Author
See Talon Review
Story Set-Up
Here we begin with Garrett’s investigation of the hierarchy of St George. After the events of Rogue, Garrett begins to question St George’s involvement with Talon. All his life he’s been told dragons are horrible creatures. Now he knows that’s not true. What else is St. George lying about?
Rating
Language: This is similar to Rogue. You get the occasional F-word, but it is used as a cuss. Other language is throughout the entirety of the book.
Violence: You get men shooting guns at dragons, dragons attacking and killing humans. Men fighting against men in sword combat.
Sexual: In this one, you get suggestive material, but it could also be interpreted as nonsexual because the feelings that are being had are not understood by the characters themselves.
Plot
I’m going to be honest. At this point, I was a fan of Garrett’s so when I found out the title of this book was Soldier I got excited. I really enjoyed seeing Garrett out on his own searching for answers about St George. I also enjoyed the interaction with Jade, the new eastern dragon. I think that was a cool inclusion.
I was really upset about Ember and Riley’s relationship. Honestly, I felt like Riley backtracked because Garrett was gone. Sure he has a few moments where he really shows Ember what he’s feeling, but it only seemed to come after Ember forced it out of him.
Just like in Rogue we get a back story, but from Garrett’s past. I feel like this flashback was much more productive than Rogue. Here we get a story we didn’t really know, with a satisfying connection to the current story we’re hearing about.
The conclusion is epic. Not only do you get a surprising reveal, but the tragic end that I felt Garrett deserved.
Character Development
Garrett: Honestly Garrett’s character is going through the same changes since Talon. Here we get him actively fighting against St. George and trying to help his fellow soldiers see the light. I think so far Garrett has the most growth throughout the series.
Ember: Ember makes her choice here. She chooses to love Garrett despite her bond to Riley which is a big step. It was nice to finally get an understanding of what those feelings were, but even better to see her chose Garrett despite that natural bond.
Riley: He actually grows in this story. Instead of being stuck in his usual rebel without a cause attitude, we see more of that caring side in him. He’s able to break some of his previously held prejudices and actually see Garrett’s sacrifice for what it really is.
Dante: I love how Dante’s story progresses. You see into his mind all the terror he’s witnessing and why he keeps pushing forward. You see the evil taskmaster with no emotion, then see the emotion come out where it can’t be seen. You get to see Dante become evil and it’s a cool perspective to be a part of.
Summary
I think every series has a book that you read and say, “That’s the one that made things interesting,” and that’s what Soldier was for me. Talon ended on a cliffhanger, Rogue kept the story going, but Soldier made the story interesting.
Jacob Gittins 