Night of the Dragon
Julie Kagawa
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Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.
Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko and their companions to stop a madman and separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that had trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.
But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.
The start of Night of the Dragon is very much a “what happened last time” and I think a bit too much time may have been spent on it. I read The Soul and the Sword not too long ago which may have made me feel this way, but I did remember a lot that was covered that I think I would have remembered anyway. So whilst recaps are really helpful, I think this one could have been less character telling us it all again.
Yumeko as our main character has finally learnt what she can accomplish with her powers. And I love it. Way back when I finished reading the Shadow of the Fox I mentioned I would like a bit more magic, and the rest of the series really did deliver. Yumeko grows as a character, learns who she is in more than one way, and acts as a true hero to save the world.
The book also allows the characters to further develop relationships in this book. There’s more communication between the couples (finally!) which allows forward momentum to the end of the book which both rips out your heart and makes you sigh with relief. Discussing feelings and being more mature allowed the characters to open up and stop hiding parts of themselves, which I think led to better decisions on both sides.
Seigetsu is much more involved in this book not just an observer like he was previously. His character was a good opposition to our main characters as he was built up in previous books showing he had parallels to our main characters, but this book proves his differences. We finally learnt what his motivations were too, as he was a bit of a strange addition to the other books at times.
A downside to the characters in this book is that the Ronin, the noble, and the shrine maiden were all relegated to nameless characters in parts of the book. I’m unsure if I just didn’t notice it in previous books, but I felt this minimised the characters until closer to the end where the names are used more in emotionally driven scenes. However off the top of my head, I cannot remember the Ronin or Shrine Maiden’s actual name.
The series as a whole, but particularly Night of the Dragon feels a whole load darker and more foreboding than the Iron Fey and the Talon series. There’s a lot more action in this book, and also scenes that are a bit gory which I wasn’t expecting. But there is also mysteries still to be uncovered which grips your interest. There’s some big secrets that were around in book one, but have been expertly woven in as answers in this book that you didn’t know you needed.
Positives of Night of the Dragon
- Character development and relationship building
- Even more magic and fantasy elements
Negatives of Night of the Dragon
- Slow start
I received Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review
