Last Dragon/JM McDermott

Man I dig this book. I mean really, really dig.

It's confusing as all hell. I'll say that right up front. You're actually expected to read!?!?! There are no "markers" for the narrative. You know what means? None of those annoying conversations between characters to sum up the action thus far, no dates or times at the beginning of chapters, no establishing of age or location overtly. Halle - fucking- lujah. I'll trade three parts confusion for no parts being led by the nose any day of the goddamn week. Make that every day...

The whole novel gets delivered in short (3 page max) vignettes told (mostly) from the voice of Zahn, now an old woman, assumed to by dying. She is retelling her experience as a young warrior charged with hunting down her own grandfather and killing him. Of course nothing is ever that easy and a task that like that can't be accomplished alone.

One of the things that impressed me about this novel is that the narrative effectively mirrors (what I can believe are) the near death ramblings of a once great warrior. The non-linear, hazy feel of the novel reinforces this initial conceit from beginning to end. On top of that, the narrative is well-paced and some of the descriptions are fantastically compelling, to the point where you start to realize the parts most important to the now dying Zahn are far more colorful than those warrior Zahn might have highlighted then, which is a sign of pretty rich writing in my humble. It's not all perfect. There are some language issues that are distracting scattered throughout the novel. The vocabulary available to second language speakers in short order is often times unrealistic, especially when considered next to the language struggles described on other occasions. Also, the terms aren't always consistent or convincing, but these are small complaints.

I don't read a lot of fantasy, which is to say almost none. I've read other places that this novel breaks form with a lot of fantasy writing and has not been especially well received. Not knowing much about the genre it's hard for me to comment, but I will say for a reader with zero in terms of expectation I really enjoyed this book. The characters for the most part "pop" and remain true to form throughout the novel. Even the unlikable are compelling and the maze of secrets that underlie much of the story are reasonable and well-delivered.

I don't know, this doesn't make it sound all that likable really, does it? And yet, I really like it. There's something about it. Clearly, I can't put my finger on it, but it was wholly worth the read.