THE SPRING DRAGON is Book 2 of author Natalie Wright’s Dragos Primeri fantasy series. Protagonist Aldewin longs for escape from his obligations, and soon hears tell of the Heart of Menaris: a MacGuffin with exceptional powers. At stake is the fate of Quen, the protagonist in the first installment in the series (Season of the Dragon) and Aldewin’s lover—who died after being possessed by the Winter Dragon, Ishna. Aldewin embarks on a quest to find the Heart of Menaris in the hope that its powers will bring her back.
Aldewin makes for a good protagonist. He is an everyman of the sort that Heinlein, who abhorred specialization, would have heartily approved of. He’s just as at home investigating the remains of a charred town and looking for clues about the perpetrators as he is nonchalantly slitting the throat of a threatening drunkard. He also develops as the work progresses, becoming more world-weary and cynical in spite of himself.
As fans will know, Wright has a very visceral writing style. The sentences are filled with reference to smell, taste, and the like; the level of detail in the worldbuilding during passages like this approaches the granular: “Aldewin downed half a mug of the cold brew and wiped foam from his mustache. Treaga ladled mutton stew into a bowl, and its smell gladdened Aldewin. It was served with crusty brown bread with a side of Vindaô olive oil to dip in.” As with Season of the Dragon, the complex mesh of labels and names for this and that helps create atmosphere. But it’s also a hindrance, inasmuch as one struggles to get a handle on the various groupings, tribes, and locations. Neophytes will find this a hard world to gain entry to, and (in spite of the fairly lengthy scene-setting in the opening chapters) reading the first volume prior to this one is advised.
Perhaps more than in Season of the Dragon, Wright makes extensive use of the internal monologue to drive the plot—maybe even too much. There is something less compelling about characters discussing their thoughts and impressions than simply demonstrating them with their actions. After all, “show, don’t tell” is a maxim for a reason. The plot does unfold smoothly, however. Wright wisely keeps side quests to a bare minimum, and the open ending leaves ample room for more additions to the increasingly engaging Dragos Primeri universe.
Natalie Wright’s THE SPRING DRAGON is a well-plotted, action-packed, and worthy addition to the Dragos Primeri fantasy series.
~Craig Jones for IndieReader