Dragons Can Only Rust
(Gonard’s Journey #1)
by Chrys Cymri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Description
Gonard is a dragon, and he believes his only purpose is to serve his master – until the day he kills his master rather than forfeit his life for the sake of building a hunt dragon. It’s then that Gonard goes on a journey of self-discovery. He travels with an Outler name Itsa, who is trying to break free from her own oppression, and the medtech, his brother robot with all the programming and none of the care that Gonard received. Together they must see if Gonard’s master accomplished the impossible, and built a creature that has a soul.
Dragon Reforged
(Gonard’s Journey #2)
by Chrys Cymri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Description
Having journeyed into the vast unknown beyond the protected domains, Gonard finds he must face the darkness within himself if he’s ever to find peace. Having walked the winds once, he’s determined to go again. But when he finds that the truth is much more than he can bear, will he lose himself entirely?
Review
I found these two books difficult to rate without the other. The struggles and journey are not a light one. The story begs the questions – what is a soul, and how do you determine who has one? It’s an interesting premise, and an incredible journey as the trio braves the world outside the protected domains on an Earth once ravaged by catastrophe, leaving the people and the world forever changed.
While book one takes us on more of an adventure, book two dives a little deeper into the darkness and despair, and carries us on a more slow and thorough sense of self-discovery and healing as the dragon has to dig past the hurt to find the truths that can set him free–or bury him once and for all.
Beautifully written and crafted, the ending was a bit harder and sadder than I would have cared for, and left me feeling a little hollow.
A thoughtful story for those willing to dig deep, but maybe not the best books for a casually entertaining read.
Actually, the author’s Penny White series
