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UK Authors - Sci-fi & fantasy |
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Dragonworld |
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 Dragonworld byByron Preiss & Michael Reaves Ibooks - Simon & Schuster 551 pages, 2000 ISBN 0671039075 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde Most fantasy novels are about a war at least in part, but this one is about a war that started by accident. In the land of Fandora where the little folk live, a child is killed by a dragon. Almost simultaneously, across the sea in Simbala where more human-looking people live, another child is also killed by a dragon. In each case, the perpetrator is not known and so each blames the other and a war begins. It is up to Amsel the hermit and inventor whose flying machine was partly responsible for one child’s death, to try and stop it before it gets any worse. He will have to go a lot farther than Simbala to do this - all the way to the land of the dragons. Meanwhile in Simbala, Evirae wants to be Queen and is going to do everything in her power to get her wish. But instead of her husband ruling, a commoner has been elected in his place. Kiorte her husband is head of the squadron of flying ships – but these can’t do much about dragons. This book was originally written in 1979, when fantasy was at its nadir and hardly published at all. So it makes fascinating reading, having as it did, so little to draw on for inspiration. Tolkein, fairy tales, the leafy dream worlds of writers like William Morris and Lord Dunsany all went into the mix. What comes out is a simple but engaging tale which starts and ends well – the death of little Johan is particularly poignant. Like a lot of long books, the story sags in the middle when the plot treads water, there is nothing new to add, and we have met all the characters. Dragonworld is not a children’s story. But rather at odds with the actual text are the 80 delicate pencil illustrations by artist Joseph Zucker. These are well drawn and pleasing to the eye but would belong far more appropriately in a children’s book. In the United States, illustrated adult novels are no surprise, but not in the UK. Unless I had read this book, I would not think that it was meant for adults. It even has a recommendation by Maurice Sendak [well-known children's author]. Apart from this, Dragonworld was an enjoyable read with its clean, simplistic style and an interesting contrast to modern fantasy. |
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