Book Review - Talon

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Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble.
Title: Talon
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Version I Read: Audiobook

Rating: 4.5/5

I’ve always had a lot of respect for Julie Kagawa, ever since I first picked up The Iron King. She has always managed to do the whole typical “teen paranormal romance” while, you know, actually having an interesting plot. Since her publishing contract appears to be with Harlequin Teen, that alone is pretty impressive.

Because I really, really don’t like vampires and post-apocalyptic stories, however, I ultimately chose to take a pass on Blood of Eden. But when I heard she had a new series coming out about dragons, I was more than ready to give it a shot, and I was not disappointed.

Talon follows siblings Ember and Dante Hill, who are nearing the end of their training in the global dragon organization called Talon. They are dragons, who can shift into human form, and after years of lessons are now living amongst the human population for a summer as something of a final test. Once they complete integration, they will be assigned their positions in the organization. Ember, while happy to be experiencing something resembling freedom, has a rebellious streak that begins to blossom into full mutiny when she meets a rogue dragon, Cobalt, who tells her of Talon’s true nature. Meanwhile, the Order of St. George, a militant organization dedicated to killing all dragons, has gotten reports of a dragon imposter in the town Ember and Dante are living in, and they are going to send their best operatives to find the “sleeper” and kill it. But their “perfect soldier,” Garret, may get way more than he bargained for.

I listened to the audiobook, which is something I’ve tried to do more of as of late. (I can read more books that way!) I’m not as familiar with the medium as I am plain old books, but I thought the performances were pretty darn good. (And Chris Patton is a dragon! Awesome!)

Here there be spoilers!

The characters are pretty good, maybe not the most original, but likable and good nonetheless. I especially like how Ember actually is a badass who, for the most part, doesn’t need to be rescued. So often in YA paranormal romance, a spunky heroine turns into useless so the guy can save her. Not Ember. She does get help every now and again, but she kicks ass all the way. Dante keeps the reader guessing as to his true feelings and allegiance, before the ending, which is pretty heartbreaking for the reader as well as Ember. It’s interesting to see Garret’s inner thoughts and how both he and Ember begin the story as pretty convinced their side is right before changing their opinions throughout the story (while expected, I think it’s done well). Garret’s inner whining about how he can’t be with Ember even though she captivates him can get a little irritating at times, but nothing too serious. And Riley/Cobalt is a rebel with an attitude, trying to save young dragons from the organization. It’s hard not to like him, and Wes, the snarky hacker, for that matter. Even the human girls Ember hangs out with feel like people, and not just stereotypical blonde bimbos.

The plot really kicks into high gear near the end, with Ember and Garret discovering each other’s secrets and choosing to spare each other’s lives, Ember deciding to flee with Cobalt, and Dante choosing to remain with the organization rather than follow his sister. This sets up readers nicely for the next novel, with Garret captured and about to be executed by St. George for collaborating with a dragon, and Dante and Talon’s search for Ember. I came to realize just how much I liked these characters and cared about what was going to happen to them.

The biggest plot hole in this book (I even went back to the first chapter and listened to the first half of it again to make sure I wasn’t missing an explanation) is the human involvement with Talon. It’s never adequately explained in Talon, and in Rogue, it appears Kagawa might be handwaving it, which is a bit of a disappointment. I can understand if the humans they have working for them are being bought out, and that many of them don’t know the true nature of the organization, but given what I know about humanity, I have a hard time believing Talon could get too many humans (short of ones being raised by Talon, I guess) to think of themselves as a “lesser” species (we're not known for being humble). For that matter, I think she needs to go into more detail about how Talon operates in general, but she has more books for that, so I'll give it a pass for now. I also think the choice of having Ember discover and love surfing was a little “Californian surfer dude/dudette” cliche, but not too obnoxious.

The other thing I’m hoping Kagawa addresses in later books is Cobalt’s network of escaped hatchlings, its mechanics, and his plan for it. So far, it’s pretty clear that he and Wes are running this operation single-handedly, which I think is a tiny bit farfetched, mostly because a juvenile can’t be the only rogue dragon out there attempting to screw over Talon. I really hope we get to see more rogue dragons.

The Verdict: I’d say Talon gets off to a slower start than most, but I’m glad I stuck around, because the story seems to get more interesting the deeper you get into it.

Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.

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