Today I am reviewing The Sacred Scales by Bryan Davis releasing next Tuesday.
Book description:
A middle grade faith-building fantasy adventure from the bestselling Dragons in Our Midst story world.
In King Arthur’s Camelot where dragons are outlawed, a poor apprentice boy and a dragon-raised orphan girl unravel an evil plot to exterminate dragons from this world and the next.
Hawk spends his days trying to survive as a lowly apprentice in the harsh employ of Master Andrew—a sly shopkeeper making illegal bargains with dragons. But when Master Andrew is hired by Lady Morgan to cheat the dragon Clefspeare out of his promised gemstone payment, Hawk’s faith in God spurs him to action.
Sabina hasn’t had contact with humans in years, not since the kind-hearted dragon Legossi rescued her from the ruins of her burned village. But the forest is no place for a young girl to come of age, so Legossi agrees to have a knight take Sabina to Lady Morgan’s estate. Yet Sabina quickly realizes Lady Morgan has a sinister scheme to wipe out dragons in this realm and beyond. Can Hawk and Sabina warn the dragons and foil Lady Morgan’s plans before it’s too late?
Readers of Bryan Davis’s previous books will devour this fast-paced read following the thrilling adventures featuring new characters.
My Review:
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
As a child I loved reading fantasy books starting with Enid Blyton and then the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. When I was offered a chance to read this book I jumped at it. This book is set in Camelot where dragons are part of the land. There is currently a fragile truce between Camelot and the dragons about to be shattered.
Hawk is an apprentice to an unkind master who is secretly working for the Lady Morgan. Sabina was rescued by a dragon and is now needs to go back to live with humans. She becomes Lady Morgan’s ward. Hawk and Sabina work together to stop the war on the dragons and foil Lady Morgan’s plans with the help of Merlin.
Throughout the book we see a Christian theme. Hawk is a Christian trying to live the Christian life. I love how bible themes are woven throughout the book like how dragons were on the ark. This book reads well, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The reading age is listed as age of 8 – 12 but I think it would depend on the child. I personally would have struggled at 8 but by 11 this would have been a book I would have loved. If a parent and child are reading together then 8 wouldn’t be too young.
It reminds me of Narnia as both are fantasy. There is a true good and evil struggle and think lovers of Narnia would love this book. I look forward to reading more in the series and checking out the other series. You can read an interview with the Author Bryan Davis here