Voices of Dragons [Paperback]

Here there be dragons... or more precisely, up north there be dragons.

Having added some realistic twists to urban fantasy werewolves, Carrie Vaughn makes a smooth transition into an alternate-history fantasy all about dragons. Her "Voices of Dragons" manages to juggle interspecies friendships, peer pressure, fighter jets and military conspiracies -- and the only downside is that the climax is kind of busy and ends on a big fat To Be Continued.

While rock-climbing near the border of the Dragon lands, Kay has a near-fatal fall -- but is rescued by a young dragon who calls himself Artegal. Artegal and Kay soon become friends and meet regularly to learn from each other, and Kay is even given an ancient book that describes a utopian city where dragons and humans lived together. She even discovers how to create a special flying harness that lets her ride on her dragon friend's back.

Then a fighter jet crashes over the Dragon border, and suddenly the humans and dragons are on the brink of going to war -- especially since a warmongering general has rolled into town, with a new type of fighter jet that can outmaneuver a dragon. Kay knows that the dragons don't want to go to war, but exposing her secret to her fellow humans might make things even worse. And after the dragons launch a deadly assault to show that they'll defend themselves, she and Artegal are caught in a conspiracy aimed at sparking off a full-fledged war.

The backstory behind "Voices of Dragons" is essentially thatd ragons hibernated from the Middle Ages to World War II. It's a pretty fascinating idea, and still simple enough that Vaughn doesn't lose her grip on it -- even though I have the feeling that she's only touched the edge of the dragons' alien natures and culture. But at its heart, this particular book is basically about a dragon and a girl who will do anything to avert a senseless war.

So unsurprisingly, Vaughn's strong smooth writing is at its best when she's focusing on Kay and Artegal -- the scenes where they read and talk together are very cute, and her prose becomes breathtaking when they fly together. But after the crash, everything takes on a darker tinge -- there's some personal tragedy handled in a heart-wrenchingly realistic manner, airborne battles, and the whole deal with the creepy general who doesn't care what happens as long as he gets to kill dragons.

The only major problem is the ending -- the last few chapters are a bit jumbled (seriously, what's the fallout?! What happens?), and the story ends on a "To Be Continued" note just when things are getting good. Come on, it can't end there!

Kay and Artegal are wonderful protagonists for this story -- one is a very normal, likable young woman struggling with peer pressure and the question of whether to have sex, and the other is a beautiful, primal, alien creature who is seeking to understand the humans. Vaughn builds up their friendship slowly and painstakingly, and because of that they seem more like true friends than most dragon/human teams.

Rather than the "ye olde medieval" approach, Carrie Vaughn puts her dragons in a solidly modern world -- and a plot filled with twists, action, and tragedy. But the highlight is the friendship between Artegal and Kay.

To begin with, dragons are a fantastic subject to have in books so I was immediately looking forward to reading this one.

The thing I love so much about this book is the fact that it is set in the present day. Characters do normal things like go to school and watch TV while doing their homework. The world isn't about to end, there are no crazy love triangles and really, everything is pretty simple as far as things go compared to some other YA novels. I liked that instead of two countries going to war, it was the different races of humans and dragons. The reasons behind the conflict were great and were also justified well when exciting things began to happen. Although dragons may seem like a slightly strange creature to put in a book that is set now, I guess you could also say that they are no different from including something like vampires.

I really liked Kay, the female main character. Her voice was strong from the very beginning and she was obviously very comfortable with knowing exactly who she is. Not many characters in YA are this confident in themselves and it was extremely refreshing to see. I can't say that I missed all of the teenage angst and worrying about whether or not a boy liked here and if he didn't, why not. She was also rebellious when it came to carrying out something she believed in, even when people told her not to. I loved so many things about Kay because she breaks the mould for female characters by the way she acts, things she does and what interests her which are things like hiking and climbing. It was really great to see a bit of a tomboy for a change.

Kay also has some great friends and a lovely relationship. Jon, who was once a best friend has now turned boyfriend and Kay has some pretty mixed feelings about this which was a good thing. She doesn't fall in love with him immediately and she doesn't think the whole world revolves around him. Kay also doesn't jump into a relationship with him the minute he shows her some interest which is more than the kind that friends do. I loved that Kay was cautious when it came to taking things to the next level with Jon as she didn't want to ruin their great friendship.

The whole dragon aspect of this book was amazing. Not only is there the human/ dragon divide but there is a whole load of mythology behind where they have come from and what they are doing now. Artegal was a lovely character too who really showed compassion and understanding for Kay, even though they were so different. It was interesting to learn things about the dragons from Artegal and to be able to learn more about why he wanted to learn. It was interesting to see that the dragons had so much more in common with humans than I would have thought possible and I really enjoyed learning more and more about them as the book went on.

The ending is what really disappointed me though. With no idea if there will be a sequel, I was left reeling from a pretty big cliff-hanger. So much was left unresolved and I still want to know a lot more. If there is no sequel, the ending was extremely poor due to leaving the story completely open with no real round up of what happened. I want to know what happened to Kay and Artegal without their story left being all over the place. Voices of Dragons very much reminds me of the film `How To Train Your Dragon' in some ways but with a lot of added depth and with an up to date twist. A lovely story although the ending really let the book down.

Seventeen-year-old Kay enjoys hiking, climbing, talking on her cell phone, and spending time with a dragon.

Yes, a dragon.

In Vaughn's brilliant combination of modern day convenience and old world fantasy, VOICES OF DRAGONS pulls the reader into a believable tale of one girl and a dragon against the evil machinations of an intolerant government.

Though I guessed where the story was going, I still enjoyed the journey. I had no trouble believing dragons and cell phones could exist together and completely fell in love with the imagination Vaughn displayed in this novel.

However, I did have one huge problem - the ending.

It ended without resolution. Nothing was certain, things were on shaky ground, and the characters were about to begin a whole new adventure I wasn't even sure would work. I wanted more. This could have been the intention all along to set up for a sequel, but it made me angry, frustrated, and I felt cheated to be left with no certainties at the end. Would they be accepted? Would there be war? Had they fixed anything? I have no idea!

Will I read the next book? You bet! I have to know what happened, but I feel Vaughn should have given us a better ending by at least resolving (for certain) one of the major issues left hanging at the end of this book.

Reviewed by: Joan Stradling