Review: The Last Namsara

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Heck yes DRAGONS.

What can I say? I have a soft spot for dragons. Also, I'm a big fan of myths and legends so I guess it was inevitable that I'd love this book. I love that it's about storytelling, but it also includes the stories. Such a fantastic inclusion. Really brings the culture to life.

Asha is, straight up, kind of savage. In all senses of the word. She runs around killing dragons (I really cannot condone animal cruelty. Unless of course the animals are mutants wreaking havoc.) and she treats slaves like scum and she actually thinks she's pretty damn special for being an asshole. So it was quite refreshing to see her growth, and for her to still keep a little of that savagery for the duration of the novel. She's a badass female character and I enjoyed that immensely. But there's also people more evil than her so you can kind of appreciate from the get-go that she's not inherently bad, it's just the way she's been raised.

Jarek, on the other hand, is what I like to refer to as a Grade A Douchebag. He's a total dick and the kind of character you love to hate. It was such a weird combo having him aligned with the father Asha loved so much.

Anoter thing I really liked about this book was the family dynamic. I mean, way too often, fantasy protagonists are orphans with no family, but Asha gets a dad, a brother, AND a cousin. Totally spoiled! Her mum did die tragically though, so plenty of character building from that. Her brother Dax is a fascinating character because he's kind of pathetic and small and everyone thinks he's pretty hopeless which is just not common for princes in fantasy. But he's also a total sweetheart so you love him just as much as you would a dashing, courageous prince.

Did I mention dragons yet?!

Dragons are just freaking cool. They have been recreated in so many different ways over time and I'll never get bored of reading about them. And Shadow was like a lil puppy so how can you not fall in love? Also can I just say how much I LOVE the idea that dragons love stories?? I need a dragon bff. Also coz of like the fire and the smiting of enemies etc etc.

Should I mention Torwin?

Look, to be honest, Asha's immediate disapproval of him kinda rubbed off on me at the start. I mean, it was a ship I boarded only slightly before Asha herself. He just seemed a bit too defiant for me. But then a couple of cheeky grins (these damn cheeky fellas, I can't deal) and I kinda started to go with it. He's not such a bad dude, I guess.

I just really loved the way this was written. It was unique, and it had a badass female protagonist and kinda flipped a few stereotypes on their heads which was so refreshing. Plus there's the whole issue of slavery and thanks to first person we actually have to stop and consider why it's not easy just saying 'abolish slavery'. You have to get inside the minds of people who think it's okay and work out why and then kind of re-write those beliefs. I thought that was just a really powerful angle to take and I loved the way it was done.

Why no fifth star?

It didn't grab me and hook me and steal my soul. It came close, but there was just something missing that had me feeling not 100% committed. I think maybe it just didn't have enough action? Not enough scuffles and raging and destruction. Not enough gut-wrenching, or soul-destruction. It didn't brutalise my feelings quite enough to score that elusive fifth star.

Highly recommend, though, particularly if you need a little more GRRRL-power in your fantasy.

Also, DRAGONS.

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