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Drakon
A hundred years ago, the dragons abandoned Russia and defected to Turkey. Ever since, the Tarasov family has held the Russian border. Now, as war looms in the south and the century-old mystery of the Defection cracks open, the Tarasovs must face their family’s old sins and put aside their differences … or watch Russia fall.
560 pages, Paperback
First published December 9, 2016
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August 2, 2025
No history of Russia was complete without at least an attempt to account for the Defection, and popular novels and plays were stuffed so full of dragons that Kesha had entirely given up on reading Russian fiction. However mad the Germans were, they at least had the grace to confine their fiction to the dealings of madmen.
He was disinterested in dragons. The cities romanticized them, and the borderlands destroyed them; the anatomists cut them open, and the taxidermists sewed them together again. Kesha preferred to leave them entirely alone.
And yet, in the tortured verse of the dragons, he felt the edge of something like lightning in the vastness of the heavens.
There's nothing so terrifying as a world that we can't navigate. We want to break it apart and put it together again in shapes that we understand.
~~I have read numerous fantasy novels containing dragons, some of which are intelligent. I was surprised and impressed with how Tuomala integrates dragons into the story arc here, though. The story arc begins by showing them in a typical feared, powerful, enemy role. But as we are increasingly immersed in the alternate-history world, we see that dragons are actually very intelligent, sentient, and capable of emotion--even poetry. Some dragons are hellbent on war and revenge, while others long for peace, and simply want land to live on, undisturbed. The above artistic rendering closely matches my mental image of a young female dragon named Aysel who rescued Kesha from near certain death as he escaped being held prisoner by his sister.
First two sentences: Innokentiy Vladimirovich Tarasov was called Kesha by his intimates, of whom he had very few. He lived with his brother in the spare rooms of a respectable widow, who lodged scholars at discounted rates out of a sincere approbation for classical education.
Vital statistics: Author's home: western New York
Year written: 2016
Length: 549 pages
Setting: Russia, in the late 1800's. Most of the action takes place in a small village in the southern "borderlands", with brief scenes in St. Petersburg and Turkey.
Genre: Alternate history with a dash of fantasy, plenty of thrilling action, and a bit of mystery.
Read if: You enjoy realistic fantasy with a complex storyline and interesting characters.
My two cents: Every now and then a book takes me completely by surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect when I cracked open Drakon , but I am happy to report that I was absolutely delighted. The pages flew by, and even though the book is hefty, it didn't drag at all. I devoured it in just under a week. The prose is gorgeous, the dialogue is interesting, and the characters come alive. I *loved* the treatment and development of the dragon race. While tagged as book #1 in a series by my library, it is fine to read as a stand alone. Given 4.5 stars or a rating of "Outstanding." Highly recommended!!
Other favorite quotes (there are a LOT!): If Petya never returned from the borderlands, then Kesha would have no reason to delay asking. Although his landlady and her salons were intellectually stimulating, Kesha had no sentimental attachment to the room that he and Petya had shared for three years. Without his brother's clutter of engineering diagrams and wire models, his unwashed clothes lying in a little heap in the corner and his faint, wheezing snore at night...without all of that, the room was only a room, as good as any other and perhaps worse than many.
~~As old Starikovich liked to say, a thesis was like a stubborn colt. It would not begin to move without diligent coaxing--and once it had begun to move, if one did not rein it in, it would careen away too quickly to be arrested. "Which means, young Tarasov," he said, rapping Kesha's knuckles with his walking stick to punctuate his point, "you mustn't get so excited to have written anything at all that you let yourself write some stinking pile of horse shit."
~~"Now you can tell him, when he asks, that you went to drink with your family. Even an Englishman can't begrudge you a few drinks with your family." Ah, thought Petya, as he apprehended his father's rhetorical mode. It had always been Vladimir Tarasov's way to speak his commands as though they were inevitable, no more to b e opposed than the coming of winter--as though he did not even need to employ the imperative. Kesha had called him a high-handed tyrant of a man, and although Petya loved their father, he couldn't disagree.
~~"You are the warmest," he said, "Very warm."
"And you are rudest," replied Aysel sharply. "Your grammar depletes my patience. Sit, man. My charity is finite."
~~"I'm sorry," Petya said, and he began to twist the string fastener of his portfolio around one fingertip. "I know this is--"
"Irregular," Utkin agreed, raising one hand as though to wave away an apology. "It's terribly irregular. It's also a damn good idea."
~~"I am the Voice, Monsieur Orlov, and words are my business; you of all people should know that a thing that goes unrecorded goes unremembered. I wish only to remember what you say."
~~Wainwright looked rake-thin and sallow in the faint lamplight, like a mannequin made of straw and ill-fitting castoff clothes.
~~He felt his resolve bleed out of him like heat through an open door, and in his smallness, he wished to tear the world to pieces and be torn apart in his turn.
~~No suggestion of grief colored her voice, and her eyes remained clear and dry. "Even if I could, I would not recover him."
"I think I agree," said Kesha, "but I still grieve for him. Or for the reconciliation that we could have had. For the man he could have been."
She pressed his hand again, her fingers dry as paper and unyielding as iron. "Then grieve for that man. Grieve for him as you would for a character in one of Goethe's stories. When you've spent your sorrows, though, remember that such a man never existed--and then stand up, and return to your business."
~~"How could I?" Orazbek sat again, clasping his hands together. Trying to show me that he isn't a threat, thought Petya. "I could tell you a thousand things. For one, I could remind you that you aren't keeping British troops in your fortress for the pleasure of their company. I could explain the strategic importance of the southern rail. I could probably even tell you why this attack makes sense, given the current composition of Parliament. I could tell you that a man with no other prospects for advancement must distinguish himself in war to show that he has Allah's favor. But you're asking me whether I have a reason why you in particular had to die, and why I in particular had to kill you. And I don't have an answer for that, Pyotr Vladimirovich. I don't think any of us does. I don't think war allows us to speak in particularities, because if we did, then we might be forced to recognize that every particular thing is worth preserving."
He was disinterested in dragons. The cities romanticized them, and the borderlands destroyed them; the anatomists cut them open, and the taxidermists sewed them together again. Kesha preferred to leave them entirely alone.
And yet, in the tortured verse of the dragons, he felt the edge of something like lightning in the vastness of the heavens.
There's nothing so terrifying as a world that we can't navigate. We want to break it apart and put it together again in shapes that we understand.
~~I have read numerous fantasy novels containing dragons, some of which are intelligent. I was surprised and impressed with how Tuomala integrates dragons into the story arc here, though. The story arc begins by showing them in a typical feared, powerful, enemy role. But as we are increasingly immersed in the alternate-history world, we see that dragons are actually very intelligent, sentient, and capable of emotion--even poetry. Some dragons are hellbent on war and revenge, while others long for peace, and simply want land to live on, undisturbed. The above artistic rendering closely matches my mental image of a young female dragon named Aysel who rescued Kesha from near certain death as he escaped being held prisoner by his sister.
First two sentences: Innokentiy Vladimirovich Tarasov was called Kesha by his intimates, of whom he had very few. He lived with his brother in the spare rooms of a respectable widow, who lodged scholars at discounted rates out of a sincere approbation for classical education.
Vital statistics: Author's home: western New York
Year written: 2016
Length: 549 pages
Setting: Russia, in the late 1800's. Most of the action takes place in a small village in the southern "borderlands", with brief scenes in St. Petersburg and Turkey.
Genre: Alternate history with a dash of fantasy, plenty of thrilling action, and a bit of mystery.
Read if: You enjoy realistic fantasy with a complex storyline and interesting characters.
My two cents: Every now and then a book takes me completely by surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect when I cracked open Drakon , but I am happy to report that I was absolutely delighted. The pages flew by, and even though the book is hefty, it didn't drag at all. I devoured it in just under a week. The prose is gorgeous, the dialogue is interesting, and the characters come alive. I *loved* the treatment and development of the dragon race. While tagged as book #1 in a series by my library, it is fine to read as a stand alone. Given 4.5 stars or a rating of "Outstanding." Highly recommended!!
Other favorite quotes (there are a LOT!): If Petya never returned from the borderlands, then Kesha would have no reason to delay asking. Although his landlady and her salons were intellectually stimulating, Kesha had no sentimental attachment to the room that he and Petya had shared for three years. Without his brother's clutter of engineering diagrams and wire models, his unwashed clothes lying in a little heap in the corner and his faint, wheezing snore at night...without all of that, the room was only a room, as good as any other and perhaps worse than many.
~~As old Starikovich liked to say, a thesis was like a stubborn colt. It would not begin to move without diligent coaxing--and once it had begun to move, if one did not rein it in, it would careen away too quickly to be arrested. "Which means, young Tarasov," he said, rapping Kesha's knuckles with his walking stick to punctuate his point, "you mustn't get so excited to have written anything at all that you let yourself write some stinking pile of horse shit."
~~"Now you can tell him, when he asks, that you went to drink with your family. Even an Englishman can't begrudge you a few drinks with your family." Ah, thought Petya, as he apprehended his father's rhetorical mode. It had always been Vladimir Tarasov's way to speak his commands as though they were inevitable, no more to b e opposed than the coming of winter--as though he did not even need to employ the imperative. Kesha had called him a high-handed tyrant of a man, and although Petya loved their father, he couldn't disagree.
~~"You are the warmest," he said, "Very warm."
"And you are rudest," replied Aysel sharply. "Your grammar depletes my patience. Sit, man. My charity is finite."
~~"I'm sorry," Petya said, and he began to twist the string fastener of his portfolio around one fingertip. "I know this is--"
"Irregular," Utkin agreed, raising one hand as though to wave away an apology. "It's terribly irregular. It's also a damn good idea."
~~"I am the Voice, Monsieur Orlov, and words are my business; you of all people should know that a thing that goes unrecorded goes unremembered. I wish only to remember what you say."
~~Wainwright looked rake-thin and sallow in the faint lamplight, like a mannequin made of straw and ill-fitting castoff clothes.
~~He felt his resolve bleed out of him like heat through an open door, and in his smallness, he wished to tear the world to pieces and be torn apart in his turn.
~~No suggestion of grief colored her voice, and her eyes remained clear and dry. "Even if I could, I would not recover him."
"I think I agree," said Kesha, "but I still grieve for him. Or for the reconciliation that we could have had. For the man he could have been."
She pressed his hand again, her fingers dry as paper and unyielding as iron. "Then grieve for that man. Grieve for him as you would for a character in one of Goethe's stories. When you've spent your sorrows, though, remember that such a man never existed--and then stand up, and return to your business."
~~"How could I?" Orazbek sat again, clasping his hands together. Trying to show me that he isn't a threat, thought Petya. "I could tell you a thousand things. For one, I could remind you that you aren't keeping British troops in your fortress for the pleasure of their company. I could explain the strategic importance of the southern rail. I could probably even tell you why this attack makes sense, given the current composition of Parliament. I could tell you that a man with no other prospects for advancement must distinguish himself in war to show that he has Allah's favor. But you're asking me whether I have a reason why you in particular had to die, and why I in particular had to kill you. And I don't have an answer for that, Pyotr Vladimirovich. I don't think any of us does. I don't think war allows us to speak in particularities, because if we did, then we might be forced to recognize that every particular thing is worth preserving."
February 6, 2021
I liked the writing style of this book but I hated the story. I was 140 pages in before I realized NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. The author had a way of creating suspense only to reveal something I wasn't interested in -- usually only part of a dark family secret. From the description, I expected steam punk Russia with dragons. What this is, is a family drama. Put a capitol "d" on dysfunctional. Some people get off on this. Heck, some people think they get status from it. I just find it boring.
None of the characters in this book were likable except the the youngest brother. The main character is a bitch and making her lesbian and having her loose a leg doesn't make her more sympathetic. Each character was known by several name or name combinations which made it very confusing. Most of the supporting characters were cardboard stereotypes. I don't even know why some where included.
With a name like Drakon and how long this book was, I don't think there was even 100 pages about the dragons. So much was left vague about them and I have to wonder why guns got better descriptions. I almost stopped reading several times but I kept hoping there would be more reveled about the dragons, only to be whole heartedly disappointed.
The whole ending was a disappointment. There was one of those whole "lessons we have learned" that just didn't ring true. It was more like the ending to "Grease "where the closing scene is everyone telling how wonderful their life is now that all their problems are magically solved.
None of the characters in this book were likable except the the youngest brother. The main character is a bitch and making her lesbian and having her loose a leg doesn't make her more sympathetic. Each character was known by several name or name combinations which made it very confusing. Most of the supporting characters were cardboard stereotypes. I don't even know why some where included.
With a name like Drakon and how long this book was, I don't think there was even 100 pages about the dragons. So much was left vague about them and I have to wonder why guns got better descriptions. I almost stopped reading several times but I kept hoping there would be more reveled about the dragons, only to be whole heartedly disappointed.
The whole ending was a disappointment. There was one of those whole "lessons we have learned" that just didn't ring true. It was more like the ending to "Grease "where the closing scene is everyone telling how wonderful their life is now that all their problems are magically solved.
February 7, 2021
This is a story about dragons. It's also a story about language and history, and different people and Peoples learning from and about each other, and it's all wrapped up in the story of a single family all trying to figure out what to make of their legacy. It's a story about the things you can destroy and how you can also be something you destroy for love.
There are gender feelings and class feelings, and feelings about terrible dads (who you can't help understanding, despite how painful it is). There's a Moment in book three that I always point to whenever I need an example of a reveal that pulls the rug out from under a character's feet, but not the reader. There are so many turns of phrase that I keep coming back to even years later because they've painted such a strong image of a character or a setting or a feeling. I love this book so much!
There are gender feelings and class feelings, and feelings about terrible dads (who you can't help understanding, despite how painful it is). There's a Moment in book three that I always point to whenever I need an example of a reveal that pulls the rug out from under a character's feet, but not the reader. There are so many turns of phrase that I keep coming back to even years later because they've painted such a strong image of a character or a setting or a feeling. I love this book so much!
February 7, 2020
Mostly not about dragons, but the dragons, language, and history are interesting. I didn't like the human characters very much - they were kind of depressing, as was the plot. This is the kind of book where people talk, and then they're angry at each other and I don't understand why. Maybe it makes sense to other people.
March 28, 2019
It might be a bit facile but...this book is War and Peace and Dragons. It is as much (or more) a study of family relationships, class relationships, and cultural relationships as it is a novel of fantastical beasts.
March 11, 2017
I love this book. I love all the little details of it, how someone takes his tea or cinches her waist, how dragons look in flight or feel warm beneath their scales. I love the dragons, and how they're allowed to not just be people, but to be peoples, emerging from a complex history and debating what it means for them and who they are. I love the question of what it is to be a people, and how it resonates in this book with the question of what is it to be a family.
There's a family at the center of Drakon, and you can see how they love each other -- but they haven't been taught to trust each other, and so they fumble toward understanding. There's Liza, who has to learn what family honor and family duty truly are to her, and Petya, who wants to fix everything that's broken and make something new, and Kesha, who in his self-made exile is drawn to the strange sublimity of a hidden language. I love them, and I love the people around them, friends and lovers, enemies and allies, with the lines often blurred as they discover and decide what they mean to each other. This, too, is part of what it is to be a people.
There are so many things in this book. Family drama. Mystery and intrigue. Battles in the sky. Poetry and philosophy. Dragons! Every time I read it, it's like being given a gift, and it's a gift I want to share.
There's a family at the center of Drakon, and you can see how they love each other -- but they haven't been taught to trust each other, and so they fumble toward understanding. There's Liza, who has to learn what family honor and family duty truly are to her, and Petya, who wants to fix everything that's broken and make something new, and Kesha, who in his self-made exile is drawn to the strange sublimity of a hidden language. I love them, and I love the people around them, friends and lovers, enemies and allies, with the lines often blurred as they discover and decide what they mean to each other. This, too, is part of what it is to be a people.
There are so many things in this book. Family drama. Mystery and intrigue. Battles in the sky. Poetry and philosophy. Dragons! Every time I read it, it's like being given a gift, and it's a gift I want to share.
April 3, 2017
Drakon: Book One is an epic tale about Russia, the Ottoman Empire, borders, and the Tarasovs, the guardians against the Dragons. Based on historic alliances, the Tarasovs keep the Ottoman dragons from destroying the Russian border. The fantasy tale envelopes dragons into the 1880's in Eastern Europe. The dragons play a role in helping the Ottoman Turks extend the Ottoman Territory. The Tarasov family stands against the dragons, but the family has fallen on hard times and are at odds with each other. This complex tale is well written and intriguing. The author A.M. Tuomala weaves together a foundational story for the series. Liza, a main character, brings her family together to save the border and re-establish relationships with the dragons, with her brother Kesha's assistance. This is a readable tale highlighting world history and the fantasy of dragons sharing the world. Enjoyable reading
May 17, 2017
Well written, but nothing really causes it to stand out in this sub-genre.
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