On Dragons and Other Wonders

Val Thorvald is an assassin in the service of the military. When magical creatures harm people, she deals with them permanently. The magical community does not like Val, to say the least, especially if you count all the assassination attempts, she has endured over the years. But Val is half-elf and has physical traits inherited from her elven father, which allow her to both identify magical creatures and defend against their attempts to kill her. Besides that, she has a strong sword named Chopper, a special rifle named Fezzik, and a few magical trinkets with special properties, one of which allows her to summon a wondrous tiger at her service.

The first book begins with one of the missions she was sent on when suddenly a dragon appears, a magical creature Val has never encountered before. In the dragon's eyes, Val is a tool for completing his missions, an idea that Val opposes from the depths of her soul and her rough personality. Meanwhile, Val's boss suffers from a mysterious illness and a government investigation, problems that Val must solve not just to save herself.

In most urban fantasy books I've read, there is hardly any reference to humans. They appear occasionally as extras but nothing more. Here, they are an integral part, from Val's military and boss to Val's family, her mother, ex-husband, and daughter (a bit reminiscent of October Daye). There is an explanation as to why humans do not see magical creatures, and it is quite satisfactory.

I love that Val is already forty, aware of her roots and abilities, and not a teenager busy with rebellions. I love the development of the relationship between Val and the dragon. In the first book, there is a duel of will between them, and it is quite clear that the dragon is naturally stronger, yet Val is a total badass.

When I originally wrote the post, I listened to three books and immediately recommended it in my book group. Since then, I have completed the entire series and really loved it all. There are many developments in the series, of the characters and the stories, and I am careful here to avoid spoilers. In the romantic aspect, it is very slow-burn, and in the first books, it is not the focus of the story at all.

According to Goodreads, the series has nine books, not including novellas. Yesterday, the Hebrew version of the first book, "Sinister Magic", was released by Baalma Publishing. The series is called in English, "Death Before Dragons", but the publisher spared our tender souls, and the series name in Hebrew is "Dragons in the Seattle Skies."