Dragon Queen (Tales of Guinevere 1) [Paperback]

Alice Borchardt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tales of Guinevere 1 | Publication Date: June 2, 2003

It is that time known as the Dark Ages, the Romans have abandoned Britain's shores, leaving behind a brutal, fear-filled twilight world where magic and superstition, strife and warfare hold sway. Into this world is born the daughter of a pagan queen. Her name is Guinevere and to the all-seeing, power-hungry sorceror Merlin, she represents a grave threat. Sent into hiding in the remote north, she grows up under the protection of a shape-shifting wolf and a wayward druid, watched over by dragons - yet through his dark arts, Merlin tracks her down. He knows her destiny and will stop at nothing to prevent what has been foretold. For if Guinevere becomes queen and Arthur, king, together they will bring a peace to the land that will leave the sorcerer but a shrivelled and empty old magiciain in a weary cloak. What Merlin doesn't realise is that Guinevere has inherited dazzling powers of her own. With Arthur trapped in a netherworld from which the only escape is death, Guinevere must call upon the ancient, primal spirits and beings who walked this earth when it was still young to help her in her final confrontation with the High Druid himself...Dark, exciting, highly original and utterly compelling, THE DRAGON QUEEN is set in a brutal, grittily and historically authentic Celtic world where the Pagan and the Christian battle for supremacy. Full of wild magic, both benign and malign, romance, superstition, wonder, bloody battles and wonderfully well-wrought characters, and written with a fresh, contemporary voice, this novel turns the legend of King Arthur and his mercurial queen well and truly on its head.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Magic rules in this first volume of a trilogy that focuses on the fabled Guinevere's adventures before and after she comes to Camelot. Borchardt (Night of the Wolf) paints a vivid portrait of the future queen, who is no pale Pre-Raphaelite princess. Suckled by a she-wolf, this child of power is protected by a Druid, Dugald, and the Gray Watcher, Maeniel, not to mention a shape-changing wolfman. Daughter of a pagan queen, this warrior beauty takes control of her own destiny. Bold, courageous, prophetic and possessed of powers that enable her to communicate with dragons and wolves, as well as with a shrunken head, this Guinevere enchants and engages the reader immediately, even as a spindly toddler thrown into a wolves' den. A fine, lyrical storyteller, Borchardt reinvents familiar characters, including a young Arthur and an evil Merlin, who seeks to control the once and future king of Camelot. This dark sorcerer may dismay some Merlin lovers, as he would rather see Guinevere dead than as Arthur's queen. It's an interesting concept in a long line of derivative explorations of a mysterious character who has long enchanted Arthurian fantasy devotees. In the prologue, Guinevere writes: "I am myself a creature of the dance, the imitation of the movements embraced by the dialogue between earth and sky," and readers will be eager for the dance to be continued in the next installment. Borchardt further stakes her claim as a writer of breathtaking eloquence, reminding all, once again, that she is more than just Anne Rice's sister. (Oct. 2)Forecast: The popularity of Arthurian romance and the author's high name recognition would alone ensure strong sales, but good word of mouth should give this a long shelf life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Set in a Britain freshly rid of Roman rule, this tale is loosely based on Arthurian legend. Readers meet a noble Arthur, a wise Morgana, a mesmerizing yet nasty Merlin, and a very different sort of Guinevere. Raised by wolves and endowed with ivylike skin armor reminiscent of Celtic tattoos, this young woman is no frail maiden in need of a Lancelot. Young Guinevere blossoms into womanhood while finding herself at the center of a struggle for the soul of her country. On one side is the powerful archdruid Merlin, who has sold out to Romano-British slaveholders. On the other side are matriarchs, sorcerers, and sorceresses, all of whom honor the old ways. With a sense of destiny and the fire of youth, Arthur and Guinevere navigate worlds mundane and surreal. Magical encounters border on the whimsical while retaining an often-frightening edge. During these encounters, Guinevere discovers her affinity for dragons and chooses her destiny with Arthur. The author has created a world that is civilized yet wild, brutal yet beautiful-a world in which readers can easily become immersed. Teens who enjoyed Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (Del Rey, 1987) are sure to appreciate The Dragon Queen. It's a fresh and scintillating take on a well-loved theme.

Sheila Shoup, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (June 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553815121
• ISBN-13: 978-0553815122
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,097,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Concept, Hard to Read, March 18, 2004

By 

J. Vilches (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragon Queen (Mass Market Paperback)

Alice Borchardt presents an interesting take on the Arthur/Guinevere story in The Dragon Queen. Guinevere is the daughter of a Celtic queen. She is hidden from the arch-druid Merlin at an early age and is raised by a druid and family of wolves and werewolves. During the story, she grows into powerful magic and fearlessly confronts every situation that she is thrown into. Merlin and Igraine are cast as evil sorcerers who torment the young Arthur and plot for power. Guinevere and Arthur must navigate the trials that they are thrown into by Merlin and Igraine if they are to win their thrones and be reunited.

Borchardt paints a vivid picutre of Britian in the Dark Ages. She has no trouble setting up scenes of legendary castles and fantastic worlds populated with dragons and goddesses. However, the plot often bounces around abruptly, which may leave you confused about which characters you are following. I found myself having to go back and re-read paragraphs and pages until I figured out what was really happening. The dialogue is uneven and several of the characters can't seem to find a consistent voice or personality. The main characters are either near-perfect (Guinevere, Arthur, Maeniel the werewolf) or consummately evil (Merlin, Igraine) with little room in-between. While that isn't a showstopper in a good vs. evil tale, it would be nice to have a character the reader could relate to.

Guinevere's many adventures seem to have only one point: to give her more magical victories and allies. Arthur enters the tale about halfway through the book, and he is also launched into several trials. Arthur's courage and nobility are showcased during his struggles, but they don't seem to advance the plot. His adventures might acquire more relevance in the sequels. The concepts and twists added to the Arthur legend are fascinating, but because of the inconsistent dialogue and the abrupt transitions I was not able to settle in and enjoy the storyline.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guinevere, the Dragon Queen meets Arthur, the Summer King, April 12, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Dragon Queen (Tales of Guinevere, Book 1) (Hardcover)

When I saw the sub-title "The Tales of Guinevere" for Alice Borchardt's "The Dragon Queen," I assumed she was going off in a new direction and since I was waiting for her next wolf book I just got around to reading it and discovering that it is, tangentially, a wolf book. What this means is that Maeniel is a character, albeit, a supporting character. He dominates the scenes in which he is present, but they are relatively few. This story is indeed about Guinevere, about to reach puberty and apparently intended to be the concubine of young Arthur, the summer King.

The most interesting part of this book are the ideas of kingship and queenship that drive Arthur and Guinevere. Borchardt may or may not be dealing with authentic notions of kingship from this period of history, but that hardly matters. The idea that the Dragon Queen has the duty of bringing her people a worthy king makes Guinevere a player in the power politics of her world where there is a growing need to bring order out of chaos. Reading "The Dragon Queen" is as much about finding out the rules of the game and the possibilities in play as it is about learning about the abilities and intentions of the characters. Consequently, Maneniel's presence is perhaps something of a hindrance because this book is certainly less grounded in the history of the times than "The Silver Wolf" or Borchardt's other novels. Then again, there is a logic to this, since Arthur and Guinevere are more figures of legend than Charlemagne or Julius Caesar.

Having read "The Dragon Queen" I keep asking myself one key question, and I do not mean whether Borchardt will ever have a book that does not have a quote from Anne Rice on the cover. No, my question is why is this story about Guinevere and Arthur? Of course, the fact that "The Dragon Queen" is the first of a planned trilogy is enough to suggest that at least the title character would make it to the final volume, but once you make it about Guinevere and Arthur we pretty much know the endgame, and while I definitely appreciate the idea of making Guinevere more than a trophy wife there has to be more of a payoff to this idea down the road, especially given that this Arthur seems more given to pragmatics than idealism. Additionally, there needs to be some sort of a significance to turning Merlin into a villain. However, at this point my enjoyment of the characters and the story has little to do with that fact it is Guinevere and Arthur. The only important thing is that I will be around for the rest of the tale.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, December 28, 2001

By 

G. Greene - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragon Queen (Tales of Guinevere, Book 1) (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely fascinating tale of Guinevere, brilliantly written and told from the perspective that she was not just another pretty face, but a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Those who do not like tales of powerful women or the rewriting of a beloved legend may not like this book; however, Arthur is not slighted in this novel at all and proves himself to be a worthy consort, surviving trials of his own. The secondary characters, be they shape-shifting wolves, dragons, or Druids, are fabulous and extremely well-developed. A caution: It may be a bit unsettling to see Merlin as a villian, especially if you have read Mary Stewart's wonderful "The Crystal Cave" and its sequels.

Borchardt is an amazing story teller, and this book will leave you breathlessly awaiting the two sequels in the trilogy. Highly recommended!