【 A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS 】

book #1 in A Language of Dragons series

Genre: Fantasy [low fantasy]
Audience: Young Adult
Author: S.F. Williamson
Published: January 2025
Publisher: Harper Fire
Pages: 480 (paperback)

This was very unique and I completely adored the concept of the book. I will absolutely be needing the sequel, however, because I’m left feeling like I have more questions than I went in with!

This is a dragon book worth reading. I went to an author talk before reading this and the way that S.F. Williamson described the main character and her (the author’s) intentions behind her naiveity- and where the character development goes throughout the plot – really helped me to read this on a different and deeper level. Williamson described how she wanted to explore the rose-tinted POV of a privileged character who doesn’t see their own privilege – particularly in the sense of declaring yourself ‘not’ political, as only privilege really allows for that. I think I might have read this book much more superficially if I hadn’t had the author’s comments in the back of my head.

Set in a post-WWI world, this follows Vivien, a second-class girl studying dragon languages who’s ready to begin her life post-school and to excel. Except she’s clearly got a secret about her best friend’s demotion. In this world, if you don’t pass your final examination at school, you are demoted a class level (there are 3). And if you are third class, things are rough. But Vivien fully believes the government’s spiel about the greatness of the class system, and she has a real hard time believing that the government could have anything but the people’s best interest at heart.

But as things progress, the picture-perfect future that Vivien had imagined for herself is thrown out the window when her parents are arrested and she’s recruited by the government for some top-secret work.

I really enjoyed the elements of history and fantasy that Williamson has combined in this book. It draws heavily on Bletchley Park’s role during the war (code breaking) to present us with a super fun, fantastical idea where people are trying to secretly learn and crack secrets relating to dragons. The politics was gloriously messy and full of double-crossing, too.

What took away from this overall for me, was the real sense of stumbling when it came to Viven’s development as a character. It’s clear from the start that she has a lot of growing to do. But at times she just seems so thick to not step back and appreciate her own privilege. It also felt like one moment she would make a breakthrough (and omg, did these take a long time to happen), only in the next instant for her to reverse that character development. There were a couple of times where this was confusing, and I felt that she could have had the wool pulled from her eyes a bit sooner – and for it to have stayed off!

The other thing was that while I loved this so much, it was right at the last chapter that I realised this wasn’t going to have a complete arc of any story within book one. Personally, I find that a little detracting as a reader, as I’m left with no sense of satisfaction at the end of a 500-page book. I’d have liked a couple of loose ends tied off. What I’m hoping for in book two, is for things to pick up right back where we left off in book one, and for things to have an epic conclusion that makes up for the lack of a oomph at the end of this one.

In short, if you like history, dragons and languages, this is a book not to be missed – but it might be worth waiting until book 2 is out so you can binge them back to back!

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Title: A Language of Dragons
Series: A Language of Dragons
Author: S.F. Williamson
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EVERY ACT OF TRANSLATION REQUIRES SACRIFICE

Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must decide: What war is she really fighting?

An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.