Title: Dragonspell
Author: Donita K. Paul
Series: Dragon Keeper Chrinicles-Book 1
Pages: 334
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Genre: Fantasy/Allegory
My Rating: ***** (Five Stars)
Summary: Kale was a slave in Amara, but she is now free. Her masters have sent her to The Hall to be in Paladin's service. She is excited for he new role in society, but completely underestimates her own potential.
Before she even gets to The Hall, she encounters seven dragon eggs and two companions on a quest for a special dragon egg held captive by an evil wizard. When Kale and her new friends, Dar and Leetu, are attacked and Leetu is taken captive, Kale is plunged into a quest that she didn't ask for. Can Kale be brave enough to face her own destiny and rescue her friend? Will they find the egg before the wizard uses it for evil?
My thoughts: I love books about dragons, and this one was really great. It wasn't confusing, even though the author made up many races for the land of Amara. They were slowly introduced, as were the concepts of life in Amara. Kale is a character you can relate to. She is eager to serve, but not sure of her own talents.
As an allegorical book, there were characters representing God (Wulder) and Jesus (Paladin), but the connections were not forced and the messages were not at all "preachy."
I will definitely want to read and review the rest of the series.
The only problem I had was with the cover. The illustration is beautiful, but misleading. Although the book is about dragons, there is no scene in the story where someone sneaks up on a sleeping dragon, as the cover suggests.
One of my favourite parts: "Paladin grew somber. 'Mordakleeps are the embodiment of nothing. Within their grasp, [Leetu] was surrounded by nothing. No sounds, no sights, no smells, no taste, not the touch of something against her skin, not even the feel of her skin. Why, even her sense of up or down was hidden from her. Inside a mordakleep, there is no sign of life. In that oblivion, her mind writhed in anguish and shut down against the pain of loneliness and isolation. . . . Wulder has a place like that. It's used for punishment of those who defy Him with every breath until the very last time they exhale on our world. . . .' " (pg. 201) My friends and I have talked about what Hell will be like, and one friends suggested that even if there is no fire and burning sulfur, it will still be the worst place because we will be eternally separated from our creator. That is punishment beyond imagination.
**Book 1 in The Dragon Keepers Chronicles**
Next book: Dragon Quest
To learn more . . .
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. (Thank you!)
Please rank my review on the publisher's site by clicking here.
I read "Dragons of the Valley" last year. I've really been wanting to go back and start with this one, but I haven't yet. I like dragons in books, though. :)
ReplyDelete