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.