Rating: 4.5

After finishing Rachel Aaron’s DFZ series, I had to return to see how it all started. Before the DFZ was sentient, when dragons were outlawed, and the Lady of the Lake , the Algonquin herself was a highly manipulative, deadly spirit and Detroit was rising up again from all her destruction and under her authority. 

This is another wild, strange and fabulous ride.   Told in five instead of three books. 

It’s centered in Detroit, the non-sentient DFZ, and its focus is the powerful and numerous Heartstriker dragon family, in particular its youngest and smallest dragon, Julius.  Julius, a constant source of disappointment and anger to his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has been sealed into his human form and sent off to the DFZ to prove himself a true dragon or else. 

Julius the Good Dragon, which isn’t a compliment to dragons, is such an engaging character. The only one of his many siblings who is an anomaly in his personality, doesn’t want to hurt anyone, just loves gaming and people. 

Marci, a mage from Las Vegas, ends up in the DFZ after fleeing from some sort of terrible situation that leaves her without a home. 

These two are incredibly great characters and together they are the beginnings of a fabulous series arc and the basis for I’m betting the magical creatures and world building of the DFZ. 

Another hugely important character is Bob, the Heartstriker seer and Julius’s oldest brother.  We meet more siblings , each letter according to the clutch they hatched (?) in.  Bob being one but not the only oldest remaining child of Bethesda.  She’s not a good mother or parent FYI. 

I love Aaron as an author, the magical system is beautifully conceived, and it’s expanding to fit  this ever growing imaginative new universe.  Not even the established spirits themselves know what’s happening, or what the world is capable of doing.  Truly a gonzo magical fantasy.

But it’s also a very powerful story of empathy, emotional empowerment, and quiet bravery. Whether it’s on a human or dragon’s level. 

Julius deciding to be himself or Marci’s grief, or other characters stepping forward to help others. 

So many aspects of Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers Book 1) by Rachel Aaron to love and appreciate, storylines and characters, relationships and themes. 

This author is a must read and these connected series as well. Highly recommended. 

Love the covers .  

Cover Illustration by Anna Steinbauer, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron.

Heartstrikers :

Nice Dragons Finish Last 

One Good Dragon Deserves Another No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished 

A Dragon of a Different Color 

Last Dragon Standing 

Buy link

        Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers Book 1)

    

Blurb 

The start of the series that won back-to-back RT Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Awards!

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in his human form and banished to the DFZ–a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit–Julius has one month to prove he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons…

Winner of the 2015 Audie Audio Book Award in Fantasy!

• Publisher: Aaron/Bach (July 13, 2014)
• Publication date: July 13, 2014
• Language: English
• Print length: 287 pages

Complete series 

Series Information from the author:

All of my series set in the Detroit Free Zone were written as self-contained stories. You don’t have to have read any previous DFZ books to enjoy the newer ones. But for those who want to see the world grow, here’s a list of all the DFZ books in chronological order. 

Heartstrikers :

Nice Dragons Finish Last 

One Good Dragon Deserves Another No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished 

A Dragon of a Different Color 

Last Dragon Standing 

The DFZ Trilogy (This series) Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

DFZ Changeling Trilogy 

By a Silver Thread 

With a Golden Sword 

To the Bloody End