly then others. Some were given more attention then others. All were interesting in their own way.

I enjoyed the fantastical elements Reine included with her dragons. She kept them majestic and noble. Only deigning to don human vessels out of absolute necessity.

For such a short story I thought it was well done. The romance was more then a little rushed, but it was in keeping with the odd tenor of the whole tempo of the book. I have no real complaints about that.

All in all an enjoyable read.

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