What is it about dragons which fascinates us, which leads to them taking so many forms and roles in our imaginations? Old beast stories like Beowulf; crafty, greedy monsters in fairy tales and classic fantasies; wondrous zoological specimens in Memoirs of Lady Trent; mounts and companions in dozens of dragonriding traditions from Pern to Eragon; villainous, poisons wyrms in Norse mythology; glorious, divine beings in Eastern traditions: always, dragons appear, taking new forms and new roles as their stories require. And always they attract our fascination.
The particular incarnation of the creatures in DragonForged is as god-like beings, and the story has a certain mythical overtone. It is an origin story, a prequel to Justin C. Orr’s upcoming fantasy series, and if the dragons don’t create humans as an accidental byproduct of a cow licking some salt, readers of this site will doubtless recognize the way creation stories from real-world cultures are echoed in this implementation. However, this is not an example of mythtelling. It does not have that tone nor form, and it’s not supposed to have it; it’s a fantasy novella about dragons which just happens to have some interesting resonances if you share some of the preoccupations I indulge here on the site.
Orr’s writing is fast and lean, providing just enough context to orient readers to the world while propelling them through the plot like a diving dragon. His transparent prose contributes to the effect, giving DragonForged a distinctly modern feel despite the resonances with some of humanity’s oldest stories. What most distinguishes the overall approach, though, is what Orr describes as a “bright fantasy” tone (in contrast to dark or grimdark fantasy). Indeed, he’s building his brand around this notion of bright fantasy, which he describes as the marriage of the ideals and nobility depicted in an earlier era’s fantasy with the pacing and rhetoric of modern stylistic preferences. Sometimes, it’s a relief to return to stories with cleaner themes and clearer lines between good and evil. DragonForged, and the series for which it serves as prequel, is written as adult speculative fiction, but it could easily be recommended for younger readers, too.
Unlike most of my other recommendations, DragonForged is not something I happened to come across and want to share with all you readers. Justin is part of my writing group, and I read and critiqued early drafts of DragonForged and other installments in the series. Now, he’s trying to get his start in self-publishing with an ambitious schedule of book releases, starting with DragonForged. While I haven’t read the final version of the story, I’m looking forward to seeing how it turned out when it’s published, and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to support a fellow writer seeking to make his debut.
DragonForged is available as a free ebook at Orr’s website: Bright Fantasy Books. It will be available as a paperback and hardcover with two bonus chapters from his next book, DragonGods, which will debut in December of this year. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, bright fantasy implementation of the classic origin story with dragons, I encourage you to give it a try.
IGC Publishing 