Today, we will be reviewing Taran Matharu’s adult fantasy series debut, Dragon Rider. As a fan of fantasy novels and dragon novels, I was eager to read this book. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this novel and if you should read this novel next!
Dragon Rider Summary
Jai is a royal hostage who serves the former emperor of the Sabine Kingdom. His father Rohan was the leader of the Steppefolk and was executed after a failed rebellion by the former emperor that Jai now serves. The Sabine Kingdom plans to unite with the neighboring Dansk Kingdom through marriage, allying themselves with dragon riders.
The Dansk Kingdom is the only kingdom that knows the secret to soulbinding with dragons and guard this secret tightly. Not everyone wants the marriage between the Sabine and Dansk to go through and Jai gets caught up in a conspiracy. Now, he is being pursued by one of the most powerful person in the Sabine Kingdom with few options available to him.
Jai has to escape with the dragon egg and the Dansk handmaiden, Frida. She is the only one that can teach him about soulbinding. Jai and Frida have to escape the Sabine Kingdom before they are captured. And Jai is determined to become strong enough to avenge his family and his kingdom.
Commentary
What I loved about this novel is the time that Matharu takes to build out his characters and build this world that Jai inhabits. Everything is explained slowly and the novel starts off casually as we follow Jai’s day to day events. And when it does pick up, the pacing is still great and not hectic.
In this novel, we are introduced to the different kingdoms and the power structures as well as the animals that each kingdom soulbinds too. While I don’t remember all of them, only three are really important for this novel. And I can’t wait to see Matharu build on them in his future novels.
As a fantasy novel, this was a great read and felt like it belonged with the recent fantasy novels that have been released over the past decade. There are familiar themes and as you may expect from an adult fantasy novel, there is a lot of gruesome scenes. Even then, the overall tone of the novel is lighthearted with some heavy themes such as racism and colonialism.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed this fantasy novel and loved the soulbinding theme and all the mythical creatures that Matharu writes about. And I will be eagerly waiting for the next book in The Soulbound Saga series. This is a novel I recommend to all fans of fantasy novels and fans of griffins, a mythical creature that doesn’t get the proper love that they deserve.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Discover more from Books of Brilliance
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.