Fantasy/SF Book Reviews
Page One of TwoDragonspell by Donita K. Paul
Water Brook, June 2004Trade paperback, 339 pages
ISBN: 1578568234
Ages 12 and up
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Kale Alleron is a young o'rant slave girl who is treated fairly well by
her masters in the tiny town of River Away. But when she finds a
rare dragon egg, the village
leaders send her off to The Hall in the city of Vendela to be trained as a servant
of Paladin. But Kale never makes it to the Hall. She is intercepted
on her journey and pressed into service by an
Emerlinden woman Leetu and Dar the Doneel. The trio must
find and rescue a valuable dragon egg from the evil wizard
Risto (Kale has the rare ability to find and sense the valuable dragon eggs).
Kale and her companions have many adventures and Kale
finds out that the reward for doing the right thing is often to
be given an even harder task to perform.
Dragonspell is an engaging young adult fantasy in which the Christian worldview is portrayed through metaphor. Also a coming of age story, Dragonspell features a likeable heroine and enough magical and exotic companions to fill three books. Ms. Paul has a lively imagination and her characterizations of the minor and major dragons are a definite high point of the book. The first book in a series raises more questions than it answers, such as the identity of the mysterious Paladin who has called Kale to his service, and the source of Kale's growing telepathic talent. Ms. Paul keeps the pacing fast, making for a fast and enjoyable read.
Mystic Warrior by Tracy and Laura Hickman
Warner Books, HardcoverHardcover, April, 2004
ISBN: 0446531057
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Newlywed blacksmith Galen Arvad appears to have a very
nice life: he married the girl he loves, he owns a profitable
smithing operation and he enjoys working with his friend, the
talented dwarf Cephas. But Galen's life is thrown into
chaos when the authorities discover the secret he has
kept all his life: he dreams of other people and places
which appear to be real, and during the daytime inanimate
objects talk to him constantly. During his dreams, Galen
often meets two people from his own world, his
comrade Maddoc and Inquisitor Tragget (who must hide his secret
from his colleagues) and creatures from the other two
worlds, the faery Dwynwyn and the goblin Mimic.
Galen's innate magical abilities
are eventually found out by the representatives of the Dragonkings.
His affliction is deemed to be madness and he is imprisoned with
other citizens who are similarly affected. Now Galen is about
to find out that his world, which is governed as a theocracy
by seven dragons, is nothing like what he thought it was.
There are actually three worlds which inhabit the same
space, but in different dimensions. Galen's abilities allow him
to see into these other worlds: the faerie world, where faeries are under
attack by centaurs and satyrs, and the goblin world, where
abandoned machinery made by the vanished Titans is the
ultimate status symbol. Galen must learn to use his abilities
before those in power decide that Galen is too much of a
threat to be allowed to live.
Husband and wife writing team Tracy and Laura Hickman break new ground in this provocative, highly imaginative fantasy. Young Galen Arvad is a likeable, although naïve, protagonist who eventually discovers that he has powers he never dreamed of. The interaction between the three worlds adds suspense to the story, and the magical system is especially well-imagined. Galen's exchanges with (sometimes grumpy) inanimate objects is both funny, entertaining and creepy, all at the same time. The Hickmans have quite a bit of depth to their writing, weaving political, religious and an exploration of interesting societal themes throughout the text. But the story also works quite well as a straightforward adventure fantasy with plenty of action, magic and intrigue.
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