Book Review
Title: Dragon Piper (Dragon School #16)
Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Rating: ****
Review: After the ending of Pipe of Wings we re-join Amel in the aftermath of using the mysterious pipe to summon dragons, but she has also gravely injured her good leg in the process, leaving her all but lame. Amel has also been sick with a fever for days so others have had to deal with the dragons and the refugees fleeing from the war and Amel is trying to figure out what her next move is given her current situation. As her fever breaks and she recovers her strength, Ephretti asks Amel to accompany her and Dax to Vanika, with all these dragons they might be able to take back the sky city which is currently under the control of the Dusk Covenant.
As they begin journeying towards Vanika instead of south, we learn it is because if they retake the city, they will have access to the warrens which would get them south a lot faster than flying. However, Amel is still learning how to use the pipes which seem much stronger when an actual tune is played on it and Amel is having to learn on the go, how to use it correctly. By the time they reach the outskirts of the sky city, the Baojang army isn’t far behind them and they have to form a plan quickly to figure out what is actually going on in the city before they attack as they don’t want to harm any innocent people that might still be there. In order, to do that they have to figure out where their enemy is based before they attack, however, Amel is still plagued by visions and she sees Hubric at a city not far away from them and she knows Savette is still in Dominion City and she needs to get there as soon as she can.
Ephretti ends up kidnapping a boy from the city named Tor and Amel works out he has lived in Vanika most of his life and agrees to protect his loved ones and friends in return for the information they want about the sky city and the enemies hiding within and Tor agrees to the arrangement. The night before they plan to attack the city Amel is awoken by Tor trying to escape but he is stopped by Hubric. Amel is glad to be reunited with her mentor and immediately begins filling him in on everything that has happened since they parted way so long ago, even if it wasn’t that long ago. Hubric notices how much Amel has grown as a dragon rider in the time they have been apart and asks her to fill him in on their plan to retake Vanika, although like Amel he is not happy about the possibility of going through the warrens again.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, the plan to take back Vanika goes ahead, however, very quickly things start to go wrong. Amel realises that there has been little rain in the sky city and the timber that supports every building is quickly alit and the city ablaze. Amel tries her hardest to temper the flames while dragons work on rescuing people and creating a safe path out of the city. In her search for survivors Amel is attacked and almost killed by some Dusk Covenant agents but is saved by Tor. Together after rescuing everyone, Ephretti dives back into the city and it seems to her death but as it starts to rain and the fire dampen, Amel witnesses Ephretti’s return making her thing of a prophecy referring to someone twice dead which is obviously Ephretti. However, Jalla decides to arrive at this time and is furious with her slave although Amel refuses to bend to that position any longer since Hubric declared her a full dragon rider, but Jalla does want the pipe back even if she can’t use it and I have a feeling that Amel isn’t going to hand it over that easily. Overall, the pacing of Dragon Piper was a little slow for me and the appearance of Jalla at the end really put me off, because I hate her. However, this is the last book in the series that I read previously so the rest is uncharted territory for me.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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