E. E. Knight

Wow! This is a YA novel, sort of. Definitely great for adults, but this is a coming of age story. Knight explains in a very short, wonderful introduction that his Vampire Earth series garnered a lot of emails from fans & he likes that, except he noticed many were younger teens. He doesn't think that series is recommended reading for that age group, at least he doesn't want his kids reading it, so he decided to write this series.

As you might guess from the title, the dragon, Auron, is the show more main character, the hero of the story. It's a great world full of dwarfs, elves, people, & all kinds of critters. While our young dragon is as smart or smarter than a human, he's also able to communicate with some other animals like wolves & dolphins. Dragons are a wonderful mixture of base instincts, long lives, & high intelligence. All of this adds up to a backdrop on which Knight paints a great coming of age story beset by prejudice (both sides), war, slavery, the benefits of learning, & even some love/lust, although the last is handled in an entirely appropriate way for even the youngest kids.

The love/lust bit demonstrates a subtle realism with which Knight hands out the lessons in this book. Auron grows up & has urges. Even human women smell enticing & he realizes what is happening to some extent. He has memories (dragons have a type of telepathy) of how some dragons without mates like to capture female humans & play with them before killing & eating them. This is something he detests, but recognizes this in himself after he actually pursues some one time in a fit of passion. he comes to his senses & berates himself for it.

There is a lot more to this story than just the normal fantasy adventure. Even with 5 stars, I find I don't want to read any more in the series right now. This one was great, but enough for me now. Maybe more later, though.

This is probably a personal thing. I've been like this with other fantasy series that I really like, too. I'm full & another book would be gluttony. It doesn't really make sense to me. I blew right through [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]'s 'Game of Thrones', but they were kind of like candy. This is more like [a:Janny Wurts|8591|Janny Wurts|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1311431926p2/8591.jpg]' 'War of Light & Shadows', meaty & rich. There is far more to think about than just the fantasy story. show less

This was pretty interesting - it has tons of elements that I love, inlcuding vampires (though they're a bit...strange), survivors of the "end of the world," underdogs fighting their oppressors, tough as hell characters...

The main character, David Valentine, is that sort of guy who only exists in fiction: orphaned in a horrible manner, and not only survives, but becomes all the more focused as a result. He's raised by a priest/teacher, and therefore becomes very educated and learns to show more question and to think *deeply*. He also thinks out of the box (for lack of a better term), and has an uncanny talent for sensing vampires. But that comes later...

The format of the book is a bit annoying: every charpter begins with an italicized "let's sum up where we are now!" introduction, and while I understand what the aim of this was, I still could have done without it. The same sort of thing (flashing forward in thime past stuff that really doesn't need focusing on) is done much better (though without the supernatural elements) in Stirling's apocalypse series beginning with Dies the Fire.

Despite my jokes and pickiness, I did enjoy this. The slightly different take on vampirism, added to the apocalypse/humans-as-underdogs, is very compelling, and despite Valentine's handsome, smart, deadly, yet sensitive, completely unrealistic character, I do like him. He's a total stud, and were I in this book, I'd stick to him like glue, and be assured of my survival... I will definitely be following Valentine's exploits in more of this series' books! show less

A rich delight of a fantasy. Lleth and her pluckiness remind me of Tamora Pierce's heroines. She begins her adventure braving unknown lands, drenched clothing and no food or water. When she arrives at the Serpentine, desperately hoping to gain acceptance as a novice, she's turned away because she's a few hours past midnight on the one day such are accepted.
Not to be denied, she sits in a side doorway for days until she intrigues someone inside enough so she's admitted. What follows is a show more series of events, some funny, others scary to the point where they're life threatening. There's never a dull page in this book. Fantasy lovers will feast on it, as will dragon lovers and readers who love a strong teen heroine. I hope the next book in the series is up to the same standard. show less

Summary: In Dragon Champion, E.E. Knight gives us a relatively standard high fantasy adventure story, with one big twist: it's told entirely through the eyes of Auron, a dragon. Auron is a gray dragon, scaleless and without the hunger for treasure that plagues other dragons. His lack of armor makes him more vulnerable, and less immediately impressive, but also more adept at blending into his surroundings. After a fierce battle for primacy immediately post-hatching, Auron is the only male show more offspring left to his parents, the champion of their clutch. He's bright and inquisitive, but his world is mostly limited to the confines of the cave in which he was hatched.

All of that changes on the day his cave is invaded by murderous dwarves. Auron's parents are driven off or killed, and Auron must venture out into the world -- first with one of his surviving sisters, and then later alone. His first goal is survival, but a meeting with an elf maiden opens his eyes to the real problem: it's not just Auron's survival that's at risk, but the survival of his entire species. For dragon numbers have been decreasing for years, while the two-legged species -- elves, dwarves, blighters, and especially men -- have been increasing. Auron makes it his mission to find out why. Along the way, he makes some strange friends, faces some fierce and dangerous enemies, and must find a way to become the champion for which his parents named him.

Review: There's a long tradition of animal stories in fantasy (although relatively few from the point of view of a strictly fantastical animal.) Their point is to show us the world through an unfamiliar set of eyes; by making the alien familiar, we are then forced to re-evaluate all of the elements we take for granted as unobjectionable. For this to work, we have to find a connection with our animal narrator, some common ground on which to build a base of sympathy. However, when a book opens with its protagonist disemboweling and eating his newly-hatched brother in a battle to the death, and when that same protagonist matter-of-factly mentions crushing the skulls of human children he's seized for a snack… well, let's just say that I found it somewhat hard to empathize with him.

My lack of connection with the book's main character -- and thus, with the book itself -- may be a question of audiences. This book felt like it was aimed at 12-13 year olds. In and of itself, that's not necessarily a problem -- there's plenty of fantasy out there for mid-grade readers that can also be enjoyed by adults. However, Dragon Champion felt like it was specifically written for mid-grade boys, with lots of emphasis on the fighting and adventure aspects. Having never been a 12-year-old boy, I can't comment on how well they are likely to enjoy Auron's story, but I suspect many of them will love it. For me, however, it didn't quite make the jump into being a true crossover success.

That's not to say that there weren't elements I enjoyed. Knight's world-building description is excellent. Even though he's using pretty standard fantasy elements and races, the way they interact felt new, and I really enjoyed seeing each species's perspective on the origin of the world and its current state. Some of Auron's adventures were also very interesting -- I particularly got a kick out of his brief sojourn with a wolf pack. (Also fun in this part was listening to David Drummond, who was otherwise quite good, try to narrate their howling dialogue.)

The problem with single-protagonist stories like Dragon Champion is that their success is entirely dependent on how strongly the reader empathizes with the main character. When it works, it's great, and readers who empathize with Auron are likely to find Dragon Champion to be an exciting fantasy adventure story. For those of us who don't particularly care for Knight's leading dragon, however, it becomes very hard to stay involved in the story. 3 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Mid-grade and young adult fantasy fans who can't get enough dragons will likely love it; for older readers, I think reactions will vary depending on how much you like the main character. show less