Driftwood is where worlds go to die, though many refuse to believe it. From their first appearances at the Edge, bits start disappearing from them - a city here,
a sun there - as they slowly drift and shrink, bumping up against other doomed worlds on their way through the Ring and the Shreds to the ultimate doom of the Crush.
Survival is only possible through trade among the constantly-changing races and worlds and cultures, but eventually everyone succumbs... or, at least, almost
everyone.
The people of Driftwood call him Last, and whatever true name he had was lost ages ago along with whatever remnants of his home world and birth species were sucked
into the Crush's oblivion. Somehow, though, he persists, taking work as a guide now and again, or - more often lately - hiding out from those who would seek his
wisdom, for surely, if anyone knows a way to defy the inevitable doom of the Crush, it must be the man who appears to have cheated Death itself. But even legends
may have their breaking point, and it's possible that Last has finally reached his.
Review
I've been reading and enjoying Brennan's Natural History of Dragons series, so when I saw this title as I was searching for new audiobooks to listen to
at work, I thought it would be a fairly safe bet. Unfortunately, this book has a couple serious issues that prevented me from enjoying it nearly as much as the
adventures of the dragon naturalist Lady Trent.
The first problem is that this book, which really feels more like a series of vignettes and short stories with a rough frame device, is supposed to be about the
broody, enigmatic Last... a character who is so broody and so enigmatic that I couldn't begin to connect with him, not helped by how Brennan deliberately keeps the
reader out of his head. He's a fringe character in every tale, a lurker around the edges, a meddler of uncertain motivation (save a general resentment at having to
involve himself in the affairs of others at all, coupled with a contradictory urge to meddle) who appears and melts away at random, and though he's supposed to be a
tragic figure he comes across more as sullen and brooding. I have a limited tolerance when it comes to sullen and brooding characters, for all that they're so very
popular, especially when I'm not given any other insight into their character, any other hook or reason to enjoy exploring a world with them. And yet everyone in
the book, every culture and character, almost literally (and actually literally in a few instances) worships the ground at his feet. There's even a prolonged
sequence where people are wondering if he's finally died and left them for good that reads for all the world like a fan forum talking itself through a potential
series cancellation or character death, trading favorite fanfic and speculating on the validity of various rumors and even dealing with a persistent troll... a
fandom I am not a part of. How did he earn this fervent devotion? What did they see in him that I didn't?
The second problem stems off the first. Driftwood is a world composed of dying worlds. From the moment they pass from the outer Mists, they are inevitably doomed to
crumble, shrink, and decay, to fade and ultimately to be forgotten. Every story, therefore, has at its core a brooding knowledge that all is mortal, all is dying,
all defiance or attempt to stave off the inevitable is the height of foolishness or hubris. It becomes hard to care about the worlds in these stories or the people
in them, most of whom are flailing valiantly yet foolishly against an oblivion they can literally watch unfolding around them... and, on top of that, they move at a
pace that makes a glacier look supersonic, repeating themselves in their angsty obsessing over impending extinction. It might not have been so bad had there been a
story to care about and focus on, but there is no real story here, just several fragments drifting along to nowhere.
In the end, this is a case of failed potential. There's a setting - a multitude of settings, really, in the many worlds of Driftwood. There are also characters
that I kept hoping to connect with. But the whole was saturated by its own nihilistic overtones and the fact that there just plain isn't a story underneath it
all.
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent
A Natural History of Dragons series, Book 1 Marie Brennan Tor Fiction, Fantasy Themes: Alchemy, Dragons, Epics, Girl Power ****
Description
Lady Trent, widely recognized today as one of the leading dragon researchers in the world, at long last presents her personal memoirs, which tell a rather different
story than her official papers. As a young girl in Scirland, Isabella was always drawn to the world of science in general and dragons in particular, interests that
amused her father but horrified her proper mother. Try as she might, though, she cannot become a properly tame young lady, culminating in her joining her husband Jacob
in an expedition to the mountains of Vystrana to study rock-wyrms in their native habitat. She was supposed to keep herself out of trouble, but troubles with the locals
- and with the dragons - soon land them all in danger.
Review
Pseudo-historic fantasies with dragons aren't uncommon on the bookshelves these days, but Brennan offers a world that is both less familiar and more detailed than
many. Her "Scirland" and other nations resemble Victorian-era Earth only in the broadest strokes, and her dragons become real creatures full of intriguing puzzles for a
young natural scientist like Isabella to explore. She herself is a rebel against society only insofar as her passion for dragons and unladylike research; in other
aspects, she's well entrenched in her class and her society. She even attempts to set aside her desires for the sake of her family and her future, but there's only so far
she can make herself bend to society's will - and, fortunately, she finds allies to help her. The tale takes some interesting twists as the pursuit of rock-wyrms
entangles with smugglers, thorny international politics, and other dangers in a foreign and increasingly hostile land. While the tangle of geographic names and relations
grows a bit thick and the end has a couple twists that felt a little too convenient and subtly unsatisfying, overall I found it an intriguing start to a series I'll
probably pursue through at least the next book.
Young widow Isabella cut her teeth as a naturalist studying the rock-wyrms of mountainous Vystrana - making a remarkable discovery that could revolutionize
both the study of dragons and the world itself, a method to preserve the remarkably light yet strong substance of dragonbones beyond their death. Though some
would use this discovery to exploit and exterminate the beasts, Isabella hopes to fund the creation of a substitute, but first she needs to study more species
of dragons. To this end, she finally wrangles a visa to the colonial port of Nsebu on the continent of Eriga, half a world away. She and her companions -
steadfast Tom and young Natalie - had hoped to avoid the tumultuous politics roiling the region, but politics and science are often inextricably linked.
Isabella's pursuit of dragons entangles her with a brewing conflict over control of the colony, its resources, and the impenetrable, dragon-infested jungle known
locally as the "Green Hell."
Review
Like the first installment of the Lady Trent series, The Tropic of Serpents evokes a mild throwback style, evocative of elder-day travel journals such
as Darwin's accounts. Brennan continues to expand her invented world, which is roughly analogous to our own (Isabelle's native Scirland is roughly similar to
England at the height of its globe-spanning imperial days, with Eriga serving as an Africa equivalent that, too, suffers under colonization and exploitation by
outsiders), but is not a precise replica, and not simply from the presence of draconic species and their kin. Sometimes the ethnicities and cultures and countries
grow overwhelming, but they're easy enough to skim, and one gets the gist of their relations even if one can't always keep them straight. Isabelle herself remains
a product of her nation and age and social strata; while she pushes against barriers created by her gender and societal expectations, in other ways she retains
cultural prejudices and expectations which she herself admits she cannot completely transcend. These flaws help humanize her character, though as in the previous
book there's still a certain larger than life air about her adventures. Other characters are helped and hindered by their own stations, many with less freedom to
challenge their limits than wealthy Isabelle; her companion Tom's gender may open a few doors closed to her, but his low birth forever shadows his ambitions even
in a supposedly intellectual field. The cast grows a little sprawling at times, with some characters coming to less than I'd expected given how much time went
into establishing them (details would constitute spoilers), and the tale consequently takes a little time to pick up steam. Once it gets moving, and particularly
once Isabella and her companions gain entry to the jungle, it clips along at a decent pace. And, of course, there are dragons, with some nice takes on the beasts
and their place in the local ecology. The wrap-up left a few threads dangling, not all of which I expect to be wrapped up in future volumes, but mostly satisifed.
All in all, I'm enjoying Lady Trent's adventures, and expect I'll be pursuing the rest of the series.
Lady Isabella Camherst has been the subject of rumor and scandal for years, ever since she dared declare herself a scientist (so unladylike, especially in
proper Scirland) and dedicated her life to the pursuit of knowledge about dragons around the world. Her latest venture is certainly something only a madwoman
would consider: setting forth on a sea voyage aboard the Basilisk around the globe to observe as many species of dragons and their relations as
possible, from the arctic sea serpents to the tropical fire-lizards. With her, once more, is her companion and fellow scientist Tom and - for the first time
- her young son Jake and his governess. As usual for Isabella, though, what started with clear and sound intentions quickly goes askew, thwarted by nature and
politics and the wild, inscrutable ways of dragonkind, in a voyage that will become renowned the world over.
Review
With distinct echoes of Darwin's voyage aboard the Beagle, Isabella's journey draws the reader further into her Victorian-flavored world undergoing
its own age of discovery and enlightenment. As in previous volumes, she proves to be a dauntless, if not infallible, woman, often stumbling (or outright
charging) into thorny predicaments. Around her grows a cast of friends and allies and the occasional enemy, though more enemies due to politics than personal
matters. The subplot of preserved dragonbone - a potential breakthrough building material whose secret was discovered in the first book, but which could lead to
the wholesale slaughter and extinction of dragons unless a synthetic substitute can be devised - continues, as the ramifications of previous failures and
industrial spies lead to international fallout that complicates her voyage. On a personal level, Isabella still stumbles with social niceties and personal
connections, as she attempts to bond with a son who (thus far) shows no interest in science or her personal passion for dragons. The adventurous story has few,
if any, lulls, moving decently from the first page to the last as it traverses half the globe and introduces yet more dragons and their mysteries, while further
exploring the legacy of the lost civilization known as Draconeans whose ruins can be found worldwide. I look forward to future volumes, book budget pending.
As a girl in her native Scirland, Isabella could never have imagined that her "unladylike" interest in the natural sciences and dragons would take her so far,
figuratively or literally, but it has not been a journey without costs or setbacks, even disregarding the scientific community's ongoing reluctance to accept
her as a member, let alone an equal. Already, she has lost a husband, been abducted, and suffered innumerable hostilities and slanderous rumors, but nothing that
has shaken her resolve or her faith that what she is doing matters, not just to science but to the survival of her world's dragon species. That work becomes even
more vital now that the secret of preserving dragon bone as an ultralight building material - ideal for military airships - has been stolen by her nation's
enemies. Long skeptical of her work and her person, now the military enlists her aid in a grand project, in partner with desert-dwelling allies: learning to
breed dragons in captivity, an endeavor that has eluded every civilization save possibly the long-lost Draconeans. Little as she likes the idea of raising
magnificent beasts for slaughter like pigs or cattle, Isabella cannot resist the challenge, nor the opportunity to explore the habits of the desert-dwelling
drakes. But, as always, with new dragons come new complications, and new dangers.
Review
The fourth installment of Lady Trent's memoirs maintains the same adventurous air of exploration and wonder and excitement as the previous volumes, even as
the world grows bigger and more politically complex. Isabella remains a clever, if occasionally impetuous, character, one who still sometimes struggles with
social niceties and resents the encroachment of politics and archaic ideas of propriety and "a woman's place" upon her work, but she is maturing and learning
through the series. An unexpected reunion with Suhail, the stranger who helped and tantalized her in the previous volume before vanishing under mysterious
circumstances, adds fresh complications both personal and political, when he turns out to be the brother of the sheik whose somewhat reluctant help is vital to
the success of the dragon breeding pilot program. Needless to say, innumerable adventures await the lady scientist in the deserts, and more discoveries about
both dragons and the long-lost Draconeans, whose ruins have long mystified experts; understanding the ancient worldwide civilization may be the ultimate key to
understanding dragons, and she comes several steps closer in this volume. The title, though, feels like a bit of a misnomer, as the Labyrinth is only mentioned
until very close to the end of the book, and then the final scenes feel a trifle rushed. Some of the world's place names, the political alliances and rivalries,
can still feel a bit like name soup, too. Still, I'm enjoying the series and its world, and intend to finish at least the original five-volume memoirs.
In her years, Isabella, now titled Lady Trent, has made quite an impression, both in the field of dragon studies and in society as a notorious, occasionally
scandalous woman who dares study science. With this memoir, she recalls her most famous excursion, the one that made her a worldwide celebrity and changed
everything everyone thought they knew about dragonkind. During the so-called Aerial Wars, with the Yelangese and Scirlings one-upping each other in the
development of airborne caeliger craft (a technology only made possible with preserved or synthetic dragonbone), Isabella and her linguist husband Suhail
receive a most unusual visitor: a Yelangese man who wants her help investigating an unusual mummified dragon, found frozen in the forbidding Mrtyahaima
mountains. This will put her right in the lap of hostile Yelang, with whom she already has contentious relations (not just due to being a Scirling woman,
but personally)... but Isabella is stagnating at home after so many years abroad, and his imperfect descriptions of his findings are too great a temptation for
her to resist. Along with her husband, her long-time associate Tom, and a colonel escort from the army, she sets out into the very jaws of danger, into regions
few humans dare to tread... and into a discovery that rewrites the book on the dragons and the long-lost Draconean civilization whose remains dot the
world.
Review
The final book in the main series, this installment concludes the arc of Isabella's journey, from her childhood studying sparklings in the family garden to
being recognized as the most preeminent dragon researcher of her time. She's a little older, a little wiser to the ways of the world (and its intractable
politics), but still has her passion for dragons and her insatiable drive to push boundaries and explore and learn, even if it gets her in over her head. Tom
has moved further into the background as her new husband and partner Suhail joins the crew, but it's Isabella who remains the driving force behind the story.
This story moves into the in-world equivalent of the Himalayas, complete with a "lost world" that Isabella discovers in their forbidding heights; the story
wavered on the edge of losing a half-star with some of the revelations here, but ultimately found its balance, and it was in keeping with the overall
retro/Victorian adventure feel of the series. Like the other stories, it moves at a fair clip, and while characters make mistakes they generally figure out
ways to rectify them on their own. The ending feels both a touch drawn out and rushed, if that makes any sense. Overall, though, this is a solid conclusion to
a solid series, with some great adventures and excellent dragons along the way.
