REVIEW Fury of the Dragon Goddess by Sarwat Chadda

REVIEW Fury of the Dragon Goddess by Sarwat Chadda
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: August 1, 2023
Format: Audiobook (Personal Library, Libro.fm)
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

Check out my review of the first book, City of the Plague God

Sarwat Chadda’s Fury of the Dragon Goddess, the sequel to City of the Plague God, was never a guaranteed book but I’m so glad it came out. Sikander Aziz, or ‘Sik’ is once again in the middle of all the action as he must stop the gods of Ancient Mesopotamia from using an ancient tablet to destroy the world. 

While I thought the stakes were high in the first book, and Nergal was an amazing villain, things get so much deeper in this story. Lugal is a villain with a lot of depth to him, and when he explains the motives behind why he’s doing what he’s doing it makes sense to a degree. He’s quite brutal in his methods (apt for someone whose name is the Mesoptomian word for ‘war leader’), and Mr. Chadda does not pull any punches in what’s going on throughout the book. In addition to Lugal, there are appearances from other figures out of Mesopotamian mythology (most notably chaos dragon goddess Tiamat) and it was so exciting to get to learn more about all of them. I did want to note that I really appreciate how the author delicately balances Sikander’s Muslim faith and the belief that there is only one God with all the Mesopotmian deities running around in the story. 

While there is an undeniable fantasy aspect to the novel, there’s also a social commentary on current issues facing the world. For example, the author touches on issues like America’s history of xenophobia and racism, the war in Iraq, and even Britain’s history of pilfering antiquities over the years and refusing to send them back to their home countries (i.e. the only reason the pyramids never left Egypt is because they are too big). The author also explores the Islamic faith and culture, and highlights how love and family are central pillars of that belief system. As an adult reader, I really appreciated the chance to learn with the in-depth look at all of these different topics and I think middle grade readers will too. 

Overall, this was an excellent read. Vikas Adam did an amazing job bringing the action to life with his performance in the audiobook narration (my favorite was his interpretation of Rabisu’s voice). If you or a young reader in your life enjoy books that are fun and action packed takes on world mythology, this would be a great choice. For those who might want to learn a bit more about Rabisu, I recommend checking out the Rick Riordan Presents anthology The Cursed Carnival and other Calamities and taking a look at Sarwat Chadda’s contribution, “The Loneliest Demon”. 

 

ARC REVIEW: City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda

City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda

Rating: 5 Stars

Release Date: January 5, 2021

Format: eARC/Hardback

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (Rick Riordan Presents)

Check out the book on Bookshop.org

Check out the book on Libro.fm

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Check out my review of the second book in the series, Fury of the Dragon Goddess

Every addition to the Rick Riordan Presents imprint brings something special and unique into the world, and this is no different.

Sarwat Chadda does not disappoint in bringing the mythology of Mesopotamia to a more modern audience. This is a great book, with talking swords, mythical cats, and a rotten villain (quite literally rotting). It brings both adventure and an emotional depth that isn’t common in stories written to a middle-grade audience. The struggle to find one's identity, and to be true to both the place of your birth and your new home is one that's so important and relevant in today's world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves middle-grade adventure stories with elements of fantasy and mythology. This is definitely a good choice for anyone who connects to Percy Jackson, as Sik reminds me a lot of Percy. Both unlikely heroes, who didn’t really give much thought to the idea of myths coming to life until they were staring it in the face. They just want to be normal kids, but unfortunately, fate has different plans.

As a side note, I really love how this imprint gives a platform and representation to backgrounds that are not normally presented to such a wide audience. I hope this becomes a series instead of staying as a stand-alone novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for my e-ARC. I appreciate it immensely!