Burn

Holy weird greatness, Batman! This book is set in the 1950s and reimagines the Cold War if dragons existed. Its super hard to review and speak about all the things I loved without giving a ton of spoilers. First, Ill say I loved what the dragons represented and that they, like humans, were represented as complex both good and evil creatures. The moral, historical cautionary tale built within the story is fabulous – it reminded me of the Scythe series in that way.

The story had great world building; the magic and mythology all came together in a way that was just fabulous. There were several jaw dropping twists as well as some exciting action scenes.

Its also got great representation, the main characters include a mixed race girl, a Japanese family just out of an internment camp and a young gay couple… all who deal with the horror of human judgment that was the 1950s (and frankly is still quite relevant today!).

It is hard to believe that this was penned by the same author that brought us “A Monster Calls”. After a strong start that effectively sets up the alternate world where humans and dragons coexist, it rapidly descends into dreck and isn’t satisfied until it craters somewhere between farce and self-parody. I was hooked by the sample under the reasonable belief that this quality would be maintained throughout. It wasn’t. I’d swear Ness penned the first five chapters then handed it off to someone else to finish.

I have no idea who the audience is supposed to be. The dialog is so clunky and cringe-worthy that it’s too young for mature readers, but the surprisingly descriptive (and jarring) romance scenes are too adult for younger ones. The rest is just handled badly. The topics of a multi-racial family, racism, homosexuality, and fears of a nuclear war in late 1950’s America are certainly appropriate for teen readers, but they require a careful, confident hand to manage. Ness wields his subjects with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, laying waste to everything from good taste to nuance. The characters are one-dimensional, the tone is wildly uneven, the rapid jumps from scene to scene are irritating, and the story–if you can call it that–exists only so he can write about laying waste to a half-million people. In detail. The most believable aspect of the whole story was the setting, which is ironic to say the least.

This thing is junk. Time-wasting junk. Life is too short. Read something else.

I am always careful around men, the dragon had answered. You are dangerous animals.
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Estamos en los aos 50s, en pleno apogeo de la guerra fra y la vida de esta poca est marcada por una particular caracterstica: existen los dragones. La existencia de estos seres mticos es de lo ms comn en este mundo. Ya que, viven entre los humanos, pueden hablar, y adems de trabajar a cambio de un pago, pero son rechazados por la mayor parte de los humanos porque los consideran animales sin alma.
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Es aqu donde conocemos a Sarah, una chica de 16 aos que vive con su padre en una granja. Cierto da, su padre contrata a un dragn para ayudar a limpiar los campos, pero lo que no sabe Sarah es que este dragn llamado Kazimir ha llegado a su vida para cumplir una profeca, la cual involucra tambin a Malcolm, un chico que pertenece a un culto religioso que adoran a los dragones y que segn la profeca tiene que matar a alguien para detener una guerra.
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Entre los agentes de polica que persiguen a Malcolm, el papel de Sarah en la profeca y las dificultades propias de la poca, como el racismo, la intolerancia y la homofobia, hacen a este libro una historia nica y emocionante.
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En fin, puedo decir que realmente me gusto este libro, me encanto que Patrick Ness logre unir nuestro mundo con la fantasa, y pues el tema de los Dragones me parece un elemento fascinante, y Kazimir se ha convertido en uno de mis personajes favoritos. Un punto que talvez hizo que este libro no pase a mi lista de favoritos fue que: la primera parte fue sumamente alucinante, no paraba de asombrarme y amar cada momento, pero para la segunda parte a mi parecer perdi un poco esa emocin. Pero eso no hace que sea un mal libro, igualmente se los recomiendo mucho. Como fan de Patrick Ness estoy feliz de leer su nuevo libro y seguir leyendo sus obras, son todo un placer.

Woven with skill, of many materials, some that you wouldn’t have chosen. The finished tapestry is simple yet complex, the path taken from beginning to end is the path that came of infinite possibilities narrowed down by circumstance and decision.

I read this in one day because I couldnt put it down once I started reading! Patrick Ness has a way with words and always manages to make me cry (I dont cry easily). I didnt see the twists coming, which is impressive. He manages to talk about racism, homophobia, the Cold War, Japanese internment camps from WW2, and sexism all in one book, but with DRAGONS. Loved it!

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