The Rage of Dragons tells the story of the Omehi people who have been at war with the Hedeni for the past two hundred years. In a society in which every man and woman is destined to fight and die in an endless war, Tau Tafari, a young man from Kerem, plans to live a different life. So when his closest family is murdered, Tau decides to avenge them by becoming the greatest swordsman who has ever lived, even if it means he will have to die a thousand times, in order to kill the ones responsible for the death of Tau's loved ones.
Evan Winter's The Rage of Dragons, first instalment in The Burning quadrilogy, is a captivating Xhosa-inspired military fantasy debut novel told in third-person narrative whose prose was punchy and epigrammatic and whose pacing was perfectly executed.
What I immensely enjoyed in this book were: the rich world-building, the well-thought and unique magic system as well as the great character work. Tau's introspection, decisions and reactions were developed in such a way that you truly felt that he was a human being and not some emotionless machine (like some other fantasy main protagonists).
Regarding the fighting scenes, there were lots and lots of them! But I guess that is the purpose of military fantasy. In any case, the author kept me on the edge of my seat every time Tau and his scale were thrown into battle. These were enthralling, intense and suspenseful scenes during which I feared for the protagonists' lives and rightfully so as Evan Winter isn't scared to kill off characters you have spent some time with.
However, I do have a few issues with The Rage of Dragons. My first problem with Even Winter's novel is that even though the Omehi society seems to be built on a matriarchal system, female characters are quite absent in the story itself. To the exception of Zuri and Queen Tsiora, the rest of the Omehi women were left in the background without being given much importance but I have the feeling that things will turn out different in the next book. The other issue I had with The Rage of Dragons was that I found the plot slightly predictable and yet, it was an extremely satisfying read.
To conclude, Evan Winter's The Rage of Dragons is a strong debut novel that offers a unique and fascinating African (Xhosa)-inspired world brimming with action and fighting scenes. If you are into military fantasy, I highly recommend you to read this first instalment. As for myself, I am looking forward to November 2020 when the second book in The Burning series will finally be released so that I may once more be transported to the land of Xidda.
Winter, E., The Rage of Dragons, London, Orbit, 2017.