Customer Reviews

The Last Dragonlord

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I just finished reading this book, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I am sure some will say the pieces the author uses to build the story are unoriginal: The main plot is a classic power struggle, complete with evil conspiracy and a power-mad wizard. The romance between Rathan and his soultwin is likewise your basic romance drama (love at first sight, but circumstances come between them). Magic, swords, horses, dragons -- so what, right?

Simply put, it was well done. The story was engaging, the characters had depth, and the narrative was rich. I found myself rooting for the good guys and worring when they got in trouble. There were doses of commedy, realistic dialog, and I even enjoyed the romance (which added flavor but did not dominate). This was a good story. It isn't Tolkien, but I do not expect nor desire everything I read to be like Tolkien.

Dragonfans like myself will definately want to check it out, but this is a good light fantasy for anyone.

I found this book quite by accident, and was immediately drawn into it. The characters are believable and very likable. One can instantly sympathize with Linden Rathan, a Dragonlord who has been searching for his soultwin for centuries. All he longs for is the close relationship the other Dragonlords have with their soultwins, a bond closer than anything.
In the story, he is sent with two other Dragonlords to oversee the debate over a new ruler following the mysterious death of their Queen. Evil begins to surface as an old faction known as the Fellowship comes back to life. They not only threaten Prince Rann, a small child, but the life of Dragonlords. During this time, Linden falls in love, and suspects his love may be a Dragonlord too, even though the truedragons have not sensed any new Dragonlord. The Fellowship hears rumor of this new Dragonlord and are determined to get control of her, whoever she may be, so that they have their own Dragonlord puppet.
A really good book, with lots of little twists. The "good guys" are good, though they have their faults and you may want to hit one or two of them. ;) The evil doers are really evil, but believable as well. The ending may be a bit predictable, but it's the ending you want anyway, and it's lots of fun getting there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in fact I couldn't put it down, I read it from cover to cover through the night.

Yes, it's romantic... a book that anybody who loves fantasy and still believes in true love, or dreams of it, will enjoy reading. I liked the weredragon twist on the concept of soul mates.

I guess The Last Dragonlord might appeal more to women, but there are also lots of romantic and sensitive males around who, I think, would enjoy this book.

As for the language... well, it isn't high-brow, it isn't a literary masterpiece, it isn't pretentious. But it's easy to read, simple and flowing. Something that people will appreciate who believe in the KISS concept (keep it simple stupid). Personally, I get so tired of books that are just trying to impress me with un-necessary complexity...

The really nice thing about the Last Dragonlord is that it made me feel good. Too many books are so full of horror... Life has its own sorrows, and this story was, for me, a fresh breeze, making me feel that there is still beauty in the human (and dragon) heart!

To those who have given the book only one star: oh, shut it.

The writing was simplistic, yes, but it's a relief to read simplistic writing after some dandies we see in modern literature... things so boring and self-indulgent I can hardly take it.

You all criticize the "teenage girlishness" of the book, but have you forgotten that this is fantasy? Your fantasy isn't exactly someone else's... frankly this is the only fantasy I've been able to read in recent years.

I loved the characters. They may have been on the stereotypical side, but there was enough sustenance there to make them fascinating and lovable. Seriously. This book was a ride, with plenty of plot threads that tangle up and toward the end of the book start unraveling nicely.

I admit I'm 16. And not newly 16. Before my age makes you scoff at me, I'll mention that I read through "Anna Karenina" (my favorite book to date) and "Pride and Prejudice." Average reading level, my foot.

I got this book of a bargin table and just read it. I found it a book worth metionig as one of my favorites. My only complaint was that some of the charecters were a little too predictable.

I gave this book a 4 at first thought, but then moved it to a 3, though a very high 3. As a first work from a lady who to my knowledge received no formal training or schooling in literature, this is a very enjoyable writing. I had been away from books for some years and this was the one that drew me back to chewing through a novel a week. I found it's pace easy going, as one other mentioned a good afternoon read, and the temper good. The characters presented here seem very real, and you quickly find yourself identifying with their conflicts. Such is key to involving any reader in any novel.

It has been noted by some that the style of writing leans towards teenagers, and that the level of wording may not have been appropriate for them. I strongly disagree as I am a good 15 years older and found this most enjoyable, not to mention in the middle of the Fantasy section of my local Borders book store.

On her first effort I commend Joanne Bertin, not only for putting a book such as this forward, but for weathering the not so constructive critics of her work. Well done, I look forward to your sequel.

Actually, and this will no doubt come as a shock, I don't care particularly for dragons and Pern was only a passing fancy in my childhood. Okay, so I'm not as old as I'd like to make out after that prominent reviewer stated that the only ones who can enjoy it are 15 years old or younger...I'll have you know I'm a whole year older than that. :) Truthfully, I grabbed this book because it was the only fantasy book I could reach in a hurry and I only had mystery books at home, which I find stifling, since I prefer to get a dose of magic and adventure every once and awhile. And really, as soon as I checked it out, I began to have an anticipation that warned me this might be as good a first book as The Green Rider. Not excellent perhaps, but good. And it was. It was very colorful and full of life. I find too often that fantasies these days are filled more with death and so such. But this one had villains I could actually bear reading about. Ones who weren't the disgusting psychos best-selling authors have gleefully created. These were more interesting. Dark - yes, ofcourse, they are bad after all. But they weren't crazed and frothing at the mouth or dreaming sickened, perverted dreams (though they did have the obligatory evil cunning). That was refreshing to me. And the romance in the story kept the story's pace brisk and sympathetic, adding more depth to the characters. It was a good story because it was enjoyable. I'm not saying it's a masterpiece of literature nor am I saying it's a candy for babies. It was well-written. I'm reccommending it with my four stars but I'm also having some doubts as to the sequel, whose excerpt I read with fading eagerness. The author still seems worth the watching.

I love this book. The plot, setting, and characters are perfect. Mystery, magic, evil, and romance are all entwined to form the perfect story. If you have not read this book, you don't know what you are missing! I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!

This is quite simply not that good of a book. I am an avid fantasy reader and this book is very very thin fare indeed.

The characters are all done in a very sketchy manner especially the 'villians'. The plot is not at all interesting. Its quite obvious the author was using stock fantasy elements in this first effort.

Now In Legend Born is also a first effort but it is a remarkable book. Anyone who found Last Dragonlord better then average, I think just my humble opinion nothing more, hasn't read much fantasy to arrive at that conclusion. This book is outstanding in only one thing: its ordinaryness very very predictable book.

This was an extremely sad book. Not that the events in the book was sad or such, but it made me sad because the author had taken what could be a very nice world and made it into an uninteresting, unconvincing, and all too predictable backdrop for the soggy romance between Linden and Maurynna. Linden and Maurynna's actions all seem to exist for the author's wish to make them love each other madly for no apparent reason than that they share the same blood.

The character's actions were melodramatic, unrealistic, and extremely disgusting. Real characters do not act or speak the way they do in this book. The dialogue was especially hard to stomach. It reminded me of Isaac Asimov's phony dialogue. At least Isaac Asimov's books make interesting read.

The villains also sucked. Their actions were unconvincing, like all the other charcters in this book. The Countess, like in all other soggy romances, kept yearning after Linden even after he kicked her. She keeps plotting to do something to the happy li'l couple.

At best, this book is a third grade romance. Don't buy this book.