A Language of Dragons book review

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
Series: A Language of Dragons #1
on January 2, 2025
Pages: 480
Goodreads

EVERY FIRE STARTS WITH A SINGLE SPARK.
Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons.
London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.
With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.
At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must decide: What war is she really fighting?
An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.

This is the first time in what feels like a long time where dipping my toe back into the world of YA fantasy has paid off. A Language of Dragons has this unique quality to it where it feels almost like an adult fantasy book in parts and lacks the annoying oversimplifications that YA usually suffers from. I think the concept has been brilliantly thought out and the plot really shines throughout this book.

Viv Featherswallow aspires to be a Draconic Translator, she has done everything right, passed the Examination and applied to the University, now to an apprenticeship. But when her parents are arrested for aiding the revolution she becomes a war criminal over night. Singlehandedly breaking the Peace Agreement keeping the dragons of Britannia and humans safe, instead of being sentenced to death she and her cousin are sent to Bletchley Park to work on a secret mission to help the war effort. To fail would mean the death of her parents and to never see her younger sister again.

I think the beauty of A Language of Dragons is the concept and plot. The fact you have a team of criminal teenagers trying to save Britannia and London from dragons whilst also dealing with the fact that the very system they are trying to save is working against them. Phenomenal. I really love all the characters throughout, I think there is such a span that it makes up for Viv and her sometimes stupid thoughts and processes. If there hadn’t been so many of those and there was always going to be a few, it is YA of course this would have been a 5 star read for me.

Politics has always been my kind of thing and A Language of Dragons has just enough that it feels like a complex storyline but not enough that you end up waylaid and snowed under by minute details. I really enjoyed watching LITERAL children navigate hard conversations around fairness and whether or not people deserve the bad things that happen to them. It was an interesting world, and I think seeing dragons as being the oppressed species despite the very large advantages they have was a brilliant choice.

The use of language and the power that has was something that was really powerful in this book. The idea that maybe translation isn’t always the correct path and there should be more nuance as a race when deciding to take another language as your own. It was definitely an interesting subject and watching the main character struggle to translate the code and the inner turmoil that it created was so well written. One of my favourite aspects.

I think this book is perfect for anyone looking for something with a scrappy team and a code to solve. Although they aren’t similar really in plot or story I think someone looking for a Hunger Games fix would really enjoy this book. Viv reminded me a lot of Katniss in certain parts!