This Book Skips Straight to the Good Stuff
The Last Rift Dragon takes a very common story, skips over the parts we already know, then slams us with several surprises.
In Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness, Alanna becomes a knight in book 3 of the series. In the Protector of the Small quartet, the pattern repeats, and Kel becomes a knight at the beginning of book 4. However, in The Last Rift Dragon, chapter one starts with what would normally be the 3/4 point of Richter's coming-of-age story: the final exam that determines which of the seven finalists will get to choose an egg first, immediately prior to becoming a knight.
Richter lives in the city of Bridgehaven, where a magical fog gives everyone magical gyfts. The source of that fog is the breath of dragons. Where once Bridgehaven contained hundreds of dragons, only three remain—two earth dragons and a sterile storm dragon. Richter is a noble whose parents were both bonded to magical dragons as Knights of the Silver Fog before they and their dragons died. The protagonist with the tragic past is joined by his best friend, Lex, whose wind-manipulation gyft mirrors his persistently optimistic personality. Lex wants to be the first person born as a commoner to become a knight. Both friends succeed in being among the seven finalists to bond with seven earth dragon eggs… Then chapter one begins.
Starting where it does, The Last Rift Dragon feels fast-paced while still keeping readers from feeling lost, with room for twists I guarantee readers won't see coming.
Everyone I have spoken to who has read it has loved it. After finally reading it myself, I wholeheartedly agree.
