Tears of a Dragon (Dragons in Our Midst #4)
Summary
Tears of a Dragon is the fourth and final book of Bryan Davis’ Dragons in Our Midst series. In it, Billy Bannister and company must face off against the evil Watchers, armed only with prophecy, Excalibur, and a few dragon allies. This is a story of bravery, including with great care stories of honor, love, and, most importantly, salvation.
Assessment
Tears of a Dragon wraps up the Dragons in Our Midst series with battles — yes, plural! — of epic proportions. From the physical realm’s struggles against tangible evil to the spiritual realm’s fight over lost souls, this story takes the readers on high-flying adventures to win wars and save souls.
Ranked within its own series, this book sits somewhere in the middle, for the most part. It boasts a spectacularly rich theology but lags somewhat behind the others in terms of plot. In some ways, it probably should have been a much longer and more complex book than its YA category could manage. Overall, however, the writing quality that is expected after reading the rest of the series is alive and well in Tears of a Dragon. There is some repeat themes of character sacrifice and resurrection from the previous two books, but these are presented in different enough ways that it does not feel too repetitive.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Worldbuilding: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 7 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
This book is both the strongest and, in my opinion, one of the weakest of the Dragons in Our Midst series. Strongest in terms of theology and adventure (both of which I’ll get to in just a second), but weakest in terms of plot. The story juggled about 2-3 different plots — which is totally fine in fantasy book — and while the main plot was really rich and well-written, the other two plots struggled to be more than just a run-of-the-mill modern fantasy story with Watchers. They’re not terrible, they’re just not quite up to the same quality and standard as the primary plot. Additionally, the cast of characters became a little unwieldy and I started to lose track of who was who, who was doing what, and why they were doing what they were doing.
This being said, the primary plot featuring Billy and Bonnie was really, really, really good. Theologically rich, fantastically adventurous, and full of some really great character moments and character growth, it absolutely carried the book on its own. Without spoiling too much, that entire plot revolved around salvation and Revelation (as a general concept) while tying into many of Jesus’ parables about those who diligently wait for Him. Occasionally the story would wander a bit from the theologically rich, Scripture-based symbolism and into pure Arthurian fantasy, but even in those moments, the overall message was rock-solid.
The romance of the series was a bit weak, but I also really liked the way it was handled. While there was the “fated/prophesied” couple (a trope I really, really don’t like in YA fiction, to be honest), nothing truly romantic happened until this fourth and final book. The characters were far too busy with their own, individual journeys and the trials around them to be distracted by romance. Instead, they built solid friendships and focused on their Heaven-mandated mission, then became romantically involved. This I really loved! Too often in fantasy the romantic subplot is held in just as high regard as the “save the world before dark” plot, which I don’t think is a wise message to be sharing with teens. Not to say that every teen needs to save the world before dark, but there is incredible wisdom in focusing on your own spiritual journey and personal growth before going out and finding your “One True Love”, especially as a teenager.
Finally, I think Dragons in Our Midst is an amazing series for both young men and young women. It has stellar theology, fantastical adventures, exceedingly well-written characters of both genders, all on a poetic — but not stuffy — and sensory-forward writing style. It is absolutely a story that I would recommend to just about any young Christian, looking for something epic, fantastical, and brave!
Wrap-up
Bryan Davis’ Dragons in Our Midst series wraps up with the fourth and final book, Tears of the Dragon. This high-flying, spiritually rich adventure of daring knights and
Where to Enjoy
Amazon: Tears of a Dragon (Dragons in Our Midst): 9781496451750: Davis, Bryan: Books
Audible: Tears of a Dragon Audiobook
Barnes & Noble: Tears of a Dragon by Bryan Davis, Paperback
Christianbook.com: Tears of a Dragon, Softcover, #4: Bryan Davis: 9781496451750
Tyndale: Tears of a Dragon
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