I have good and bad news. The good news is, it’s only nine days into 2025, and I am holding myself to a goal I set in our QTL reflection. This year, I decided to DNF any book that I wasn’t enjoying at the 50% mark. So here’s the bad news. My first review of 2025 features one such book: Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee.
In East Longhan, only the Aspects are allowed to train and become the best fighters in the world. But when a young Jun accidentally exposes his knowledge of the forbidden art, the Aspects exile him and his father from the East. Desperate to reunite their family once again, Jun’s father renounces his love of fighting and tries to live a quiet, repentant life. But that’s not enough for Jun. Now a teenager with an aptitude for martial arts, Jun will do anything to enter the Guardian’s Tournament to display his skills and bring glory to his family name.
Breath of the Dragon is written in a style that is very matter-of-fact and does not leave much for the reader to learn or discover on their own. I felt as if an experienced communicator was relaying each moment, piece of history, or relationship standing to me in a way that could brook no argument. It stifled my curiosity, in both the way it was written and that the story doesn’t allow you to discover anything. There is no space for the reader to have anticipation, read between the lines, or collect drops of information to put together a connection on their own. The language is concise and clear, and it’s not very descriptive.
The same can be said for worldbuilding in this book. Again, there is no awe or discovery when it comes to learning about the world or the tension-filled history between the East and West. Everything is clearly laid out for the reader through info dumps that are as sterile as a textbook. This delivery, coupled with the simple, plain language, would easily break my immersion in the scenes. I didn’t feel like I was a part of the story, like there was no way for the reader to live and breathe in the world or events when everything is presented so plainly. This is not my preferred way to experience a story, and I didn’t enjoy being an unaffected observer of Jun’s journey.
My final reason for not continuing my adventure with Breath of the Dragon was the dialogue. This is not a dialogue-heavy story, and when it does appear, it’s very simple and juvenile. Again, the savvy communicator persona of this book appears and influences the way each character talks to one another. It’s very heavy-handed, and I’ll say this again, sterile. These rare conversations don’t allow the reader to parse out how the relationships are developing because it’s plainly laid out. I got tired of constantly being told how everyone was feeling and thinking.
I get the sense that Breath of the Dragon was not written for me. I can see how the story’s matter-of-fact style would benefit a younger reader. They could easily get swept up in the excitement of a fast-paced plot and enjoy the larger-than-life experiences the young protagonist is up against without wanting to explore deeper themes or character dynamics. I was not the target audience, so I am hesitant to condemn this as a bad book. It’s not, it’s just written for another reader at a different time in their reading journey.
Rating Breath of the Dragon – DNF
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
