Title: Lumina, Volume 1 The Dragonlite Legacy
Author: PADDY TYRRELL
Publication Date: December 1, 2019
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
ASIN: B0827TDXQM
Purchase on Amazon
The first pages of Paddy Tyrrell's Lumina are a perfect model for how to start a novel. First, we're dropped into the middle of an action scene. Second, we are vividly introduced to two of the book's primary characters. Third, we immediately get insights into one of the main conflicts of the book, a cultural clash that defines a world in turmoil.
In but a few pages, we get striking samples of Tyrrell's descriptive gifts and begin to see the themes of intolerance and prejudice that are analogous to too many eras of our earth's history. I liked the fact this is the breed of science-fiction where character, world building, and cultural interaction are the thrust of the story and not exotic weaponry, space flight, or really strange creatures, although we get no shortage of the latter. I admit, these days I dread the idea of yet another overused dragon in my reading, but I have to say Tyrrell has a number of clever ways to play with dragons and baby dragons in her yarn.
Very quickly in Lumina, we can see the various paths of various distinctive characters in what opens up to be an other-worldly epic although many of the plots seem very grounded in earth lore. For example, one storyline involving the royal court of one country seems based on the life of concubines in an ancient Asian country. Other stories are obvious takes on the heroic quest involving the search for a lost brother, finding unlikely allies in a brewing war, and overcoming intolerance between humanoid species, especially against the golden-skinned genetically-engineered "Bronzites" who are excluded from human society.
So many characters in this book are memorable, some extremely admirable, such as Davron Berates who has to choose between friendship and his people along with his internal conflict over accepting his love for a strange Bronzite woman, the magical Chrystala who transforms in ways no one expected. Then there's my favorite, the lovely Salazai who suffers from the slowest-acting poison ever conceived. These characters and their friends and enemies are all center stage as war explodes in a multi-layered conflict spreading over a very wide and bloody canvas. The carnage of the climatic battle scenes is so epic it's amazing how this volume of the series could end on such a gentle note.
While this volume is a very long read, it's a welcome thought to know there is more to come that will hopefully resolve issues set up in the final chapters of book one. I want to know what will happen to the survivors of the war that left many heroes dead on the battlefield.
More About the Reviewer
Dr. Wesley Britton is an author in his own right and a longtime reviewer for reviews sites like #TheNewBookReview and #BookPleasures.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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