Customer Reviews

Forged By Fire: Book Three of the Dragon Temple Saga

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

 

 

I was really impressed, and on some level deeply disturbed by these books. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Still, an great storyline woven in a very interesting world, that kept me at least confused until the end, and wanting more even though all the plots were tied up. Also, the end is like the rest of the series, rather brutal and somewhat expected, but not nearly as hopeful or idealistic as other fantasy.

A breathtaking ending for this gripping tale of revolution and the feminist revolutionary,Zarq, who forged it.

In this final installment, Zarq has little time to savour her victory in the Arena in winning the ownership of her own Clutch at the end of Book 2. She and her few supporters are immediately attacked by Temple Auditors and again, she must hide, renounce her claim and also again, she forges relationships amongst the brutalised rishi she shelters with.

Still struggling with her dragon venom addiction, she is captured and then escapes with a pair of winged female dragons. Arriving deep in the jungle she finally learns the secret of breeding male dragons, the secret that will ultimately lead to breaking the power of the Temple and spark the revolution.

Janine Cross brilliantly weaves the realism of political intrigue and conflicting self-interests, while creatively overturning traditional magical fantasy narrative, into a rich detailed exploration of oppression, where the personal is indeed the political.

I have read the deluge of negative press that this series has gotten, and frankly I do not understand one bit of it. Is the fantasy world really so fast asleep that it can't bear to be woken out of its safe, tame, cliche-induced coma?

The Dragon Temple series is a rich, intensely three dimensional, sophisticated work of anthropological investigation. As a student of anthropology, it always irritated me how in modern fantasy, cultures are usually bland, unimaginative stock pseudo-medieval European window dressing with some two-dimensional "other" culture as a foil (see David Gemmell's Mongol-ish Drenai vs Nadir or David Farland's pseudo europeans vs pseudo arabs). Janine Cross not only thinks outside that box, she tears it to pieces. And if her descriptions of torture, oppression and perversion as cultural practice make you squeamish, you'd better not ever turn on the news-- she draws on real-life cultural practices which are occurring every day in other parts of the world.

I guess Cross' works can be considered polarizing. If you're content to have your authors rehash the same old "intrepid caucasian male knight in shining armour saves kingdom from ancient evil" formula, then steer clear of her. If, on the other hand, you want something new, dive on in.

Also why do people keep calling her work "feminist"? Is any work with a female lead who shapes her own destiny considered feminist? That's a little silly, isn't it? Would a story with a dark skinned lead (say, Drizzt) be considered a Black Pride fantasy novel?

Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder
on 07/10/2008

I had a very difficult time writing this review, trying to figure out what to say. "This is an interesting book" gives you no information. It's not a "bad" book or a "good" book, but a very different one. Janine Cross's world building is above excellence, as is her characterization. She touches on difficult subjects of religion, politics, drug abuse, physical abuse, rape, prejudice--just about every evil problem that exists and does so with skill.

But technique aside, I didn't care for the book. First of all, it is so obviously a sequel--something I rail about often. When you start reading the book, you're starting in the middle of the story, not beginning a new story. If you haven't read the other books in the series you're going to be lost. Though the story does finish, it is still only part of a story. Also, the book is dark in the extreme. If you're looking for the typical dragon story, don't look here. This one is disturbingly brutal in subject and portrayal. Though technically well-written, I did not enjoy reading the book. It ends well as everything appears to be tied up, but that doesn't make the reading any easier. Plus the difficult terminology had me stopping many times as I tried to figure out what was being said. Once you've stopped the reader, you've lost him or her--which is what happened to me many times. I'd get frustrated with the reading, put it down, and not go back for several days.

So, my recommendation is this: If you've read the other books in this series, definitely get this one in order to finish the story. If you enjoyed them, you'll probably enjoy this one. But, if you haven't read the other books, beware of this one as it is dark, brutal, and definitely not your standard dragon fantasy story.

Though the Dragon Temple forbids females from owning property, Zarq Darquel ignores the tenet. Instead she makes a home for herself by purchasing a dragon-egg producing farm in Clutch Xxamer Zu. She also struggles with her craving for addictive dragon venom while finding herself nurturing the young victims of the repressive regime.

Meanwhile her former overlord Waikar Re Kratt, outraged by her behavior even before she defied the ruling paternal oligarchy, is coming for her. He wants her incarcerated at the least but his real goal is to see her dead. Forced to react, Zarq flees into the jungle lair of the dragons where accompanied by her female dragons, she seeks an ancient power to defeat Kratt and his male priestly supporters of the status quo.

The final book of the Dragon Temple fantasy trilogy (see TOUCHED BY VENOM and SHADOWED BY WINGS) is a vivid dark fantasy starring an intriguing heroine struggling with an addiction yet ironically her only hope to survive is using the venom that she craves. The story line is action-packed as Zarq lands in one nasty escapade after another. While not for everyone as this tale and miniseries is graphic, Janine Cross provides a deep look at the crippling impact of sexism, racism, slavery, addiction, and oppression in a wonderful over the top saga.

Harriet Klausner

First, if you are looking for the standard book- then don't read this. For those of you that are looking for a story out of the norm then this Saga is for you. I have had a love hate relationship with this Saga. Yet each book left me wanting more. Some parts of this Saga I have loved other parts I have hated. But in the end when I finished reading that last page and closed the book, I found thatin the end I came to love it. This was so different, a mix that still has me asking questions, thinking, hoping, wishing the best for Zarq. Thank you Janine Cross for such a compelling Saga.