Book Review: The Temptation of Dragons

My rating: 5 BIG baby snail shark stars!!


‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptize them.’
I blinked. 'I beg your pardon?'
'We aren't the only intelligent beings in this universe', the Bishop said quietly.' And I'm not talking about dolphins or whales. There is another world in touching distance of ours, and their citizens sometimes cross over and walk among us. Most humans can't see them.'
Some whiskey went down the wrong way and I coughed.

If you were wondering who the unfortunate soul is who is getting a cold ice bucket dump of info - it is Reverend Penny White, a priest in a small English village. She's a Vicar and on the one night she has a few extra glasses of wine and hopes she won't get arrested for drunk driving because that will not make the Bishop happy... she tries to inconspicuously pass by a bad car accident and runs over.... a dragon! By giving said dragon his last rites, she is plunged head first into a huge conflict with far-reaching consequences involving the dragon's cannibalistic family and a whole lot more.

She is appointed as part-time Vicar General of Incursions in Eglwys Lloegyr, the equivalent of England in that other world we mentioned above. What Penny found hard to believe however and kept listening to with the incredulity of one waiting for the hidden camera to pop out ...
The Bishop of Eglwys Lloegyr under whom she was being assigned was a dragon. And to put the cherry on the incredulity cake, the Bishop's assistant was another dragon, while her archdeacons were a unicorn and a vampire... with a soul.

'There is a parallel world of dragons and unicorns and bears, oh my, and they're Christians--'
'Some of them are. Lloegyr is as multi-cultural as England...'

If Penny didn't fully believe the Bishop's tale, the fox in uniform delivering her letter of application was a solid point in favor. And if she was still harboring any doubts regarding it's credibility, they all went up in a big puff when she had to accept the help of a snarky gryphon to catch a sharp toothed snail shark the size of a dog. And she didn't even need to know the language the snail was speaking to realize that he was swearing. And if you're not cracking a smile by now while reading the Vicar-gryphon snarky banter, I guarantee the drunk snail shark hiccuping and singing will do the trick!

'Meddle not in the affairs of dragons', I muttered, 'for you are crunchy when fried and good with ketchup.'
Unfortunately, this is exactly what Reverend Penny must do.

She's getting an associate to help her out:
'You've sent me a blue tit murdering creationist with sarcasm management issues.' - Mr. Moriarty - or Morey for short.
I keep seeing him like this:
image by Parthena on pinterest.com

Just keep in mind that he is small enough to perch on a shoulder but has sarcasm management issues enough for a huge dragon.

Penny gets the ride of her life on a Tacsi who unfortunately didn't remember to Not Drink And Fly! But despite his beery breath and loud belch, you can trust him to bring you to your destination. Just remember to 'hold on to the grab handles and, in the unlikely event of nausea, do not vomit upwind.' :D

She gets to meet a a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven, who keeps appearing where she least expects him.
Image by ILoveGeek on pinterest.com

And she even gets herself a little pet that makes even Morey's feathers stand on end at the introduction.
'Moriarty meet Clyde. Clyde meet Moriarty.'
The gryphon growled....
'You've gone barking mad. Positively, absolutely barking mad'
I for one must make a note here and say that I love Clyde!!! Can I get one too please?!

Penny is swept into an adventure that will leave her stunned at times and reeling at others, in an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures where she not only needs to prove her worth but also save a brother.

As you have noticed from above, The Temptation of Dragons is a tale filled with humor and snarky banter. But that is not all there is to it.

This is by all means not your typical Urban Fantasy. It is so much more than that!
Despite heavily focusing on religion, it does not preach. It will make you laugh but also think. For instance at society's view on autistic people.
'It's hard for them to fit into normal society.'
'Or maybe normal society finds it hard to fit in with them?'
And getting such an answer from someone who is but one tenth of your size does make you pay attention!

And it is not a shallow read either! It will tell you about faith, loneliness, loss and hurt:
'The day you loose someone isn't the lowest point.... It's all the days that follow when they stay dead and you have to carry on. But it does get better. Just concentrate on one day at a time, or even one breath at a time.'

It will tell you about family, love and forgiveness;
'Forgiveness is a journey, not a destination.'

As well as about failure and regret; and about what it takes to be a human with steel in both hand and soul!

Chrys Cymri gives us here a unique and outstanding tale, with remarkable word-building and beautifully fleshed out characters. The beginning will feel a bit slow since there is a lot of ground to lay, especially as this is the first in a huge eight book series that presents a complex and fully developed magical world. The explanation of the church hierarchy as well as the religious and political system, the types of mythical creatures with both their jobs and customs; it is all laid down in the beginning. So stick with it even if it feels a bit slow, because it picks up like a whirlwind after the half-way mark.

There is also another factor that may or may not appeal to the reader. The 'Doctor Who' references, as well as the Star Trek ones. :) Penny is a huge fan, especially of Doctor Who, so the book is peppered with those remarks. If you're a fan of the series, you're going to love them. I for one hadn't even heard about it, so they didn't affect me that much. But I wasn't bothered about them either. And I did love the Star Trek quips ! :)

All in all, The Temptation of Dragons is an amazing, unique and fascinating read that already ended up on my shelf of favorites!
I highly recommend it to all fans of Urban Fantasy, dragons and all things magical.
You have got to read this people!
It is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!


Check out this book and more of Chrys Cymri over at www.chryscymri.com