Because of my reviewing rule—I will not review anything by the same creator for a year—I had to choose one Julie Kagawa series to review. Decisions. I selected the Talon saga because I feel it’s the most unique of her series. Can you argue with the awesomeness of dragons fighting against assault rifles in the modern world? Kagewa was on a panel at the Minnesota Book Festival a few years ago, and I was excited to hear her—but the wee dictator had other ideas, and He Who Toils Endlessly had some other toiling to do that day, so I wasn’t able to make the entire panel. I did manage to get her to sign my first volume of Talon, which is a series that left me engrossed and eager for more.
Ember is a hatchling dragon who can shapeshift into a red headed teenager. The series starts where she and her twin brother are having a summer break as teenage humans under the watchful eye of Talon—an organization that seeks to rule all dragons with a scaled fist. Dragons embrace Talon to escape the Order of St George—modern dragon hunters, who almost wiped dragons out in the middle ages. Meeting Garret, a member of the order, leads to both falling in love. Rogue dragon Riley draws Ember into the underground he leads to help dragons and former Talon workers escape. Both of their dragons, however, are interested in being more than just friends.
You really feel for Ember. The core conflict is escaping the wrath of both Talon and St George, but also wishing to save the brother she left behind. The Elder Wyrm that leads Talon is obsessed with bringing the young Ember back alive. Garret faces the truth that the dragons he has spent his life killing are not all monsters, and the people who raised him weren’t completely honest about his origins.
The Talon saga, while it has the usual paranormal romance love triangle, has slightly more of an emphasis on action. Which it delivers. The fight scenes are spectacular and amazing. Set in the modern world, modern technology is used to its fullest extent. Riley is a former Basilisk with Talon, basically trained for secret missions that could give James Bond a run for his money. Garret is the trained elite soldier, and Ember is… well, a feisty dragon.
Later in the series Jade, an Asian dragon is introduced. I wished I liked the character more than I do. She stays too one note as the wise Asian mystic, and has a habit of disappearing and reappearing at precisely way too convenient for the plot times. There was a plot twist that was hinted at and never comes to fruition that disappointed me. But overall, the series is a thrilling saga for dragon lovers and fans of star crossed lovers stories.