Solar Flare: Science Fiction News

Steal the Dragon is Patricia Briggs second book and is an indirect sequel of sorts to her first, Masques. I say indirect, because while the book is set in the same fantasy world as Masques and obliquely references some of the events of the previous book, only a couple of minor characters make it into the new book

Instead we are presented with a new heroine, the former slave and now horse trainer Rialla. As a character I actually find her more interesting than the heroine from Masques, probably because she has a few more flaws.

The style of storytelling here is very similar to Briggs first book, but does show a little more polish. In this case there were really only two scenes that struck me as out of place and only one where the sudden jump to a different point of view character was unjustified.

Thematically we’re on similar territory too as there is a larger “evil” at work, but our story centers firmly on two characters and their own small part in something much larger. In fact Briggs takes this approach a step further and clearly leaves things open for a continuation of some sort at the end of the book while hinting that these particular characters have probably done all they are going to do.

My biggest criticism of the book is the lack of perceived danger for the central characters. They appear to waltz in and out of any captivity with minimal effort and I never really felt like there was an actual threat to them. That rather limited my emotional reaction to them and probably reduced the intensity of the romance that Briggs made a focal point of the book.

For more about this author see Authors I Enjoy - Patricia Briggs.