Official Review: Dragonfriend by Marc Secchia

[Emie Cuevas]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dragonfriend" by Marc Secchia.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Dragonfriend by Marc Secchia is a fantasy novel about the rightful rulers of Fra’anior, trying to regain power after a successfull coup by Ra’aba. Both sides have dragons to help. The story revolves around Hualiama, a royal ward, called “Lia” for short. It is set in a crater which was made by the impact of a comet. The dragons raised islands into the clouds and kept the bad gases contained below by the use of magic. The name of this place, as you might imagine, is Cloud-Islands.

Lia was taken captive during the coup by Ra’aba and was being transported by dragonship to an internment camp. While attempting to escape, Lia finds herself in a sword fight with Ra’aba. During the fight, Lia was badly wounded and then thrown overboard.

Flicker is a green dragonette, he manages to save Lia, and they become close friends. He introduces her to Amaryllion, the last of the ancient dragons, who sets her on the path to find what she needs to reinstate her family as the rulers of Fra’anior and get revenge on Ra’aba.

I really loved this story. Often in stories with dragons in them, they are cast as evil and everyone is trying to kill them. In this story there are dragons on both sides of the conflict working with humans and it is us humans that are portrayed as the inferior species. I found this concept fantastic, mirroring my own thoughts on how dragons would be. The story is fast paced with lots of action scenes that really jump out and grab the reader by the throat.

The story follows Lia almost exclusively, detailing her interactions with many dragons and lots of people. I found her character to be well thought-out, and her back-story was very pertinent to the story and well covered. Though I did think she acted too mature for a 15 year old. The other characters fared less well with back-stories, but I didn’t think the story suffered any because of this.

At the start of the book, the author provides a map of the Cloud-Islands. I found this to be very helpfull during the story, as Lia travelled between many different Islands in the pursuit of the knowledge and training that she required. These locations truly came to life in my imagination as the author described them so well. However, he also mentioned several new fruits but didn’t really tell the reader what they were like.

The one thing I didn’t like about this story was the inclusion of a prophecy. Why do these types of stories always include a prophecy? Can the authors find no other way to justify a sequel? That being said, it is only a minor gripe of mine. The book itself appears to be very well edited with only a few grammar mistakes. There were also a few occasions where the author contradicts himself. For example, Ra’aba commands two of his men to throw Lia overboard. Then he does it himself.

All that being said I want to give this book 5 or even 6 stars, as it was so good. Unfortunately, I can only rate this as 4 out of 4 stars. Anybody who loves dragons will find this book an excellent read, and I believe that anyone who likes fantasy books would enjoy this too. I may be biased, but I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this book. I’m reading it again as I enjoyed it so much, and then I shall go on to read the rest of the series.

******
Dragonfriend
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Emie Cuevas's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Mercelle]

I like that this story portrays the relationship between humasns and dragons in a good light. I feel your sentiments about the inclusion of a prophecy.

[elle_12]

DragonFriend is such a nice book .. always been a fun of dragon .. I love watching movies about dragon .. and this book just let me love dragons even more ..

[SonnyLaurel]

I love books that potray dragons in good light. Where dragons are the revered creatures.
And most of all, a dragon attached to a chatacter.
Looking forward to reading it.
As I think of it, I envisage Eragon, Dragon mania, Deviant all rolled into one.

[Yoli García]

I like the concept of dragons on both sides, which reminds me of the future of Game of Thrones (at least in the TV series). I love the use of prophecies in stories, but I agree that it is too common. Thanks for the review!

[kandscreeley]

I like that there are good dragons in this one as well as the ones working for evil. The cover is brilliant, too! Thanks for a wonderful review. Sounds like a great book.

[Donatelloo]

I find it really appealing. And I am always into such fantasy novels.
Admirable review!

[gali]

A fantasy that portrays dragons in good light sounds refreshing. The concept of dragons that keep the bad gases contained by the use of magic sounds original as well. It is great that the author included a map of the area, and don't mind the prophecy as long as the book stands on his own. Thank you!

[etsri]

DragonFriend is such a nice book .. always been a fun of dragon .. I love watching movies about dragon .. and this book just let me love dragons even more

[JuliaKay]

I do like prophecies in stories, especially since they are usually not to be taken literally; it makes it interesting and leaves the characters and readers guessing. I think dragons are hard to write about without being childish, so I am glad that you found it enjoyable and well-written. It sounds like there is a lot of excitement happening in this book. I'm interested in reading about Lia and Flicker and more about the lands. Thank you for the review .

[mindyg123]

Great review. This is an epic fantasy with dragons, a coup, and finally a story that shows the dragons a good and helping the humans instead of evil creatures to be destroyed. I love dragons and epic fantasy so I grabbed my free copy congrats on being BOTD

[donched3434]

Simply reading the review gives one the desire to delve into the book and start reading. The vivid descriptions given puts the book on a screen in ones mind. It makes for a great read to both gender as males can relate to the dragons and females can relate to Lia.

[Ikekoku]

Dragonfriend

My idea of a dragon is a fire-spitting serpentine creature with wings. So they are hostile to humans and can only be killed by divinely selected humans like Saint George. But to have friendly dragons is intriguing if not fascinating, thus urging me to read.

[tarafarah7]

As always, I seem to be the only one not interested in reading books from the fantasy genre. However, your review was excellent and your enthusiasm toward the dragon characters is contagious. I have downloaded my copy, and YES, I plan to give it a try. I'm dying to find out if the all the hype about dragons lives up to its name, in my mind. Plus, this might possibly be a good book to recommend to my students, since some of them are also lovers of the fantastic world of dragons. Do you think this would be an appropriate read for high school aged students? Thank you so much and keep up the great work!

[Heidi M Simone]

An adventure featuring a feirce 15-year-old girl who gets overthrown on a ship and is saved by a dragon? I love it! Who wouldn't love a friendship between a girl and a dragon? It's great to hear that a map was included and you found it helpful. I can understand your thoughts about prophecies, but as long as unique, I don't mind the repetition using prophecies in a book like this. I think you've conviced me that I should give this one a try! Thank you for the wonderful and enthusiastic review!