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The Dragon and the Fair Maid of Kent

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By habit I read more than one book at a time. It keeps me from getting bored, and sometimes the odd juxtaposition of ideas gives me something unique for a review. Right now I'm reading a horror story so bad I regret agreeing to review it and a mystery story that makes too great an effort to be literature. It's slow going at best. The third volume is (or rather, was) this, Gordon Dickson's fourth in his dragon series. It took me exactly three days to read this hefty (500+ page) small print book from cover to cover, and I am not a speed reader. The other books just had to wait.

What makes Dickson so good that he has managed to author two major series (the dragon series and the Dorsai series) and innumerable other novels and collections? Personally I would call it superior plot making, intense dedication to details, and yes, heaps of talent. Dickson always takes the necessary time to draw his characters out fully, be they James Eckhart the knight/apprentice mage/sometimes dragon who is the hero of the story or the lowly master carpenter who keeps James in everything from chairs to outhouses. And he goes to know end of trouble to make sure that the reader painlessly acquires enough 14th century lore to make sense out of the goings on.

This volume finds James at Malencontri, his castle, trying to cope with both a plague of Plantagenet nobility and the very real plague which is advancing into James part of England. In addition, Carolinus, James mage master (one of the three AAA+ mages in the world, he'll have you know) is insisting that the King be protected at all costs. The Plantagenets on hand are Prince Edward the Fourth, the king's son and the beautiful Countess Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent. All they want is James assistance in a plot to make Edward the Third fond of Edward the Fourth again. This plot becomes ever more complicated until James finds himself commanded to appear before the King at Tiverton, where Edward III has retired to avoid the plague in London.

While this complexity develops James works overtime to prepare Malencontri against the plague. Since James and his wife Angie are actually visitors from our time who were unexpectedly thrust into the 14th century of an alternate earth, they know something of germs and disease protection. Since magic will not work on diseases, it is this knowledge which it their only hope. In the midst of all this confusion and stress, the EcKharts, their closest friends and Hob (the castle hobgoblin) are off to Tiverton to see the King.

Thanks to Hob, James is able to discover that an evil plot is afoot at Tiverton. Goblins, who are spreading the plague in order to take over the world, have slain the real castle staff and are now running it in disguise. James, due to his commitment to keep the king alive, goes into action. Since this is less that a third of the way into the book, it should be no surprise that Jim manages to use a small handful of men and knights (plus the unstoppable Hob and his buddy the hob of Tiverton) to completely mop up the Goblins and airlift everyone to Malencontri. Unfortunately James comes down with both the plague and magickal exhaustion simultaneously. Does he survive? Of course! Does he spend the rest of the book frantically trying to save Malencontri and the rest of England? You bet, but I will leave the rest of the plot for the reader to discover.

With this, ninth, volume in the series, it is getting a bit harder to simply pick up a volume and follow along. First of all you keep getting the feeling that you have missed several really good books, which you have. Secondly, there is simply too much background after eight solid novels to present enough information to the reader. This isn't all bad though, you will get to read several very good fantasy tales. And if you do wind up reading it first, you will still love it enough to come back to read a second time. Highly recommended.

Jim Eckert loves his wife Angie who accompanied him when he left the world of his birth and being a mathematician to enter this medieval world. His new home is similar to the history of his old home, but some variance exists. Jim is an apprentice to one of the realm's three only AAA+ Magickians, Carolinus. His mentor is worried that the English King will die soon and assigns Jim to prevent that from happening at any cost.

However, whether he occupies the relatively stupid dragon Gorbash or remains in human form, Jim finds himself dealing with three global disasters. In his birth environs the plague reached Italy a few years later than the foothold it has attained in his new home. France and much of the continent is ravaged. The deadly disease is coming to England soon via a horde of goblins. The Plantagenet dynasty has moved into Jim's Malecontri castle, proving that a man's home is his monarch's castle. Finally, war seems eminent and Jim will be thrust into the middle of the conflict if he is not more careful.

Any time a Dragon novel is released, fantasy readers know they are receiving the very best in the genre. Award winning Gordon R. Dickson keeps his hero fresh while altering fourteenth century history to provide a taut but often amusing story line. THE DRAGON AND THE FAIR MAID OF KENT retains the triumphant nature of the previous novels, which says a lot because the Dragon tales are one of the all time best and long running series in any genre.

Harriet Klausner

Dickson has developed a series of books that allows the reader of today to say what if...? This unique viewpoint allows for the writer to put a 21st century spin on a classic fantasy novel. Characters are real in a fatastic world.

This time Jim has organized his motly crew to fight the plague which is born by shape changing goblins. He must do this while working around the politics of the middle ages with the King and Crown Prince in his company.

This one has the least adventure and the most politics, but still an enjoyable read.

Ahh for 2 years I waited for the arrival of this book. then it wasn't released when it was said to be I got upset. But I waited. Ahhh once gain I am not disappointed. the book is funny, well written, with a very interesting cast of characters (hobgoblins are just so darn cute!) Tho once again James spent hardly any time at all in his dragon body, the things he did in human form are nothing short of astounding and kept the book going. The only thing I was concerned about was that James was not accepted(or rejected) for the Colegiate of Magickians. I suppose Dickson will reveal all that in the next book. I just hope it's out sooner than this one was. All in all...fabulous.

I just wanted to let it be known that The Dragon and the Fair Maid of Kent, is not, as stated by Marc Ruby in his Oct. 17 review, the fourth book in Gordon Dickson's Dragon Knight Series.

It is actually the NINTH book in the series. It may only appear to be the fourth due to the fact that Tor only included in the list of previous books those which had been published by Tor. The rest of the series was published by Ace Fantasy, with the exception of the very first book, The Dragon and the George, which was published by Del Rey in 1976.

Essentially, I just didn't want anyone to miss any of the books out of this wonderful series. Happy reading!

In this final entry into the Dragon Knight series (Dickson died the year after it was published), Jim Eckert and his friends find themselves facing, for once, not the Dark Powers, but the threat of the bubonic plague, the usual convoluted politics of 14th-Century England, and a besieging army of goblins determined to kill King Edward III and conquer the island for themselves, enslaving humanity and their own hated cousins, the gentle hobgoblins who dwell in chimneys. At first, understandably, Jim is most concerned about the plague, and sets measures in place to keep it out of his castle of Malencontri, or at least to quarantine anyone who comes down with it. Then, while escorting the Bishop of Bath and Wells back to his see, he finds himself confronted by an attacking force of goblins, which leads to revelations about their nature from his castle Hob. Meanwhile, Edward the Black Prince has unexpectedly arrived on his doorstep, along with Princess Joan of Kent, his cousin and beloved--who, as it happens, is already married to either one other man or two. Trying to counteract the vicious lies about him being poured into his father's ears by his uncle, the Earl of Cumberland (who happens to be an old foe of Jim's), he has resolved to ask Jim for help. The situation is soon complicated by the discovery that Tiverton Castle, to which Cumberland has persuaded the King to go in order to be safe from the sickness now afoot in London, is staffed entirely by goblins who have magically assumed the guise of humans. When Jim manages to extract all the real humans from the place and transport them to Malencontri, he not only strains himself almost past recovery, but the goblins throw off their disguises and besiege them. Surrounded by thousands of vicious foes, threatened by plague, and having to cope with the notoriously variable Plantagenet personality, Jim finds that battling the Dark Powers may have been the easier task. Then he learns that his two old enemies, Cumberland and Agatha Falon, may well be behind the goblin invasion. How is he to persuade the King that his half-brother is behind the plot to kill him? And how do you fight an army of goblins with only some 300 humans fit to wield weapons, a not-entirely-dependable cadre of dragons, and thousands of eager hobs whom you don't dare throw into the battle for fear they'll be massacred?

In many ways this is the most satisfactory of the Dragon novels since The Dragon and the George, which began them. All our old friends--Brian Neville-Smythe and his betrothed Geronde, Dafydd ap Hywel, Aargh the English wolf, Secoh the mere-dragon, Master Mage Carolinus, and valiant little Hob--are back, each with an important part to play. As always, Dickson seems to have a good grasp of the medieval mind and personality--the obligations of honor and of a gentleman. And the climactic battle before the gates of Malencontri is splendid. It's a pity the author didn't live to follow up on the threads of this story; seeing Jim and his allies deal with Cumberland's conspiracy and perhaps finally "save" the King would have been a treat.

In the ninth book of the series, we get to deal again with the real medieval history of England. The time to deal with King Arthur and Merlin passed in te previous book. Since this is a series, there is further development of all the characters that have been there from the beginning: Brian, Geronde, Carolinus etc. James is also developing and we learn that he is being considered for another promotion in the Magickal arts. All the other favorites also make return appearances even if only very quickly (Aargh and Gorbash). With all of this, it is quite surprising that the Sea Devils and the Gnarlies don't show up!

The problem to be resolved this time has to do with keeping King Edward alive. It appears that the evil Lord Cumberland and Agatha Fallon are plotting to kill him and replace him with Cumberland. The chosen means is the Black Plague which is introduced to England by them. Other magical creatures that operate on the evil side are the goblins and we learn quite a bit about the relationship between them and the hobgoblins as well as other denizens of the evil side. A major development occurs with the hobs. It seems that there are thousands of them and in one of the climaxes of this book, there is literally a battle involving them. Quite a difference from how Hob appears in the first books!

If you have read the previous titles, this will be more of the same and you will enjoy the developments of the characters. If you have not read any of these before, you will miss most of the fun and should go right back to Dragon and the George!

The Fair Maid of Kent makes an appearance and we learn that the 14th century woman could be quite influential in her own way.

This is not a small book, yet I devoured it in favor of any other reading over the course of a few days. Well worth it!

A fantasy set during the time of King Edward III, it is a complex tale involving magicians, dragons, goblins, the plague, and court intrigue. The author has invented history only casually related to real history. Overall, it is an interesting story but sometimes drags in long scenes which may seem peripheral to the main plot. Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, puts in an appearance in a secondary role. It seems unlikely that Edward III would have had an illegitimate half-brother as his father, Edward II, was gay and not known to have mistresses. The real power behind the throne was the Black Prince's younger brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (events would eventually lead to the War of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster).

The author oversimplifies the relationship between Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, and Edward, the Black Prince, by calling them cousins. Joan's father, Edmund, was both a half brother of Edward II and a cousin of Edward II's wife, Isobel of France (who contrary to the motion picture, never had any contact with Wallace). A grand-daughter of Joan and Sir Thomas Holland would marry John Beaufort, a nephew of Edward the Black Prince, and a daughter of that marriage would later marry King James I of Scotland with descent to the present royal family.