I got this paperback at a local Savers thrift shop, for another release copy.

I'd been interested in this title for some time after reading about it in TV Tropes. Steampunk dragons!

Or - not quite. The dragons are mechanical constructs powered by magic, but do seem to have some form of sentience. Havemercy displays considerable personality, and only the equally outspoken Rook can manage her.

Rook is one of the city's Airmen, a corps of misfits whose ability to fly the dragons against the enemy is the only reason they're tolerated. When Thom, a retiring young scholar, is tasked to teach the rudiments of civility to the corps, he's in over his head, with Rook gleefully leading the others in tormenting him. Will Thom be able to gain their confidence before their antipathy (and violent practical jokes) send him running? And what's the strange fascination he feels for the hard-to-handle Rook?

Other main characters include the magician Royston, who's in disgrace because he was caught in bed with a prince from another city and has been exiled to his brother's country house for a time, and Hal, a young man who's been tutoring the children of Royston's brother - and who's immediately intrigued by the distinguished - if mournful - magician.

These characters turn out to be key players in the escalating conflict between Volstov and its long-time enemy the Ke-Han, with a near-casual meeting between Thom and Hal being the factor that may save Royston's life when Ke-Han magicians strike a deadly blow at their Volstov counterparts. (Despite the high-stakes war-related plot, my favorite parts of the book tended to be the small ones, such as the delightful scene when Royston, tried beyond endurance by an obnoxious guest while staying at his brother's house, makes the dining table explode; the guest faints, but the youngest son of his brother pipes up "Do the china cupboard next, Uncle Roy; Mama always says it's ugly!")

There's a lot of world-building here, glimpses of the social structure, class system, educational practices, history of the war, nature of magic - and at the same time, we get to know the key characters better, and to see their feelings for each other change. [At times, I admit, I got weary of poor Thom bemoaning his situation; sure, it was tough, and later on he had some personal issues of his own to deal with as well, but he *would* keep going on and on about it.]

The story shifts viewpoints between each of the main players, sometimes with time-skips in between such that major events might take place in between sections. I found this a bit frustrating at times, but for the most part I liked it, as it kept me in the head of whichever character was narrating at the time. I loved the tentative courting between Hal and Royston, and the painful revelations between Rook and Thom.

[I read the follow-on book Shadow Magic, though it changes focus to a different set of characters. And I've also read Dragon Soul, which picks up with Rook and Thom, and Steelhands, which deals with surviving airmen Balfour and Adamo in the city, along with some interesting new characters.]

I left this book, bagged against the elements, on a bench near the historical marker for the Abbott Stone Bridge; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

Picked up on 5/21/2019
at the old stone bridge.
will forward in a few.
thanks for the read.