A Natural History of Dragons Review

 

What a unique fantasy book!

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is the first of several books set in a world similar to ours; in a time period and place that heavily mirrors the 19th century in Europe. In this world, dragons are real. The main character is a woman named Isabella who is a scientist that studies dragons. She tells us her story in a memoir format. 

In this first book Isabella tells us how she first got interested in dragons. Then how she met her husband Jacob, who was also a dragon-loving scientist. The bulk of the story is about a trip Isabella, Jacob, and some of their friends take to another country called Vystrana (that seems to resemble Russia) to study rock-wyrms, a type of dragon. The main characters are from Scirland, which seems to resemble England. But while they are there, they end up getting caught in the web of a conspiracy that is tied to the dragons that they are studying. Isabella ends up having an unforgettable (and scary!) adventure!

This book was really cool! It kind of felt like reading a classic book, even though the book was first published in 2013. 

I did give it 4.5 stars, but that was just because there were some parts where the main characters made xenophobic comments or thoughts about the people and their ways in the country they were visiting. Luckily, Isabella herself later on admits that within her story that what she and her friends did was problematic and that they were young and didn't know any better. So at least we know the older Isabella isn't like that anymore!