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UK Authors - Sci-fi & fantasy |
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Dragon and Phoenix |
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 Dragon and Phoenix byJoanne Bertin Simon & Schuster 539 pages, 1999 ISBN 0684860511 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde Fresh from their adventures in The Last Dragonlord, here are the inhabitants of Dragonskeep once more - handsome Linden, beautiful new recruit Maurynna, lively Lleld and their friends harper Otter and the jilted Raven. This time they have to set free a dragon held prisoner for over a thousand years, in order to keep a phoenix in stasis and the land of Jehanglan under the rule of the Phoenix Emperor. Jehanglan is an exotic place akin to classical China. It is imperative for the rulers to maintain the status quo, or the warring tribes will overrun the land and all will be chaos again as before. Our intrepid band must go forth in disguise as travelling entertainers (the only foreigners allowed into Jehanglan) and set all to rights. If you loved the Pern tales of Anne McCaffrey, you will also enjoy this tale of weredragons and their adventures. Bertin has created a well-realised world and populated it with likeable heroes and hissable villains who lead thrilling lives. I felt a map would have been handy at the front to show how all the places connect together - the story got a bit confusing at times. In places, the pace seemed to flag a bit, and the whole novel could have been a bit shorter - minor faults that did not detract from the overall enjoyment of this book. I hope that sometime soon, the author will step back in time 600 years to tell us the tantalising tale of Linden’s own early years, snippets of which are doled out here and there. I look forward to the next in the series Bard’s Oath. |
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