A Matter of Scale

by Jonathon Burgess

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Dragons, Fiction

ebook

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

I haunt the Pacific Northwest. You can find me drinking too much coffee and arguing over the best settings for the deployment of THAC0 tables (Ravenloft. It's Ravenloft). I'm the author of the Dawnhawk Trilogy and the Blackscale Thief duology. Learn more about my work at www.jonathonburgess.com.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, full of character and extremely funny, with more dragons than you could shake a stick at. All bundled into a short novella. Go for it.
More please, author!

I downloaded an ARC from Instafreebie. This is an unbiased review.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more of a 2.5 rating.

Telling the tale of a prisoner set on a quest to rid a village of some great creature, this story was an amusing little thing. The little dragons are adorable and the author's description of them and their antics was well done.

Where I found this story weaker was in the dialog (which I believe was an attempt at medieval style conversation, but mostly consisted of fancy sounding words that added no substance or clarity to what anyone was saying) and the proper names used for both people and places (they were unique, I'll give him that, but awkward on the tongue).

All in all, not bad.

[Shirin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay the end was ridiculously cute.

[BelleAugusta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had me snickering from page 1. Hristomarth and the seven dragonlettes will be in my top ten stories with dragons list. I loved Hristomarth's voice and the wordplay involved in the story. Further adventures would be worth the read. If, Burgess decides to write more. Sadly, It was difficult to look him up on Amazon. I'm hoping the steampunk series is as enjoyable.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing tale of the rascally antihero variety. I think if I were in a different mood I'd be saying 3.5 instead of more like 2.75. It is, however, merely a short story, though there are later stories following Hristomarth's misadventures with the wyrmlings.
Acquired via either Instafreebie or Bookfunnel, but it is now available to read on the author's website, along with the others. I was going to post a link, but since they're not in the menu, I guess they're "hidden", meant to be still for subscribers only.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hristomarth Rofolio is serving out his punishment, as a con artist. Vigilant Erfenot is the government official who tells him go to Seetch a remote village to resolve a disturbance. Along with a nameless Deputy H.R. treks to the village. They find seven little dragons terrorizing the villagers, so much of this story is humorous. A fun romp through a short fantasy.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok read, very short story about a thief who gets the questionable choice to skip his beheading by chasing a monster. The distinct language, very stilted, is what sets this book apart. In a good way? Not for me, it was a bit too much.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found A Matter of Scale amusing and very entertaining. And I love the ending! I highly recommend it and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was unexpectedly hilarious. I’m so glad I found it, especially on a grey winter day. This was a well-written short story with a charmingly felonious protagonist and was just a really fun read.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous tale of a swindler who finds justice can bite back. Or at least nibble one extremities in the form of a group of orphaned dragons.

[Annemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very cute, very short story about a conman having to deal with seven baby dragons. It was funny and cute, though the ending felt quite rushed.

[Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Love the over the top language and the whole just desserts set-up. Short as this is, I still recommend it!

[Shu Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up for the cover. The story is short and funny. The cover is better than the story.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. Heehee love dragons.

[Nicole Normand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy from InstaFreebie
Really funny. Cute. I loved the way they talked. I also love the cover; plenty of colors.

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

An original story, interesting the subject, but I didn't like the ending.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened across this short story by Jonathon Burgess after an email from instaFreebie. It’s a fun short story you can read entirely on your lunchbreak (as I did) and is an great introduction (possibly a prologue?) for future novels.

The author lists is as the first in a series called The Blackscale Chronicles, which I’ll be interested in reading once they’re published.

A Matter of Scale is not available (at time of writing) from Amazon, but you can get it for free (well, for the cost of your email address) by signing up to the Author’s mailing list at his website.

So this was a fun read though I found myself tripping over some of the names. Not a huge issue, and one I’ve overcome in the past by settling on a pronunciation I like and go with it.

A tale of a prisoner condemned to death, which can be commuted to exile should he help solve a problem in a neighbouring village. Hristomarth readily accepts since the alterative was losing his head. It’s hard to say much more about this without giving anything away, mainly because it’s such a short story. Suffice it to say I enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next.

[Steve Beaulieu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story reeked of an author trying too hard. The proper nouns throughout sounded more like someone trying to come up with weird words than one taking the reader into consideration. They felt...made up—most especially among these, the main character, whom I just finished reading about, yet can't recall the name because it was so ridiculous.

I couldn't tell you whether the story was good. It was rushed. It was stunted.

The dialogue was ambitious but atrocious. Instead of sounding era-esk, it reminded me of an episode of Friends where Joey aims to write a sophisticated letter of recommendation by consulting a thesaurus for every word within.

I'm sorry to the author, because I would hate to receive a review like this, but truth must be told.

Let me leave on a high note. They story read like a professional writer wrote it. This particular writer just doesn't happen to be a good story teller.

[Mystry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a delightfully charming little fantasy read (it's a *very* short story). The dialogue is archaically witty, as this is set in medieval-type times. It's an entertaining though brief adventure that ends rather sweetly. (:
Clean, safe for kids (though plenty of "big" words), and again, just a charming little story.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want a wyrmling! Where can I find this bew circus?

This was a fun little adventure with mild humour and a twist of fate! I really enjoyed this adult humour on a small scale light read mountainous terrain level.