Customer Reviews

Dragon's winter

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

well, let's say it bluntly: i am fed up with ms lynn's shortcomings.

she is a distinguished writer, i would give nearly anything to be half as good as she is, but she goes on casting her pearls to swines; she has done it in all her previous novels and she keeps on doing it.

the plot is inconsistent, sometimes slow, sometimes rash and superficial. jealousy between brothers is to say the least trite and she does nothing to develop the issue in a convincing way.

many reviewers have complained about the crude violence spattered throughout the book: i do not mind bloodshedding (i do not like it either, especially if it involves the main characters), but i DO mind other things:

- the evil brother is absurdly commonplace, he lacks any depth and his being possessed by an ancient entity is too easy a device.
- the dragon brother has good potential as a character, but ms lynn wastes any opportunity to make him such: he just looks like a tyrannical brat you cannot smack on the nose because he can set you on fire at will.
- there is no character throughout the book one feels satisfied about: the two decent (not distinguished, just tolerable) ones die after much description but before any real action.
- plot twists are to say the least contrived and absurd. after the death of the evil brother we have an episode with brigands which makes no sense at all and tops an incredible amount of imbecilities.
- last but not least ms lynn keeps on indulging in a most peculiar idea of homosexuality: she tries to convince us that the dragon brother, after years of passionate love for the court musician (another potentially great character totally wasted) can not only discard this love but also discard men entirely. an irritating notion indeed especially because she forgets to give us not only a plausible but any reason at all about why he should find the popped up woman of the last pages attractive.

I thought this was a dreadful book, and am surprised at the good reviews it's gotten. First, the characterization of the main (not the minor) characters seems half hearted. Wolf and Thea don't say or do much--their development occurred before the story in the past perfect. (The same goes for Hawk and, to some extent, Bear.) Dragon has a little more action and much more potential, but he is likewise inactive. (His three battle scenes are cursory.) When an author describes a character not by his actions or his words, but rather by reference to past events, innuendo, and the reactions of other characters, the reader has to work hard to create the character. In this case, too hard. I expect Lynn means to use the characters in subsequent books. To my regret, I do not care about any of them.

(As a minor point, the dialog of Shem, the toddler, seems to have been contrived by an author who hasn't been around baby boys in a while. For example, his phrase "Shem get down" seems anomalous when compared to the rest of his lines. ("Shem get down" comprises 40% of Shem's contribution to the book; "Boof!"; "Boppy"; "Shem go home?"; "Dragon coming"; "Shem sure"; "Dragon come"; "Shem warm"; "Dragon gone"; and "Where dragon go?" account for the rest) I have never met a child who, after mastering at least one subject/predicate combination, still had a vocabulary of less than 10 words, as Shem has. Perhaps my experience is not typical.)

Second, the structure of the story is disjointed; it has no sense of direction. The two (apparently) main characters are dumped after 150 pages and we are switched to a new character, Dragon, who quests to defeat his arch enemy, his twin brother. The climactic battle lasts about a page, the reconciliation another page, the aftermath 30 pages, and then Lynn tacks on part five, which comprises 30 pages of forgettable stuff, including a spat with a band of outlaws.

Third, the psychology of Lynn's characters seems to be a little off. Dragon has no friends (except Azil, his homosexual lover). All of his followers (including Azil) live in perpetual fear of him. (The fact that Dragon goes into a tantrum and accidentally kills six of his men is remarked not at all by his followers or, beside the bare description of the event, by Lynn.) Yet, according to Lynn, Dragon somehow inspires self-sacrificing love and loyalty. How?

Wolf sets his toddler son down in a busy courtyard at the immanent, trumpeted arrival of a mounted hunting party and says "Shem, stay here," and actually expects the child to stay. He then does nothing with respect to this toddler son, either to pick him up or watch him or even think about him, even after the courtyard brims with a pack of 15 dogs, armed men on horseback, mules, wagons, and boys running to seize reins Thea, the child's mother, stands by and allows it.

Wolf watches his wife meet savage violence and doesn't lift a finger to save her, his child, or himself.

All pretty unlikely, say I.

Finally, Lynn makes little effort to endear her characters to her readers. I did not mind the two homosexual love scenes, but I also did not relate to them. It seems to me that if you want the reader to relate to a character, you should have the character do something to which the reader can relate, e.g., mourn his bald spot, pet his dog, roll big rocks down hills for no reason, etc. The two characters to whom I could almost have become attached meet gruesome, gratuitous violence half way through the book. Why? What profit? If Lynn intended to get the reader angry and make him care about the quest to save Shem, the scene was counterproductive overkill. If Lynn intended to avoid predictability, why should a reader become attached to any character? In contrast, the two evil characters, who practice horrifying violence, meet tame, unsatisfying ends reminiscent of a Disney villain. Arbitrary.

The book combines underdeveloped main characters who are ditched halfway through the story, odd, improbable behavior (lending zero contribution to understanding the human condition), and a meandering storyline that doesn't know where it's going and doesn't care when it gets there.

Who needs it?

I have long thought that there is a dearth of lyrical writers such as Patricia McKillip and Robin McKinley in the fantasy genre. It was with delight, then, that I discovered Elizabeth Lynn's _Dragon's Winter_.

Her style of writing is beautiful and smooth, letting you flow from one page to the next. And although elements of the plot are familiar to any veteran reader--betrayal, shapechangers, kingship--they are pieced together in a compelling fashion.

Characterization is subtle but definitely present. The major character, Karadur Atani, is a reserved man with a temper, yet it is easy to sympathize with his tragedy and urge him toward victory. Lynn devotes time to other characters, even the minor ones, as well, crafting them with an elegance that makes you mourn them when they pass out of sight. My main complaint here would be about the antagonist. There is only a pretense at offering a full-fledged motive for him, and all of the villains turn out flat.

The other lack in this novel would be in the world-buildling. There are some details that are oversimplified, especially in contrast to the richness Lynn displays in other parts. Although the intensity of the latter is more than welcome, it seems to have drained careful consideration from some areas.

Still, it's a worthwhile read. It's best to let the words wash over you, in the manner of music, and concentrate on enjoying what you can and overlooking what you can't. The ending may disappoint some, but a little thought can yield satisfaction with the conclusion.

This and Sardonyx Net are my favorite Elizabeth A. Lynn books, and two of my favorite books all around. I've recommended both to a number of (carefully selected) friends over the years with great success. Beautifully written stories. It isn't for everyone though. Lynn is one of those writers who doesn't worry about making life fair for her characters and, in many of her stories, her protagonist has very little power over something very important to him/her. You've been forewarned...

If you like this, you might also like Lynn Flewelling, Testament by Valerie Freireich, and/or Transformation by Carol Berg

Sadly, this is one of those books that starts out well, but never lives up to its promise. All the key fantasy elements are here: dragons, magic, royalty, werecreatures and much more. Unfortunately, Lynn doesn't seem to be able to make up her mind about what direction to take her story in, or even which characters she really wants to focus on.

The basic plot line surrounds twin sons born to the Dragon-King. Their birth is both traumatic and tragic. Only one of the boys, Karadur Atani, is born with the legendary dragonblood and the other's resentment festers and grows, hidden throughout their childhood. As the moment of Karadur's change from human to dragon approaches, his twin, Tenjiro, successfully plots to keep his brother from his heritage and disappears, taking one of Karadur's closest companions with him.

As the worst winter in memory grips the land, rumors spread of a wizard and the return of an evil thought to be long gone. As Karadur prepares for war, the author begins to concentrate on a side plot involving a romance between a stranger named Wolf and a townswoman. But, almost as soon as the reader is drawn into this plot, Lynn drops it to follow another. The rest of the book tends to proceed in this jerky fashion. I found it very hard to care about the characters once I knew that the author would pick them up and drop them at will. There were also some rather disturbing torture sequences that I felt were a bit too realistic, not to mention lengthy, for my taste. The book does eventually come to something that vaguely resembles a conclusion, but leaves the door wide open for a sequel, not that I'll be looking for it. If you can tolerate the disjointed sequences and enjoy some grisly battles with graphic and violent descriptions, then this book might be for you. But, if you want something that has a well-paced plot with characters that you can care about, you may as well pass this book by.

Elizabeth Lynn succeeds on three levels in this wonderful novel. First, the world she evokes is tangible in its detail, neither contrived nor a cookie-cutter medieval setting. The dragons receive an unusual take on their role in society, one which incorporates other magical beings as well.

Second, the characters are compelling and interesting all, from the brothers around whom the story revolves, to the other changelings Wolf, Hawk, and Bear, to the soldiers, merchants, and even despicable henchmen. A large cast of characters is rendered so that one can distinguish between them, a trait not shared by all fantasy novels.

Finally, Lynn plots and paces the novel well, revealing the world she so carefully created without bogging the story down with lots of exposition and description. Most of the details about the world are presented appropriately from the characters' perspectives, and not forced upon the reader.

I read quiet a few fantasy books. Most of them are good and entertain me. However Dragon's Winter is the first fantasy book that ever caused me to stay up till the wee hours of the morning reading. Not many books of other genres do that either, but this is a special one. One thing that makes this such a great book is the breaking of convention. As another reviewer before wrote "why did my favorite character die?" Yes, I asked the same question. Killing a favorite character is unusual-another example of breaking with tradition. I was swept away by the majestic detailing of the landscape and the various creatures. Their is no way to predict what is coming next as you read this book, as is often the case, so you are compelled to keep turning the pages. As I said in my title-Sleep Stealer!!

Lynn is a talented writer and is capapble of great characterization and evoking compelling, heart-wrenching emotion. The problem with Dragon's Winter I felt was that there was not enough perspective from Tenjiro or Karadur. Their rivalry is simplified and never explored. The main characters of this novel could arguable be Wolf, Thea, and Hawk, but their plot lines are ultimately dissatisfying, good in parts, never sufficient to bring it all together. I was hoping for so much more.

When a voice of the caliber of Elizabeth Lynn's returns after many years' silence, it is an occasion for rejoicing. She is a wizard, in that she has the deep knowledge and the art to create worlds. When the Lord Erin di Mako in _Dragon's Winter_ says to the wizard Lady Senmet ``It's been a long time. We thought you might never wake,'' he is speaking words that many of Lynn's readers feel.

I suspect that Elizabeth Lynn knows she's been missed, and that her silence has not been wilful. Let us hope that her storyteller's voice is as permanently healed as Lady Senmet's powers. This book certainly is grounds for great hope of more to come. Lynn is, once again, delivering a performance that few novelists--in the realm of fantasy or any other--can achieve. Not only does she craft an engrossing, believable world; it is a world where people are all too human, where love and loyalty face genuine obstacles--obstacles that cannot always be overcome.

_Dragon's Winter_ has a more somber tone than Lynn's earlier books, but that may be a virtue. There are no one-dimensional characters here, nor is the characterization mechanically balanced--even the minor characters (come to think of it, _are_ any of the characters in _Dragon's Winter_ minor?) are real personalities with complex motivations.

It is an often-repeated truism that virtue is its own reward; it is rare to read a work of fantasy, however, that reflects this literally. In _Dragon's Winter_ there are characters whose well-balanced lives are works of beauty; but as in our own world, balance is a temporary achievement, and moral beauty can quite well be the victim of evil and violence. In the end, for some characters, their virtue is its _only_ reward. But Lynn's characters, especially those who perish, are more memorable (and more inspiring) than the usual sort of cardboard fantasy characters who triumph over all. And as in real life, those who perish leave behind friends and memories as the testimonial of their worth. Some readers may conceivably find this less satisfying than watching the good guys always win. Fortunately for such readers, there is plenty of juvenile fiction available. Give me Elizabeth Lynn, though, every time.

In her earlier work, Lynn not only entertained me, but also taught me to think more carefully about subjects like gender, art, and work (even though I thought I was already pretty cool on those subjects). _Dragon's Winter_ does that, and more. It is certainly engrossing; like almost all of Lynn's books, it is one I would not willingly put down until I had absorbed all of it. But _Dragon's Winter_ also made me think in new ways about power; about choices; about loyalty; and about truth and falsehood.

Not bad for escape reading! Or for any other kind. The epilogue to _Dragon's Winter_ gives me hope that we may yet be able to experience more of this particular world of Lynn's creation. May the wait be shorter this time.

This book could have had so much potential, but instead, Lynn has destroyed it. The plan was probably a good one, but the execution, nothing short of terrible.

Two brothers are born in an event that will kill their mother. They are not any brothers though, but rather Dragon-born. One is a direct dragon, born to be able to shape shift into a dragon at will when he grows. The other, is normal. We aren't given much of their childhood and instead come to the future where Tenjiro Atani, the brother without the dragon shifting, is now a mage and arguing with his brother Karadur. In a well concealed plan, he steals his brother's talisman and takes off with it to the north, leaving Karadur unable to transfer into his dragon's form. Three years later, a new man comes to town. His name is Wolf and he is also a shapeshifter (guess what into) and he meets and marries a local woman and has a son. Over time, he becomes acquaintances with Karadur and is there when his brother starts creating war in the North. Wargs, hideous beasts who like to kill, come to the land and start slaughtering. Karadur becomes determined to kill his brother and stop the havoc that is being strewn about his land. The return of his lover Azil (who was kidnapped and tortured by Tenjiro) only further sets his mind to the path.

The characters in this book could have had potential but never were really fully described. The best of them in terms of detail, Wolf and his wife, didn't get to stick around long and so did not keep adding to the story. The rest of the characters there is never a connection or motivation behind their actions. Yes, we are told that Tenjiro is evil, but background would have helped us understand him more. The same applies to all of the other characters.

The writing was deplorable. It's as if Lynn had a bunch of ideas and just tossed them into a blender and made this book. It bounces around, changes ideas, and never finishes a thought before rushing on to the next. Those parts that do start to make sense are rushed and feel incomplete. There are technically five parts and an epilogue, but the fifth part and the epilogue were next to useless and felt like a short story added on to what should have been a completed novel. The most grievous thing of all to me was the language. I was incredulous when fifty pages to the end of the book, Karadur stops talking normally (as he does throughout the book) and starts using language like thee, thou, art and other old forms. This would normally be ok, but it needs to be consistent! People don't start talking different without good reason.

I can't say I'll be looking to read any of Lynn's work in the future. The fact that such a neat idea for a book was translated into this just made me a bit sad.

Dragon's Winter
Copyright 1998
341 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011