Tuesday, October 2, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan




In the Labyrinth of Drakes is the fourth book (of 5) of Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent, which follow Isabella, Lady Trent, as she travels the world to study Dragons.  I've said before how much I've enjoyed this series (which got a "Best Series" nomination in last year's Hugo Awards), and I'd previously noted that the series had seemed to get better with every additional book.  The series through 3 books had become maybe a bit formulaic (though again, I enjoyed that formula), but In the Labyrinth of Drakes actually mixes up that formula quite a bit - and the result is the best book in the series so far.

As you might expect, the fourth book in a series is not the best place to pick it up, and that's definitely the case here - this book heavily picks up plot threads from the prior three books and a character from book 3 returns and plays a major role here and new readers will miss quite a lot.  But this book pays off those older plot threads in spades, and its final 40% just made me incredibly happy when I was listening to it (as an audiobook) in the car.


------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------
Due to the need for a replenish-able supply for Dragonbone, the Skirling military has become interested in breeding Dragons - such as Desert Drakes.  After the military's first expert fails at the task, the military is forced to call in the foremost experts on dragon naturalism:  Tom Wilker and Isabella Camhurst.  And so off Isabella and Tom go to the Desert Nation of Akhia, in hopes of learning not just about Desert Drakes, but of learning the secret of breeding dragons in general.

So begins the fourth of Isabella, Lady Trent's memoirs, detailing her trip to Akhia, notorious and famous in this world.  For while Isabella arrived solely with the intent of studying Dragons, she found quite a bit more in the Desert Country of Akhia - Ancient Draconian Ruins, International Espionage and Intrigue, a Tribal Civil War, and more.

And then there was her reunion with the archaeologist Suhail, who last traveled with her around the world in her last memoir.   When the two of them met once again, this time in Suhail's native land, Isabella's life would never quite be the same....well, in the aspects that weren't her chasing of dragons, at least.
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For three books, The Memoirs of Lady Trent had a fairly consistent formula, albeit one that had a few minor changes here and there from book to book.  Each book would begin with Isabella in Scirland for a brief period before following her, Tom and other travelling companions to a foreign land to study dragons (or for Book 3, on a worldwide voyage instead of to a single foreign land).  Each attempt to find dragons would face interference at first from difficulties stemming from sociopolitical factors, with Isabella and Tom finally making discoveries about the dragons they were seeking....only to eventually get involved with a greater-scope political conflict that threatens them and the country they are visiting, which through various hijinks they manage to solve.

In the Labyrinth of Drakes changes things up quite a bit, and in the process is the best book yet in the series.  Our Dragon Naturalist Duo immediately journeys to a foreign land yes (Akhia), but doesn't have to deal with sociopolitical issues before beginning their study of dragons - this is not to say those issues don't come up, of course they do (since they're the crux of this series' conflicts). Moreover, while political conflicts between foreign powers do affect the story, they are, for the first time, not involved with the climax of this story, which is more scientific (discovery-wise) in nature.  The series is now well developed enough that it doesn't need an overarching conflict to center the plot around and is all the better for realizing it.

Of course it is the characters who make this series as fun as enjoyable as it is, and that is still the case here.  Isabella is still fantastic as the reckless lover of science heroine at the center of this series, and her older self's narration remains utterly excellent, and often hilarious (there were numerous points where I was cracking up in the car while listening to this book).  Tom Wilker remains a very solid companion and here to serve as a extra encouraging presence to Isabella's adventures is her brother Andrew, making his largest appearance in the series to date.  This book does honestly have less interesting side characters besides the main group than prior books, largely I suspect because this is the first time Isabella is getting access to dragons right away and doesn't need much of their help.

And then there's Suhail.  Suhail was introduced last book, and any reader of the series would guess he's going to return in this book, given that he was last seen returning to his homeland of Akhia.  Isabella's relationship with Suhail, not to spoil anything, is absolutely perfect, as the two are very similar in so many ways - both being scientists of a sort not respected as they should be for their passion by their families and who have both taken time away from their passions for the sake of duty....and become depressed as a result of it.  I really don't want to spoil anything here, but I'll just say their interactions were part of what made me laugh at times in this book and the climactic part of their interactions (which occurs before the climax of this book) is utterly and completely lovely and just sooooooo well done.

I'll be listening to the concluding audiobook in this series probably in the last week of September, and man am I going to be sad when I have nothing left to read in it, as this series has continued to make me damn happy as I've gone through it.

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