S. F. Williamson's A Language of Dragons

Thanks to partners NetGalley and HarperCollins for the digital ARC of S. F. Williamson’s A Language of Dragons.

S. F. Williamson’s A Language of Dragons is a perfect read if you love fantasy or history or romantasy (though I wouldn’t call it romantasy, really). This 1923 alternate history is set in a London on the cusp of war. Vivien Featherswallow is a solid member of a Second Class family, privileged to have won a place studying dragon languages and—she hopes—following in the footsteps of her mother, a successful academic. Viv hopes that, by succeeding academically, she can ensure that her family retains their place in the center of society.

Viv’s life descends into turmoil in just moments when the adults in her family are arrested as rebels, and the stability that Viv counted on for her cousin, her younger sister, and herself disappears. Viv acts quickly to try to regain some sense of control, landing herself in a tenuous position whose only remedy is agreeing to work for the government that threatens everyone she loves.

Williamson plays with British war history, bringing Vivien into a team of rivals stationed at Bletchley Park who are tasked with uncovering truths about each facet of dragon life. As a civil war creeps closer, Viv desperately works to translate the dragons’ echolocation, which her teacher thinks may represent the key to unlocking their secrets.

The story unfolds from there, a delicious mix of history with dragons and intellectual challenges and cutthroat academic competition.

I loved so much about this book. Viv is a complex character who has made some poor decisions in the past that have betrayed some of the people closest to her, and watching her claw her way toward better decisions is incredibly compelling. The world building is just fascinating, and I appreciated Williamson’s ability to transform historical details around . . . dragons. The dragons themselves add another layer to the central story: they are prickly and independent and just as complex as the human characters at the center of the story. A Language of Dragons is a fantastic debut from Williamson, an author I’ll be following.          

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