Thursday, February 21, 2013
“A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent” by Marie Brennan (Reviewed by Casey Blair)
Order
“A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir
by Lady Trent” HERE
Read
An Excerpt HERE
A Natural History of
Dragons—released
on February 5, 2013 by Tor—is the
first of a new series by Marie Brennan.
Her previous books include the Doppelganger series beginning with Warrior, and the Elizabethan
fantasy Onyx Court series beginning
with Midnight Never Come. You
can read more about Marie Brennan on
her website here: http://swantower.com/. I admit, I've had
some trouble getting into her novels before, but this one hooked me right from
the get-go.
I
think what really got me was the voice: the narrator, Lady Isabella Trent, is an old lady with no fear
of censorship; a lady who has become renowned as a dragon naturalist and has
decided to write her memoir; a lady who isn't afraid to write anecdotes and
opinions that might scandalize others, because the scientist in her believes
that an honest, open, and detailed account is of utmost importance. There's a
wonderful blend of clinical and emotional observations about her world, her
life, and herself.
The
story is set mostly in analogs of England and Russia, with references to Italy,
Germany, and countries in Africa. It's essentially Victorian, but with dragons.
Structurally, the book uses Victorian chapter titles that manage to summarize
the events of a chapter without giving very much of import away before you read
it.
I
loved the inclusion of sketches of dragons and various other places and people
of import (so mostly dragons, because they are what is most important to the
character), especially with the implication that the narrator has drawn these
sketches herself. There weren't all that many, but they were well-placed.
Brennan writes with an
academic's understanding of the world of academia, and her background in
anthropology served her well not just in world-building, but also in
understanding her narrator's interaction with the past and current worlds. She
gets away with a lot of exposition by having her older narrator explain how
societal standards and her perception of world differ from those of her younger
self. The narrator also periodically references written works in other
Victorian styles with varying degrees of approval and chagrin (mostly chagrin,
even for her own).
While
I loved the older Lady Trent's
perspective, as she began her story I also immediately identified with her
younger self, the little girl collecting bugs, though that will be different
for everyone. The common feature, though, is that as a child she had hobbies
that were not what society considered normal or recommended, and that is a more
universal experience.
As
a lady of her time, Lady Trent did
not simply resolve as a child that she was going to buck society and become a
heroic naturalist no matter what anyone thought. That would have smacked
uncomfortably Mary-Sue-like for my taste, but it's nothing so grandiose; she
still exists as a lady of her time, but progressively becomes regarded as more
the eccentric. She periodically makes references to what she calls her
"deranged practicality," which is part of what makes her story a joy
to read. She has wild ideas that she then orders and executes with scientific
precision.
Descriptions
of places come to the reader through the lens of Isabella's detail-oriented mind, cataloging specs and features,
which keep us right in the character's POV. The sheer detail also goes a long
way for suspension of disbelief, because explaining the physics of how a dragon
wing is structured goes a long way towards my ability to believe that it actually
can work. She grounds her story firmly in the details, so the fantastical
aspects seem utterly natural.
The
POV gives Marie Brennan a lot of
room for commentary. None of it is overhanded, but all of it was poignant. She
manages to cover culture shock, the relative importance of proprieties given
time and distance, the notion that scientific understanding changes with time,
people who moralize from the comforts of their homes with limited understanding
of realities in other places and walks of life, and the revolutionary idea that
she could be both feminine and not feeble in the least. All this, and with a
sense of humor: she deals with one double standard by commenting that although
her editor is exploding, she sees no reason that she should be able to write
about animal anatomy but not her own hips or breasts. She notes that despite
exoticized stories of "flashing-eyed" women, she never once met
anyone who emitted strange lights from her eyes.
I
appreciate that Lady Trent gave no
pretense of her marriage being a grand passion, and discussing a different kind
of love based on mutual respect that grows over time. There's not anything
wrong with grand passion in a story, of course; but I do like to see other
kinds of romantic subplots from time to time—not only because reading only one
kind of love story give people very skewed ideas on what to expect out of life,
but I also appreciate the variety.
Of
course, I have a few quibbles. I admit that I wasn't excited about the up-tight
and strict mother vs. saintly father trope, but at least she qualified it. I
also didn't appreciate that the narrative makes it sound like the protagonist
is the only woman in the world to be intelligent, let alone to have a
scientifically minded brain. With the exception of one maid, all the other
women in the story are interested in social standing and talk about nothing of
import. Part of that could be a reflection of how the narrator perceived other
women in her society, but to me it came across as all the male characters were
allowed to have multifaceted beliefs and approaches, but the women seemed to
behave as a whole—excepting our narrator.
There
were a couple instances of faulty tense, which I'm fairly sure was an
intentional choice to not spoil suspense. For instance, "So-and-so is good
at tennis," when So-and-so is actually dead before the end of the story.
The book is written with the present-tense narrator narrating the affairs of
her younger self, so the narrator would of course be aware that So-and-so dies
before the end of her story. There were only a couple of misleading present
tenses, and in those cases using the past would have given away something
critical, which is why I'm convinced they're deliberate. Other than those few, Brennan handled the switching between
tenses flawlessly, which is no mean trick. Often times such switching can feel
choppy or jarring, but the author blended the narrative seamlessly.
I
suppose if you're looking for epic dragon slaying hunts, this book may not be
for you (though there is certainly some dragon slaying involved). This isn't an
epic take on dragons; it's a memoir of scientific and personal discovery.
There's no obvious antagonist to defeat beyond lack of understanding, but what
makes A Natural History of Dragons so
riveting is Isabella's quest not
just to better understand dragons, no matter the cost, but to understand the
metaphorical dragon in herself. I found the book completely engrossing, and I
can't wait for the next installment.
12:00 AM | 
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4 comments:
Wow that sounds crazy interesting. I love dragons of course - I don't know if this one would be for me based on the way you described it, it sounds like it would be a slower read for me and I'm the type that loves action. But the description of the anthropology aspect does sound riveting indeed.
Pabkins @ My Shelf Confessions
Wow, this book sounds really good! I am a sucker for fantasy books that have older protags. Their POV can be so refreshing after reading loads of books starring teens and characters in their 20s. Definitely going to check this one out!
You know, I was worried at first that because of the structure it was going to be slow-paced, but it actually moves really quickly. The protagonist insinuates herself into adventures far more than is really "proper" =P.
I love older protagonists, too. That's one of the many reasons I enjoyed Bujold's Chalion series so much, I think. People hardly stop having fascinating experiences once they hit 30, after all, and it's nice to read a more mature voice from time to time.
Dragons rock! ...apart from when you're playing Skyrim. Might give this a read after I finish my current book off.