Customer Reviews

The Book of Earth (Dragon Quartet, Vol. One)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have not read a lot of dragon-related fantasy before, so I can't really compare Marjorie B. Kellogg with the likes of Anne McCaffrey. What I can say, however, is that The Book of Earth, the first book of The Dragon Quartet, struck me as a wonderfully rich and original novel. The dragon is not your typical dragon, nor is the protagonist of the book your typical Dragon Guide. I was actually rather surprised by the depth of emotion and tragedy that went in to the core of this novel, as young Erde truly suffers a great deal at the beginning of the story. Her relationship with the dragon and the manner in which the two of them communicate, however, was really quite beautiful. And if you're looking for action, you'll find plenty of it here, building up to a much-anticipated, thrilling conclusion that differs significantly from what I was expecting.

Erde von Alte is the 14-year-old daughter of a baron living in the German principalities in the year 913. Just as she is beginning to make the transition from childhood to womanhood, though, her world falls apart around her. Her grandmother, the baroness, has just died, and Brother Guillemo of Rome has arrived to oversee the funeral. Guillemo's reputation precedes him, as he is going around speaking of great evil in the land, making great prophecies about dragons and other devilish creatures. Dragons have always been a part of the von Alte tradition, however, and Erde has long delighted in dreams of her very own dragon. She recognizes the good Brother for the dangerous individual he is, and she is devastated when he accuses her of improper behavior (you know what I mean) and witchcraft. Soon, her less than loving father is under the spell of the friar, the people she loves are dead or dying, and she is held a virtual prisoner in her room. She manages to escape and runs off into the cold forest, losing her voice as a result of the trauma she endures in the process. In the depths of a secret cave, she encounters a dragon, and this dragon immediately attaches herself to her. His name is Earth, and he really does not know what his purpose is - all dragons are supposed to have a reason to exist, so it just remains for Earth and his Dragon Guide to figure out what he is supposed to do. He doesn't even know what powers he possesses, but as the two begin their journey together he begins to remember things and eventually recognizes a summons beckoning him to some as yet unidentified place. The pair meet up with a knight of the much-beleaguered king, and the trio embark on a journey that basically brings Erde full circle before it is finished. The dragon learns, grows, and becomes more enchanting as time goes by, finally identifying the source of his summons at the very end of the book (which leads fluidly into the next book of the series).

This is a wonderfully human story, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes wonderful, but always vivid and magnificent. The malevolent aims of Brother Guillemo and the resulting baronial revolt against the king take precedence over the ultimate quest of Erde and Earth, but each character fully comes into his/her own by the end of the book. The novel is rather dark at times, which I found a little surprising, but this only makes the world more real. There was one surprise at the end that I initially viewed with doubt, but it actually made for a melodramatically powerful end to Erde's life-changing adventure.

The story of Erde and Earth does not end here, of course. Each of the four books in the series is devoted to one of the four dragons that basically created the earth: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Not until the end of this world were the dragons to be reawakened, and the reader really knows little at this point about the reawakening of these magical creatures. The Book of Earth has a wholly satisfying ending, but the story of the dragons is only just beginning. The Dragon Quartet has the makings of a truly impressive fantasy series.

Dragons who teleport and bond with humans and communicate with them via telepathy? Sounds too much like the Pernese dragons of Anne McCaffrey to get too jumped up about. Also, I found the ending lacking...something. Out heroine, Erde, a baron's daughter on the lam who melds minds with the dragon Earth, just went through so much in the course of the novel that I wanted...something more for her by the end. It was very anticlimatic. OK, yeah, I realize it's book one of four, but even so, it didn't feel...complete. Rainer, the handsome young revolutionary she's mooning over is a slime--they've been best friends since they were kids and all of a sudden he's snubbing her after she saved his life? She deserved better. In any case, Ms. Kellog's writing is so good you kinda wish the story were more original. Oh, well. Maybe next time?

Marjorie Kellogg knows her stuff. She has woven a wonderous tale of fantasy which truly allows the reader to suspend his/her disbelief and enter the world on the page.The characters are perfectly believable, the writing is tight with excellent forward motion, and there is never a lag where you may be tempted to put down the book or skip forwardover a boring part. It is easy to sympathize with the heroes,and just as easy to hate the antagonists. I can't wait to read the next book in the quartet

I recommmend this book to anyone who is not afraid to stop reading the book 20 pages early. The book is wonderfully written, but the reader is lead on and some people may feel strongly about the ending. While this book was a good read for me, the other three in the series are a waste of time. Take my advice and don't continue past this book, because if you end up for some reason being unsatisfied by this book's ending, the other books are structured in the exact same way in their conclusions.

Thank you for reading my honest summary of the series, and trust my word on this.

After running away from her father, and loosing two of her best friend in the castle, Erde runs into a cave to stay in for the night. While in there she encounters a dragon. Dragons were only myths and folklore in her age so it was quite unbelievable. Somehow the dragon could send her colors and pictures of what it was thinking. While fleeing from her father and taking care of the dragon, she ran into Hal who tells her about her grandmother and how the dragon linked into her. How will this unveil after she encounters her father again? Read the book to find out. It is an entertaining read and I love it. I would recommend this series to everyone of all ages. I read this when I was in sixth grade so it's not a difficut read, but not only can you read it at a young age and enjoy it, I have read it at least once every year and it still never get's old.

I purchased this book while I was still in high school. I adored it. Not only did the girl on the front look like me, she was my age and had the same temprament as I did also. It is not only a story about dragon lore, the character in this book, Erde, evolves as the story develops. From a slightly selfish, self doubting child into a mature, questioning adult as the story progresses. I have all three books so far. It would be a wonderful read for anyone. I loaned it to my little sister, and she almost didn't give it back. The midival setting is depicted well along with the witch suspicion that is highlighted in this first installment of the epic. I would recomend this to anyone who was just looking into fantasy, or an experienced reader in this grenre.

The first of four books in the series displays a world that resembles medival Europe. The girl Erde discovers she is a dragon guide and the story is an entertaining adventure romp with the usual goodies and baddies thrown in. Characters are believable, the plot works well.
A major drawback is the sheer laziness of author and editor who never bothered to check if the supposedly German that gets used for names and in conversation is credible of even correct. Unfortunately is is neither and after a couple of hundred pages it gets to be a major annoyance.

A good story, great characters that do not deserve to be let down like this.

Sentence Summary: Forced to flee her home to escape a power hungry monk and her like-minded father, the young girl named Erde becomes the dragon guide for the Earth Dragon who is searching for the being who is calling him.

Pros:
-"The Dragon Isn't Perfect/Dragon Has a Distinct Personality"
Earth (the dragon) is not an almighty force to reckon with for the entire book. Not only does Erde have to take care of him at first, but the poor dragon's suffering some nasty memory loss. Much of the book involves Earth relearning these things. With all the books where the dragon knows everything about itself and the world immediately, it's a nice twist.

-"Even Paced"
The action is spaced out just enough to keep the reader interested; the even pace keeps things from lagging.

-"Protagonist Loses Voice"
Erde suffers a traumatic event that causes her to lose her voice for most of the book. This is written well enough that it isn't annoying and allows Erde's character to grow, letting the reader in on a more personal level with Erde's thoughts.

-"Maniac Priest/Monk"
I love to hate this guy. The priest Guillemo is the epitome of a man leading a flock of paranoid sheep (villagers/barons). The lying, the backstabbing, the power struggles caused by this man alone is what makes up a large part of the thrill in this book.

Cons:
-"Author Semi-Mangles a Good Plot Hook"
Toward the end, there are too many half-effort attempts to make Erde's muteness seem like it was caused by something other than just trauma. This idea never really goes anywhere and actually sours the original reason she lost her voice.

-"Rainer's Connection to Erde is Confusing" or "End Rainer Doesn't Feel Human"
While I'm glad the story didn't end with the childhood couple cliche, Rainer seemed inhumanly ungrateful for Erde's end-of-book actions. He doesn't even show the slightest interest to find that Erde is even alive. Since the author puts such an emphasis on Erde's and Rainer's childhood friendship at the book's start, Rainer's cold-shoulder reaction makes no sense and seems counterintuitive to this supposed past friendship.

It seems that there are many authors out there challenging the traditional storylines of fantasy, and this book is definitely one that pushes that boundary. It is set not in some strange fantasy world, but in a recognizably mideval Europe; its human heroine is three-dimensional, complete with inner conflicts and personal folibles; its dragon hero is far short of the popular image of the all-powerful, ravenous creature of greed and destruction, and has a distinct personality which grows along with the storyline. There were a few points in the story that I felt should have gone differently, but I'm definitely hooked for the rest of the series--and I can't complain too much about the book not working out as I expected, since the ending took me pleasantly by surprise! Highly reccommended for those who love dragons, and for those who like their fantasy more on the thoughtful, self-discovery side than in the swords-and-sorcery camp

The first book in the dragon quartet series, is a unique new look at commonly held dragon lore. The first chapter in the story of four dragons; Earth, Water, Air and Fire; who are intrusted by God to create the world and who will thereafter sleep till the worlds end. But something has awakened the dragons early. The Book of Earth is the story of the dragon Earth, his mage Erde, and their remarkable journey toward the source of the dragons reawakening. This book is an exellent source of the legend and lore that surronds the dragons of myth.