From Publishers Weekly
Dragons ritually eat dragons in order to gain strength and power in Walton's enthralling new fantasy (after 2002's The Prize in the Game), set amid a hierarchical society that includes a noble ruling class, an established church, servants and retainers. On the death of the dragon Bon Agornin, his parson son Penn, one of five siblings (two male and three female), declares, "We must now partake of his remains, that we might grow strong with his strength, remembering him always." But Bon's greedy son-in-law, Illustrious Daverak, consumes more than his fair share of the departed dragon, setting off a chain of unexpected and, at times, calamitous events for each sibling. Avan, the younger son, decides to litigate for compensation. One unmarried daughter, on moving in with the married sister and Daverak, discovers a house filled with injustice, while the other unmarried daughter goes off with Penn and falls in love. Full of political intrigue and romance, this provocative read sets the stage for further adventures in a world that, as the author admits in her prefatory note, "owes a lot to Anthony Trollope's Framley Parsonage." FYI: In 2002, Walton received a John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Walton says this book is "the result of wondering what a world would be like if the axioms of the sentimental Victorian novel were inescapable laws of biology." It is also something truly different in the line of the novel. After a father dies, his children must deal with the circumstances of his death. One son, a parson, agonizes over his sire's deathbed confession. Another starts a court case to gain the inheritance. One daughter must choose between her family of origin and her husband. Another falls in love, but her course does not run smoothly thereafter. So what's different about all that? Well, everyone in the story is a dragon, and in their society, children eat their deceased parents, and the stronger eat the weaker, for only by eating the flesh of its kind can a dragon achieve full strength and power. So therein lies the difference, and the distinction of a little masterpiece of originality. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Jo Walton, author of the acclaimed Tir Tanagiri trilogy (The King's Peace, The King's Name, and The Prize in the Game), has written a stand-alone novel that -- similar to Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis -- revolves around a family of dragons and the intricate political machinations of the society they live in.

After a powerful old dragon dies, his five children and their families promptly devour him --according to tradition. But one dragon, a greedy brother-in-law, devours much more than his allotted share. One of the dead dragon's sons, Avan, wants to see justice done and demands retribution from the law. But with one of Avan's young sisters forced to live with his evil brother-in-law, the lawsuit puts her and several siblings who are hiding secrets in the path of danger.

Fans of Walton's Tir Tanagiri novels will find Tooth and Claw a dramatic departure. Reminiscent of Richard Adams's Watership Down and Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies,Walton's novel touches on themes of freedom, morality, kinship, and love among animal families. And although this novel doesn't contain the deep allegories of Watership Down, it has a lot to say about the dark side of human nature. With all the legal squabbling, family feuds, and romantic subplots, it's like a reptilian soap opera. Picture a fire-breathing Susan Lucci covered in scales and lying atop a mound of gold, and you won't be far off. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Jo Walton returns with a very different kind of fantasy story: the tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, of a son who goes to law for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father's deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband.

Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw.

Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses...in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which society's high-and-mighty members avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Dragons ritually eat dragons in order to gain strength and power in Walton's enthralling new fantasy (after 2002's The Prize in the Game), set amid a hierarchical society that includes a noble ruling class, an established church, servants and retainers. On the death of the dragon Bon Agornin, his parson son Penn, one of five siblings (two male and three female), declares, "We must now partake of his remains, that we might grow strong with his strength, remembering him always." But Bon's greedy son-in-law, Illustrious Daverak, consumes more than his fair share of the departed dragon, setting off a chain of unexpected and, at times, calamitous events for each sibling. Avan, the younger son, decides to litigate for compensation. One unmarried daughter, on moving in with the married sister and Daverak, discovers a house filled with injustice, while the other unmarried daughter goes off with Penn and falls in love. Full of political intrigue and romance, this provocative read sets the stage for further adventures in a world that, as the author admits in her prefatory note, "owes a lot to Anthony Trollope's Framley Parsonage." (Nov. 19) FYI: In 2002, Walton received a John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

VOYA - Merideth Jenson-Benjamin

Bon Agornin, patriarch of a clan of five dragons, is on his deathbed. He is a mighty dragon who rose from humble beginnings to the rank of Dignified, to hold lands of his own. Bon's dying wish is that his three younger children be allowed to eat the larger share of his body. For it is only through eating dragon flesh that dragons can grow large, and Bon leaves his three younger children in unenviable positions, with little gold to sustain them. The Illustrious Daverak, husband of Bon's daughter Berend, however, thinks differently, and he and his dragonets eat the lion's share of Bon. This angers Bon's children, and to gain satisfaction from Daverak, Avan, Bon's youngest son, files suit in the court of law. This sets in motion a series of events that has far-reaching implications for the entire Agornin family. Casting dragons as characters in a Victorian novel is an interesting experiment that does not quite come off. The characters in this book behave and talk like characters in a Regency romance. Obsessed with social standing and money, they are fond of drawing-room games and of attending church. They really do not act like dragons. But because they are, when one of the characters does something dragon-y, such as eating weaker dragons or fighting, it does not mesh with the genteel society that Walton creates. Nevertheless the scenes of the dragons acting like dragons are few, and a teen expecting this book to be about noble and wise or fierce and warlike fantasy creatures will be sadly disappointed. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P S A/YA (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult-marketed book recommended forYoung Adults). 2003, Tor, 256p., Ages 15 to Adult.

Library Journal

The deathbed confession of Bon Agornin places his heirs in a quandary as the five siblings maneuver for position and power within the family. What makes Walton's tale of dynastic intrigue unique is that the individuals are all dragons, with their own customs and traditions-such as the practice of consuming the bodies of their dead and killing their weaker children. Walton (The King's Piece) combines delicacy and savagery in a finely told tale suitable for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews