Synopsis:
When a dragon finds an assassin sneaking into his lair, he tells her of his life’s work and his soon to be final chapter.
For the past thousand years, the dragon Vakandi has watched the people of Vakfored grow from a wandering band of refugees to a glorious city of art and magic. Under his protection, the city has survived monsters, floods, and wars all without building an army, dam, or even a wall. But time changes everything and now the citizens of his beloved city want him dead.
Vakandi spends his last day telling his assassin why he loves them, and why it’s his time to die.
Review:
The Sunset Sovereign: A Dragon’s Memoir is just one quirky book that shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s heartfelt. It’s heartbreaking. It’s funny. It’s joyous. It’s just a damn good read.
The premise of this story is fairly simple. A dragon named Vakandi lives in a mountain somewhat near this big city and over the years, people have tried to kill him. The latest person is Sisal. Armed with some magic, she thinks she’ll be able to end the dragon’s threat and save her city, and return a hero. But when Sisal gets to Vakandi’s lair, things take a turn when the dragon admits he will leave said lair and never return if he can tell Sisal his story.
What unfolds is a masterclass in translating parenthood into a fantasy story. Without going into too much that it becomes spoiler territory, the history of Sisal’s city runs parallel to Vakandi’s life, as he had played an integral part in its growth and prosperity. Vakandi sees the city as his child almost, and as with all parent/children stories, hard lessons and emotions take hold. Using that analogy, we are witness to the hard decisions a dragon takes toward his surrogate child, the heartbreaking and the loving, the ones he knows will cause pain if only for their betterment. As a parent, I couldn’t help but feel this connection to Vakandi.
This story is told in two timelines: the present with Vakandi fighting/bantering/serving soup with Sisal, and Vakandi’s flashbacks. The present timeline is fantastic, and in my opinion the better of the two. There is lots of action, lots of distrust (mostly from Sisal’s POV), lots of funny dialogue, and the true growth by characters. I just loved Sisal’s and Vakandi’s interactions. Huie’s true characterization really hits here. The flashbacks are episodic in nature, usually jumping forward through time after spending a scene with Sisal. These are third person POV style, almost omniscient at times despite clearly staying with Vakandi. These episodes show the formation of the city to its present day and where Vakandi stands in the eyes of its people. A lot of the worldbuilding and plot stakes are placed in these flashbacks.
Huie’s prose is a highlight as she teeters between emotions, especially in Sisal’s present timeline POVs. You can really get a sense of sadness, of joy, of love in Vakandi’s flashbacks that are fleshed out in the present. It’s just superb. If I had any quibble, I wish the flashback scenes were written in first person POV (shocker, I know since I don’t usually like 1st POV!). I think that really would’ve given even more gravity to Vakandi’s tale, but that’s a small thing as we still get every emotion we need. This is also a quick read, around 200 pages.
The Sunset Sovereign: A Dragon’s Memoir is a triumph of storytelling. It’s unique hook and style make this a wonderful read, one that deserves all the plaudits it receives. Highly recommend!
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