Sometimes a cover is perfect, taking what you are thinking and putting it into art. Sometimes the cover is a disaster, driving you away from a book that is otherwise excellent. And sometimes, just sometimes, a book may have an inaccurate cover that somehow hints emotionally to the books contents.

Touched By Venom is about a young girl, Zarq, in her quest to save her sister and deal with the lingering effects of her mother's obsession, in a male-dominated, vaguely Africanized feudal culture with dragons as a major resource.

I need to state that the setting of the book is flavorful and rich. It is different enough to be interesting but close enough to real cultures to be understandable and relatable. I do feel that the made-up word quotient is way higher than is needed in a non-Tolkien tome, and it does get confusing and annoying.

The relationships between characters, particularly the dynamic between Zarq, her sister, and her mother, struck a chord with me. The mother obviously plays favorites as the sister takes after the mother, both sharing the same mottled green skin indicating a bottom-caste woman with the ability to use powerful blood magic. Zarq, despite the same parentage, did not inherit this. You see the results of this dynamic in many of Zarq's reactions and decisions, its believable.

The novel tracks Zarq from the ages of 9 to 17. As such, she makes childish decisions, which is nice and believeavble and shows growth. On the other hand, since she is a child, Zarq is limited in action and is relatively passive compared to an educated, adult heroine.

Plot-wise, I enjoyed the smaller elements thoroughly. There's a humanity to finding her sister, to living in the temple, to working in the jungle, etc. The larger plot, I don't know how I feel. It is very much a "Lone Heroine Starting a Revolution and Changing the World!" I certainly like this well enough---its a trope in fantasy, after all---but in this novel it seems to clash the flavor and tone, which seems to be a bit darker and more family-oriented in scale. The leaders Zarq is getting in place to depose are almost laughably evil. It is a very clear Evil Patriarchy. Its a gross oversimplification that doesn't promote a thoughtful feminist theme.

I feel like I can't complete this review without talking about the dragon sex and female circumcision. When Scott unpacked this book, he said, and I quote: "[...]And you have Touched By Venom, with a dragon wrapped around a chick's waist with the head by her crotch, and the girl is dressed skimpy and looks very pleased to have the dragon there." While inaccurate, artistically, the cover did make us both worry about incoming dragon sex. And we were right. There are graphic descriptions of human-dragon oral relations, en masse, as well as graphic descriptions of forced female circumcisions. The circumcision aspect was beyond over-the-top, and poorly handled, even it is is practiced in modern societies upon which the book culture was based. The dragon oral sex is also overwrought. I 'get it,' its the women reclaiming their sexuality and their identities as women by engaging in sex that is solely for their own pleasure, not for another person or procreation. Its meant to be empowering but it comes off as disgusting, unnerving, and grotesque, particularly since the agents of this sexual liberation are male dragons given to them by the Patriarchy. Perhaps the book requires a trigger warning.

TL;DR: A solid story in a rich setting marred by a few very poor artistic decisions. ( )

I was worried that this one would be overly grim - and it was in its way, but also adventurous and overwrought (without the glamour of the Kushiel series, this world is a bit more grotty) - and I *do* want to know the further adventures of Zarq the venom junkie. I hope she sets the dragons free! ( )

I was worried that this one would be overly grim - and it was in its way, but also adventurous and overwrought (without the glamour of the Kushiel series, this world is a bit more grotty) - and I *do* want to know the further adventures of Zarq the venom junkie. I hope she sets the dragons free! ( )

Set in a strange land where dragon masters rule over vast areas of the kingdom called dragon estates, Zarq is a young girl in a pottery clan. Their small clan draws the eyes of the dragon master and their peaceful lives are turned upside down. Zarq's sister is sold into slavery and her mother is slowly losing her mind. Zarq makes a run for it, dragging her mother with her. Their journey takes them to a variety of areas, including a home for the dead and a convent built for the care of elderly dragons. She blames the dragon masters for her mother's condition and her sister's disappearance and will do anything as she seeks her revenge.

A very odd tale, and one that I came close to putting down several times. The beginning sequences were almost to fantastical, and I had a difficult time falling into the story. The characters, while changing, did not seem to have very many dynamic qualities to them. Their circumstances changed their actions, but their personalities or thoughts.

The land itself was well thought out and interesting. The locations each had their own unique charm without ever being perfect. The plot was easy to follow, once you figured out the ways of the kingdom. I'm going to give the series one more book to see if I can get into them a little bit more before giving up on it.

2.5/5 ( )

Habe mir das Buch noch nicht ganz durchgelesen. Ist sehr fesselnd und brutal genau beschrieben. Es verleiht eine Vorstellung von Hunger, Armut und Drogenabhängigkeit in einer Welt, in der man sich erst einmal mit den Kulturen und gebräuche vertraut machen muss, die sich ganz um die göttlichen Kreaturen, die Drachen drehen. ( )