Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Dragonspire
AUTHOR: Talya Andor
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press, LLC
LENGTH: 347 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 5, 2016
BLURB:
In the wake of his grandfather’s death and the unexpected contents of his will, Gideon abandons his career, cuts ties with his family, and heads overseas to figure out a life that has never made him happy. He settles for a time in Myanmar, content to roam the country taking pictures, carefully avoiding the dangerous local politics.
When he ventures into the jungle, he expects wildlife and possibly men with guns if he’s unlucky. Instead, he meets a princess who sweeps him off to another world, claiming that Gideon is the only one who can help her slay the terrible black dragon threatening her people—and if he ever wants to see home again, he has no choice.
REVIEW:
Please tell me there is more! I picked this book off our available to read list based on the blurb. I’m a sucker for a story where someone from here ends up somewhere else, especially when it is a good vs evil story, so it sounded perfect to me. I’m also a sucker for dragon books though, so I was a little concerned about the “terrible black dragon” part.
I am so happy I picked up the book. As I flipped each page, I became more and more entrapped in the story. Gideon is a very likeable character, but I will admit to times when I wanted to reach into the story to slap him upside the head and force him to focus! I figured out things way before he did…and he was there! That pretty much says it all for me. The story was good enough that I felt invested in it…I felt like I was a silent onlooker to the action and the developing storyline.
Gideon is on a trip to Myanmar after deciding to take some time off when his dying Grandfather asked him if he was happy with his life…and Gideon realized he wasn’t and hadn’t been. While photographing some ruins a strange woman appears to him suddenly, and when Gideon steps through the veil between worlds at the woman, Princess Chrysania’s behest, he doesn’t know what he is in for. She wants him to kill this terrible dragon who has been plaguing her people. Only he can do it. But all is not as it seems.
What follows are a lot of misunderstandings, some murders, some calls to arms, and a potential war amongst rival nations and the dragons. It was a very enjoyable read, which kept me flipping the pages.
No more spoilers. Suffice it to say I loved the book, and I’m so hoping for more! There were things in the last chapter of the book that just scream out for further details!
One note. The book is listed as having Bisexual content. I’m not 100% sure where that was unless it was the one triad grouping? Otherwise, I didn’t see it. There were gay characters, straight characters, GenderQueer characters (who the author used a pronoun of “Dir” for), so there was a rich diversity of sexual orientations and groupings. I liked how they all were the norm and nothing was considered odd with any of them in this world that the author created.
I’m highly recommending this book for anyone who likes a fantasy set in an alternate world…with a character transported from our world, good versus evil, dragon shifters and magic. The world building and storyline were excellent. Great job.
RATING: 
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