Official Review: Dragons' Walk by Merlynna Harris

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dragons' Walk" by Merlynna Harris.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Dragons are a major, epic part of fantasy. Giant creatures that often breathe fire, with scales stronger than most weapons can penetrate, capable of flight and tearing enemies to shreds with their teeth or claws; dragons are so powerful that anyone who can defeat one instantly becomes a hero. In Dragons' Walk by Merlynna Harris there's not only one fire-breathing dragon but six, and they've taken five college students alive! After a military rescue attempt fails horrifically, one man is sent to rescue the captives and eliminate the threat - the great Salvador, a bionic man.

Even with how short the book was (just under 50 pages), writing out that plot summary made me think of a book far more exciting and epic than what I read. A fantastic fantasy novel has amazing action, intriguing lore, great characters (including the villain!) and a writing style that brings the reader deep into the world, a world they never want to leave. Unfortunately, this book didn't succeed at any of those four goals.

The dragons were described well enough (repeatedly, unfortunately) and made for a very menacing foe. There was even a bit of time where the dragons explained what would happen to the college students, and it was frightening and believable that they'd pull it off. However, the students were absolutely flat characters, making it so I really didn't care what happened to them. Also, while it was fascinating in theory how the dragons' existence was explained, the story told that tale in such a dull, repetitive way that instead of wanting to hear more, I just wanted them to get on with the action.

The book has 3 major action scenes. Of them, one is done with in two paragraphs, one is over far too quickly and easily, and one had me intrigued. While I won't go into any depth to avoid spoilers, I will say that the biggest showdown of all was also the biggest let down, and instead of some epic battle I was left thinking, "oh, that was it?"

What really was sad, however, was the writing style. It was told in present-tense, but often (especially in the beginning) it felt more like it was summarizing events than letting them unfold. The dialogue is unrealistic and lifeless, and often ends up being multiple paragraphs long. The sentences are littered with unnecessary commas and semicolons, so much so that I was often knocked out of the world Merlynna set up while rereading them.

While there was nothing wrong with the concept of the book, it's one I had trouble finding positives in. I really wanted to get drawn into the action, and I even wondered how Salvador would save the students. There was a decent amount of information pertaining to his history, and I could see a prequel based on him and his father, the inventor. However, I just can't recommend this book, and as such I'm giving it 1 out of 4 stars.

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Dragons' Walk
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[Rachaelamb1]

Love books about dragons. I don't think I'd care for the writing style though.

[zero_macabre]

It's a shame that you were unable to enjoy the book. Good job on the review!