β Scribed by Cross, Janine
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Set in Malacar, a land with a repressive patriarchal society that both worships and enslaves dragons, Cross's bold debut introduces headstrong nine-year-old Zarq Darquel, who lives a harsh but not completely unpleasant life as a member of the pottery clan on a dragon estate. When destitution forces her father to sell Waisi, Zarq's beautiful older sister, into sexual slavery, her mother, Kavarria, who belongs to the disdained Djimbi race, tries to save Waisi at all costs, but more tragedy follows. Zarq, her life governed by her mother's madness and obsession, eventually winds up as a sexually mutilated nun caring for retired bull dragons. Turning the fantasy clichΓ© of the underdog girl who dreams of dragon-mastery into a grim but fascinating coming-of-age tale, Cross scratches only the surface of this richly detailed, well-imagined world. Hints of a plot involving social and religious revolution hold promise for future installments of the Dragon Temple saga.
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A compelling and harrowing journey...a vividly rendered world. -- Jacqueline Carey
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"Like her half-breed mother, young Zarq Darquel can't always hold her tongue as she should. A lowly peasant on a large dragon estate in Malacar, she goes unnoticed by the watchful eye of the Temple of the Dragon, despite her rebellious ways - until she accidentally captures the attention of an eccen