A Heroine’s Tale
The story of a girl blazing her own trail through magic and mayhem
MANILA, Philippines — In the tales of Kelly Drake and the Tears of the Dragons, we follow heroine Kelly Drake in her daring conquest to save the mystical world of Valon. The book delivers many moments of fate, deep truths, and even a little bit of girl power. Having grown up differently from most teenagers, Kelly made beautiful yet challenging discoveries about herself, which transcended the place, mystery and circumstances of her own story.
Kelly is born in a family that possesses so much secrets — of magic and mayhem — and seemingly outdated values of masculinity. She isn’t as adored by the paternal side of her family as much as her younger brother. But chaos rose when their father died, and the responsibility and power was expected to be passed on to the son. But life, as tricky as it is, puts Kelly on a mission to be her family’s hero in place of her half-brother. And since she is not like ordinary girls, she possesses skills that guarantee her victory in slaying marvelously dangerous tilts. Whether she will make it to a world very different from hers or not, is a mystery that the author works with, and readers will be willing to hold on to.
Like every hero, Kelly makes great sacrifices, too. She gives up a comfortable life guaranteed by the status of her mother, her own innocence, and of course her own safety in fulfilling a prophecy that could save the Earth from another world dangerously threatened by a cunning, ambitious man known as the Coroner. Parallel to every woman’s journey of breaking out of their life that is pre-destined for them, the book is an ambitious attempt to create a new magical world with the same realities of prosaic life.
The author Ricardo T. Pamintuan brings us into the world of magic, feminism, and even familial politics, all doused with lots of sensibility. Ricardo was successful in creating that Secondary World, however, I wouldn’t mind if it were a little more generous in playfulness and supernatural elements to completely take you there. As there is so much mystery in the background of the characters as well, the author digs into the pasts of his characters in large, descriptive ways, rather than a glitzy reveal. Which is all and well — but it is a fantasy, after all, and there is so much that could be imagined. Though Ricardo is successful in various elements of the story that remind me that the world we live in is “normal,” as he invites us into a whole new one that is completely imagined.
To bring magic out of the mundane is a tricky job that requires imagination and sensitivity to details — and Ricardo seems to possess this capability. Just like Harry Potter and every hero’s story, the Monomyth of Kelly Drake struck me just as well. I have found that Kelly Drake and the Tears of the Dragons is a good story, one that provides an apotheosis (that “Ting!” moment), an expansion of consciousness of the hero, as well as its readers. It is a story of eudamonia — of becoming, love, and truth in every aspect. Although it may appear to be a typical fantasy, it invites readers to follow the evolution of a reluctant teenage girl as she becomes the woman that she is meant to be.
