Empire of Ivory

The mix of real history and dragons makes the world feel so immersive. I'm curious if she planned the research and fantasy parts from the start or let them develop together.

The book explores empire-building and its consequences, but I wondered whether it was meant to critique or simply depict that world. Would love to hear others' thoughts.

The dragons add such a unique element to the warfare scenes, but I'm curious whether this was based on specific mythologies or an original idea that grew from her love of fantasy creatures.