The Tropic of Serpents

A Memoir by Lady Trent

by Marie Brennan

Paperback, 352 pages

Published Feb. 17, 2015 by Tor Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-7508-7

(3 reviews)

"Attentive readers of Lady Trent's earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world's premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career. Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, in which she lost her husband, the widowed Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the savage, war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella …

2 editions

Soh Kam Yung reviewed The tropic of serpents by Marie Brennan

On learning hard truths while tramping through a swamp.

3 stars

The next book in the series, this one has Isabella trampling over a region which resembles Africa in our world. Here, she goes to try to study the dragons that inhabit the region. But she becomes sucked into the politics and conflicts in the region when her desire to look at dragons that inhabit a dangerous swampy region of the country is allowed by the ruler of the country; on condition that she brings back the eggs of the dragon that the ruler dearly wants.

She agrees and enters the swamp to learn about the dragons, but that condition would come back to haunt her for as she gets to know the swamp's inhabitants (on which her survival depends), she starts to realize it may be an impossible condition to fulfil. Then as she finally gets to learn the secrets of the swamp dragons, she gets caught up in an …

As in the first book, this one tells a fascinating story about Isabella and her travels and adventures. But the information presented on dragons is still minimal and only revealed near the end. But then, that is the nature of natural history; sometimes you have to slowly gather the information instead of getting it dumped on to you. It would be more interesting to me to be provided with more information about dragons in this world.

Perhaps that will happen in the books to come in the series.

David Bremner reviewed The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

Series is growing on me

4 stars

I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series. The political / cultural intrigue seems to have a bit more depth, perhaps because the main character is maturing a bit. The setting is essentially Colonial era (19th century?) Europe + Africa. (with dragons). I'm not sure why all the countries and institutions are renamed, it doesn't seem necessary.

Tracey S

rated it

Dec. 5, 2019