A Darkening of Dragons
The Songs of Magic series, Book 1
S. A. Patrick
Peachtree
Fiction, MG Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: When a half-frozen Patch Brightwater stumbled into the small mountain village, the people thought he was their hero: a Piper, albeit a young one, finally arriving to help them deal with the rats that are eating them out of house and home. But Patch isn't who they think, or hope, he is. True, he studied the art of magical music, but fled in disgrace and shame before finishing his training, and is now on the run from the Custodian Elite for playing tunes that are technically illegal - Dance songs, such as those once played by the infamous Piper of Hamelyn who stole away over a hundred human children before crossing to the dragon nations and doing the same to a hundred of their young. Though the madman has been imprisoned for over a decade, and Patch's music was nowhere near as powerful or malicious, the Pipers' Council takes a very dim view of anyone evoking even the slightest memory of the power that monster unleashed, which nearly led to war with the dragons. Worse, just when a pair of Custodians turn up to drag Patch back to justice, he learns that one of the town's rats is actually a girl, Wren, trapped in a rat body by a sorcerer... but he can hardly help her when he's probably going to be spending at least the next five years, likely more, in prison. Then he makes a startling, terrifying discovery - the man sealed in the iron mask may not be the real Piper of Hamelyn, scourge of humans and dragonkind alike. But, even with a magic rat and a friendly dracogriff, how is one disgraced (and now fugitive) Piper boy going to warn anyone, let alone stop a horrific plot that threatens the whole world?
REVIEW: After Pet Sematary, I figured I was due for something lighter, and A Darkening of Dragons fit the bill. (Plus it had dragons... and griffins. And dracogriffs, crosses between the two.) As promised by the cover and blurb, it's a reasonably straightforward fantasy adventure in a world of fantastic beasts, beings, sorcery, and songs with tangible magic, while also riffing on the Pied Piper fairy tale. From the start, Patch is a boy who tries his best but isn't above a little deception (even self-deception) and more than one mistake, such as the one that cost him his future as a proper Piper. Wren, too, is hiding some secrets, but is a steadfast companion nonetheless, if one who has few options: being a transformed rat isn't the kind of secret you can tell just anyone. As for the dracogriff Barver, he turned out to be my favorite character in the book, and not just because he melds two of my favorite fantasy creatures. Like the other two, he's an outcast in his own way as dracogriffs tend to be in this world, looked down on by both dragon and griffin sides of his family. His own journey, to fulfill his late mother's final requests, dovetails with that of the two humans in unexpected ways, and the trio make a solid adventuring team. Their travels are complicated by mishaps and misunderstandings and run-ins with one of Patch's old friends, now an apprentice Custodian Elite who may or may not be more loyal to his cloak than his fugitive friend. The whole tale moves well, with some nice emotional tweaks and a little more depth to it and the characters than I might've expected at the outset. The dangers faced here are not small or superficial for anyone, and they all understand what's at stake if they fail. It made for an entertaining read (or listen, rather, as another audiobook), and I'm looking forward to the second installment.
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