Review: The Dryad’s Crown by David Hopkins
Blurb:
Four titans sleep beneath the earth.
Only one fae can keep them from waking.
Silbrey is an orphaned wood nymph, taken from her forest home and raised in the corrupt city of Penderyn. The fae child grows up unaware of who she is, what she can do, and the calling of her kind.
Under the control of a cruel guildmaster, Silbrey is trained as an assassin. As an adult, she escapes her violent past to start a new life and a family. But a tragic death brings her back to the familiar cobbled streets to seek revenge.
This dark path leads Silbrey to uncover an even darker secret: An ancient evil will wake the titans and break the world. Silbrey must travel with her daughter across a war-torn land to defeat that evil.
What begins as a fairy tale transforms into a multi-generational epic fantasy about love and loss—and a woman with a strange connection to nature.
The Dryad's Crown is an emotional, coming-of-age fantasy debut. The first volume in a gritty saga, set in the immersive world of Efre Ousel.
Review:
Prepare yourself to step into the enchanting world of Efre Ousel in this sweeping literary epic by David Hopkins. Follow Silbrey, a lost child of the fey, raised in the shadows by a wicked guild master in the city of Penderyn where she is trained relentlessly in the deadly skillset of an assassin. As Silbrey matures, she finds it in herself to escape the corruption and start a new life and family of her own. But all soon grows dark as death seems to follow her wherever she goes. Silbrey and her family quickly find themselves tangled in events much larger and sinister: the ancient titans that sleep beneath the world. Should they awaken from their slumber, the world would break.
Before diving into this review, I would like to mention I read this book in a slightly unusual way. There is a prequel novella in this series, War of the Hounds, that I read in between chapters four and five of The Dryad’s Crown for maximum emotional impact. For those who want extra action and excitement, I do recommend this reading order.
This story, being the first installment of the series, has some very heavy world building and lore development. From early in the book readers are introduced to the variety of cultures, their respective customs, religious deities, history, and geographical locations. This continues throughout the book until the last chapters and allows for key plot factors to be revealed at precise timings. While this can seem overwhelming for some readers, I personally enjoy it when stories delve into complex world creation. One will become well acquainted with all that Efre Ousel has to offer. Hopkins also demonstrates a strong talent for descriptive writing. Whether portraying stunning landscapes or vivid depictions of battle, he weaves imagery that allows readers to clearly visualize every moment as it unfolds.
The story primarily follows Silbrey, the main protagonist, though additional character points of view are present. Readers will witness Silbrey’s transformation from a young child under the heel of Penderyn’s guild master, to an adult with children of her own. As the story progresses, a cast of supporting characters are introduced, along with a few dangerous adversaries who are more ancient than the bones of the earth. In time, Silbrey must face each of her enemies while also striving to protect her family. The character development throughout the book is layered and continues its build consistently from start to finish. Just when you think you fully understand a character, Hopkins reveals another piece of information that is important to their backstory. This approach keeps readers intrigued and gives some characters an air of mystery.
The magic system of the story centers around ancient Druid traditions, with strong connections to nature and the earth. Silbrey wields a staff created from enchanted wood of unknown origin to help her channel and focus her magical powers, amplifying their strength. In Efre Ousel, magical abilities are like a gift, leaving it in the hands of a select few. War mages, members of the magical academy, and the fey being some of the groups who possess the ability either through study or heritage. This limited distribution of power adds an extra layer of significance to magic within the world. Another unique form of “magic” that readers encounter is the mind bond that dragons possess. When they choose, dragons can speak into the mind of another being and even share their eyesight if they are in close proximity. However, this connection is rare as dragons are prideful creatures and see all other living things as inferior.
As mentioned previously, I approached this book with a unique reading style, which I believe contributed a part to my overall enjoyment of the story. However, there were many other aspects that made this book an amazing read, including the descriptive writing and rich character development. I will admit that this book took me a long time to finish, but not because of any shortcomings. I genuinely enjoy longer books, even if they require more time to complete. This story offered me so much to absorb and reflect on. Additionally, I did listen to this book in its audio format. Coming in at just under 20 hours, it is one of the longer audiobooks in my collection. The narrator, Lindsey Dorcus, did a fantastic job in her intonation, distinct character voices, and inflection. It truly made for an engaging and pleasant listening experience.
In closing, I thoroughly enjoyed The Dryad’s Crown and eagerly await the next installment of the series. This story concluded in a way that left readers satisfied, yet it is clear that the foundation has been laid for future adventures. I’m excited to see where Hopkins will take us next in the magical world he has crafted.
