Book Review : Upscaled

Upscaled by Joseph John Lee
Series: The Dragons of Nóra #1
Published by Eclipseborn Publishing on August 23, 2024
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It begins and ends, as things do, with a girl throwing a birthday party for a dragon. Or it would, if things were ever that simple.
Generations ago, the Inquisition of the Priory of the Thrice-Dead Prophet decided that dragons were a great evil and it was their duty to banish them from the land of Nóra. The dragons weren't (they just grew tired of the bother and migrated north), and the Inquisition didn't (they just pretended otherwise), but that's beside the point.
Though evidence of dragons still existed, it remained within the realm of smugglers, ne'er-do-wells, and people with too much time and money on their hands . . . until a hatching egg finds its way into the hands of a young girl named Ailís.
Now, with the first newborn dragon seen in generations in her company, Ailís finds herself beset by merchants, brigands, Inquisitors, and a greedy governor, and all she wants to do is throw a birthday party for her dragon.
And you thought planning a party for your kids was tough.

 

I was immediately drawn to Upscaled by the adorable cover, and thankfully, this is one novella where the book itself is just as stinking cute as the cover. Upscaled is a fantastically fun and cozy fantasy that follows an eleven year old girl, Ailís, who is determined to throw a birthday party for her newborn dragon friend. Sounds simple? Well, yes, and no. Ailís and her dragon, Pilib, run into just the right amount of trouble—exasperated mothers, curious faeries, incompetent members of the Inquisition, smugglers, bandits, and retired dragon priests—along the way to blowing out Pilib’s candles. 

 

I gotta say that I am absolutely the intended audience for Upscaled. I love everything about the premise and the original and fun takes on traditionally serious fantasy tropes. I was immediately enamored that in the quintessential battle between dragons and knights that, well, the dragons didn’t want the hassle, so emigrated away from humans (who seem more like door to door salesmen who have forgotten their catalogs and what they’re selling—but keep knocking on the door at all hours anyways—than actual knights), and sealed themselves off from the rest of the world. These knights, so to speak, dub themselves Inquisitors and claim that it is they who have actually outlawed and driven out the dragons (not that the dragons chose to leave for their own peace and quiet and simply couldn’t be bothered to set the record straight). 

 

“Luckily, there is a story to tell. No, nothing of the sort where a chosen hero embarks upon a quest atop their scaled mount, soaring through the sky to stop a great evil. Remember, the Inquisition banned that sort of thing.”

 

I’ve always really struggled with the traditional versions of dragons in fantasy and grappled with their relationships with humans. Wouldn’t we be mere insects or pets to these massive, powerful, and wise creatures? I could easily see humans worshiping dragons and certainly fearing them, but rushing off to fight them seems a bit less tenable. So I really loved seeing this take on dragons being absolutely unconcerned with the affairs of humans.  In a similar vein, I was always fascinated by the idea of dragon priests in Skyrim, so it was really cool to get glimpses of this type of system at work in Upscaled, and I’m really excited to learn more about it in the sequel.

 

I’m also looking forward to finding out more about the world-building in general. I love that the author kept Ailís’s world suitably small for a little girl living in a very small village, and who’s worst tribulation was dance class. Learning more about the world and its magical inhabitants along with Ailís as she went on her birthday party quest made the discovery of it all that much more exciting. It doesn’t hurt that all of the characters are incredibly endearing. I loved Ailís’s world-weary mother, her little brother who clearly has more going on than Ailís knows, and her eccentric uncle, Iósaf, who lives out in the woods rather than conform to anti-dragon societal conventions. Heck, I even loved the ragingly incompetent Inquisition who can’t help but to trip all over themselves in trying to chase down a little girl and her dragon hatchling who just want to have a birthday party. 

 

“‘But what role does she play in this?’

‘What “role?”’ Iósaf asked. 

He shrugged. ‘Does she need a role? We’re not characters in some grand epic to rise against the corrupt and wicked. She’s not a chosen hero. She’s just the right person for the right dragon.’ He winked at Ailís, and then set his eyes on Pilib, regarding the dragon in silence.”

 

Admittedly, at times in the novella, I did get a teensey bit impatient with the repetitive humor and arguing between the villains. It’s the type of humor that doesn’t shy from laying it on thick, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted to get back to Ailís and Pilib’s hijinks and therefore had to fight the urge to skim during the repeats of the same running jokes in slightly different exchanges. Unlike the villains who are consistently and stupefyingly incompetent, Ailís’s characterization did seem a bit inconsistent to me. She’s very naive sometimes and a bit too perceptive in others, which is probably why her mother is so (rightfully) exhausted. But perhaps this inconsistency is in line with a young girl finding herself in such a unique situation. I am very anxious to see where Ailis’s next adventure will lead and would jump at the chance to read a story about her and Pilib’s bond as she grows older.

 

I have seen a lot of comparisons of Upscaled to the works of Terry Prachett, but I haven’t read any of his works and cannot comment on the validity of that assessment. However, I also saw multiple reviewers compare this novella to Brandon Sanderson’s A Frugal Wizard’s Guide, which I can speak to—I DNFed the latter, despite its fun premise, because I couldn’t stand the incessant bludgeoning over the head with the humor. (I’m sorry, Brandon, I swear I’m a fan).

 

Thankfully, Upscaled keeps the humor tastefully whimsical and dryly takes readers into their confidence, letting them in on the almost-but-not-quite-too frequent jokes, without being obnoxious about it. And, though sometimes the humor slows down the plot, it doesn’t grind it to a halt. Unlike A Frugal Wizard’s Guide, it didn’t feel like the main point of Upscaled was to prove that the author could write something funny. Upscaled did remind me a lot of one of my favorite series growing up, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which starts with Dealing with Dragons.  I also think fans of T. Kingfisher’s cozier works will find plenty to enjoy here as well.

 

Upscaled is a breath of fresh air in a genre that often takes itself too seriously. This novella sweetly imagines that any person could have the potential good luck to stumble across a dragon and throw them a birthday party without all of the fuss of chosen ones, ancient prophecies, and world-saving quests. Instead of these kinds of scenarios, Upscaled takes the time to stop and smell the roses of the fantasy forests, appreciating that what is important is not the journey, but the people (and dragons) who are with us on it.

 

 

 
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