Tag Archives: Dragons

Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy

January 13, 2018Book ReviewDragons, Fantasy, R.A. MacAvoyskyebjenner

Title: Tea with the Black Dragon
Author: R.A. MacAvoy
Rating Out of 5: 1.5 (Couldn’t get past the first chapter)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, Fantasy
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: eReads.com
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: Her face was still hot; he would think she were blushing.

Martha Macnamara knows that her daughter Elizabeth is in trouble, she just doesn’t know what kind. Mysterious phone calls from San Francisco at odd hours of the night are the only contact she has had with Elizabeth for years. Now, Elizabeth has sent her a plane ticket and reserved a room for her at San Francisco’s most luxurious hotel. Yet she has not tried to contact Martha since she arrived, leaving her lonely, confused and a little bit worried. Into the story steps Mayland Long, a distinguished-looking and wealthy Chinese man who lives at the hotel and is drawn to Martha’s good nature and ability to pinpoint the truth of a matter. Mayland and Martha become close in a short period of time and he promises to help her find Elizabeth, making small inroads in the mystery before Martha herself disappears. Now Mayland is struck by the realization, too late, that he is in love with Martha, and now he fears for her life. Determined to find her, he sets his prodigious philosopher’s mind to work on the problem, embarking on a potentially dangerous adventure.

I struggled with this story. Actually, I struggled so much that I read the first 150 pages (to satisfy reading challenge requirements) and then gave up completely. Normally I’ll put down a book after the first chapter if it doesn’t capture my attention, but I tried and tried with this. Mostly because I love the idea and the concept, I just found the writing a little difficult to get through.

The main thing that I found really irritating about this story was the passage of time. Where most pieces of writing that I’ve read use a break in paragraphs, or a new chapter to denote a change in location or time, this didn’t. Actually I continuously got confused about where the characters were and why they had jumped from one location to another.

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Image source: Amazon

Mimic by Tamora Pierce

March 30, 2017Book ReviewDragons, Easy Reading, Fantasy, Tamora Pierce, Tortall and Other Landsskyebjenner

Title: Mimic
Author: Tamora Pierce
In: Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection (Tamora Pierce)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, Easy reading, Fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bluefire
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: Hail came – hurtful knobs of ice as big as pigeon eggs – just when I found Brighteyes and my missing sheep.

A young girl rescues an ugly bird like creature. Mimic is a wonderful companion. But, one day, when the village is threatened, Mimic’s miraculous transformation might just save them all.

This is an incredibly sweet little story. It is about a girl who doesn’t quite want to grow up, and the power of our connection to nature. Both aspects of which I can relate to entirely. After all, who really wants to grow up and take on the mantle of responsibility?

The act of saving those less fortunate than you, and protecting the weak is such a recurring theme in Tamora Pierce’s writing. And, Mimic is no different. Ri’s willingness to take care of even the most ugly of creatures may have put her at odds with her grandfather, but it does lead her to finding a fantastic companion and friend. The fact that it also leads to the rescuing and redemption of the entire village, and even Ri’s eventual choice to enter the adult world only helps to add to the unforeseen benefits of such a selfless act.

<- Plain Magic Review

Huntress Review ->

Image source: Tamora Pierce Wiki

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

March 18, 2016Book ReviewAnne McCaffrey, Dragonflight, Dragons, Dragons of Pern, High Fantasy, Pern, Science Fictionskyebjenner

Title: Dragonflight
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Series: Dragons of Pern #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, High fantasy, Science fiction
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Corgi Books
Year: 1968
5th sentence, 74th page: F’lar somehow got to his feet, attempting to straighten up to meet Fax’s stumbling charge.

The men who rode the dragons were a breed apart. Chosen when the dragons were first hatched, they became soul-mates for life with the huge, magnificent beasts they controlled – the green, blue, brown and bronzes – beautiful – terrible – the only creatures who could defend the planet Pern from the blood-red star. But without the Queen, the dragons would become extinct. Only the gigantic, golden Queen could breed the new flights. And the Queen was fading… dying… leaving behind one last, huge, golden egg.

I was introduced to this series years ago. But I couldn’t remember much (I was only 11 at the time). So I decided to re-read this series. I’m so glad that I did. It was a completely amazing book. Halfway through it I went online and ordered the next 4 books in the Dragons of Pern series.

I’ve often heard of Anne McCaffrey as the mother of Science Fiction and once I read Dragonflight, I completely understood this. Not only are the characters relatable and believable, the world of Pern is so intricately woven that you can’t help but believe that it is a real place. I love the creation of a world beyond ours, inhabited by our descendants in a time when we are completely forgotten – in my mind this is actually plausible.

Dragonflight is a little hard to get through in some stages, the very intricacies which make Pern so real to the reader also establish a succession of plot lines and realities of the characters that create a complex storyline. It certainly isn’t a book to lightly read while the family is bustling about. But, it is definitely a book that should be read by every fan of SciFi, fantasy and dragons.

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Dragonquest Review ->

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.