#61 in Adventure
Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame
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About the book
Few know the true identity of the masked guildknight of Mithrandon. She barely remembers herself. The masked guildknight—Yeva—was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon-slaying. Now a legendary dragon hunter, she has never truly felt at home—nor removed her armor in public—since that fateful day all those years ago. Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper, but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders. While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen. As they grow closer, Yeva longs to let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, but she knows she must fulfill her purpose and slay the dragon. Ultimately, she must decide who—or what—she is willing to betray: her own heart, or the sacred duty that she has called home for so long.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.2 across 58 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 24% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Adventure average of 7.7. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.2 | 58 | 100% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“Lovely sapphic short story, I just wish it hadn't been predictable, it left you feeling like the protagonist was little silly. I think a much lighter touch on the foreshadowing would have jumped this to five stars. I'd recommend, but don't expect anything groundbreaking :)”
“my takeaways: -the ultimate cardinal sin of writing novellas: waaay too short for the story it's trying to tell. themes of identity, destiny, and duty told within 170 pages. in some areas, it feels really underdeveloped. like the author had enough content for about 100 pages and needed to pad it out to 170 pages. there's some interesting characters and locations here but they are never really fleshed out. -time jumps happen so often that you don't really get attached to a lot of the things that are happening. -a lot of yeva's interesting developments into a dragon hunter happens off screen…”
Frequently asked
What is Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame rated?
7.8 out of 10, from 58 reader ratings across 1 independent sources.
Is Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame worth reading?
Readers give it 7.8/10 from 58 ratings, which puts it ahead of 52 % of the Adventure shelf.
Where does Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame rank?
#61 in Adventure on the current snapshot.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Adventure — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
