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Defender of Dragons
It is Alskan's duty to capture and enslave the human/serpent hybrids known as dragons, and her success is unprecedented. That is, until the dragon Baldasarre steals the precious artifact with which she lures them. When her family is executed for its devastating loss, Alskan must either allow her vendetta to ensure the extinction of Baldasarre's kind or submit to the radical teachings of an eccentric mentor, forgive the dragon, and free the oppressed race.
- GenresFantasy
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2018
For starters, this story centers on a girl named Alskan with her “friend”, Baldasarre. No shockers there, it says that in the description. As for the storyline, that’s a wee-bit more complex to explain. At first glance, it’s your run-of-the-mill classic: ignorant main character is called on duty for a special mission and is pulled in whether or not she wants to, next goes through trial and tribulation, then finally comes out as a brand-spanking new person. Now, whoever read this book and walked away just thinking about it that way, I pity you. I’m not saying I’m oh-so-amazing or anything, but if you really take the time to understand what the text is telling you, you’ll discover that’ll this book has one of the most important messages for all of us, teenagers in particular.
How so, you ask? Alas, I have so many words tumbling about, Its nigh-on to impossible to phrase it properly. For some incredibly stupid reason, teen girls believe that their only worth is how their peers see them, and who their stinking boyfriend is. They don’t care about who they are in their heart, they only want to see the three pounds of makeup, billions of piercings, and the expensive clothing. Nor do they care if they’re boyfriend really loves them. However, this idiotic concept is wrong in so many ways. Your worth is who you are. And dare I say, you have a worth more breathtaking and stunning than any amount of money can buy. If you dig deep enough, you will see how the story covers this.
Now for my clearly stated opinion. Defenders of Dragons is a spectacular tale that deserves five to the millionth power stars. Yes, there are drugs(have no fear, they’re seen as a negative part of the narrative). And yes, it is advisable that one must be 16 to read this. But the thing is, there is no swearing. When is the last time you’ve read a meaningful novel with no foul-mouthing? Take The Martian or Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children for instance. If you’re still concerned about the age 16 suggestion, I don’t judge you. Just skim over those.
I would recommend this book to high schoolers, the girls to be specific. This book is a must read for people looking for something intriguing to think about. Besides, you get to have a quasi romantic fable filled with freaking dragons as you go along. Who doesn’t want that?
In case you were wondering, I did indeed read the entire novel. Frankly, I enjoyed every bit of it, thank you very much.
How so, you ask? Alas, I have so many words tumbling about, Its nigh-on to impossible to phrase it properly. For some incredibly stupid reason, teen girls believe that their only worth is how their peers see them, and who their stinking boyfriend is. They don’t care about who they are in their heart, they only want to see the three pounds of makeup, billions of piercings, and the expensive clothing. Nor do they care if they’re boyfriend really loves them. However, this idiotic concept is wrong in so many ways. Your worth is who you are. And dare I say, you have a worth more breathtaking and stunning than any amount of money can buy. If you dig deep enough, you will see how the story covers this.
Now for my clearly stated opinion. Defenders of Dragons is a spectacular tale that deserves five to the millionth power stars. Yes, there are drugs(have no fear, they’re seen as a negative part of the narrative). And yes, it is advisable that one must be 16 to read this. But the thing is, there is no swearing. When is the last time you’ve read a meaningful novel with no foul-mouthing? Take The Martian or Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children for instance. If you’re still concerned about the age 16 suggestion, I don’t judge you. Just skim over those.
I would recommend this book to high schoolers, the girls to be specific. This book is a must read for people looking for something intriguing to think about. Besides, you get to have a quasi romantic fable filled with freaking dragons as you go along. Who doesn’t want that?
In case you were wondering, I did indeed read the entire novel. Frankly, I enjoyed every bit of it, thank you very much.
May 26, 2021
Defender of Dragons is so much more than a typical dragon fantasy. It confronts issues of equity and the dehumanizing and brutal world of slavery. The story unfolds through the journey of a young woman named Alskan who is born into nobility, which is conferred by the possession of magical lucent stones that are used to enslave dragons.
Alskan is called on to capture dragons to increase her family’s wealth but loses the lucent stone, destroying her family’s status. She is forced out of her home to face the harsh realities of betrayal and addiction. Through her suffering, she bears witness to the possibilities of a better life and finds her first love. The loves story adds a wonderful element to the book as the reader witnesses Alskan’s slowly growing passion.
Ms. Olsen’s writing is powerful and vivid that it is easy to close your eyes and imagine you are watching a movie which I could do listening to the audio version. The narrator, Lisa Hicks, is so skilled that it is easy to forget that only one person is creating all the voices. It’s impressive how Ms. Hicks makes each character identifiable, and how she mirrors the fast pace that draws you in and holds you tight for a thrilling ride.
I received an audio version of this book for an honest review.
Alskan is called on to capture dragons to increase her family’s wealth but loses the lucent stone, destroying her family’s status. She is forced out of her home to face the harsh realities of betrayal and addiction. Through her suffering, she bears witness to the possibilities of a better life and finds her first love. The loves story adds a wonderful element to the book as the reader witnesses Alskan’s slowly growing passion.
Ms. Olsen’s writing is powerful and vivid that it is easy to close your eyes and imagine you are watching a movie which I could do listening to the audio version. The narrator, Lisa Hicks, is so skilled that it is easy to forget that only one person is creating all the voices. It’s impressive how Ms. Hicks makes each character identifiable, and how she mirrors the fast pace that draws you in and holds you tight for a thrilling ride.
I received an audio version of this book for an honest review.
June 27, 2025
I started this book without the slightest idea of what it was about. I was so pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was I couldn’t put it down. The whole concept was brilliant.
June 26, 2020
I had a lot of fun reading this book. I liked the concept and wanted to keep reading it. Do NOT read the blurb on the back of the book. It gives away way too much information, You don't meet Alskan's "eccentric mentor" until your halfway through the book. Also, it gives away that Baldasarre steals the lucent stone, which would have totally ruined the moment that it happens in the book. I read that part and was shocked that he took it because dragon's aren't supposed to be able to take the stones, but if you read the back first, then that part wouldn't be exciting for you, it would just be all like, "okay that's when that happens."
In my opinion, the book description on the back should explain that the dragons are enslaved by special necklaces using lucent stones, dragons have a human form that they are stuck in when enslaved and they have a dragon form they turn into when they see a human so they can kill them. And then end with the first line that is currently on the back: "It is Alskan's duty to capture and enslave [these dragons]." The book title already tells people that she is going to end up helping the dragons. No need to give so much away.
Sorry, that's a sore spot for me. I no longer read the blurbs given for books. I simply read books that others have read (especially my sister).
Anyway, I liked that Alskan becomes addicted to a drug. I mean I didn't LIKE it, but I think it was appropriate and I appreciated that and the real struggle that it caused the main character. I hated that she got cured of it magically at first, but that fact that later she falls back to the drug and has to get over it the hard way made up for that.
I also did not trust her friend Kiyani (Kayani?) , so I was glad when it turned out that she was using Alskan selfishly.
I was frustrated by Alskan's slow turn toward empathizing with and liking dragons, but after thinking about it, I could see it making sense that it would take time since she blamed them, not only Baldasarre for stealing her livelihood, but also for killing her mother. ...That made me think of something else, I wish she had come out and told Baldasarre that it wasn't his fault her way of life was pulled out from under her. She does say that it could be considered to be not only his fault but the king's fault and the kings' before him faults, and she does forgive Baldasarre, but she doesn't remove the blame from him, which I guess is fine. Actually, I think the bigger problem I had with it was the way Baldasarre acted toward that moment. He was able to touch the stone and not die and by doing so he was able to keep more dragons from becoming enslaved. I don't think he owed Alskan anything and Alskan never tells him that he was just doing what was best for his people and family and that, at the time, she was clearly his enemy. He shouldn't have felt bad at all, especially since he lead her out of the cave safely. To me, his guilt toward her was his biggest fault, but it's not resolved by him realizing he never should have felt guilt for it (or by her telling him that herself).
Not sure how coherent that last bit was, but hopefully made enough sense to someone or at least will make sense to me when I go back to look at this review several years from now. I'm also bothered by the seemingly perfect/imperfect dragon society. They are nice enough to these humans who are enslaving them to not attack them when they are about to be captured, but also pick on Baldasarre for being half human and at the end, they are all on the same page that they must stop Eztlikon from hurting humans, but he hadn't been hurting humans, he was only really hurting dragons. At least a good faction of the free dragons should have wanted to flee rather than fight. Or it should have at least taken more time to get everyone on the same page as there were between 1000-2000 free dragons to assemble at that point. Okay, I know I'm being picky and I still enjoyed see a civilization where everyone worked together so well. I'm probably overthinking it a little.
Something that did not seem to line up was the timeline that dragons began being captured. Redrick says he was a boy when dragons began to be captured, but he's an old man now. And Baldasarre's mother getting together with his Father was the cause of Eztlikon leaving to start capturing dragons. I did not picture Maxim as being older than Redrick, but I could be wrong.
One other thing that is just nitpicking is the fact that the dragons have such convenient magical abilities to teleport and heal. I know that only one dragon can heal, but it's still there and these abilities are used more than once to get the characters out of sticky situations rather than forcing them to do things the hard way. I know the author is very good at escape rooms, so I'm sure she could come up with creative ways for her characters to escape their predicaments, but I suppose when you have these abilities to work with, you just use them.
Okay, my biggest gripe is with the lucent stones. Why we're there not more lucent stones? The king makes it sound as if Eztlikon had retrieved lucent stones from more dragons since the original 7 were produced, but it never explains what happens to those stones. It's also never explained what it was about some dragons that made Eztlikon decide they were to be used for parts instead of being used as slaves. And besides their fat (used in lanterns), I don't know what else their body parts were harvested for (though honestly I tried not to think about that too much). Also, was Eztlikon somehow killing dragons and using them to make himself stronger or was he just stronger than a normal dragon because he was unstable?
Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book. I liked it enough, I would have enjoyed reading a little more about the world building aspect of the book. I would read a sequel to it. Great job Staci!
In my opinion, the book description on the back should explain that the dragons are enslaved by special necklaces using lucent stones, dragons have a human form that they are stuck in when enslaved and they have a dragon form they turn into when they see a human so they can kill them. And then end with the first line that is currently on the back: "It is Alskan's duty to capture and enslave [these dragons]." The book title already tells people that she is going to end up helping the dragons. No need to give so much away.
Sorry, that's a sore spot for me. I no longer read the blurbs given for books. I simply read books that others have read (especially my sister).
Anyway, I liked that Alskan becomes addicted to a drug. I mean I didn't LIKE it, but I think it was appropriate and I appreciated that and the real struggle that it caused the main character. I hated that she got cured of it magically at first, but that fact that later she falls back to the drug and has to get over it the hard way made up for that.
I also did not trust her friend Kiyani (Kayani?) , so I was glad when it turned out that she was using Alskan selfishly.
I was frustrated by Alskan's slow turn toward empathizing with and liking dragons, but after thinking about it, I could see it making sense that it would take time since she blamed them, not only Baldasarre for stealing her livelihood, but also for killing her mother. ...That made me think of something else, I wish she had come out and told Baldasarre that it wasn't his fault her way of life was pulled out from under her. She does say that it could be considered to be not only his fault but the king's fault and the kings' before him faults, and she does forgive Baldasarre, but she doesn't remove the blame from him, which I guess is fine. Actually, I think the bigger problem I had with it was the way Baldasarre acted toward that moment. He was able to touch the stone and not die and by doing so he was able to keep more dragons from becoming enslaved. I don't think he owed Alskan anything and Alskan never tells him that he was just doing what was best for his people and family and that, at the time, she was clearly his enemy. He shouldn't have felt bad at all, especially since he lead her out of the cave safely. To me, his guilt toward her was his biggest fault, but it's not resolved by him realizing he never should have felt guilt for it (or by her telling him that herself).
Not sure how coherent that last bit was, but hopefully made enough sense to someone or at least will make sense to me when I go back to look at this review several years from now. I'm also bothered by the seemingly perfect/imperfect dragon society. They are nice enough to these humans who are enslaving them to not attack them when they are about to be captured, but also pick on Baldasarre for being half human and at the end, they are all on the same page that they must stop Eztlikon from hurting humans, but he hadn't been hurting humans, he was only really hurting dragons. At least a good faction of the free dragons should have wanted to flee rather than fight. Or it should have at least taken more time to get everyone on the same page as there were between 1000-2000 free dragons to assemble at that point. Okay, I know I'm being picky and I still enjoyed see a civilization where everyone worked together so well. I'm probably overthinking it a little.
Something that did not seem to line up was the timeline that dragons began being captured. Redrick says he was a boy when dragons began to be captured, but he's an old man now. And Baldasarre's mother getting together with his Father was the cause of Eztlikon leaving to start capturing dragons. I did not picture Maxim as being older than Redrick, but I could be wrong.
One other thing that is just nitpicking is the fact that the dragons have such convenient magical abilities to teleport and heal. I know that only one dragon can heal, but it's still there and these abilities are used more than once to get the characters out of sticky situations rather than forcing them to do things the hard way. I know the author is very good at escape rooms, so I'm sure she could come up with creative ways for her characters to escape their predicaments, but I suppose when you have these abilities to work with, you just use them.
Okay, my biggest gripe is with the lucent stones. Why we're there not more lucent stones? The king makes it sound as if Eztlikon had retrieved lucent stones from more dragons since the original 7 were produced, but it never explains what happens to those stones. It's also never explained what it was about some dragons that made Eztlikon decide they were to be used for parts instead of being used as slaves. And besides their fat (used in lanterns), I don't know what else their body parts were harvested for (though honestly I tried not to think about that too much). Also, was Eztlikon somehow killing dragons and using them to make himself stronger or was he just stronger than a normal dragon because he was unstable?
Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book. I liked it enough, I would have enjoyed reading a little more about the world building aspect of the book. I would read a sequel to it. Great job Staci!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2020
A bit difficult to get into at first but then WOW.
A sad tale turned upside down as Alskan comes into her own against the forces that seek her end. Glad I stuck with it because I could barely put it down after the first 5 chapters
A sad tale turned upside down as Alskan comes into her own against the forces that seek her end. Glad I stuck with it because I could barely put it down after the first 5 chapters
June 28, 2021
This is a good book, but at the first of the book I was annoyed with the characters decisions but then she started making better decisions and I was happier with the character. I know the author did that to make it so you were happier when she started making the right choices. So good job to the author!
I like how the author made up her own words to explain what the dragons did like she called turning from human form to dragon form “flashing” and I thought that was a really good way of explaining it. I thought the magic was cool.
Kaydra Pocock.
I like how the author made up her own words to explain what the dragons did like she called turning from human form to dragon form “flashing” and I thought that was a really good way of explaining it. I thought the magic was cool.
Kaydra Pocock.
November 1, 2021
Staci is a word master and expert story teller. This book has an engaging plot with complex characters, can't - put - it- down action, comprehensive and intricate world, no plot holes left over, no smut or offensive language, and reads like a guilty pleasure. And nary a typo to boot. I'm a novice at fantasy reading, and this was an excellent introduction for me-I didn't know I would like it so much! I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series. Good job Staci! You were born to be a writer!
May 31, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The story was excellent, I liked the fact that good wasnt quite so black and white in this book, mistakes were made, actions had concequences.
Almost all the humans were awful, Alskans Father and sister both deserved what happened to them. The dragons on the other hand were wonderful. Alskan was so awful to the dragons at first but hiven that she had to unlearn everything she had ever been taught and all the things she went to its hard to blame her too much. How she kept going at all was a miricle at times. I wish there was a second book.
Almost all the humans were awful, Alskans Father and sister both deserved what happened to them. The dragons on the other hand were wonderful. Alskan was so awful to the dragons at first but hiven that she had to unlearn everything she had ever been taught and all the things she went to its hard to blame her too much. How she kept going at all was a miricle at times. I wish there was a second book.
July 20, 2020
Staci you better be writing a sequel!!!!! I am anxious to find out what happens next!!!! GREAT book!!!! I LOVE it!!!! Great book for adults and teens!!! I couldn't put it down!!! Can't wait for more books from you!!! Anyone needing a good book about dragons this is it!!!
March 18, 2022
2.5
This one wasn't really for me. The mc was too young, the moral posturing was a bit high handed and on the nose in spots, and I hated the end.
This one wasn't really for me. The mc was too young, the moral posturing was a bit high handed and on the nose in spots, and I hated the end.
July 28, 2023
What great world building! The story is almost impossible to put down. More, Staci, more!
July 5, 2022
DNF. I just could not stand the MC, and the entire story was told from her perspective.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews