*Edited Slightly*
Turns out, you can judge a book by its cover:
Why yes, that is a giant mechanical dragon. I'm glad you noticed. Because I did too, which is what made me pick up this book.
Also, reading this book is arguably one of the best decision I've ever made. So yeah.
THE BASICS: Hot dang, what isn't going on in this book? Well, first off, there's this magician guy named Royston who did something... scandalous* and has not only put the kingdom at odds with one of it's neighbors, but has also seriously embarrassed the royal family. So much so, actually, that they can't punish him for it or they risk news of it getting out to even more people. So, instead, they quietly exile him to the countryside to live with his brother until, well, forever. Royston in every way despises the country however, so the "punishment" seems to have proven effective on some level. While in the country, he meets Hal, the painfully shy yet startlingly intelligent tutor to his brother's children. We'll talk about more about them later...
...because word of the scandal does get out and it soon falls upon the ears of the worst possible secret keepers: the Dragon Corps. This is a group of the most BA and most ill-mannered, yet strangely awesome dudes you will ever see. They, of course, ride the previously mentioned giant mechanical dragons. Anyway, they have more than a little bit of fun playing with and joking about what happened. This spurs th'Esar (the king, essentially) to send an unlucky individual named Thom to coax them into shutting up about the whole affair and to also spy on them (because seriously, can you really blame him for not trusting them? I mean, sure, he's the king, but they've got giant mechanical dragons. Who's ruling who?).
Oh, also, there's a war going on. Yeah, it's been happening for like, a hundred years or something. So yeah, like I said, lots of stuff happenin'.
THE CHARACTERS: This is, I think, the novel's greatest strength; that is, the sheer complexity of all of it's characters. And I mean all. Even side characters, even people you meet only once or twice- you really get the impression that the authors made an attempt not to create any empty shells of characters. From their speech patterns to their little physical quirks the main characters comment on- you can tell some time was spent humanizing everyone. But, and thank goodness for this, it isn't done to any extreme, annoying degree. We don't get the backstory for every single person who walks onto the stage. Heck, we hardly get the backstory for the four main characters. I mean we do, but only the necessary parts. People don't angst much in this book, which is a dramatic improvement of some over the other things I've been reading lately (but that's a post of a different color).
But, like I said, there're four main characters: Royston, a sarcastic magician, Hal, a young, somewhat naive tutor, Rook, an obnoxious, irreverent airman, and Thom, a long-suffering, yet somewhat conniving student. Let me just say first that I pretty much love all of these guys.
However, I really just want to focus on Hal.
Hal is the kind of character I hate. When he first entered the story and started doing his thing, I was like "Oh great, another twink. I hate you already, you sniveling little girl you!" But then I totally ate my words when he turned out to be sorta... not lame. Actually, and this is the really weird part since I usually like the jerk characters, I think he ended up being my favorite. Somehow, he dared to tread through the winding paths of my cold, black heart and ended up finding a nice warm place to stay.
Why do I like him so much? Because there were so many stereotypes he could've easily fallen into... and yet he miraculously avoided them all. As I mentioned previously, he's painfully shy. But he still has a spine. He's very soft-spoken and kind-hearted. But by no means is he a wuss. And if he wants something, he's not afraid to try and get it. I think the most applauding instance of this is when he's the one who initiates the romantic relationship between he and his love interest. Because usually, the shy person, no matter what gender, when met with their significant other, just angsts around and whines about how horrible everything is because so-and-so could never love them. Until, of course, so-and-so does admit to loving them and then of course everything is primroses and butterflies. *sigh* It's embarrassing how formulaic it is.
Which is another reason I love Hal, 'cause his romantic subplot is, for this and other reasons, entirely non-typical.
TECHNICAL STUFF: The book alternates between four viewpoints- namely, that of the four aforementioned main characters. They label at the beginning of each section who's talking, but honestly, it's unnecessary, because each character's personalities and thought patterns are distinct enough that you can usually pick up on them after a few sentences.
THE THEME: Things are not always as they appear? Don't judge people without getting to know them? Be willing to make your own destiny? Anything along those lines would fit.
OVERALL: I actually do have one tiny, somewhat irrational guff with this book- there're almost no girls in it. Seriously. I mean, there are a few, but when I say few, I mean like, three. In the entire book. Which, considering there are 25+ male types, is quite the imbalance.
But whatever; that didn't actually stand out as much as you would think.
However, with the exception of that mild misdemeanor, I have never read a book that pandered to me as much as this one did. This is the first book I've ever read where I was truly the target audience. Was the plot complex and intertwining? Yep. Was the romance actually sweet? Check. Were even the most obnoxious of characters instantly likable due to good writing? Si. Was it taboo without being naughty? You betcha. Was it flamin' hilarious? Heck yeah! I can honestly say that I have never read a book in my life that I actually cared about every single plot. I was never bored while reading this. This is what we call an anomaly.
Point is, this thing just soared to the top of my favorite list. Did it dethrone Hannibal? ...okay no, it didn't. But it's gleefully sitting right below it, just waiting for it to make a wrong move.
GRADE: Not giving one. 'Cause like I said, I can't speak for the masses on this one. This book followed plot threads that were appealing to me. Not you. Unless you're cool, in which case, you'll love this book.
Would I let my sister read it? No
Would I let my cousin read it? Yes
Would I let my dad read it? Yes
PS: The title refers to the name of Rook's dragon. Just sayin'.
EDIT
*(I've been playing around with font-colors lately... and felt very stupid when I realized I could've just been doing this all along for spoilers.)
*smacks forehead* Technology never fails to amaze me.
Anyway, it's actually not a spoiler, but highlighting the information below will definitely cue you in on whether or not this book is for you.
Royston had a love-affair with the heir-apparent of an ally kingdom. This was bad enough, except that, after being caught, he was accused of magically seducing the individual. To make matters even worse, the individual's name was Erik.
