After the first book in the instalment, City Of The Plague God, Sarwat Chadda returns to the Rick Riordan Presents world, and therefore the world of Mesopotamian mythology for the sequel I’ve been waiting for: Fury Of The Dragon Goddess. Every part as epic and adventurous as the first book, my favourite Muslim hero and his friends are back for another dose of trouble. After how much I loved the first one, I had high hopes and let me say: I was not disappointed.
Book: Fury of the Dragon Goddess
Author: Sarwat Chadda
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars
Release date: 1st August 2023
If you’re reading this and have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about, I’d advise you to read my review of the first book, which you can do here.
And to bring you all up to speed, here’s the rundown on Fury Of The Dragon Goddess:
(Synopsis from goodreads):
“Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a second earth-shattering adventure based on Mesopotamian mythology by Sarwat Chadda, author of City of the Plague God .
*”Chadda excels in this action-packed adventure, peppered with scenes examining Western theft of cultural artifacts, xenophobia, and Islamophobia and grounded in emotional depth and tenderness for humanity. An epic tale that contains multitudes.”– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
While on vacation in London, Sikander Aziz gets his hands on the mythic tablet of destinies. Naturally Sik uses it to get his brother Mo back among the living. His wish is granted, but at a terrible cost. Sik’s troubles multiply a billionfold when the tablet is stolen by the elder god of insanity, Lugal, who brings back Tiamat, the great chaos dragon and mother of all monsters.
Nothing less than the fate of the world is at stake when a Muslim boy takes on the ancient gods of Mesopotamia in this action thriller by a master storyteller.”
So, in Fury Of The Dragon Goddess, readers are reunited with Sikander, a few more familiar faces, and some new ones too, as this time they all hit London! It feels even more special being reunited with characters and mythology I love…this time in the country I call home, in a city I’ve visited countless times and is just up the road from me! As the chaos ensued, I could vividly picture where Sik and his gang were, and imagine the destruction being brought about. Yes, this is partly due to the setting, but largely also due to Chadda’s fantastic writing. The world-building and vivid descriptions in his books are second to none and this is no exception. His words feed the imagination and bring everything to life from the locations to the monsters…and even some beautifully delicious descriptions of food and drink along the way! (I really need to visit Sik’s family’s diner). Fury Of The Dragon Goddess was immersive in every sense of the word, transporting me right into Sik’s world so I was taken along on his journey with him; I could feel the wind in my hair, the water on my face, I could smell and hear everything they could. For me, the world-building and therefore the escapism and being able to transport into the books is crucial, and Chadda has perfected that element into his writing.
When it comes to me reading a sequel, I want the next book(s) in the series to mirror what made me love the first one, but not feel like a direct copy and that I’m reading the same book again. Fury of the Dragon Goddess is an example of the exact kind of sequel I like. It expands on the first one beautifully; we learn more about Sik, his family, his strengths and weaknesses, and especially after the events of the first book, we see him really grow and develop even more. The same can be said for all the characters; Fury Of The Dragon Goddess gives us content to learn more about and love them all even more. Additionally, it has everything I’d expected and hoped for; adventure, mythological beings and creatures and plot twists that had me gasping, crying and laughing – and sometimes all three (especially at the end – my goodness how much I cried!). The way I see Fury Of The Dragon Goddess is how sequels should be: the elements of a fantasy story you expect, the characters you know and love, but a whole new story to sink your teeth and heart into. All of which Chadda has done.
Fury Of The Dragon Goddess had the gang going on a fast-paced, gripping new journey; the story had me hooked from the first to the last page. It had everything I’d expected and hoped for, and then Chadda amped it up a gear even more so it not only met my prior expectations and hopes, but surpassed them! And now completely unpredictably, it has left me eager for more! (So this is me already putting in a request for book 3).
Now I’ve already mentioned what a fantastic author Chadda is in terms of bringing his books to life, but he is equally as fantastic at bringing these epic stories to life in a way that is easy to digest. You’d think this would have to be a given for authors, but many a time I’ve read a book with epic adventures and battles and so much of the battle scenes go straight over my head because I simply can’t get myself to understand what is going on. I found in both City Of The Plague God and Fury Of The Dragon Goddess, the battle scenes were richly written so that I felt I was right there fighting with them! At times when reading, I had to remind and force myself to slow down because I was enjoying the book so much that I was flying through those pages! Chadda has created yet another action-packed and addictive fantasy with new monsters, battles and surprises galore; he has created another story for people to simultaneously fuel their imaginations and lose themselves in.
Something else I love about Chadda’s writing is the perfect blend of sensitive, heartfelt emotion at the centre of his stories, mixed with light humour throughout. About to take down a huge monster in the heart of London? Sik is on it. Right after he makes a quick-witted comment first. And I love it every single time! This combination means that even I, someone in their 20s, can still love and enjoy a middle-grade book as much as the kids themselves! For me, that is a marker of a brilliant children’s book. If I can read and enjoy it as an adult, you’ve done it right. This was the case with City Of The Plague God and it’s the case with Fury Of The Dragon Goddess. There are some crucial and complex themes just seamlessly and beautifully interwoven into the story; immortality, family, grief, hope, faith, the good and evil in humanity – and that’s just a few! The writing style is beautiful, multi-layered and heroic in every way, but written in a way that is appropriate for younger readers, so they can read, enjoy and understand it too. This is not something that is easy to navigate, but Chadda has nailed it.
I also cannot write this whole review without once more mentioning the huge importance of the representation* of this book. The Rick Riordan Presents imprint is a fantastic way to encourage Percy Jackson fans to read mythology from other cultures and authors, and this cannot be in any way understated. To be able to read about a Muslim kid having these wild adventures is something I wouldn’t have ever dreamt of, even as recently as 10 years ago. Kids now can grow up seeing themselves in the media and it matters.
Sikander is a normal kid (well, kind of!). He is this kid who became a hero overnight and just happens to be a Muslim too. This combined with the natural integration of his culture – down to the greetings, the food, the added small details that bring everything together, is crucial. And with all of this, it’s not a big deal, it’s just who he is. Yet to readers who have not seen themselves represented before, it’s a huge deal. Similarly, this has all been written in a way that’s welcoming and understandable to people who don’t share the heritage or culture Sikander does; it gives other readers a chance to experience others’ lives, to learn and enjoy a story and experience different to what they may have read before. And ultimately, all of that is what makes books so special and important; the novelty and impact of this will never wear off on me.
Sarwat Chadda has brought Sikander and his gang back to his readers’ lives with the epic tale, Fury Of The Dragon Goddess. This wonderful book is the sequel I have been waiting for, and every single page made it more than worth the wait. There is no better way to spend your day than immersing yourself in a thrilling, eventful Mesopotamian mythology fantasy, with one of the coolest heroes out there (in my humble opinion).
Fury of the Dragon Goddess is out on the 1st of August 2023, and you can buy it here.
*(Side note; when you read book two you’ll know what I mean, but the added representation re Mo/Daoud: I don’t want to admit how much I cried. My heart was overcome with happiness to see that representation there on the page for all to see. This is for people like me).
(I was very kindly sent an ARC of this book to read before the release of the finished book in August, however, I have written this review by choice and all thoughts are completely my own. I just love this series so much!).
One Show at a Time 