Sagaman Kessler: The Boy Will Fight

Sagaman Kessler: The Boy Will Fight is the story of Kessler, a warrior, who saves an opposing child soldier in battle. In doing so, he takes a spear to his back, which would cause him to die. Instead, his dragon mate (not a romantic mate, more on that in a second) dies in his place. After a bond with a dragon is broken, for example, if one party dies it causes immense grief that will cause the other party to die. 

Instead of giving Kessler the “grief”, the dragon, Ilona, gives the grief to Shai, the child soldier. This sets the two on a quest to find Ilona’s egg so that when it hatches, one of the two can bind to it and save themselves from death. The two then set off on this journey to the egg, making friends and running into problems along the way. There are giant moles, snakes, spiders, and more that stand between the heroes and their goal.

The writing style of the book is often quite good. The story is written in first person, which is unique to the fantasy genre, which generally uses 3rd person. This helps lead to urgency in some of the action sequences. It also gives us a look into the mind of Kessler, who despite being a tough warrior, is often quite emotional (perhaps part of it might be this bond he broke). The book starts with a prophecy, written in verse (a requirement of fantasy in fact).

There are some recurring themes as new deals and bargains are exchanged from one life to another. For example, the characters throughout the book form bonds with one another, not like an oath or anything, but rather drawing closer together and forming a willingness to sacrifice themselves for one another. Some of the bonds aren’t magical or special, like the bonds of friendship or comradery. The bond with the dragon seems like more than that to me. 

In addition to the bonds between dragons and humans, other bonds exist, like the bond between two Fae, which takes place near instantaneously. Likewise, bonds between Fae happen much faster than with a human. Does this serve as a convenient way to quickly write in a character of importance to the plot? A little bit, but I think it is an interesting idea nonetheless.

I enjoyed the book, although I did think some of the middle of the book was a bit long at times. The crew seems to get themselves in one predicament after another. It feels like rather than moving forward through the plot, we get stuck. The introduction of another character helps the story pick up again. 

One note, make sure not to read the character and lore references at the start of the book as they contain major spoilers!

Overall the fantasy world created is unique  with interesting inhabitants. The book sets up a good start to a series with many questions and plot threads yet to be examined. The mechanics and lore of the world are engaging, and the illustrations within the book are fun. 

Perspective: 1st person

Tense: Simple Past

Length: 364 pages

Kindle unlimited: Yes

https://www.amazon.com/Sagaman-Kessler-Will-Fight-Book-ebook/dp/B09RTMMGYH