Customer Reviews

Legacy of the Black Dragon

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Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

In this first tale of the Tarlisian world, Julie D'Arcy spins a vivid story of good vs. evil, magic and adventure.

So the legend goes... Garrick le Fey, the First King of Tarlis, sacrificed himself and his freedom to protect his people from evil. He is transformed into a black dragon and trapped in a magical book, with his old nemesis, Narokah, high priest to Arahmin the God of Blood, who turned into a red dragon when Garrick tried to kill him.

Centuries later, a carpenter unknowingly breaks the spell binding Narokah and Garrick, unleashing a great horror on the world once more. Dragon by day, man by night, Garrick must retrieve an ancient elven sword, the only weapon capable of destroying the high priest, and prevent the final ritual that will release Arahmin.

Meggahn du Val, daughter of the Low-Lord of Gola-Dah, is doomed to a marriage with the sadistic Baron Madric le Mordah, the Red Lord. When contemplating her fate on her final night of freedom, she sees a black dragon shoot across the sky. Deciding to ask the dragon for aid, she sets out on the first steps of a grand adventure. Whoever would have thought she would have her life irrevocably changed and her heart stolen by a legendary king of old?

The journey is just beginning in this book, with escapades on every page that will keep one eager to see what comes next, all the way to the surprise revealed at the end. This story is primarily a fantasy novel, but it does have its underlying love stories. The descriptions of the world are brilliantly done; with scents, sounds, and colors jumping out at the readers so they can't help but be drawn into the story.

The characters are realistic, with thoughts and feelings, fears and desires, just like everyone. Garrick's only wish is to protect his world and his people from being destroyed by dreadful evil. He is even willing to sacrifice himself if it means keeping those he cares about safe. Meggahn is a brave woman, wanting her freedom from a dreadful man, as well as wanting his reign of terror to their people to cease. She is willing to do almost anything to see that happen. All of the secondary characters add to the story as well. There is Vellandril, the elven prince who puts duty to his people above matters of the heart. One will love Johden, the young servant to Garrick who longs to be a warrior. And who can forget the frightening Narokah and Madric? Yet their desire to inflict living misery on the people is matched by the goodness of Ejinerah, guardian of the Orb of de Danann, and Arkron the wizard friend of Garrick.

This book captivated this reviewer and has made her eager to read the rest of the books in the series written by the talented Ms. D'Arcy.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, February 2005. All rights reserved.

LEGACY OF THE BLACK DRAGON is an interesting idea, but I really felt the main characters where not completely drawn out. While the story should be engaging in an epic sort of sense I was only mildly interested. The writing also seemed stilted...it didn't flow smoothly or correctly for me.

So, I'm reading the story. Garrik wants his kingdom back, except to become king again he must defeat numerous enemies, one of whom he's been battling for centuries. He is supposed to be the greatest warrior of his time, and yet, I felt he had the personality of a boy king...the two images didn't mesh. Then because he had a spell placed on him that changed him into a dragon to defeat Narokah (which then causes him to get locked into a book for several hundred years) one of the first things he wants to do is free himself from this "curse" while at the same time there is his kingdom to save. I think Garrik lost me here...he should have put the kingdom first.

Our heroine Meggahn...well...I thought she was a pain in the butt that was only included because she was the "leader" of her people. I truly didn't understand her presence on the quest.

I don't know. As I said, the story is interesting, but I'm not sure it is worth buying in paperback. IF you are into quests, mythological worlds set in medieval times you might try the book out in an electronic format, but this story just didn't do ANYTHING for me. I just couldn't get into LEGACY OF THE BLACK DRAGON.

Garrik le Fey, the first King of Tarlis fought the High Priest of Darkness, Narokah to the death, but Narokah called upon his evil master for aid and was transformed into a red dragon. In order to stop his nemeses from bringing the God of Blood into their world, Garrik forces his wizard to turn him into a dragon as well. With the battle raging without any hope of success or end, the sorcerer exiles both dragons into The Book of Stars where the battle continues for more than eight hundred years.

It is the simple act of vandalism that frees the dragons and brings the fight back to Tarlis once more.

The novel follows Garrik through heroic trials and heartbreaking events as he struggles to bring an end to Narokah's evil. Arkron, the sorcerer who placed the dragons in the book centuries ago, has used his magic to restore his youth so that he might battle at his master's side. Their efforts are jeopardized when Arkron cannot stop Garrik from reverting to dragon form every morning. With each change, more black scales remain on Garrik's chest and if they don't find the magic to stop it, he will lose his identity and will to the dragon.

All of the characters were well developed and engaging. Some of the strongest character growth occurred in Johden, a young lady who wishes to become a Knight of the Stars. Both she and Lady Meggahn must learn the cost and strength of love in this romantic fantasy.

King Garrik le Fey of Tarlis strikes a deadly blow to Narokah, his Kingdom's deadliest enemy, the Dark Priest to the god Arahman. However instead of death, the malevolence uses his powers to change into a red dragon. Frantic Garrik orders his sorcerer to convert him into a black dragon with the stipulation that if he fails to destroy Narokah, the sorcerer is to trap both of them inside the ancient magical spell tome, Arkgeld.

Eight hundred years later, the two dragons are freed from the prison book, but Tarlis is ruled by a cruel dictatorship and the people believe Garrik is a myth. Besides needing to stop his dangerous foe and deal with the current avaricious leadership, Garrik must employ an Elven ritual to stop his total transformation into the beast. To succeed on that first leg and ultimately to vanquish his deadly opponent, Garrik needs allies, but can he trust the angry vengeful elf, Vellandril or Meggahn daughter of a Low-Lord; for without either of them, Garrik's legend will include failure.

The LEGACY OF THE BLACK DRAGON is a terrific epic fantasy that readers will enjoy because the human, Elven, and other mythos societies seem genuine in their medieval setting. The story line is action-packed from the start and never loses momentum even as the eras change. The prime cast, especially the heroic trio, the greedy iron fisted rulers, and the anatomist are wonderful characters as they seem real whether they are purebred human, half dragon, or 100% Elven. Fantasy adventure readers will appreciate this dynamic tale of two powerful beings fighting the good vs. evil war.

Harriet Klausner