Anahrod lives only for survival, forging her own way through the harsh jungles of the Deep with her titan drake by her side. Even when an adventuring party saves her from capture by a local warlord, she is eager to return to her solitary life.
But this is no ordinary rescue. It’s Anahrod’s past catching up with her. These cunning misfits―and their frustratingly appealing dragonrider ringleader―intend to spirit her away to the dragon-ruled sky cities, where they need her help to steal from a dragon’s hoard.
There’s only one problem: the hoard in question belongs to the current regent, Neveranimas―and she wants Anahrod dead.
I try to avoid this. There is definitely a part of me that prefers to start at the beginning with an author’s work, especially if they haven’t published some wild number of books.
I’ve had the entirety of Jenn Lyons’s epic fantasy series, A CHORUS OF DRAGONS, sitting on my shelf for quite awhile. I’ve heard it’s amazing but also pretty challenging, and for sure, it’s a series I’ve felt a bit intimidated by. But it’s definitely still on my radar, and even more so after reading THE SKY ON FIRE! And as much as I do tend to prefer going in publication order with an author’s books, this was a great opportunity to read some of Lyons’s writing.
To the best of my understanding, THE SKY ON FIRE is a standalone, which is always cool! I always tend to think an author might return to a fantasy world they’ve created, but whether that happens or not, this one for sure succeeds as a standalone!
I’ll confess to feeling occasionally confused by this book, but like…I think deliberately so. There are major plot details that seem like they should be revealed very early in the story, but aren’t actually revealed until much later. It can definitely feel like you’ve missed something along the way, or like you just can’t really puzzle out a character’s motivations. But it all works out in the end, you just have to ride out some of the initial confusion.
Anahrod is our main character. We learn that she’s been accused of a crime she did not commit, and after a failed attempt to execute her, she’s been living in the Deep for nearly twenty years. This is a dense, dangerous, jungle-like landscape, where different cultures thrive, but survival is not easy. As compared to the Skylands, where those who are much better off dwell.
Anahrod has the magical ability to communicate with animals, including her titan drake, Overbite. She gets into a bit of a tight spot and is helped out by a small & enigmatic crew of people who don’t seem like they totally belong in the Deep. It all feels a bit too convenient, and as we learn, they were there looking for Anahrod all along.
The people in this world essentially live at the pleasure of the dragons who rule it. Including the dragon who sentenced Anahrod to death. The same dragon that this new crew of dragon riders & misfits want to rob. They’ve got an elaborate heist planned, and they believe Anahrod is the missing puzzle piece.
Hijinks ensue. So, so many hijinks. This one is WILD, kind of like a sexy, queer epic fantasy, but with all the moving pieces of a big summer blockbuster heist movie!
I loved this weird group of characters all working together (kinda?) in a sort of mini-rebellion. It’s an extremely diverse cast of characters in a queernorm world. I feel like every good fantasy novel with a somewhat-lovable group of misfits needs that one character who is excessively stabby & a little unhinged. In THE SKY ON FIRE, her name is Claw, and I love her. Badass, maybe not completely stable, wildly profane…Claw is such a standout character in this book!
There’s a whole lot going on here, and I’m not sure I’ve conveyed much of anything. Lyons does an impressive amount of worldbuilding in a standalone, providing us with lots of history & lore. The dialogue in particular is great here…it strikes the perfect balance of snark/sarcasm with genuine emotion, which I love. I think sometimes books can fall a little too far into the “endless banter” vibe and it can leave you feeling like the characters are a bit one-dimensional. But there’s a real humanity to the characters in THE SKY ON FIRE, which also makes you really feel the peril they are constantly facing.
I listened to a huge portion of this one on audio & thought the narrator, Lauren Fortgang, was great for this! She brings a lot of warmth & emotion to the characters, without going overboard on different accents. Just really solid narration all the way through!
This was a blast, start to finish! I still have every intention of getting to A CHORUS OF DRAGONS, hopefully somewhat soon. But in the meantime, I was really glad to get to read something by Jenn Lyons! If you are looking for a fun, thrilling, dragon-centric fantasy novel with the found family/one-last-heist vibes, THE SKY ON FIRE is probably right up your street! I dug this so much!
Many thanks to Tor Books for the ARC & Macmillan Audio for the audiobook! THE SKY ON FIRE is out today!
Grimdark Dad 