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West Coast Book Reviews on DRAGON OF ASH & STARS

8/5/2016

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West Coast Book Reviews is my Go-To site for honest reviews on speculative fiction books, so when they take the time to read and review one of my books, I'm not only honoured, but holding my breath. I don't want to disappoint! I don't ever want my writing to be 'Yeah, could've been better.' So when I see THIS in my inbox, I just want to bask awhile in writerly bliss.

"A brilliant, insightful and spiritual tale.

To be honest, even if I'd never heard of H. Leighton Dickson I would have bought this book for the cover alone. I also want the poster, cell phone case, stationery, queen sized bedding and a black toothbrush covered in gold stars. She is on my auto-buy list and reading her work is always an absolute pleasure.

Dragon gives a unique approach to the telling of a fantastic tale. It is the autobiography of Stormfall the black dragon told in his own words.

As an autobiography, the telling is of course slanted to show the teller in whatever light he wants to be seen. For a dragon who is every inch arrogant, proud and self-centred, giving him the opportunity to tell his own tale grants this story an impact that grows as the pages progress and the dragon portrays himself as he sees himself.

Big.

Also present in generous amounts is Dickson's ability to take advantage humour in sharing any type of scene. Regardless of whether the moment is light or dark, one can sense her hand there not in telling the jokes but in allowing her characters the freedom to share those absurd thoughts we all have at even the most difficult of moments. Her images are both pristine and deep and each chapter is engaging.

The story itself is deeply satisfying. (Yes, she had me in tears again with wonderful and agonizing feels.) This is not a story that leaves you looking for book two. It is a complete tale I found epitomizes the idea of a standalone. I reached the end thinking "don't change a thing." I feel like I knew the dragon and will adore him for who he was, treasuring him for the way he saw himself and grateful he shared both his victories and triumphs.

Highly recommended."

Now, it is I who has the feels. Gonna go curl up and squee for a long sweet while. 

Check out their other reviews here:

http://westcoastbookreviews.blogspot.ca/2016/08/review-dragon-of-ash-stars-by-h.html

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The Zoology of Dragons & the Psychology of Us

8/1/2016

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Dragons have always been a thing for me. I mean, who could NOT love them - large, powerful, reptilian and mythical. So ask a zoologist NOT to love dragons, and you might be surprised at what you hear.
 
It's true. I've had a love/hate relationship with fictional dragons (the only kind of dragons) because of our tendency to anthropomorphize them. We either make them partners, psychic soul-mates who willingly allow humans on their backs for the greater good (Draco, Sapphira, Falkor, all the dragons of Pern,  etc), or monsters, uncontrollable agents of destruction and chaos (Smaug, the Jabberwock, all dragons before 1980, etc).  We ascribe human motives and characteristics to these mythical beasts, likely in order to understand ourselves better, but is it really the most honest way to portray them? As a zoologist, I wanted to explore a better way.

I was originally inspired by the model of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. Horses are very similar to dragons in the human psyche. We delight in the pegasus and the unicorn. We fear the thestral and the kelpie. Through the ages, well-trained horses have been ascribed nobility, kindness, bravery, heroism - a wide variety of human attributes that likely no horse truly has ever possessed and we ascribe it based on its willingness and ability to obey our commands. In reality, a horse is simply a horse, and they are glorious because of it.

It's the same with dragons.

What if a dragon was simply a dragon? A large, predatory animal with unique fire-breathing capabilities, that merely lived to survive, to hunt, to eat, to breed, to fly. Animals who were caught and tamed to serve, just like horses have been for thousands of years? What would a dragon, once wild now captive, think of us?

That's the premise behind DRAGON OF ASH & STARS. 

Over the next few weeks, I'd like to do a series on the Zoology of Dragons (at least, MY dragons!) How do they breathe fire, why do they wear the 'silver band', why did I choose four limbs over the more traditional and heroic six, etc? Join me as we take a quick course in Fantastical Zoology. Who knows, I may even touch on the genetic theories behind cat people, or why a Mad Lord has six dogs...

Feel free to leave some science questions in the comments and I'll try to answer them over the next few weeks. Chat soon, peeps. ​

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    H. Leighton Dickson

    Author. Zoologist. Imaginary Genius. Engineer of Fantastical Worlds. Master of None.

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