Why read the Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan

This is the series that made me love Anthony Ryan as an author. I liked his Raven’s Shadow series, focusing on Vaelin and his adventures. It is grim dark and interesting and I like Vaelin quite a bit (in fact, while writing this, I feel like I should put this series on my re-read list! With that said, I already have Covenant of Steel on my reading list for 2023).

Yet, it was not until I read The Draconis Memoria that made me fall in love with him as an author.

This is a completed trilogy with The Waking Fire, The Legion of Flame and The Empire of Ashes.

Why is that? Well, I found the world building, the plot and the characters fantastic.

The world building is based on exploration; this is a steampunk setting, in which there are industrial espionage and a magic system based on dragon’s blood. There are four type of dragons, the Greens, the Reds, the Blues and the Blacks. Each provides the user with a different set of skills (and only a few people, called blood-blessed, are actually able to use the elixirs); for example, the Blue will allow people to communicate over long distances.

Another element that sets up the entire story is the exclusive exploitation of the harvesting (and distillation in elixirs) is done exclusively by the Ironship Syndicate, and that reminded me of the evil corporation trying to maximize profit at all costs. Many of the Syndicate’s decisions are going to be quite interesting with this perspective in mind.

We follow multiple points of view in this story (and we will have more over time, including a wonderful point of view from the villains that shows the abilities that the enemy has and why the enemy is scary and powerful).

This story feels a bit as a Wild West setting with Claydon and his storyline. His team is sent to unchartered regions to search for a legendary (yet never proven alive) creature that will change the fates of the world. Claydon also has a very traumatic upbringing and it shows in the story. Claydon will eventually also find a dragon that is one of my favorite dragons in literature.

The other story that feels unique is Hilemore’s, an officer on an iron ship. His adventures will take him to the edges of the world and he will meaningful encounters with humans and species (and there is a hint of Mody Dick in this story line).

Last but not least, we also have one of my favorite protagonist in fantasy, Lizanne. She is a blood-blessed spy, capable of extraordinary acts. She alone can change the fate of the world and she is vulnerable (within reason) in this process. I loved her from the very first page I saw her; yet, I loved her even more the more the story progressed; book two sees her infiltrating another country, getting involved in a rebellion plot (and I cannot say much more than this to avoid spoilers!) and book three makes her even more multifaceted. Her character develops a lot with this series and it is just a pleasure to see her story unfold. Again, she is the character that resonated the most with me and Hilemore and Claydon are not less fun but Lizanne is by far my favorite person in this story!

The dragons are not only used as fuel for the blood-blessed. There is an interesting theme about exploitation of nature and nature taking things in their own hands. Some of the scene kept reminding me of any Jurassic Park movies with T-Rex raining havoc in the world. This is how my brain connected dots but it does not mean that this should be what your brain does!

If you are a fantasy reader that enjoys dragons (abused yet powerful animals that cannot be underestimated), a different setting (with an early Industrial Revolution world), significant elements of exploration, interesting plot lines and a hard magic system, then this book is for you.

This is one of my all time favorite series; and this is a purely subjective evaluation yet I truly believe that this story is quite different in the fantasy landscape and offers commentary on companies and exploitation of nature.

Have you read the Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan? If not, does this post make it more or less likely for you to read it? If you read it, what are the additional elements we should highlight about the series? Please feel free to comment down below, using a dragon emoji!