Why Dragons Hide

The Arclight Saga, Book 0

By: C. M. Hayden

Narrated by: Emily Wylie

Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

To rise through the ranks of the Magisterium, magic-wielding students are pitted against each other in vicious survival matches.

Sixteen-year-old Kyra dreams of making it to the top, but on her final trial, she's teamed up with a mysterious student who isn't what he appears to be. Amidst the chaos and bloodshed, they must find a way to survive while preventing a great evil from finding its way back into the world.

Why Dragons Hide is a must-hear for fans of the Arclight Saga and a good entry point for new listeners.

Books in the series:

Why Dragons Hide (2017)

The Reach Between Worlds (2016)

The Stars That Form Us (2017)

All the Gods Below (2018)

©2017 C. M. Hayden (P)2018 C. M. Hayden

Fantastic book with a fantastic narrator

The book takes place as a letter Kyra is writing to her uncle. It goes into detail about what happened during her first trial to become a Magister, and introduces a character whom is tied for my favorite, Kyrian. During the story, they go to a hidden monestary and are tasked with fixing a malfunctioning device in the World Tree. After realizing all aren't as it seems, they have a decision to make. Will they complete their task and become Magisters, or is their task more sinister than it first appears?

As in The Reach Between Worlds, the characters are spot on. Kurian is a draconic halfling who is tends to be extremely reckless because of his strength, though I can't remember a scene where he put anyone else but himself at risk. Like Taro, he definitely acts like the teen he is. He is a class clown, knowing lots of people, but very few people actually know him. Kurian is an acrobat, using his draconic reflexes to perform death defying feats. Growing up shunned by the dragons, he cannot transform into a dragon form. Having both the powers of the Arclight and the Overlight, he is much stronger in magistry than the other trial goers, and feels his team won't need to do anything, he can do everything.

We don't learn a lot more about the geography of the world in this book, mainly just the island that the trial takes on, but we do learn a lot about the history of the world. Pairing well with book 3, we start to really learn about one of Nuruthil's commanders, as well as the father of the dragons, Craetos.

I started the series with book 1, but this is a fantastic starting point if are unsure about getting into the series. Why Dragons Hide is a shorter book, being more of a novella than a novel, and it is about half the price of book 1 as well. It is out on Audible and for Kindle, the narrator on Audible (Emily Wylie) is absolutely amazing. Sadly, we don't get more Kurian until book 3 (understandable, as this book was released between books 2 and 3). Overall, I'd say this book rates a solid 4.5/5.

A must read

Brilliant! Really enjoyed this short story, and am excited to continue in the series! I enjoyed the different take on dragons and the forms they take. unique and refreshing