The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for generations. The lucky ones are born gifted: some have the power to call down dragons, others can be magically transformed into bigger, stronger, faster killing machines.
Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Tau Tafari wants more than this, but his plans of escape are destroyed when those closest to him are brutally murdered.
With too few gifted left, the Omehi are facing genocide, but Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will strive to become the greatest swordsman to ever live, willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people.
By Else
The Rage of Dragons is set in a world in which the Ohemi people have been chased out of their homeland and landed upon new shores where they’ve had to fight to get a foothold. The Ohemi are subdivided into Nobles and Lessers. Nobles are bigger, stronger, faster and less expendable than Lessers. Tau, our main character, is a Lesser and wants to settle down, get married and just live a happy life. But life is not fair, and instead he sets out on a path of vengeance
This book is based on Xhosa mythology, and it is SO good. Women can be born as Gifted, meaning they can use gifts to help warriors fight and ultimately summon dragons (hence, the rage of them). Evan Winters doesn’t just hand you explanations on a silver platter; he likes to reveal twists and turns while on the go.
This is a dark, twisty fantasy book, with some happier notes of friendship and finding each other, and also a scathing critique of class divide and colonialism. Tau, the main character, had me simultaneously rooting for him and being so annoyed at some of his choices, but in an endearing and understandable way.
I was so engrossed in this book that I finished it in the last minutes before a shift, and my colleagues can probably attest to how focused I was. I even had the good fortune of finishing it the same day as my order of part two, The Fires Of Vengeance, came in, so I could continue on reading right away. Unfortunately, I don’t know the release date for the third book yet, but books 1 and 2 are definitely worth the read.
