This is book two in the crowns of Ishia series but most of the book felt more like is should have been book one. Other than the ending it read like everything that happened to Jana happened before book one.

I enjoyed this book more than I did the first, and it was easy to follow the story and the characters. It was however missing an emotional connection between any of the characters. Even when there was a death, it just didn’t feel as impactfull as it should have and every significant moment felt like it was rushed.

It was still an enjoyable read and I loved the dragons in this one and it felt like they played more of a part in the story instead of just being there.

If you are looking for a quick read with dragons, action, and just a hint of romance at the end, The Desert Talon could be just what you are looking for.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley / Solaris.

I enjoyed the first book, but I didn't feel like I fully connected with it. Perhaps it was the protagonist-or maybe just something about its quick pace. This volume tells a more contained story, with point-of-view character's journey driving the narrative, and things came together much more satisfyingly, for me. There's still a certain rush to the ending, but the heartbreak felt earned and felt. I was on the edge of my seat throughout, and profoundly invested.

It's also beautifully written - I enjoyed the language quite a lot, and the worldbuilding continued to be excellent.

Very curious what the next book in this series will bring.

The Desert Talon is a study of PTSD, social welfare that is not as helpful as it possibly could be, and the clash of cultures as the Ba'Suon characters face off against their Mazoön counterparts. It takes place within the same time frame and a length of time after The Mountain Crown. This is the story of Janan, the Ba'Suon soldier who Lilley had a relationship with in The Mountain Crown. In this, he has successfully reached Mazemoor, but he's been confined to a prison/holding facility. (Mazemoor is keeping the combatants in lock down while they do background checks and find out if there are any relatives within Mazemoor who are willing to sponsor said combatants. None of this appears to have been explained to Janan.)

The Mazemoor share a common ethnic background with the Ba'Suon, but use their abilities in ways that differ from the Ba'Suon. They refer to their abilities as "mysticism" and have a high technology level, powered by the forces of nature. (At the cost of slowly killing their environment. I have a strong suspicion that the "desert" is actually a "dustbowl.")

This book delves into different kinds of prejudice and the complicated problem of a refugee population with former combatants among their numbers.  Our Protagonist must attempt to navigate the complicated ins and outs of a bureaucratic system he is in no way familiar with, and has reason to be hostile about. (Due to the entire "no one appears to have made sure he understands the Process and Knows Why It's a Thing.")

Janan is taken in by a relative who lives alone with her son on a small farm. They do not get much time for family introduction activities before Janan is approached by a "dragon baron" named Eben Wisterel who immediately attempts to offer him a job working with his dragons. This is not well taken as Janan's "knowing" tells him that the rancher is extremely sketchy. This is eventually confirmed!

In addition to the refugee assimilation allegory we also have a strong romantic thread worked into the story via Janan's boyfriend Lilley. We see a lot of Janan being both angry and guilty that he hadn't "done something" about Raka. (The guy that got Lilley captured and left behind when they tried to leave.) Janan does a lot of mooning about Lilley, and it's really a good thing that we know what happens to Lilley in The Mountain Crown or we'd be getting extremely anxious.

(By we I mean me. I was the one who would have been getting anxious. It think I was less worried about Janan in The Mountain Crown due to point of view character not having a complete read on Lilley. Janan was more of a concept in Crown, then he turns up in this book--and we go, "he isn't dead!" And then we go, "oh no..." and so on. Again, by we I mean "me.")

Overall, this was a great sequel to The Mountain Crown. This book review is based off of a galley copy received from NetGalley!

The Desert Talon is the second book in the Crowns of Ishia series, and follows a character who was prominent by his absence in the first book, Janan. He had escaped servitude as a soldier on dragonback and is requesting asylum in the country he'd fought against. He's allowed to stay on probation with his kin sister, but will encounter tragedy as he tries to integrate his new country.

Like the first book, there's a strong anti imperial message in this one, but added on is an indictment of capitalism: Janan sees that his innate magic, or connection with his dragon, is something to exploit for material gain.

The ending is bittersweet and both ties up some threads from the first book while also leaving room for new adventures and lands to discover.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.

Another brilliant entry in the Crowns of Ishia series!
I think I enjoyed this even more than the first entry in the series. The story was a very simple one, but I was really struck by how genuine and human it was.
As with the first book, the dragons were great! I loved the representation of their inner thoughts: very alien but poetic and beautiful. I also really liked the exploration of how magic is different for different cultures- this is often something that’s overlooked in fantasy but it makes so much sense that different cultures will have different approaches to and experiences with magic. Each different type was logical yet didn’t lose that spark of wonder that magic should have.

As I said in the beginning, the humanity is what made me really love this story. The heart of it was the characters and their relationships to one another and this was just written so wonderfully which such care and affection. I really became invested in all of the characters, even the side characters, though Janan and Lilley’s story was the most prominent. This humanity was reflected in the plot: bittersweet and full of hope despite the world and its evils. A bit of personal bias here because I have a particular love for this kind of tone, but it was just so wonderful to read!

Unlike the first book, I didn’t feel like the length of this one restricted it in any way. In fact, I think it made it better: short but impactful! The series has already improved so much (though the first book was still excellent) and I can’t wait to see how it improves in the future.
I can’t wait to read more entries in this series and explore the world, magic and the suon even more!

A beautifully written story about the necessity of living alongside nature set in an enthralling world of dragons and conquerors who wish to exploit them regardless of the cost. The Desert Talon is a more subdued follow up from The Mountain Crown, but this second book really dives into the deep introspections, grief, and loneliness of it’s main character, Janan. I actually really loved that this story was overall more slowly paced because it allowed Janan to really blossom as a character on the page. It was easy to feel how displaced and uneasy he was living in a foreign land surrounded by people with 0 understanding of his way of life.

I always love a cautionary tale about human’s consumption of nature and viewing living creatures as objects and commodities rather than treating them with respect. The character of Wisterel really shows how easy to it is to twist our point of views in order to cast ourselves in a heroic light even if we are taking advantage of the world we live in, disregarding of how our actions may affect it. The final conflict of the story did happen begin and end very quickly was a bit jarring and contrasted the pacing of the rest of the book, but I don’t mind too much because I think the true bulk of the book was found through Janan’s introspection and observations about the world around him.

Oh this was such a step up from the previous installment! I found the first one a bit confusing because of the stiff prose, and it's still a bit stiff here, but there was no confusion this time around.
I loved the POV switch - Janan is an interesting character, and I really wanted to wrap him in a blanket multiple times :')
The clash between Janan and his nomadic/native ways clashing with the more modern and exploitative nature of Mazemoor. It led to some great social commentary about the way modern society exploits nature and the creatures within it.
Really looking forward to the last installment!!

The Desert Talon is such a good book. I had the time of my life reading it. Karin Lowachee is such a good author!!!! I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

The Desert Talon continues on from the events in "The Mountain Crown" further developing the world and focusing on characters whom were only touched upon in the first instalment.

Again you can expect a tale filled with dragons and their relationships to the land and the Ba'suon people, the effects of war and human greed on the planet and its natural resources.

I found the reading experience with this second instalment to be far easier to get into and its short length didn't take away from any of it themes or messaging. I cannot wait to continue with this series.

the desert talon brings us back to the world of the suon with ba'suon janan of the sephihalé family, lilley's beloved who is only mentioned in the mountain crown. after deserting the kattakan military and being held by the mazemoor state, he's released into the custody of his family member to serve his probation. but there's something more devious going on with in the nearby town, and its odd founder.

this book is still firmly a dragon western, but this time in the desert. the pacing is slower than the first one, but fits for the kind of meandering, aimless character of janan. his bond with his family members and his suon are the heart of this story. i can't say i have the best understanding of the anti-colonial message in this one, but that's on me. the ending was incredibly sweet and unexpected and makes me more excited for the third novella.

This short story was interesting and well written.

The pacing was a bit slow to me, but I was interested in the story throughout the book.
The world building was very interesting and I enjoyed the "talons" and their connection with the characters.

Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me access to this book as an ARC.

This review will also appear on storygraph.

Janan steps in to take centre stage in the sequel to The Mountain Crown in this trilogy of dragon rider novellas. While he has big shoes to fill he does so very successfully. The only complaint I have is one that’s pretty common with any novella: it all moves a little too fast, especially the resolution. I would have loved an expanded story to flesh out the villain and have more conversations with this man who reminds me of a modern age nepotism baby. The one complaint that I had reading the first book wasn’t a problem at all here and I am excited to see what’s in store for book 3!

This is a common review for both The Mountain Crown and The Desert Talon, the first and second instalment in the Crown Ishia fantasy series
It's an entertaining a promising starts: dragon, action, good world building, and an entertaining and tightly knitted plot
I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to read the last instalment
4.5 upped to 5
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a strong sequel in the Crowns of Ishia series, it had that element that I was looking for. The world had that element that I wanted and was glad everything flowed well together. It had that element that I wanted and enjoyed the characters and how everything fit together. Karin Lowachee has a strong writing style and glad everything that I was looking for.

Who says epic fantasy must be epically long? Clearly this series is here to prove that conception wrong. Much like The Mountain Crown, we find ourselves in this richly developed world where the conquerors are reaping the spoils of their victory, and dragons and those people that have traditionally bonded with them are exploited. The characters are dynamic and it was easy to get absorbed in this story and come to care about their plight. I am eager to see what the third part of this trilogy brings. This book, much like its prequel, is a great choice for someone who enjoys epic tales but is looking for a quicker read.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Rebellion - Solaris) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.