Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight
Dec. 11th, 2007 06:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmoore Dragon Outcast is the 3rd book in E.E. Knight's Age of Fire series(which I thought was a trilogy but there's a 4th book coming next year) which follows the lives of three dragon siblings. There were five siblings in their hatch at birth: Auron, fast and clever, the grey, scaleless dragon, Wistala, strong but flighty, Jizara, kind but weak, the nameless red dragon, slain by Auron at birth(all males fight to the death at birth to determine who will rule) and the copper, a young male who survived the battle with Auron, but was ostracized and nver recognized, as there can be only one male recognized. Later, seemingly out of jealousy and hatred, the copper betrays his family to his father's dwarven enemies, leading to the death of the hatchlings' mother and Jizara, and the eventual death of their father, and causing the separation of Wistala and Auron.
The first two books follow Auron and Wistala on their individual journeys, as they grow and develop into legends in the lands they adopt as their own. Dragon Outcast follows the story of the copper. Ignored by his parents and made an outcast in the family's cavern and hunted by Auron, the copper scrapes by a miserable existance, living on bugs andworms and hiding in holes, the copper desperately tries to gain the approval and recognition of his parents, but to no avail. It is only Jizara who will speak to-and sing to-him, but eventhat solace is lost when their mother orders her to. ventually, he is captured by the dwarves and tortured, and then tricked into betraying his family, told that his father promised the dwarves two hatchlings, and that if he will lead the dwarves to the cavern, he can choose which two will betaken(alive) and which will stay with the parents, all unharmed.
It is, of cours, all a lie, resulting in the copper having betrayed his family and causing the deaths of everyone he loved or wantdthe recognition of. He is also left crippled, less than a year old, from the sources. The first was at birth by Auron, who crippled his arm and damaged his vocal chords. The second was by the dwarves, who shattered the bones of his tail. The third was by the Dragonblade, the dragonslayer who would eventually finish off the copper's father, who shattered the joint ofthe copper's wing. Left with injuries that should have killed him, the copper wanders the caverns until encountering a tribe of bats who live off dragon's blood, and who eventually lead him to the free dragons of the north, who accept him into their ranks andeven give him a new name, a name he never uses for himself, coninueing to see himself as namelessand unwanted, as his family saw him. Looked down upon for his speech, and injuries, and because he was taken in by the Tyr(basically, the dragons' king) making others believe he is there only because of his lineage, the copper struggles to keep up with the dragon's his age, eventually finding his own place in the world.
As the book continues(if you've read the first two books, which you should) you'll realize that, contrary to what you thought, you have, of course, heard about what's happened the the copper...you just never would have expected it. (Dragon Outcast spans fewer years than the others, btw.)
The real question of Dragon Outcast is whether or not E.E. Knight can take the copper, twice portrayed as the sneaky, cowardly betrayor and murderer of his own family, and make him a compelling, understandable lead. The answer is yes, yes he can. Does the copper become a hero or a villain, a force for good or or a destroyer? Like his siblings, it really all depends on who you ask.
Now, very bluntly: If you like dragons, or like seeing fantasy stereotypes and tropes turned on their heads, WHY AREN'T YOU READING THESE BOOKS????
And as far as the whole "magic" thing goes, for those who dislike it: There are dragons. That's almost it.
The first two books follow Auron and Wistala on their individual journeys, as they grow and develop into legends in the lands they adopt as their own. Dragon Outcast follows the story of the copper. Ignored by his parents and made an outcast in the family's cavern and hunted by Auron, the copper scrapes by a miserable existance, living on bugs andworms and hiding in holes, the copper desperately tries to gain the approval and recognition of his parents, but to no avail. It is only Jizara who will speak to-and sing to-him, but eventhat solace is lost when their mother orders her to. ventually, he is captured by the dwarves and tortured, and then tricked into betraying his family, told that his father promised the dwarves two hatchlings, and that if he will lead the dwarves to the cavern, he can choose which two will betaken(alive) and which will stay with the parents, all unharmed.
It is, of cours, all a lie, resulting in the copper having betrayed his family and causing the deaths of everyone he loved or wantdthe recognition of. He is also left crippled, less than a year old, from the sources. The first was at birth by Auron, who crippled his arm and damaged his vocal chords. The second was by the dwarves, who shattered the bones of his tail. The third was by the Dragonblade, the dragonslayer who would eventually finish off the copper's father, who shattered the joint ofthe copper's wing. Left with injuries that should have killed him, the copper wanders the caverns until encountering a tribe of bats who live off dragon's blood, and who eventually lead him to the free dragons of the north, who accept him into their ranks andeven give him a new name, a name he never uses for himself, coninueing to see himself as namelessand unwanted, as his family saw him. Looked down upon for his speech, and injuries, and because he was taken in by the Tyr(basically, the dragons' king) making others believe he is there only because of his lineage, the copper struggles to keep up with the dragon's his age, eventually finding his own place in the world.
As the book continues(if you've read the first two books, which you should) you'll realize that, contrary to what you thought, you have, of course, heard about what's happened the the copper...you just never would have expected it. (Dragon Outcast spans fewer years than the others, btw.)
The real question of Dragon Outcast is whether or not E.E. Knight can take the copper, twice portrayed as the sneaky, cowardly betrayor and murderer of his own family, and make him a compelling, understandable lead. The answer is yes, yes he can. Does the copper become a hero or a villain, a force for good or or a destroyer? Like his siblings, it really all depends on who you ask.
Now, very bluntly: If you like dragons, or like seeing fantasy stereotypes and tropes turned on their heads, WHY AREN'T YOU READING THESE BOOKS????
And as far as the whole "magic" thing goes, for those who dislike it: There are dragons. That's almost it.