Burn the Witch (Volume 1) - Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

There exists another side of London. One where dragons exist and are used within society. However, human contact is restricted as it can lead to dark dragons that seek only to destroy, and only witches and wizards can stop them.

Burn the Witch (Volume 1) – Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

What happened?

Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole work in the Wing Bind division which is responsible for rearing and conserving dragons. This gives them all sorts of jobs to complete, however, the one that’s really bothering them right now is that they have to watch over Balgo and Osushi. Balgo was Noel’s school friend… no, acquaintance… maybe, stalker… Anyhow, he had been exposed to dragons for ten years as his best friend’s body had been taken over by one when he died. That turned Balgo into a Dragonclad which meant he would be treated like a dragon. Osushi is his dog which is also a dragon.

However, someone higher up decided that Balgo should be exterminated and prepared to put out the order. One wizard sought to get ahead of the game and set a trap. To do so, he brought Ninny’s bandmate to Reverse London with her dragon and started causing trouble. When Noel and Ninny showed up with Balgo, he sprung the trap.

However, Macy’s dragon was one of the seven legendary dragons that are the enemies of mankind. Ninny and Noel helped Bruno to fight back, but it was too strong. Then, it stopped suddenly when Balgo managed to pull a sword out of his trumpet. That was when its crown was broken by a sniper – Billy Banx. Jr. With the dragon subdued, it was decided that Balgo may be key to drawing out the other six Marchen, so he was allowed to live. Macy was also handed over to Ninny and Noel as she too now was a Dragonclad.

Burn the Witch Volume 1 Noel and Ninny see Cinderella destroyed

What did you think?

While I liked this book, I can’t help but feel like it was lacking in an important aspect. The character designs were good, although Balgo felt a little bit like an Ichigo clone. The story eventually got going, but it took a long time to get there, which was a bit off-putting. I liked the Reverse London setting, although I’m not sure what benefit there is to have that rather than just using a mythical place. I’ve read a lot of volume ones lately and this is the first one that really didn’t grab me. There were others that I wasn’t that bothered about, but they still told a story that was interesting and moved somewhere.

At present, the next volume is not available at my library and it’s not a story I would invest actual money in at this stage. Once it’s available I will read the next volume, although mostly for Noel who was the best character by a long way. I think the story could get better now that it has a clear goal – kill the six remaining Marchen. I feel like the worst aspect of the story so far was Balgo and it looks like he’ll be around for the rest of the series. Overall, it was fine. Not good, not bad, just fine!