Book Review – Dragon Outcast
Author: E.E. Knight
Cover Artist: Paul Youll
Publisher: ROC
Binding: Paperback MassMarket
Publication Date: December 2007
The Age of Fire has been a wonderful set of books so far, with E.E. Knight doing a wonderful job at spinning the tale of a clutch of dragons each with their own story during the same time frame. Book three gives up the nameless Copper dragon that was crippled after birth in the male dragon battle for dominance. This wild born dragon, who is perceived to be a selfish villain, is given his own story. All that we learned from the other dragons’s perspectives is flipped and we learn the real story of this copper, who will become known as Rugaard.
We start the story with Rugaard, a character that we have come to hate from the other two books. Ah, such a victim of circumstances that we did not really have full insight to at the time. This is why this story is so enjoyable, it feels like a puzzle where the pieces are being put together and you get to see the full story. Let us be clear though, not the 1 million pieces of the same color flower type of puzzle that can be frustrating, but the 500 piece puzzle that makes you feel accomplished but not stupid.
In the cave where we find Rugaard on the way to what we know already is the slaughter of his parents by the dwarves, we get a grander tour after the main event. E.E. gives us a nice view at all the different societies in the cave, like the bats, dragons, dwarves, and snakes. Rugaard has to take on these trials of each culture before eventually breaking free of the cave in his quest to find other dragons. Here starts one of my personal issues with the story, which I will call Jar Jar Binks syndrome. While the bats that Rugaard – still at this time nameless – meets and befriends are used nicely as a secondary character and a companion device, the way they speak took me right out of the story.
“M’answering the nice young dragon’s questions! So now e’be starving and yeee-eyee-yeee…”
We would have been better served by not forcing a speech pattern that denotes their intelligence or difference from the dragon, but letting Knight use his skill as an author to show us the same characteristics.
The copper then finds what Auron was looking for in book one, which is other members of his kind at the Lavadome. This is full fleshed out dragon society with all the culture and intrigue of a human court; Knight shines here with his ability to make us connect with this society and the change that comes upon it. It was interesting to see dragons not separated by color or alignment, but rather a full blown society. Another minor point that felt a bit forced was the dragon battle where Rugaard shows his skills as a commander. It seemed that we did not have enough of a background on why the battle was taking place. Knight does give us a reason, but it seems hasty and not at all developed. Yes, I know this was not the focus for that part of the book, but it still did not seem complete for me.
At the beginning, this book is darker than the others, but at the same time really gives us an understanding of the young copper’s bad decisions rather than an evil heart. While I am sure this book can be picked up out of series and read as a stand alone, it does not do the series or Knight justice. This is a wonderful piece to the puzzle that we are coming to know as The Age of Fire. I don’t know if we can call the copper a hero yet, but that is why we are looking forward to the next book. Barring the two, which I would call minor details, this is one of my favorite reads this year.
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