Review: Stormdancer

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's interesting how some world-building ideas have become fantasy canon. Cities are always filthy, crawling with rats, disease, thieves, and a robust, thriving underworld. Farms are always simple and clean, as are the hearts and minds of their peoples. Desert cities have a bazaar and siestas, elaborate conversations, and classes. The icy north is full of warriors. And now, anything resembling oriental culture must have at it's head a god-like absolute despot ruling with an iron fist over not just the hearts but the minds of his subjects as well, rigid and widely separated classes, intrigue and conspiracy, layered meanings and subtlety - and always, somewhere in a far-off forest, a resistance awakens to fight back.

Stormdancer sports the fairly standard coming-of-age dragonrider story, but by placing it in this world adds an interesting variation. It's complex, nuanced, thoughtful, edge-of-the-seat pacy, and does not get sappy or shy away from the gory details.
And it's a ton of fun. Looking forward to the next.

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