Series ✦ Penny’s Take
Dragonsong
Michael Forester · 2016
62/100
👎 Skip It
Forester's ambition is real — a contemporary novel-length epic poem in Old English rhyming verse reimagining Arthurian myth is a genuine formal achievement — and the Best Fantasy Books Blog comparison to Paradise Lost and King of Elfland's Daughter is apt. But the demonic-bargain premise and archaic verse format together narrow the audience to a small literary-fantasy niche, and accessibility concerns are not minor quibbles.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Demonic characters and a literal bargain with a Prince of Demons as central plot — readers with conservative faith views on occult-adjacent fantasy should be aware. We still scored it 62; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety60
substance65
craft72
originality85
accuracy68
hype60
age-fit55
human-eye58
Penny’s verdict62
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