Ascendant by Michael R. Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, I was craving dragon fantasy and I came across this one being highly recommended, so I told my buddy reader and we got onto it.

So, here's the real deal: it's written well. No complaints. It hits all the tropes you'd expect in a new-modern Eragon YA fantasy, which was, itself, an old genre. No problem there.

However--there is a glut of current books doing almost exactly the same thing at this time. I've read 3 different properties just last year, within the last 4 years of publications, that have an almost carbon-copy feel. Scourges, dragons, young kids with links, and--to put no fine line on it--an almost LitRPG feel to it. Or rather, an actual LitRPG feel to it.

I don't mind that. Truly. Hard magic systems and LitRPGs go hand-in-hand. So when we get into foods giving precise special effects, discussing complicated bonds between dragons and riders and the different effects, I'm in very comfortable territory. And the story itself is also very comfortable territory.

So, if I'm going to be generous here, I'd say this is a proper and fine book for any youngster who wants to fall in love with dragons afresh. Or for any one of us who just want to recapture that feel.


Just don't assume it'll break any new ground, and you'll be just fine. It ain't aged wine. It's grape juice. Sweet, wholesome, and gentle. Yes, gentle even with scourges and grief.




Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

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