Tooth and Claw
By Jo Walton
I stumbled upon Tooth and Claw only because someone on Metafilter had recommended Among Others, by Jo Walton. However, while Among Others cost $11.99 to download, Tooth and Claw was on sale for $2.99. So I downloaded the free chapter of Among Others to sample, and bought the whole of Tooth and Claw.
$2.99 was a steal!
Tooth and Claw was distinctly Austenesque – in feel, if not in world. The world itself is of dragons, with manners, social etiquette, and forms about who females should be and men of worth are. Jo Walton paints a detailed and fascinating portrait of how dragons (and people really) dance and agitate within and against society. Sometimes I forget I am reading about dragons; other times I am tickled to pieces realising that I am reading about dragons flying around with hats!
The ending ties up neatly too, with all’s well that ends well, as it would in Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion with somewhat convenient deux ex machina. Is that a weakness? Perhaps. But I don’t care, because by that time I had come to really feel for the dragons and want them to have happy endings.
Reread value: 4/5
