Dragon Moon (Dragon de la Sangre) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alan F. Troop (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dragon de la Sangre | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

The confessions of the dragon Peter DelaSangre continue four years after the murder of his beloved wife.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At the close of The Dragon DelaSangre (2002), dragon Peter DelaSangre had just seen his wife, Elizabeth, killed, but was able to save their child, Henri. Four years later, Henri is a precocious, adventurous child, and Peter is thinking about remarrying. The woman he wants is none other than Elizabeth's younger sister, Chloe, who is about to come of age. Peter and Henri journey to Jamaica, where Peter hopes to find Chloe and claim her as his bride. When it finally comes time for Chloe to take a mate, Peter rushes to her side, but she initially rebuffs him. Undeterred, Peter continues to pursue her until she gives in to her feelings for him. (Her family is none too pleased when they discover her choice.) Peter assumes all obstacles to marital bliss are behind him, but a shocking betrayal puts his fortune and life--and his son's--in jeopardy. Despite a slow start, the novel picks up speed when the odds against Peter stack up. A rousing adventure tale worthy of its predecessor. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Roc (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451459202
• ISBN-13: 978-0451459206
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully inventive fantasy novel of modern dragons, June 15, 2003

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dragon Moon (Dragon de la Sangre) (Mass Market Paperback)

Here there be dragons of a wonderfully inventive new breed that transcends the notions of myth and legend to take on a thoroughly modern form. Dragon Moon picks up where Troop's earlier novel, The Dragon DelaSangre, leaves off, with a widowed Peter DeleSangre caring for his young son on an island off the Florida coast, overseeing his lucrative business remotely while he waits for young Henri to reach a level of maturity sufficient to allow for his introduction into the world of humans. To all appearances, The People of the Blood, or dragons in this venue, are -- aside from their brilliant green eyes -- indistinguishable from humans, able to shape themselves into whatever form they desire. Only when they are safe from human eyes do they assume their natural dragon form, free to fly and hunt as they please. They do feed off humans out of necessity, but those who serve them well are rewarded and taken care of. It is not an easy life, but Peter's absolute devotion and love for his young son come before his own natural desires to find a new mate. For the five years following the death of his wife Elizabeth, he thinks only about her younger sister Chloe, waiting for her to come of age before journeying to Jamaica in an attempt to make her his bride. While most female dragons, upon reaching sexual maturity, mate with the first male they come in contact with, Peter truly loves Chloe. It is, in both human and dragon ways, an unusual courtship, one that leads Peter to the brink of either joy or sorrow. Little does he realize at the time that this moment of emotional truth marks only the beginning of his stresses and travails; soon, he will find himself poisoned and at the point of death, Chloe locked away from his reach, his beloved son taken from him, and another Person of the Blood impersonating him back home on the mainland in an effort to steal both his company and his horde of wealth.

While I have not had a chance to read Troop's first book containing the first-person account of Peter DelaSangre's earlier years, I can safely say that Dragon Moon is eminently satisfying on its very own. While Peter is a dragon by birth, he is remarkably human as a result of his experiences among men and women, and aside from his occasional slaughter and eating of humans, he is quite the dashing hero. His deep love for his son and for Chloe, as well as his interest in human pursuits, marks him as a very distinctive dragon; the fears, loves, regrets, dreams, and other emotional feelings and wishes he communicates are universally understood, making him an incredibly sympathetic character.

Troop inevitably draws comparisons, both good and bad, to Anne Rice, and I for one am at something of a loss to explain why this should be so. It is true that he has basically invented a brand new concept and history of dragons, remaking them in a thoroughly modern form, one which this book apparently explores in more detail than Troop's previous novel. Peter and Chloe also do spend a lot of time mating, but this is essentially just an expression of their love for one another. While Rice luxuriates in her prose, however, Troop maintains a riveting pace that manages to explore his characters rather deeply without ever impacting on the action and suspense. Ultimately, Dragon Moon is a work of fantasy about loss and love, the importance of family, honor, and bravery, making this tale of modern dragons a thoroughly human story.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars www.SFReader.com Review, April 2, 2004

By 

David L. Felts "thesfreader" (Palm Harbor, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dragon Moon (Dragon de la Sangre) (Mass Market Paperback)

Review by Lynn Nicole Louis

Dragon Moon is the second book in Alan F. Troop's dragon series. Last May I posted a review of Troop's first book, The Dragon DeLasangre. Although well-written, I was left thinking that it fell short because of its totally (for me) unsympathetic and unlikeable main character Peter DeLasangre. I concluded, however, that Troop had enough potential for me to pick up his next.

Well I did, and after finishing Dragon Moon I'm left feeling the same way I felt after finishing the first....

...After a slow start, the action picks up and stays high. The writing, except for all the 'ing' verbs, is smooth and vivid. The characters are well-developed. It's unfortunate that they developed into characters I have no interest in reading about. Having unlikeable, even evil, main characters can work, but there must be some aspect of sympathy present, or something for the reader to identify with.

I'll recommend this with the same caveat that I used to recommend the first: if you liked Anne Rice's Vampire books, there's a good chance you'll like this, even though (IMO) Troop's characters lack the human element that made Rice's vampires sympathetic and interesting. After finishing Dragon Moon my disinterest in Peter DeLasangre and the rest of the dragon characters remains. I'll read another Troop book because I like his writing, but I'm going to pass on any future books in his dragon series.

Lynn Nicole Louis
Read the full review at www.SFReader.com

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong dragon tale, April 13, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dragon Moon (Dragon de la Sangre) (Mass Market Paperback)

They occupied the Earth long before man existed and still interact with humanity when it is necessary. They can look like humans when they choose but in their true form, they see Homo sapiens as prey and food. Peter DelaSangre is a wealthy dragon living on Caya Dela Sangre, an island he owns off the Florida coast with his four-year-old son Henri. His wife is dead, murdered by humans who betrayed him, which is why he has little to do with humanity as possible.

His wife's sister Chloe is coming into heat so Peter's journeys to her home to mate with her because he cares for her. Once the mating is accomplished, they tell her parents who are displeased but allow the mating ceremony to begin. Midway through the rite, Peter is poisoned. By the time he's recovers, Chloe's brother is masquerading as him and holding his son as hostage. Both Chloe and Peter risk their lives to save Henri with the latter forced to battle his wife's father and brother to the death.

Although the hero of this book is non-human and thinks of us as fodder one can't help but admire the man who loves his son so much. He can't be judged by people standards though personification makes him seem somewhat human but he remains at all times (though it is sometimes hard to remember) another species. Peter has a good heart and his mate is his match in every sense of the word. There is a lot of action in DRAGON MOON but it is the characters that will win the hearts of the reader. Alan F. Troop does for dragons what Alice Borchardt has done for werewolves.

Harriet Klausner