Dragonshadow [Hardcover]

Barbara Hambly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1999

Connoisseurs of fantasy adventure savor New York Times bestselling author Barbara Hambly's brilliant novels. Pitting good against evil with rare inventiveness and sophistication, her epic tales crackle with magic, humor, and nail-biting suspense--and feature heroes and villains as complex as they are engaging. Now Hambly returns to the world of her classic fantasy Dragonsbane with a stunning sequel that can also stand on its own, an unforgettable portrait of men, women, and dragons forced to fight an ancient evil in the air, on the ground . . . and in the depths of their very souls.

In a world where most people live and die without glimpsing a single dragon, Lord John Aversin--with the help of his mageborn wife, Jenny Waynest--has fought and defeated two, earning the proud title of Dragonsbane. But there are creatures more terrifying than dragons.

Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic--and the souls--of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. And now they've stolen John and Jenny's mageborn son, twelve-year-old Ian.

In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. Once Morkeleb tried to take Jenny from John. He gave her a dragon's body, a dragon's magic, and she gloried in it for a time. But in the end she became a woman again, rejecting Morkeleb for John. Now the three of them must overcome the anger and bitterness of the past and work together for the future of Ian and all that lives.

But the demons have allies, too: a vast army poised to plunge the Realm into civil war. In the coming struggle, Morkeleb will sacrifice what he values most. Jenny will question everything she trusts and believes in. And John will embark on a perilous quest for the only things capable of defeating such powerful demons--even more powerful demons . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1985, Barbara Hambly published Dragonsbane, the story of how "a bespectacled amateur engineer who collected lore about pigs" and his mage-born mistress went south to slay the black dragon Morkeleb but ended up allying with him to save the kingdom from a much more terrible enemy. Dragonshadow continues the story of John Aversin, the Dragonsbane, Jenny Waynest, the Witch of Frost Fell, and Morkeleb.

It's four years later, and John and Jenny find themselves facing mages and dragons controlled by demons who have trapped their souls. One of the captured mages is Ian, their 12-year-old son. Jenny and Morkeleb are also at risk, and to save them all John bargains his own soul as the forfeit if he cannot pay a demon's price.

Hambly creates a believable setting and compellingly real characters without sacrificing the sense of a truly magical world, both beautiful and deadly. This is not yet another predictable sword and sorcery tale. This story concerns the temptations of power and the cost of resisting evil. Grief and loss are inescapable. Unlike Dragonsbane, however, Dragonshadow promises readers another book in which, perhaps, the protagonists will find peace and healing. --Nona Vero

From Publishers Weekly

Relying more on strongly delineated, complex characters than on outlandish wizardry or heroism, this first-rate high fantasy is the follow up to Dragonsbane (1987), one of the prolific and protean Hambly's (Fever Season, etc.) earliest novels. Mageborn Jenny Waynest returns, along with her husband, Lord John Aversin, who long ago earned the title "Dragonsbane" for defeating two dragons. Now the couple must save the Winterlands from the menace of yet another dragon?but the real threat turns out to be worse. Demons from another plane of existence, who prey on the magic and souls of both wizards and dragons, take Jenny and John's mageborn son, 12-year-old Ian, captive. John must turn for help to the powerful Morkeleb, a dragon who loved Jenny and once gave her a dragon's body, magic and immortality?though he later returned her to mortal form when she chose to be with John. All three suffer and sacrifice as they make dark bargains to defeat their formidable foes. With its resourceful, 45-year-old heroine who must make difficult choices, face both emotional and demonic challenges and deal with the pain of her past, Hambly's novel should appeal to mature readers who seek more than flashing swords and simple sorcery. Elegant, intelligent and entertaining, this novel excels as a sequel but readers new to the story won't miss a beat.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (March 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345421876
• ISBN-13: 978-0345421876
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,595,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ooof., October 2, 2000

By 

Angela Cheng - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonshadow (Winterlands, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Uhh.. uh... okay. I loved "Dragonsbane", despite seemingly every other reviewer on amazon.com yowling that it was boring boring boring. And I have nothing against characters suffering, or flaws, or tension.. but this is overdoing it.

After more than half a book full of endless sex, violence, and angst (it takes no time starting off on a down note, though it's still incredibly boring) it gets almost routine, but not routine enough so that you don't care. Just so that you're bored *and* sickened at the same time. I only slogged through the entire thing because I had hopped for some sort of closure, but it seems as if I'll have to go out and fetch yet another sequel. Boring hack and slash. It's a bad combination. Yeesh... either save them or kill them already...

Also, the endless parade of characters.. they're all given names, and some are given descriptions, but most of them are pointless. Like all the family members and the mages who have.. like.. one line, then get posessed by demons and killed.

With all fairness to Barbara Hambly, it was really well written and she probably took a lot of time and effort on this, but content is everything...

This is a book where things happen.. but nothing really happens. You'll just have to wait for the sequel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I wish she had never written this book!, June 5, 2002

By 

So Many Books (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonshadow (Winterlands, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read Dragonsbane (the first book about John and Jenny who are the 2 main characters in these stories) many years ago and really enjoyed it. When I recently found out that Barbara Hambly had written a sequel to their story, I could not hardly wait to read it. What a disapointment! I wish I had never picked up this book, and just left the characters where they were at the end of Dragonsbane. I can take some hardships happening to the characters in the books that I read, but this was terrible. I have since got the 3rd book in this series from the Library (thank goodness I did not buy it) and "skimmed" through it first to see if anything finally got better. Believe it or not, it was worse than Dragonshadow. When I do get a chance to read, I would like to finish the book and feel uplifted instead of depressed. Please pass on Dragonshadow unless you like a lot of unresolved heartache in your stories.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Painful as Real Life - But Still Excellent, January 14, 2000

By 

Elliot Fertik - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonshadow (Winterlands, No. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've always considered Barbara Hambley to be one of the undiscovered gems of the fantasy field. She can write better prose than 90% of them, and her plots take hackneyed devices (magic, wizards, dragons, demons) and make them into something unique. Dragonsbane, a standalone from relatively early in her career, is a perfect example of this - the Dragonsbane of the title, John Aversin, is not a noble knight, but a scholar, who slays dragons because he has to protect his people. His wife, Jenny, is a witch who loves him yet feels that their bond only hinders her efforts to become a master mage. Hambley did a wonderful job of exploring their characters, while delivering a thrill ride of a plot.

Now, many years later, she's written a sequel which is very different in tone. John and Jenny discover that a mage has been using demons to enslave dragons and mage alike, and is allied with a rebel army that seeks to conquer the kingdom. The mage manages to capture their son, Ian, and soon he is possessed as well. John and Jenny team up with Morkeleb to stop the plot, but the price is much higher then they could have ever anticipated...

What makes Dragonshadow so different from Dragonsbane is mostly the tone. Dragonbane, while putting its characters through the wringer, basically has a happy ending. Dragonshadows is far different. But the ending does not feel forced. In real life, people don't go through incredibly tramatic events unchanged; they pay a price, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Both John and Jenny literally go through Hell, and they are both intensely scarred by the experience. But while this is painful for the reader, who cares about the characters immensely, it also brings about a deeper and more realistic experience. And there is the promise of a sequel to this book, so even the downbeat ending is not totally without hope. This book is like a trial by fire; painful many times, but bringing a great sense of satisfaction. Lightyears ahead of most wish-fulfillment fantasy, and a great read as well (I finished it in two days!) I highly recommend it.