The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time)

Title: The Eye of the World

Series: The Wheel of Time (Book #1)

Year: 1990

Author: Robert Jordan

Summary: The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. 

Main Characters:
~ Rand al'Thor
~ Mat
~ Perrin
~ Egwene
~ Nynaeve
~ Moiraine
~ Lan

Review: I've heard a lot of people say that Robert Jordan is the new Tolkien. While I partway agree, I still think Tolkien is the best. Old loyalties die hard. 

But honestly, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. Robert Jordan has created a whole world, with histories and genealogies just as complicated as Tolkien's. If you need a good LONG fantasy fix -- pick up the Wheel of Time series. Jordan began this series thinking it was only going to be six books long. Ha. Yeah. Fourteen books later...

Rand, Mat, and Perrin are three friends from a small town known as Emond's Field. Rand farms and herds sheep, Perrin works as a blacksmith's apprentice, and Mat creates mischief. All three seem pretty ordinary, but one night changes everything when everything they know gets turned upside-down. With an Aes Sedai to guide them and Trollocs and a Fade -- and worse! -- at their backs, they begin the epic journey of the age.

So many books today focus on a central character being the chosen one or the unlikely hero. Rand, Mat, and Perrin are unlikely heroes, but I feel that this story breaks the cliche by following THREE of them, not just one. Three different stories and fates tied together -- because even though they stick together and help each other out, they each have a story and a path of their own. I love complicated twists!

There's honestly a little bit of everything in here for everyone. My husband and I both wanted to read this series so we've been taking turns reading it out loud to each other. I'll be the first to admit I've loved sharing this adventure with him. When we're away from the book, we discuss what we've read, try to figure out the mysteries Jordan's been weaving, and throw around suggestions on what's to happen next. Because Jordan keeps you on your toes -- right when you think all's well and something can neatly tie up with a bow, BAM! And you can basically hear Jordan laughing at you in your mind's ear, saying, "Didn't see that coming, now did you?"

The Ogier is one of my favorite characters; I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in later books. Nynaeve is particularly multi-faceted. I'm very interested in her story. Also, Egwene. Poor dear. I'm still rooting for her and Rand... even though I know there's still so many books ahead of us.

Book one ends satisfactorily... if you like a million questions unanswered. I'm so glad I basically found the whole series at Goodwill. Because I'm gonna keep needing to get to the next book ASAP. Once you get sucked in, this is the kind of series that you can't put down. 

Advisory: Lots of fighting/violence/scary creatures/evil in general. For those of you who are familiar with Tolkien, this is up a notch. Certain parts can get kinda gruesome, but I haven't been completely grossed out yet. Just expect with this epic fantasy to have a lot of blood and whatnot. 

Also, magic of sorts. I don't mind it so much, since this series is clearly a made-up fantasy, but it is very prevalent in the novel. The "magic" or power comes from the One Power, an abstract source of some kind of energy. It's split up into two segments - saidar, the female power, and saidin, the male power. Using either half of the Power is known as channeling. For females, channeling normally means training as an Aes Sedai, learning how to use the Power. For males, touching the One Power normally results in the man going mad and killing everyone near him. While it's not implied that everyone can use this Power, it does seem to be available to multiple people. Egwene and Nynaeve both expect to be trained so they known how to use it. 

This book also contains a few New Age type elements. Tam al'Thor teaches Rand (his son) to focus on a void, blocking everything else out. Kinda becoming one with everything around him. That is also echoed in some of the Aes Sedai teachings, though not as prevalent in this book. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Dragon Rose (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms)

Title: DragonRose

Series: Tales of the Latter Kingdoms (Book #2)

Year: 2012

Author: Christine Pope

Summary: The shadow of the cursed Dragon Lord has hung over the town of Lirinsholme for centuries, and no one ever knows when the Dragon will claim his next doomed Bride. Rhianne Menyon has dreams of being a painter, but her world changes forever when a single moment of sacrifice brings her to Black's Keep as the Dragon's latest Bride. As she attempts to adjust to her new life -- and to know something of the monster who is now her husband -- she begins to see that the curse is far crueler than she first believed. Unraveling the mystery of what happened to the Dragon's Brides is only the beginning... (from Goodreads)

Main Characters:
~ Rhianne
~ Theran Blackmoor
~ Sar

Review: As far as Beauty and the Beast retellings go, this one handled the aspect of the Beast’s curse in a very creative way. However, other elements of the story make it difficult for me to recommend the book for fairy tale fanatics.

Rhianne is the eldest of four daughters born to a tradesman. She despises her mother’s choice of suitor, a rich man of forty-five years, and thrives in helping her father by painting the stoneware and other pottery he makes. However, her painting skill is somewhat of a disgrace to her name as girls aren’t supposed to be dabbling in trade.

Rhianne is only a month away from aging out of the dreaded call for the Dragon’s Bride. Fro 500 years, he's called for a bride from the little town of Lirinsholme, and no girl wants to answer that call -- because it's a death sentence. Even though the Bride’s family receives a large monetary gift, the Bride herself will be dead not long after her marriage to the Dragon. As ill luck has it, the Dragon Lord of Black’s Keep calls for a bride only just after Rhianne’s painting disgraces her to the entire town. Her best friend – a girl who is already engaged and sewing her wedding dress – is chosen as the Bride, but Rhianne decides to take her place.

As I said before, this book handles all the aspects of the Beauty and Beast story very well. I enjoyed seeing those elements fleshed out as they were. The only big thing lacking was the rose itself. Rhianne’s name means “the rose” and she and the Dragon Lord walk often in the rose gardens, but it is not the rose that begins Rhianne’s adventures with the beast.

Theran Blackmoor, the Dragon Lord himself, is very much like the beast of lore. It always bothered me that so many Beauty and the Beast retellings portray the beast as an ill-tempered brute with anger management issues when the original fairy tales (granted, depending on which variation you read) showed him as a disfigured and rather gentle man. Theran was appropriately moody, and I thought his curse was very well executed. I found I quite liked the Bride twist.

I do realize that this is the second book in a series of fairy tale retellings; however, I believe they are basically stand-alone novels. I have absolutely no idea what the first book was about -- I just read this one because I found it free for Kindle one day and thought I'd try it out as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I can't recommend the series because I really don't know anything else about the other books.

Advisory: The biggest objection for me was Rhianne's desire for romance and physical intimacy. Once she realizes that she's fallen in love with the Dragon Lord, she wants to kiss him and be near him physically. She wonders what it would be like to be treated like a wife, leading to some not-so-graphic thoughts and feelings. There is also a scene in which she and Theran consummate their marriage, though nothing is described graphically and the scene itself is more suggestive than anything else. Still, I was uncomfortable reading it, and it is for this reason that I can't give this book a higher rating. 

Some talk and portrayal of violence/suicide/murder. The story itself has a darker, more mature tone because it includes these elements, but I didn't think any of it horribly graphic or over the top. 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

DragonSong (Harper Hall Trilogy)

Title: DragonSong

Series: Harper Hall Trilogy (Book #1)

Year: 1976

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Summary: Anne McCaffrey's best-selling Harper Hall Trilogy is a wonder-filled classic of the imagination. "Dragonsong," the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern's first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world. (from Goodreads)

Main Characters:
~ Menolly

Review: In all the years I’ve been searching for and devouring dragon books, I’m surprised that I didn’t get into Anne McCaffrey’s books earlier. I was actually introduced to this trilogy by my husband, who had read it growing up; he constantly recommended them to me (after we happened to find the trilogy at a bookstore while on our honeymoon), and then came home beaming one night when he found me reading the first one on the couch. After that, it didn’t take me long to read the whole trilogy.

Menolly is the youngest daughter of the Sea Holder and the only one in her hold able to do anything remarkable with music after the death of the hold’s harper. She is constantly coming up with new tunes, and her parents (as well as everybody else) fears how she will disgrace their hold. She has everything going for her to become the next harper – but she’s a girl.

To be honest, I liked just about everything about this book except the main character. Menolly took a while to like. Because no one understands her love of music, she’s kinda moody and self-pitying for most of the book. She understandably hates her life, and is punished for “tuning” or making up new tunes and singing/playing them in front of people.

Anne McCaffrey is fantastic about world-building. Even though she doesn’t dump a ton of information on the reader right at the beginning (unless you read the very helpful foreward that sums up part of the DragonRiders of Pern series and Pern itself), but the world of Pern becomes very real very quickly. Along with the usual weather patterns and turning of the seasons, Pern is doomed to experience periodically what is known as Thread, a mysterious substance that falls from the even more mysterious Red Star. Thread is highly dangerous as it burns/consumes anything organic that it comes in contact with – namely plants, animals, and humans. It is considered death to be caught unprotected outside during a Threadfall.

This is where the dragons come in. Thread can be stopped before it reaches the ground by dragonfire; thus, the dragons and their riders are the official heroes of Pern, considering that, without them, life on Pern would soon cease to exist.

Even though the series runs on a bunch of dragon-ish titles (DragonSong, DragonSinger, DragonDrums), there’s not a lot about dragons themselves in this book. Most of the attention is focused on the fire lizards, a.k.a. mini dragons. Menolly begins the book believing what most of Pern believes: fire lizards are creatures of legend. However, she views a golden fire lizard queen mating, and then her world is turned upside-down.

I won’t say much because of spoilers. My biggest complaint is that the reason for fire lizards being so valuable is never explained in this book. Their apparent value is clear – everyone wants one, even though most people think them legends. But why they are so highly valued is not clear. I’m curious as to whether the author explains that little detail in some of her other books. I rather think she probably did. I'm just huffy since I haven't gotten to it yet. 

Advisory: Some fantasy action; no actual battles or fight scenes, but Pern has its share of exotic creatures. Some characters are injured, so there is some description of blood.

Menolly’s interaction with the fire lizards begins with her watching the queen’s mating flight. While it is implied that the mating flight brings about the egg clutch, no other details are given, and I thought the whole matter handled appropriately for a younger reader. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars