Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton-A review

Can someone feel excited and apprehensive at the same time? Having read Walton’s Among Others with glee, to find another written by her was good to find. However, when the book was described by one as ‘The Pride and Prejudice of the dragon world’ (Anne Yolen), I got shivers. Despite taking English Literature as an A-level, it doesn’t mean that I am a fan of the classics.

I suppose that it is this classical look that worries me. The story focuses on the children of Bon Agornin, who dies pretty quickly. The problem occurs with his death as his son, Penn the parson, agrees to hear a confession and atone for it; something which although not banned is severely frowned upon. Furthermore, and more worryingly, the Illustrious Daverak, husband to the eldest sister Berend, eats more than his share of the body. This leads the youngest brother, Avens, to take him to court demanding justice, dividing the family in two.

There are in fact three story threads. One is Avens gaining support for his case, along with a look at his secretary, the previously raped clerk Sebeth. One is Penn and his sister Selendra, both of whom have the problems. Penn fears what will happen if the fact that he atoned and listened to a confession is known, especially for his position, his wife Felin and their two children, while Selendra finds herself falling for Sher, an Exalt with an overbearing mother, but worries that she will not be able to ‘blush’ i.e. change colour and thus show her love. The final tale focuses on Selendra’s close sister Haner as she becomes part of Daverak’s household and discovers the cruel treatment in his realm; both to farmers, servants and even his children.

So, that’s the plot. It is very easy to imagine this plot in something Jane Austen wrote although, thank goodness, I understand this one a lot better. The demands of society are easy to convey, but Walton never makes the mistake of using grand words to display this world and its characters. The emotions conveyed are always in sophisticated words, but never words that are too fanciful. However, what I believe Walton was trying to achieve was a different look on the classics by the use of dragons. Indeed, dragons ceremoniously eating one another for strength, the changing of colour for females, the use of fire and whether a dragon is allowed to fly or not, are very dragonish. I have a feeling, though, that if this had been a story about another race, the same ideas could be achieved. Although the idea is to create something new, it doesn’t feel it.

This gave me mixed reactions. There are always people trying to do a new spin on things, some with great success, others not so. Dragons are one of the creatures to fall under this spell. I don’t believe that Walton has surprised me enough with her take. It feels too regular and I know what’s going to happen. It is very clear cut; I knew that Selendra would fear her inability to blush quite quickly, I knew that the case would be in Avens’ favour and I knew that Haner would choose her betrothed as soon as the name was mentioned. There are very few surprises in this book, making me partly read it only to finish it, which isn’t what should happen. I feel that Naomi Novik’s different take on dragons in her Temeraire series is much more successful. Having said that, Walton does create points of interest, albeit usually in her minor characters. I did find myself hung on the mysterious actions of Sebeth (I’ll talk about her in a moment) and was surprised at a certain death occurring midway. I know Walton can make me read on with her words, and on occasions, especially towards the end, I do. It is a shame that she couldn’t grab me earlier on.

The characters are very so-so. Some are very typical. Penn, a gentle parson with a loving kind wife and believable children, is very usual. He fears for his position, even though this is more clearly realised later, which is a shame, as I would have liked to feel more about him. That’s because the centre stage of that thread is Selendra, who is described as difficult to control and emotional, devoted to her sister. That is true at the beginning, as seen in her comments with servant Amer who brings a sense of un-displayed power behind her words. However, she quickly becomes very conventional, especially when she meets Sher, the never-do-well dragon who I can’t help but love. She’s a disappointment, but her relationship with Sher shines through. There is a very poignant moment in which they try to find a loss dragonet that is more adventurous. It’s a shame it didn’t come earlier or last longer. The supporting characters in this tale are just there; I did like Felin and could understand the view of Sher’s mother, but they didn’t wow me.

Second thread was even more typical. Haner, the quiet and reserved dragon equally devoted to her sister, surprises herself with her views, especially when seeing the treatment of the household. Her views only vaguely surprise me. Berend is never made much use of, simply in contrast with Haner or her husband, so her death, though startling, was a right move. Daverak is the guy I am quickly made to hate, and for good reason. He is your arch typical bully who wants power for himself and strong children who cower under him. Fine as a villain, not great as someone who should surprise me.

Third thread is probably the best of them all. Avens isn’t your usual power hungry character, searching for more under the veil of justice. He genuinely wants it and to do the right thing as well. He has no idea of the repercussions to his family, but his determination to see it through is admirable. The best character of all, however, is Sebeth. Kidnapped from a royal family and raped (or so she says), thus making her pink before any marriage and thus unsuitable to any male, she becomes Avens’ clerk and lover. Sebeth is the most mysterious character with her quiet flirty ways and her secret visits to a poor district. It is Sebeth who intrigues the most, but it is also Sebeth who has less time on the page. When her past and motives fully come to light it is too late, the book is almost finished.

In terms of description, Walton clearly displays the rules of society. She also, to a great extent, conveys the world around the dragons with only a couple of paragraphs. It was quite easy to imagine their environment. What was more difficult to see was the colour and appearance of the dragons. Only some of them are described in colour, most of them by how long they are, none of them by whether they have horns, a different number of talons or differences in wings or tail. It became very hard to imagine the dragons themselves (their hats were better described!) and that was very disappointing.

However, if you are a romantic sort of person, then this will be right up your street. There are plenty of proposals, confessions, accusations and a total of four couples. Even Walton says in the first chapter of the last part ‘The Narrator is forced to confess to having lost count of both proposals and confessions’. This should say enough for all you budding romantics, but for someone who doesn’t mind the odd bit of romance but does not want overblown conventional love, this wasn’t what I wanted.

So Tooth and Claw is the perfect book for someone who loves love, wants something a little bit different and is prepared for an easy read. The plot and characters are, for the most part, typical. This became a rather typical book that I’m sure I’ve read before. The descriptions of landscape, however, are good, but not the dragons themselves. Characters that could have been interesting were given little time on the page. The twist in using dragons just became a conventional non-classic. There were parts I enjoyed, I admit, but I simply felt this book wasn’t for me. Does that make it bad? I don’t know. For me, I think I’ll be careful as to which Walton books I read in the future.

5/10
Plot-6
Characters-6
Scenes-4
Pace-5