This ain't your mama's Urban Fantasy! ( )

A lot of people have been complaining that this is a book about dragons who eat a lot of people and have sex.

I'm saying, if you love to read books about critters that eat a lot of people are are portrayed engaging in all of their natural life's behaviors (including sex), this book will amaze you. You'll love it.

Raised by humans, the protagonist is fairly young for his species (flying, scaled, predatory warm-blooded animals that can shapeshift into the form of a human for camouflage). He's alone, and he's a little confused due to his upbringing. He gets out some of his adolescent feelings by having flings with human females, and his emotions over that issue are also more than a little confused. What do you expect from a being who is, essentially, a teenager?

But raising a lion with lambs doesn't turn it into a lamb. He was never human, and no amount of mimicking or emotional confusion will turn him into a human. Human morality does not apply to other species. Our protagonist is a predator who has been brought up to prey upon humans, and he does so without guilt. A bit of confusion, yes, but no real guilt. Why should he feel guilty? Dragons don't really feel guilt.

He learns the hard way that his confusion can be deadly for his family. It's a lesson learned the hard way.

As for dragon mating--I love the way it was portrayed. Dragons mate for life with the first fertile female they can win. It's a strong bond that neither could even conceive of voluntarily breaking--they just aren't capable of it. They're mated, even if their personalities are completely opposite. They'll stay together for life, and raise their offspring, because that's what their instincts drive them to do. Little things like opinions over how to treat humans, or personality, are of lesser importance. Unlike humans, the bond is much more important than any other considerations. I greatly approve of this very good characterization of non-human relationships. People who don't 'get' non-human ways of thinking won't understand the mated dragons, of course.

Many authors portray other species as humans who just look funny and have funny habits, but deep inside, emotionally, they're just like us. The dragons aren't like us at all. The protagonist is not someone you would ever want to meet, because he'd eat you. That doesn't mean he isn't likeable. He's a fascinating member of a completely different species. One you'd want to observe through binoculars, behind a steel barrier, carefully camouflaged.

If you love stories with werewolves and vampires as protagonists, give The Dragon Delasangre a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 simply because it is a first book, and is a little rocky in places. The sequels are smoother. ( )

Quite different. It was all right, but for some reason couldn't engage me very well. Usually I expect to finish a book with in a week, a little more than that if I have a bunch of other books to read or things to do. This one took me a month to read, since I was reading other books I found more interesting in between reading it. I'm not sure why--something about the characters,the plot, or something just didn't click with me. So, I'd give it a 2.5 if I could, but it's good enough that I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading it, since my low rating was more due to my personal taste, I think, than any problem with the book itself. ( )

Quite different. It was all right, but for some reason couldn't engage me very well. Usually I expect to finish a book with in a week, a little more than that if I have a bunch of other books to read or things to do. This one took me a month to read, since I was reading other books I found more interesting in between reading it. I'm not sure why--something about the characters,the plot, or something just didn't click with me. So, I'd give it a 2.5 if I could, but it's good enough that I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading it, since my low rating was more due to my personal taste, I think, than any problem with the book itself. ( )

I picked up this book based on the fact that I like dragons. The concept of dragons being real and living in today's world as shapeshifters is a fun idea, and an idea that I have played around with in my mind a little bit as well.

It starts off interesting enough, but as it goes on, I found myself liking the direction of the story less and less. I didn't really care for the main character at all, and perhaps I wasn't meant to since he's supposed to be pure evil as a dragon--something that I don't buy into. I also don't think I liked him as a villian, either. If you can't get into your main character, something is wrong with the book. Nevertheless, I did give the book 3 stars, since it was a dragon book (if it wasn't for that concept, the rating would have had 2 stars at best). ( )