Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

Dragonmeat is poison. But what if you’re starving?

Peri will do anything to keep her chronically ill father alive. Using her now useless scholarly talents to research thievery, she’s become a highly successful food thief—small, ordinary—invisible. In Medeas, gripped in the iron fist of its mad governor, ravaged by dragons, hiding is a way of life.

Then her stealing triggers a riot, and a mysterious stranger steps in to save her. Frost has food and he’s willing to share his secret…but talking to him might be the most dangerous thing Peri’s ever done. How can she find the courage to leave her safe shadows and take a stand when her father’s life hangs in the balance?

“WHAT DOES DRAGON TASTE LIKE?

That’s what people whisper to me in the dark, so no one else will hear.

Does it taste like blood, all copper and salt?

Charred and burnt, like ash in your mouth?

Like chicken, some people joke.’

The Dragon lover in me is still slightly horrified at the very idea; and yet at the same time what a fascinating idea of building Dragons into the world. It was only reading this novella, that it really occurred to me to ask what happens to Dragons once they die (although to be fair I grew up with Pern where they disappear Between), and I love that Boord looked at that question and answered it in her own inimitable style.

However, the best thing is that this question and answer, are only a small slice of a much bigger whole. And within this novella, Boord has brought her outstanding worldbuilding skills to bear, and Medeas was vividly brought to life as the background to a much more intimate story taking place on the pages. What I really liked that while Medeas is Peri’s world – and therefore our world for this story, it has the feeling of very much being part of a broader world. That if we followed Peri’s sister across the sea, the entire world would open up for us. Not only is this exactly what I love with worldbuilding, here it does a fantastic job of intensifying the feeling of isolation in this place deliberately cut off from the world. The fact that the characters – and we- know that more exists across the water, that there are more chances and choices, and where famine doesn’t define the patterns of existence and power; only highlights the horror of the situation this story is set in.

The Dragons are another fantastic part of the worldbuilding – and not just because of the idea of an additional food source (if you dare); but the way they have filtered into every aspect of life, even though we have what in actuality is only a fleeting encounter. I absolutely loved the idea of how Dragons come into being (and certainly want to learn more about that). But it was the way they were the reason the city had been cut off, the reason the famine and the ironhanded prison around the characters existed; even the source of ‘belief’ through the Dragon Temple, and cruelly a source of hope for those who would go to the Temple. Boord has taken dragons, and with but a single encounter, and the power of the worldbuilding around them, turned them into a threat that permeates everything – even when the action, and the worst violence comes from humans.

The real power of this novella though lies in the character work. Having read and adored Through Dreams so Dark, I already knew Boord is a master at creating compelling characters. And here we see that skill brought to bear with Peri – and that is why this story transcends its plot, because through our protagonist we get to experience a deeply personal, and emotional story, against the backdrop of a world determined to wear her into the ground. Firstly, the character voice is phenomenal – and to be honest, I loved her from the moment she adopted an academic approach to stealing, because it was so quirky and personal to her. Peri is bruised and hurting from the life forced on her by the world she lives in, bound to it by being the primary caregiver to her father, and yet, her heart is there on the page for all to see. The fact that she doesn’t bear her sister ill will for escaping this hell, but instead worries for her; and that every choice she makes, and question of morality circles back to her father.

Although we spend most of the time with Peri. I loved what Boord showed us of her father; and it was easy to see where Peri had got her heart from; and their interactions, especially in the moments of lucidity were some of my favourites in the book. And I just adored how Boord captured that dynamic, from the highs to the lows, and never lost sight of it.

Frost, we didn’t get to spend enough time with for me to truly feel like we got to know him. But what we did get was intriguing, and it felt like we were getting a glimpse of what Peri could have been if she didn’t have the grounding influence of her father. And I think that was perhaps one of the few weaknesses of this story, and that is because we were focused on Peri and her perspective and everything that came with that, we didn’t get to know the other characters quite as well. Yet at the same time, this story wouldn’t have had the same emotional impact with a different POV or more focus being given elsewhere.

Where I found Dragonmeat didn’t quite work as well for me was in the resolution. There was the reveal about Peri’s mother and what she had been doing, and  the fallout from that; as well as the ending to the novella as a whole, that both felt as though they could have done with having a bit more development. The reveal with her mother, was a fantastic twist and tied together some interesting threads, and the emotional impact was there – but it got a little lost in everything else. The ending had a lot happening; and while Boord brings together the threads in a way that had me on the edge of my seat – and cheering for Peri – and it finished on a rather abrupt note. And while, I can’t say I wasn’t as satisfied as someone who had just chowed down on Dragonmeat, I was just left wanting a little more; and I absolutely would love to see more of both Frost and Peri.

Dragonmeat is the perfect appetizer and has certainly moved the rest of Boord’s Eterean Empire series up my TBR; and while there were a few elements I would have liked to have seen expanded on, it is a wonderful story and character study in and of itself. If you like a world involving dragons, character driven fantasy and an inviting writing style that pulls you into the story, then this novella is one for you.