Living in Times of Dragons Review

Action and Suspense

Living in the Times of Dragons begins in the mundane, although Roger Rommel’s normal life was exciting enough before the dragons crash into it, rather literally. The story establishes a pattern of slower suspenseful scenes and explosive draconic action.

Roger is almost always being held against his will by one party or another, which keeps the reader wondering how he will get out of this. He continuously battles for his own agency. These “slower” scenes feature a great deal of interpersonal tension and intrigue as reluctant allies try to control what others know and no one really trusts one another.

The action is varied and imaginative. There is more than one chase scene, and the solution to the question of “how do you escape from a monstrous flying lizard” is never quite the same.

Modern-Day Fantasy

I enjoyed the modern setting in South Africa. The author’s familiarity with the area comes through in vivid descriptions, and its limited application as a setting for fantasy kept it feeling fresh and purposeful, as opposed to “generic modern city” or “pseudo-European historic setting.”

Dragons

The dragons themselves are gratifyingly grounded in classic tropes in all the right ways.

The “dragons returning” trope is wonderfully done here, emphasizing the initial chaos and looming disaster peppered with short conflicts rather than an immediate, all-out war. The convention of dragon colors being indicative of their breath weapon is present here, but it is ultimately incorporated into the larger thematic direction and is not a superficial lore shorthand.

Rather than animalistic monsters or near divine beings, Pretorius’s dragons are intelligent creatures with their own culture, subspecies, and coalitions. And yet each dragon character is unique. I enjoyed the “humanoid” behaviors that the dragons had picked up from interacting with people and their interest in the vocabulary of spoken languages (their projected thoughts are automatically translated).

Spoiler

There is one more dragon trope I want to discuss, but it is a bit spoilery. That is the idea of a human turning into a dragon. While this is often something a villain does, it is not uncommon for heroes as well. 

Pretorius instead takes this in a body horror direction that manages to be creepy, alarming, and gruesome. It is an effective twist on the trope that leaves the reader reeling with Roger.

Complex Hero

Roger is a well-developed main character. He is certainly no generic hero designed as a reader stand-in. In fact, it is debatable if the term “hero” applies to him at all.

I hesitate to use the label “anti-hero” as it has come to mean something that doesn’t quite fit. Roger is not standing in opposition to the traditional hero, presenting some critique of heroic virtues or objective morality. He does act out of personal motivations and necessity, occasionally behaves in a villainous manner, and his struggles are perhaps more “realistic” than your typical dragon-bane protagonist.

But for the most part (and while he may grow as the series progresses) in Living in Times of Dragons, Roger is primarily an ordinary man. He is trying to the right thing, but it isn’t always clear what that is, except tragically in hindsight.

He doesn’t reject the “call to adventure” so much as prioritize other things: his responsibilities as a father, his loyalty to a good friend, and his own desire to not be manipulated by others. As he gains a better understanding of the true villain’s plans, he is not passive or tolerant towards evil, nor reluctant to stand against them. Furthermore, his own personal flaws are treated as moral failures and not gray standards or relatable quirks.

Strange Bedfellows

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about Living in Times of Dragons is the enemies-to-friends pattern seen between Roger and other characters. While it is not taken to the extent that it is in, say, In Darkness Cast, Roger has several relationships that begin antagonistic and grow into friendship or uneasy alliance through forced association.

These relationships are naturally filled with tension, provide opportunities for banter and other humor, as well as occasion natural-feeling discussions of differing values. The fact that these are not only between humans, but also with dragons, make these particularly engaging.

Fatherhood and Failure

The struggle between Roger and all the forces pulling him in different directions is exciting, but it must be acknowledged that this story is perhaps equally about his struggle with himself. As a result, there is a lot of time spent in his head. The dream powers can make this quite a literal experience.

Roger is dealing with a lot of emotional baggage: grief, guilt, anger, resentment towards authority, desire to be in control. There are some very raw depictions of the struggle with sin.

All of this impacts his relationship with his son.

I’ve reviewed some awesome stories with aspirational father/son relationships, such as TJ Marquis’s Out of the Deep, where the main character grows by applying his heroic values to his relationship with his father, or Michael Kane’s After Moses series, where the found family has a father figure who takes on concrete responsibilities. Collateral Damage by Adam S. Furman has a father dodging under a kaiju/mech battle in a desperate search for his son.

Living in Times of Dragons is not like these. Roger loves his son. He wants to protect him from the new dangers they face. But he is not necessarily a good father and this grieves him.

Christianity and Fiction

Roger is wrestling with hard things, fatherhood and his own sin nature in particular. He feels sort of trapped by himself, wanting to be better and only able to overcome in small measures. He is also limited by circumstances beyond his control and struggles to trust God’s sovereignty.

This story does not sterilize Christianity with perfect faith that provides easy answers. Nor does it feature the miraculous resolution of all problems upon receiving salvation. Roger is not a new convert, and the story is not pushing the reader to accept Jesus into their heart.

The theme is a sort of acknowledgement that doing the right thing is hard. We aspire to be good parents, to be heroic in our everyday lives, but that is not always easy. Sometimes we seem to sabotage ourselves, other times the deck seems stacked against us.

Roger’s tiny steps of progress can be a comfort. Even something as simple as turning to prayer more regularly is a win against the broken self.

Small Wins

The main plot mirrors this “baby steps” of progress. Some readers might call the ending a cliff hanger, although there is no life-or-death question left unresolved. The main questions of the story have not been resolved. How could they be? They involve dragons and multiple worlds.

Even the climax falls a bit short—leaving Roger with a win, but not one that seems particularly decisive. There is, however, a sense of resolution. Roger has a plan, and he is moving forward. This sort of ending will have plenty of readers reaching for the next book.

Check Out Living in Times of Dragons!

Living in Times of Dragons is an exciting adventure and a genuine look at what it takes to overcome hard things. I look forward to reading more of the Remnant King series!