The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #2)
Marie Brennan
The thrilling adventure of Lady Trent continues in Marie Brennan's The Tropic of Serpents . . . Attentive readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world’s premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career. Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell . . . where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.
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0 0“Science is not separate from politics. As much as I would like it to be a pure thing, existing only in some intellectual realm unsullied by human struggle, it will always be entangled with the world we live in.”
In The Tropic of Serpents, the Memoirs of Lady Trent picks up with the author and noted dragon naturalist, Isabella Camherst, several years after the events of the first book. While still grieving, she gets the opportunity to adventure to Eriga, a war-torn country home to the swamp wyrm which she had previously only seen in captivity. But if she wants to see the dragons in the swamp, Isabella has to brave court intrigue and convince her friends to venture into an area known as the Green Hell, not a terribly inviting name to begin with.
While I really enjoyed the blend of Pride and Prejudice style social commentary and scientific study of dragons in the first book of the series, this was a step down for me. Much of the book involves Isabella navigating the social strictures of other societies and the intrigues of the various groups in Eriga, all of which I found mildly interesting at the best of times. If I hadn't been listening to the audiobook and doing so for a readalong, I might have been tempted to put it down. It's not a bad story and the atmosphere is still well done by Brennan but didn't feature nearly enough dragons for me.
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