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Cover of Dragon Venom

Dragon Venom

by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Book Details

Publisher:Macmillan
Published:2003-10-03
Pages:417
Format:BOOK
Language:en

Reading Info

About This Book

After many years of peace in the Lands of Men, there came Dragon Weather: a wave of incredible heat, oppressive humidity, dark angry clouds . . . and dragons. Dragons with no remorse, no sympathy, no use for humans; dragons who destroyed an entire village and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except the young boy Arlian. Orphaned and alone, Arlian was captured by looters and sold as a mining slave. He finally escaped, fueled by years of hatred and a personal vow to bring justice to all who had

Our Review

This epic fantasy delivers a classic revenge quest that begins with devastating dragon weather and the complete destruction of a young boy's village, leaving Arlian as the sole survivor. Captured and sold into brutal mining slavery, our protagonist's journey from helpless victim to determined avenger unfolds with grim determination, fueled by years of simmering hatred and a singular focus on bringing justice to those responsible for his suffering. The novel establishes high stakes immediately with its merciless dragon attack and the subsequent human cruelty that shapes Arlian's hardened worldview, creating a protagonist whose moral compass has been forged in fire and loss.

What sets this fantasy apart is its unflinching exploration of how trauma transforms innocence into obsession, as Arlian's vow of vengeance becomes the driving force behind every decision and action. Readers who appreciate character-driven narratives with complex antiheroes will find themselves immersed in Arlian's psychological journey, where the line between justice and revenge continually blurs against a richly imagined fantasy backdrop. The novel's strength lies in its examination of how hatred can both destroy and empower, leaving readers to ponder whether Arlian's quest will ultimately redeem or consume him long after the final page.

Themes

Fiction

Subjects

Fiction