The Rage of Dragons Messed Me Up And I Need To Talk About It
So I just finished The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter and I need to get some things off my chest.
Not gonna lie, it’s really cool seeing a Black main character in a fantasy setting that isn’t just medieval Europe with a paint job. The Omehi feel like their own culture. The names, the caste system, the military ranks, all of it. Winter built something that feels real, and as a Black reader that means something to me. Just wanted to say that.
Anyway, let me get into this.
What It’s About (No Spoilers)
Tau is a Low Common in a brutal caste society who decides to become the most dangerous man alive after his father gets murdered. That’s all you need to know—go read it before I spoil everything below.
⚠️ SPOILERS FROM HERE ⚠️
You’ve been warned.
The Training Arc Is Insane
So Tau discovers he can slip into this demon realm called Isihogo, right? Time moves different there. A few seconds in the real world is hours in Isihogo. So he starts training against demons. Dying over and over. Learning from every death.
It reminded me of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z, except the Hyperbolic Time Chamber doesn’t try to murder you every time you step inside. Tau is getting torn apart by demons. Gruesome deaths, over and over, and he feels all of it. Then he wakes up and goes back for more.
And it works. He becomes probably the best fighter the Lessers have ever seen. But it costs him. He starts seeing demons when he’s awake. Hallucinations. His mind is cracking and everyone around him can tell something is wrong with this dude.
That’s the trade-off Winter keeps showing you. You want the power? Cool. It’s gonna take pieces of you though.
Quick Sidebar: The Omehi Aren’t The Good Guys
I didn’t fully catch this at first, to be honest with you. I thought maybe there was some history I was missing. But nah. The Omehi are colonizers. They took this land from the Xiddeen 200 years ago and have been holding it through war ever since.
And the dragons? The big military advantage? They control them by keeping a baby dragon hostage underground. They fake distress signals to lure the mother. That’s crazy when you think about it.
So you’re rooting for Tau, but Tau is fighting for a system that’s oppressing both the Lessers AND the people whose land they stole. It’s layers of people getting crushed all the way down. Winter doesn’t let you forget that.
The Part That Had Me Heated
There’s this moment in the Queen’s Melee where Tau’s scale is fighting Kellan’s scale. Kellan is the guy Tau blames for his father’s death. This is the moment he’s been training for.
And Tau abandons his brothers mid-fight to chase Kellan.
Just leaves them. Outnumbered. Uduak, the guy who became his most loyal protector, gets beaten half to death. The scale loses because Tau couldn’t put his revenge on hold for five minutes.
And I’m sitting there like… bro. I get it. I feel you. But there’s more at stake than just how you feel right now, bro. Like damn.
You understand why he does it. That’s what makes it so frustrating. His obsession costs the people who actually care about him and he can’t even see it.
Zuri Got Smoked And I’m Still Sick About It
Not gonna lie, I was really hoping Zuri would be the one to bring Tau back at the end of all this. You know what I mean? Like he really loved her for real. He was ready to give it all up. Marriage, kids, a quiet life. Break her back and live happily ever after. That was the plan.
And then she gets incinerated by a dragon.
One second she’s there. Next second she’s ash. She got smoked literally. Turned to ash. That’s actually crazy.
Winter really said nah, there’s no happy ending waiting for you Tau. The future where he gets to be a normal person again? Gone. Just like that. All that’s left is the skills and the rage.
That’s cold. Winter is cold for that.
The Ending Is Bittersweet As Hell
So Tau wins. Kind of. He kills Dejen, one of the guys who murdered his father. He saves the Queen. He gets elevated to Champion, the highest a Lesser has ever been. Dragon-scale swords fitted to his father’s and grandfather’s hilts. The Gucci and Louis of medieval fantasy weapons, you know what I’m saying.
But Odili? The main guy behind everything? He escapes.
And Zuri’s dead. Jayyed’s dead. Half his sword brothers are gone.
Here’s what I realized talking through this book: Tau’s arc goes victim to agent to weapon.
Beginning of the book, things happen TO him. Dad dies, life falls apart, he’s just reacting. Then he starts making choices. Chooses revenge. Chooses the demon training. He’s driving the story now.
By the end? He’s a weapon again. Except now someone else is aiming him. Queen Tsiora says go kill Odili and Tau says yes. Not because he thought hard about it. Because what else is he gonna do? What life is he going back to?
Pops dead. Zuri dead. Life ass. Sees demons everywhere. Strong as hell though. At least he got the Gucci socks.
That’s where Tau is at the end of this book and it’s honestly kind of sad. He doesn’t really know what he wants anymore. Doesn’t have a sense of self. So when someone hands him a target and says go, he goes. Because the weapon doesn’t ask questions. It just does what it was made for.
I don’t know if that’s a win or not. I really don’t.
Rating: If you like revenge stories, training arcs, and worlds that make you think, this is your book. Just know it’s gonna hurt you.
Vibes: demon training montages, caste system rage, your fave will die, colonizer guilt, trauma with nice swords