Shadow Scale

Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman, 596 pages

War between dragons has erupted. The Old Guard have seized power, and Ardmager Comonot leads the Loyalists from the human kingdom of Goredd. At the bidding of her friends, the newly-crowned Queen Glisselda and her fiancé Kiggs, Seraphina must travel across the Three Kingdoms and up to isolated Porphyry, gathering her fellow ityasaari, or half-dragons, in hopes of rediscovering the secret of St. Abaster’s Trap, a weapon that could change the balance of the war. But Seraphina’s past comes back to bite her in the form of Jannoula, who once tried to seize her mind and possess her and now begins to weave a terrible net around Seraphina and her new friends.

This is a worthy follow-up to Seraphina. Hartman broadens her scope and shows us more of the world outside Goredd, taking us on a tour to the other kingdoms and even into Tanamoot, the embattled dragon homeland (where we see how sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic). The secrets of the ancient Saints are revealed, and Seraphina learns the extent and the limits of her own ityasaari powers. Jannoula is a terrifying adversary – able to steal into other ityasaari minds and twist them to her own purposes, and the fear and helplessness Seraphina feels come across very strongly. I’m very much looking forward to reading the upcoming Tess of the Road.