The Dragon Heir [Hardcover]

Cinda Williams Chima (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2008 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Heir

The covenant that was meant to keep the wizard wars at bay has been stolen, and Trinity must prepare for attack.  Everyone is doing their part -- Seph is monitoring the Weirwalls; Jack and Ellen are training their ghostly army; even Anaweir Will and Fitch are setting booby traps around the town's perimeter.  But to Jason Haley, it seems like everyone wants to keep him out of the action.  He may not be the most powerful wizard in Trinity, but he's prepared to fight for his friends.  When Jason finds a powerful talisman --a huge opal called the Dragonheart--buried in a cave, his role takes on new importance.  The stone seems to sing to Jason's very soul -- showing him that he is meant for more than anyone guessed.  Trinity's guardians take the stone away after they realize that it may be a weapon powerful enough to save them all.  Without any significant power of his own, and now without the stone, what can Jason possibly do to help the people he cares about -- and to prove his mettle?

 

Madison Moss can feel the beating heart of the opal, too.  The desire for it surges through her, drawing her to it.  But Maddie has other things besides the Dragonheart on her mind.  She has a secret.  Ever since absorbing the magical blow that was meant to kill Seph, she's been leaking dark powers.  Although Maddie herself is immune to magic, what would her friends think if they knew what kind of evil lay within her?  Trinity's enemies are as enthusiastic about her powers as she is frightened.  They think they can use her to get to the Dragonheart -- and they'll use anyone Maddie cares about to make her steal the stone for them.

 

Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through what was once a sanctuary for the gifted.  With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for -- and what will they sacrifice?  Every man is for himself in this thrilling conclusion to the Heir trilogy.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up—In this final installment in the trilogy, Chima spins a finely structured tale that roars to a satisfying conclusion. For readers new to the series, there is considerable work to be done sorting out the plot and the relationships among the various characters, but after a while the power of the story takes over. The wizarding world is fractured and at war with itself. The only hope for peace lies in those few unaffiliated gifted ones (wizards, warriors, enchanters) in the sanctuary of the town of Trinity. As the novel opens, one of these characters, Jason, steals into the hold of another faction and walks out with a mysterious magical object that appears to be extremely powerful: the Dragonheart. When he brings it back to Trinity, the town and its treasure become the focus of the other factions. The action is largely propelled by the emotional needs and weaknesses of the characters, and not simply by their magical abilities. Madison Moss, whose ability to absorb magic enabled her to save her wizard boyfriend, is now a danger to Seph because she keeps leaking the toxic magic that she absorbed. Her fear that this will be discovered, along with her family problems, leads to her making decisions that put her and others in mortal danger. Maddie, along with Jason and Seph, is the central emotional focus, and it is the details of their lives that make the extraordinary plot twists exciting and compelling. Fans of the first two books are sure to love this one.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
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About the Author

Cinda Williams Chima made her debut as a young adult author with theWarrior Heir.Cinda is a graduate of the University of Akron, where she now teaches. A freelance writer, she has published more than one hundred reviews, feature articles, and essays in local and national media. Her nutrition column appears regularly in the Taste section ofThe Plain Dealer.Ms. Chima lives in Ohio with her husband and two sons.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423110706
• ISBN-13: 978-1423110705
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima began writing romance novels in middle school, which were often confiscated by her teachers. Her Heir Chronicles young adult contemporary fantasy series includes The Warrior Heir (2006), The Wizard Heir (2007), and The Dragon Heir (2008), all from Hyperion, with two more books forthcoming.
Chima's YA high fantasy Seven Realms series launched with The Demon King (2009), followed by The Exiled Queen (September, 2010) with The Gray Wolf Throne scheduled for fall, 2011.
Chima's books have received starred reviews in Kirkus and VOYA, among others. They have been named Booksense and Indie Next picks, an International Reading Association Young Adult Choice, to the Kirkus Best YA list, and the VOYA Editors' Choice, Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and Perfect Tens lists.
Chima was a recipient of the 2008 Lit Award for Fiction from the Cleveland Lit and was named a Cleveland Magazine Interesting Person 2009. She lives in Ohio with her family, and is always working on her next novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting heir, August 27, 2008

By 

Unashamed (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon Heir (Hardcover)

A lot of times, when a new author emerges in the world of fiction, it seems like every good idea they've ever had -- 20 or 30 or 40 years of dreaming -- finds its way into that brilliant debut. Then, when it's time for the sequel... well, there's not much left. And that's why I'm so amazed that Cinda Chima's books just keep getting better.

The Dragon Heir is the third and final book of the Heir series, which started out following young Jack Swift as he found out that he was born to be a warrior fighting in the name of wizard politics. Now full war is breaking out among the magical guilds, and the wizards are determined to put everyone back in their place.

But we're not just following Jack anymore -- in each book of the Heir series, Chima writes from a new character's point of view. It's a technique that seems, well, incredibly simple, but it creates a slew of unique perspectives that engrosses you immediately. In The Dragon Heir, we see the world through the eyes of Jason Haley and Madison Moss, who were supporting characters in The Wizard Heir but could probably carry a series by themselves.

All of the characters in Chima's books are incredibly well-developed. There's the perfect combination of magic and teenage problems (Does he really love me? And how come things blow up whenever he's around?) that makes young adult fantasy so appealing, even to those of us who have already inched into full adulthood. The best example of this comes when the characters are finally forced to reveal some of their secrets to the non-magical people around them (the muggles, if you will). Most series just make sure that situation never happens, but Chima's characters handle it with the pitch-perfect amount of shock, logic and intelligence (My son is a WHAT?!). They behave like real people, and it makes you wonder why Spider-man didn't fess up to Aunt May a lot sooner.

Each of the Heir books has been better than the last, and The Dragon Heir ties it all together with a conclusion that just seems to fit. It doesn't have some of the brilliant moments of suspense that The Wizard Heir had, but it weaves layers of plot and intrigue in a way that is elegant instead of muddled. You might figure out the ending -- maybe -- but you'll feel smart for getting it.

The Dragon Heir stands on its own as a great read, but why would you want to do that? You'll love all three.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not as good as Wizard Heir., August 24, 2008

By 

J. Hart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dragon Heir (Hardcover)

I started reading the Heir books after finishing the last Harry Potter book last summer, and I enjoyed them. With this book, however, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters, and I couldn't tell Jason and Seph apart--they just seemed like the same character. And the dialogue is all plot-related, ruining the chances of much character development. The book just doesn't flow as well as I was hoping it would. It's worth a read, but it's my least favorite in the trilogy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Christmas, November 22, 2010

By 

M. Allen "Mio Dio, mio tutto" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragon Heir (Paperback)

How many times and in how many different ways can one celebrate Christmas in one year? Book 2 ends with celebrating Christmas in England. In this book Madison is walking around as Christmas getting close and then a few pages later tells us what happened with Seph... getting sick before Christmas and then going to England for Christmas and then coming back after Christmas... Then again it is Christmas and Jack's father comes over to Trinity to celebrate Christmas and then again, and again and again it was Christmas... I think probably it was Christmas when she was writing this book. There are so many "Time" mistakes I wonder if anyone ever read this book before publishing it.