But one thing is sure: This grand, fantastical odyssey of Kale the Dragonkeeper will sweep you off your feet.'

'You never know what to expect in a magical world full of creatures like mordakleeps, blimmets, or doneels. Lyn Cote, author of The Women of Ivy Manor series A whimsical allegory, casting bright light on ultimate truth.' Pauls DragonQuest is a rich tapestry of creatures, characters, and adventure. A good story at least has to be attached to it (as was the case with most of Narnia), and this book just kept my attention enough to possibly make me want to read the sequel to see if it might get better.'Donita K. It's a poorly concealed tactic why not just come right out and say what you're trying to? And when Paladin (Jesus) actually becomes a main character that fights off evil with his aura and teaches Kale about his love and justness, well, then it's just a bit ridiculous.įantasy young adult books are not really the proper place for teaching people about your faith, especially not when you pretend that that isn't what you're doing. But as a nonreligious person, it just absolutely kills the story for me when the characters actually take a couple of entire pages aside here and there to preach the author's religious views, just changing the names of God and Jesus. And I'm not saying this book was bad about it it certainly could have been worse. In the past, I've cheerfully read Narnia and other books that incorporate some religious messages and symbols. The final straw for me, however, was the Christian overtones of the book.

They're all nice and everything, but nothing makes the book really rise above an average level. The quest is fairly ho-hum, with a bit of danger but little that really draws you in and makes you feel what the characters are feeling. There are dragons, and others of the 'seven high races' that have barely concealed similarities to elves, dwarves, faeries, humans, and other generic fantasy races. Most parts are pretty obviously gleaned from other popular fantasy, with a few admittedly pleasant twists. But a chain of unexpected events throws her from her path, and she finds herself instead part of a questing party to find a rare dragon egg and save it from an evil wizard.Ī lot about this book is just standard. Kale is an ex-slave who is excited about getting to move one step up in life becoming a servant. Average book that I was expecting a bit more from there were some parts I liked, but other things dragged it down for me and in the end it just came out as 'okay.'

Dragonspell by donita k paul