Fireborne

Starred review from August 12, 2019
Lee and Annie have been close friends since the bloody revolution nine years earlier that freed Callipolis from the reign of the despotic dragonborn aristocracy. Only Annie, whose entire serf family died at Lee’s father’s hands, suspects that orphaned Lee is the scion of one of the slaughtered dragonborn lineages. Now, both teens are top competitors for the position of Firstrider, leader of a new fleet of dragon riders, and their privileged position allows them to see shortcomings in the new meritocracy seeking to elevate the downtrodden and redistribute power in their new society. But loyalties are tested as Lee’s relatives lead the long-fled survivors of the dragonborn to threaten the fledgling nation. Drawing inspiration from The Aeneid and Plato’s Republic, debut author Munda generates a plot that moves quickly, tempering fate-driven elements of classical tragedy with hope. The nuanced cast, particularly Lee and Annie, engage in complex relationships, and scenes of dragon-mounted combat are simultaneously exciting and grounded in idiosyncratic details of process and mechanics. Munda seamlessly moves between breathless action and an unflinching examination of horrors inflicted in pursuit of noble ideals, and the difficulty of escaping cycles of power and violence. Ages 12–up.

This dragon fantasy rife with political intrigue has three narrators. Christian Coulson portrays Leo, the last living member of the ousted ruling class, who is hiding in plain sight as Lee, a dragon rider who is competing for the coveted Firstrider position. Candice Moll voices Annie, another contender for Firstrider, whose family was murdered by Lee's father. Steve West's voice is stately and resonant as he delivers the flashback sequences that show Lee and Annie's shared childhood in an orphanage. Coulson's Lee and Moll's Annie are both very likable, and the narrators do an exceptional job expressing the characters' complex emotions as they begin to question the new meritocracy's harsh caste system. Moll also demonstrates her skill in the rich Scottish accents she gives characters from the Highlands. S.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine