Curse of the Dragon
by Richard Fierce
Date: 2023
Publisher: Dragonfire Press
Reading level: YA
Book type: short story
Pages: 15
Format: e-book
Source: BookFunnel
One misstep can change a life. When Mina stumbles upon an abandoned dragon cave, she finds more than she bargained for. This is a prequel short story that leads into the series Marked by the Dragon. It doesn't have spoilers, but rather expands what the main series mentions.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
This short story is a unicorn indeed: a
self-published work that's technically competent. The author clearly has
a good command of grammar and punctuation (or he has an editor who
does). Unfortunately, the story itself is rather weak, marred by a few
continuity issues and a lot of... well, nothing happening.
The
first half is literally a twelve-year-old girl wandering about, trying
to be helpful. The second half is where the action starts and ends, but
in a 15-page story, that doesn't leave a lot of room for plot
development. Basically, this is just a snippet of backstory that
explains how the main character in the Marked by the Dragon series got
her start.
It's possible that the main books in the series are
stronger. But, given that so much time in an already short story is
spent on irrelevant wandering, I'm a bit wary. The first full book in
the series is free, though, so if you're really into dragons, you might
want to check it out. However, I'm not sure if this prequel short story
is really necessary.
Characters: 2/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
Overall Rating: 2.71 out of 5 ladybugs
