'Tooth and Claw' by Jo Walton is a unique and delightful blend of Victorian society and dragons. The story follows a family of dragons navigating a society where power is determined by size and wealth, leading to cannibalistic traditions. Readers are drawn into a world of family disputes, legal controversies, and romantic entanglements, all set in a Victorian-like era where dragons uphold strict societal norms. The writing style mimics the manners and customs of a Victorian novel, with a touch of humor and wit that keeps the readers engaged throughout the book.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains themes of cannibalism, assault, and social commentary on gender roles, which may be distressing to some readers.
Has Romance?
The book includes romantic elements, particularly revolving around two unmarried sisters and their interactions with potential suitors, though it also emphasizes social constraints.
From The Publisher:
A tale of contention over love and money-among dragons
Jo Walton burst onto the fantasy scene with The King's Peace, acclaimed by writers as diverse as Poul Anderson, Robin Hobb, and Ken MacLeod. In 2002, she was voted the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
Now Walton returns with Tooth and Claw, a very different kind of fantasy story: the tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, of a son who goes to law for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father's deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband.
Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw.
Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses...in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which society's high-and-mighty members avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby.
You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw.
Ratings (6)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (3) | |
It Was OK (2) |
Reader Stats (29):
Read It (6) | |
Want To Read (12) | |
Not Interested (11) |
1 comment(s)
Jo Walton is just the most imaginative writer working today. What if there was a Victorian novel of manners, but all the characters were dragons? Uh, what? It sounds ridiculous, but it works. Maidens are ruined by leering, inappropriate men who take advantage. In a Victorian novel, such a thing can be covered up; in this novel, the maiden dragon turns pink if a man gets too close to her, and she really is ruined. What if a son takes his brother-in-law to court over the inheritance left by his deceased father, which he feels was unfairly distributed? Sounds familiar, except in this case the inheritance includes the father's body, which the survivors eat in order to grow stronger. What if a female dragon is asked to bear too many children, and dies in childbirth? Wait, that one's the same. Except she lays eggs instead of having babies. Walton even throws a little gothic in there, with a mad dragon piling rocks in front of a maiden's bedroom door and getting rid of (in this case eating) servants who displease him.
At times I forgot I was reading a work of fantasy, because Walton's use of Victorian mores was so spot on. Then she would mention a character stretching her wings, or eating raw sheep, and I would be reminded. This book is a small joy of Victorian and fantasy literature.
What can you read after
Tooth and Claw?
About the Author:
Jo Walton's debut novel The King's Peace earned her the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. More recently, Farthing was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Quill Award, and won the Romantic Times Critic's Choice Award. A native of Wales, she lives in Montreal.
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