Customer Reviews

Dragon's Heart: The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume Four

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great book. It picks up right where the third left off. the writting was good, though at times seemed a bit rushed.(as if Jane needed to finish writting a chapter/the last half of the book)The first half was the right pace and was building up to something big/good. But the second part was rushed. The ending was ok,and again seemed too rushed. More could have been done with the "kidnappers" It was ended in away that there "may" not be a another one.(which would be sad, because there is still alot that can be done)The added info about Austar after the book was a nice touch and did bring a smile to my face. And within that alone, there can be another book. I found these books as a young teenager, even though i'm in my late 20's, i still read the seris and was super happy to see a fourth. I hope for more books in the seris. More about Jakkin and Akki growing up and starting their own family and help Austar with the change. Or the trogs upraising and attacking a weak, changing Austar that hows little to no weapons. Or side storys about Golden's "pirating" missions to help Austar. And if Jane or anyone that knows her(which i doubt she or anyone that knows here even reads Amazon reviews ). Please write more books for the seris. And please, take your time with the story. This seris has lots of promise. We the fan, are behind you on them and await more. Keep up the good work. Fans of the seris, read and enjoy!

I am a huge Jane Yolen fan since I first read the "Great Alta" books back in the late 90's; after that I have made a point to read anything Jane Yolen has written [except for the picture books], no matter what age group. I remember thoroughly enjoying the first three Dragon books in this series. But #4. What happened? Although the writing was ok [not great], the plot devices were so obvious and randomly strewn throughout--perhaps to bring back the characters that appeared in previous books, but for no apparent reason? I remember thinking she was probably really busy or distracted while writing this book as some plot choices really made no sense at all. Or perhaps this book, as in the dedication, was really to please someone else as book #3 didn't end with all plot items wrapped up neatly with a bow. Which I was really ok with. #4 wraps everything up but so forcibly it seems that the characters might come bursting out at the seams and roll around chaotically, also wondering what happened.

I gave this two stars as I enjoyed revisting Austar IV. I really wish I could have given it more.

If you have read the other 3 Pit Dragon Chronicles then this book is a must. I found the other 3 books to be an incomplete story without this book. This book doesn't clean up all the loose ends but does it a great job of investigating how the radical societal changes effect the characters.

Ahhh I'm so happy that I've finally received the opportunity to read/review this book! What a treat! This was the series that first sparked my interested in reading. I picked up Dragon's Blood way back in my middle school days and I was instantly sold after the first few chapters. I fell in love with the rich world and amazing characters. I'm happy to say that all of those things I loved still remain in Dragon's Heart.

This continues where A Sending of Dragons, book three, left off. For those who haven't read this series yet, I will not spoil it by telling you how it ended. I will say that it was a welcome return to the beautiful setting that is Austar IV. Is it strange that it felt like I was going home, back to where it all started? Yolen, as always, does a wonderful job portraying the lush, or should I say barren, landscape that is Austar IV.

While there were quite a few tragedies in this book, it was not emotional at all for me. I felt some disconnect between myself and the secondary characters. It is probably because I didn't revisit the first three books before jumping into this one. I found myself confused at parts, but that quickly changed as my memory of the previous books returned.

You are in for some surprises with this one! There are deaths that I didn't see coming, connections between characters I would never have guessed in a million years, and new companions. Unfortunately, I feel as though this book was rushed and anti-climatic... I look back and, though I loved every second I spent reading this, not much actually happened over the course of the book. Most of the loose ends are tied up, but rather than having a feeling of completion, I was left wanting more. I think I was expecting Dragon's Heart to be much more epic than it actually was. Regardless, it gets 4 stars from me for the conclusion of an amazing series that I am so sad to see end...

Check out my other reviews at Inklings Read: [...]

I quite liked my return to the Pit Dragon Chronicles in this most recent addition to Yolen's series. I didn't reread the other books before I picked this one up, and didn't find it difficult to remember where I'd left off, even though it had been several years since I read the third in the series.

Jakkin and Akki return from their exile in the mountains completely changed and they find that the world they left behind has changed in their absence as well. They decide to hide their new telepathic abilities gained by sheltering in the egg chamber of Heart's Blood after her death to save themselves from the searing cold of Dark After. But hiding such powers aren't as easy as they hoped. And there are still dark forces at work on Austar and Jakkin and Akki are once again caught up into the heart of them.

Let me start by saying the original trilogy, ESPECIALLY book one, were great reads, though book two and its political battle was a little boring for me. Anyway.

The main thing I disliked about Dragon's Heart was that its writing style is so...plain. Dull. It reads like a robot made it, most of the time; the style of writing really didn't engage me. (Also, there are far too many unnecessary bits of information of what the series' world, Austar IV is like, and various sayings and traditions the Austarians have. I can understand having some references like that, but Dragon's Heart just never gets tired of them.) Even when Jakkin is kidnapped by (bleepSPOILERbleep) it barely caused a stir in me because it was written so...dully. I was surprised that it was like this, because the first three books never gave me this "blah" feeling.

The dragons do manage to remain mostly cool and colorful. Sssargon has more personality than Jakkin and Akki sometimes, lol. (And Akki...maybe because it's been a while since I read the other books but she really came off as an easily-angered "female dog" a lot of the time. Anything could and would piss her off.) However, the dragons do very little in this book, at least until the ending, that is. They're interesting to read about, but still, most of the time, if a dragon is on scene, it's going to be thinking/sending "Danger? Danger?" and little else. That got pretty annoying, too. Heart's Blood (the dragon, not the book) had fighting spirit and love and things to say. She did a lot more than sit around twittering "Danger, Jakkin? Danger?"

In summation, this was okay...but still disappointing. I would read it so you can know everything that happens in the Pit Dragons series, but this will be a very "meh" read for most, I think.