Book Review
Title: First Flight (Dragon School #1)
Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Rating: ****
Review: So I have read the first 16 books in this 20 books series before but it was during the time where the books were being published so there were large gaps between books and I stopped reading after Dragon Piper but with Sarah Wilson’s new series, I decided I would re-read the series as the books are short. We are introduced to our protagonist, Amel, who has a disability but wants to become a Dragon Rider and become one of the Dominion Sky People and she is at her dragon choosing ceremony although she will be one of the last to go. The first people to choose their dragon is High Castelan Savette Leedris who ends up choosing a red dragon named Eeamdor and the next chooses a golden dragon. We learn that the colour of your dragon determines your position in society, Red dragons are war dragons while Golden ones are diplomats.
Amel ends up being chosen by a purple dragon named Raolcan despite being warned that purple dragons are the hardest to gentle because of their terrible tempers but he has chosen her because of her desire to become a dragon rider and overcome her disability which was caused by no fault of her own. However, her fellow initiates don’t want anything to do with her believing that she is going to die in their first week of training. It turns out that their dragons are wild and need to be gentled and bonded with in their first flight but Amel’s being able to speak to Raolcan through her mind, seems to indicate that she already has a bond with her dragon and from what I remember about the series, Amel doesn’t have any problem with her dragon really. She knows she is going to need courage to survive and is reminded by Raolcan that he wouldn’t have chosen her if she didn’t have courage. In learning to care for her dragon, Amel meets a Purple dragon rider named Leng Shardson who tells her there are only a few purple riders because purple dragons are incredibly hard to catch and above all else, Purple riders are prided for their courage and the level headedness. Raolcan seems different to all the other dragons as Amel doesn’t have a scratch yet other students have suffered burns and one boy even has his arm bitten off by his dragon, although he won’t to the school as he needs both arms to ride a dragon. Savette has been helping Amel but even she manages to offend her when she says that cripples can’t be riders.
Despite not knowing much about the school and how it works due to her peasant’s upbringing, Amel does find someone willing to explain things to her in Tamas Dawes although Starie is doing everything in her power to make Amel’s time at the school, not matter how brief it might be, a living hell by keeping her in the dark about things she should know and treating her like someone beneath her when all newbies are held on the same rank by the rest of the school. As the time of their bonding approaches, Amel wonders whether she is doing the right thing by binding Raolcan to her. However, he informs her that it is better for him to be bound to her, who understands loneliness and servitude rather than someone else who wouldn’t treat him as well. As she is torn between becoming a dragon rider or a servant, Leng is the one who tells her that it isn’t the body that determines a good rider but their spirit and he can already tell that Amel is one of them and even shows her more closely what she will have to do during her first flight. As the time comes for Amel to make her decision is obviously chooses to become a dragon rider even if it means everyone voting for her to jump first and take the honour of the First Flight, even if there is a 50% chance she will die.
The final scenes of the book are dedicated to the First Flight as it has been moved up o that night. Anyone who hasn’t taken the First Flight by dawn is relegated to being a servant for the rest of their life. Some choose this and other chicken out at the final moment but Amel is firm through it all but the odds are against them as it is night and there is a strong storm, but Raolcan assures her that he won’t drop her and that she needs to trust him for this to work. Amel however, has been replaced as the first rider due to her disability and Jael is given that honour although it results in his death, Amel’s jump goes well but Savette is struggling as her dragon is tangled up in his reins and Amel cuts through them for her to get to safety which begins the friendship they develop through the course of the series. Overall, First Flight was a great start to the series even if it did involve a lot of set up but we do get to see the beginning of the friendship between Savette and Amel, the budding relationship between Amel and Leng and the rivalry between Amel and Starie which will lead to much darker things later on.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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