Dragon's Ring [Mass Market Paperback]

Dave Freer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2010

     Tasmarin is a place of dragons, a plane cut off from all other worlds, where dragons can be dragons and humans can be dinner. It’s a place of islands, forests, mountains and wild oceans, filled with magical denizens. Fionn—the black dragon—calmly tells anyone who will listen that he’s going to destroy the place. Of course he’s a joker, a troublemaker and a dragon of no fixed abode. No one ever believes him.

     He’s dead serious.

    Others strive to refresh the magics that built this place. To do so they need the combined magics of all the intelligent species, to renew the ancient balance and compact. There is just one problem. They need a human mage, and dragons systematically eliminated those centuries ago. Their augury has revealed that there is one, and they seek her desperately. Unfortunately, she’s fallen in with Fionn, who really doesn’t want them to succeed. He has his own reasons and dark designs.

   The part he hadn’t worked out is that she will affect his plans too. Chaos, roguery, heroism, theft, love, kidnapping, magic and war follow. And more chaos.

 

“Dave Freer always delivers compelling, fast-moving and addictive fantasy adventures. Write more, Dave.”

—Garth Nix, New York Times best-selling author of the Abhorsen trilogy and The Keys to the Kingdom series

 

“Good characterization, ripsnorting action and an ingenious plot make this a feast for sword and sorcery fans.”

 —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on Dave Freer’s A Mankind Witch

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Freer is an ichthyologist turned author living on Flinders Island, in the middle of the Bass Strait (between Australia and Tasmania), with his wife and chief proof-reader, Barbara, four dogs and four cats, and two sons Paddy and James. His first book—The Forlorn (Baen)—came out in 1999. Since then he has co-authored with Eric Flint (Rats, Bats and Vats, The Rats, the Bats and the Ugly, Pyramid Scheme, and Pyramid Power) and, with Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint (The Shadow of the Lion, This Rough Magic, The Wizard of Karres, Much Fall of Blood) as well as writing the solo novels A Mankind Witch and Dragon’s Ring, and various shorter works. Besides working as a fisheries scientist for the Western Cape shark fishery he has worked as a commercial diver, and as a relief chef at several luxury game lodges. His other interests are rock climbing (he's still good at it), diving, flyfishing (he's still bad at it), fly-tying, wine-tasting and the preparation of food, especially by traditional means—smoking and salting, all the good unhealthy ones.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439134111
• ISBN-13: 978-1439134115
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Historical

More About the Author

Dave Freer is a former Marine Biologist who specialized in fish (an Ichthyologist), proving that you can end up as an academic even if you did win a sports bursary (for rock-climbing) to take you through college. At seventeen was a conscripted Medic during the Angolan/South African conflict. Politically from a liberal anti-apartheid family this was quite an experience. He lived through it and came out as a 45 year old in a nineteen year old body, which may explain his frequent confusion. He is still deciding just what do when he grows up. His first postgraduate job was as Chief Scientific Officer for the Western Cape Commercial Shark fishery. As a biologist he's spent a lot of time working in water no sane person would go near, having encounters (both in small boats and in the water) with sharks, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, electric rays and a number of other toxic/lethal creatures. He has worked as a salvage diver, run two major fish farms (he's a very good plumber), as well as doing some steeplejack work. Additionally he has worked as the relief chef for a group of exclusive luxury game/ ecotourism/ whitewater-rafting lodges. He has an obsession with food, recreating traditional fare, something he uses in his books. He's a top mountaineer and rock-climber, opening many of his country's best rock routes. He's a fanatical spiny-lobster diver and flyfisherman and the author of a number of articles on both. If it is dangerous and a little crazy -- he's done it. Besides writing some amazingly boring but fundamental papers on shark age and growth and reproductive biology, he has authored or co-authored eight sf/fantasy novels, with number nine and ten in press, and further four contracted. He's also written a lot of shorter fiction, appearing in various collections.
He lives on a wonderful remote Island off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, a ten hour ferry trip to anywhere, with 3 dogs to do his thinking, 3 cats to be waited on, two sons to lead him astray, and a wonderful wife to be patient with him and them, although it is a task that would tax a saint. Sometimes he wonders why he does this. Other times he just wonders. See his webpage if you really want more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dragon's Ring - Buy it, October 18, 2009

By 

Tania Shipman (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon's Ring (Hardcover)

Fionn and Meb are two of the most enjoyable characters I have read about in recent years.

A dragon with a heart and a mage who is not suddenly all powerful after 'finding out the truth' are very different heroes.

Fionn has been working for a long time to destroy Tasmarin whilst Meb was dragged into this plane when Fionn destroyed the first of the towers holding Tasmarin in place.

They travel Tasmarin as Fionn plans the final destruction of Tasmarin and Dragon's Ring is a fascinating read. Meb is a very likeable character who changes from a young girl to a mature woman who is more then a match for Fionn. Fionn is a rogue who is honest about his intentions to destroy Tasmarin to all who ask but no one believes him.

Along the way they gather favours from the many races who live in Tasmarin and finally connect them all together as Fionn prepares to destroy Tasmarin.

Read Dragon's Ring to find out how good a story this is.

Hopefully this will be only the first in a series about Fionn and Meb.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical dragon tale., October 25, 2009

By 

LaughingLion "I am Lion, read me review!" (North of Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon's Ring (Hardcover)

Dave Freer always impresses me with his ability to find ways to twist common elements of SF/F and make them his own. I can't think of another author that could make a protagonist who is intent on bringing Armageddon a sympathetic, and entertaining character, certainly not with so few words spent in doing so. The story revolves around Fionn and Meb and we get to watch them learn a bit from each other as they go about getting Fionns plan to fall into place.

Excellent read with characters, setting, and dialogue each stunningly simple and their own strength.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On a Different Plane, October 12, 2009

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon's Ring (Hardcover)

Dragon's Ring (2009) is a standalone fantasy novel. It is set in Tasmarin, the place of dragons. That plane was constructed with pieces from here and there, so it is mostly water with many islands.

Dragons rule Tasmarin. Humans are just fodder for the dragons. Human wizards are troublesome, however, and the dragons have long ago wiped out those with magic genes. But another human magic user has appeared within Tasmarin.

In this novel, Fionn is a black dragon. He is a troublemaker and very good at it. None knows where he dwells, but all dragons know that he is trying to destroy Tasmarin. Although all dragon can shapeshift, Fionn is probably the only adult dragon using this ability.

Meb is the human magic worker. Her real name is Anghared, but her foster mother names her Meb after finding the infant on the seashore. However, Fionn calls her Scrap and she calls him Finn.

In this story, everything changes when Fionn fells the South-Eastern tower. It has been holding back the void, but paramatter now mixes with real matter and converts to energy. Anghared is torn from her mother's grasp and flung into the angry sea.

Seventeen years later, Meb spots raiders coming into the harbor and runs to warn the other villagers. She gets too close to the cliff edge and a large piece fells off, taking her with it. She hits the sea hard, but is rescued by a merrow. He takes her dress and most of her hair as his reward.

When Meb reaches Cliff Cove, she finds the huts and boats burning and the raiders searching the wreckage. After the raiders leave, Meb goes down to the ruins and finds only embers, ashes and a couple of bodies. The villagers have fled, but she does discover food, water, and some clothing.

The clothing is for a boy and her hair is now short, so she looks like a boy. She is ashamed of her pretense of boyhood, but she decides that it is worthwhile to protect her virtue. Not that she knows what her virtue really is.

Meb learns that the survivors have left for Tarport. After she reaches the town, Meb searches for food, drink and her fellow villagers. But she gets mugged instead. Then she tries to take a pouch from a drunken gleeman and is caught herself.

After Fionn grabs Meb, she wiggles loose only to fall into the canal. The villagefolk are fishers, but none know how to swim. So Fionn has to dive in the water to pull her out.

Meb becomes Fionn's apprentice. She thinks that he is teaching her the tricks of a jester and rogue. Yet he is really training her to be a planomancer.

Meb is worried that Finn will discover that she is a girl and dismiss her. Finn is worried that her wild magic will catch the attention of the dragons and other species that are looking for a human mage. He gives Meb a Dvergar-made necklace to focus and control her magic.

This tale has every species on Tasmarin looking for a human mage. Several groups have identified Meb as a human magic worker, but she is not aware of them or her magic. Unknown to her, Finn is working hard to protect her from the other mages.

This novel lacks proper copyediting. Apparently the publisher depended on spellcheckers instead of human eyeballs, for "were" and "where" are interchanged and "sliver" replaces "silver". Also, the South-Eastern tower is lost and then is seriously cracked; obviously one of the "South-Eastern" usages is a mistake.

This work is an introduction to Tasmarin and the eight peoples that dwell there. It has a list of characters at the front and tables in the back. The novel looks like the start of a series. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Freer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of various magics, dragon troublemakers, and bewildered heroines.

-Arthur W. Jordin