12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The ending really makes up for the middle, March 8, 2006
This review is from: Master of Dragons (Dragonvarld Trilogy, Book 3) (Hardcover)
Master of Dragons is the final book in the Dragonvarld trilogy by Margaret Weis, and like so many other trilogies that are up and down from the beginning to the end, Weis completes the series in a positive manner after a true stinker of a second book. I really disliked Dragon's Son, but the third book definitely made up for it. It still suffered from some of the same problems, but ultimately it overcomes those deficiencies to make a somewhat thrilling conclusion.
The twin sons of Melisande, kept apart for so many years, have come together in DragonKeep, the hidden stronghold where sinister dragon-human breeding experiments are being done in order to establish dragon dominance over the human populace. It seems some of the dragons are threatened by some of the weaponry that humans are developing, weapons that could actually kill a dragon. Thus, the non-interference law of the dragons is being subverted by three dragons: Grald, Maristara, and Anora. An army is being raised, magic-wielding and unstoppable. Young Ven, the son of the dragon, is introduced to his many brethren, all fathered by Grald on various human females, and he is as repulsed as most normal humans are at him. Meanwhile, Marcus (Melisande's son by King Edward) and Evelina escape back to his home, to warn of the imminent danger. But will they be too late? And will even Draconas' help, he who is the dragon walker, be enough to stem the tide? The Parliament of Dragons is divided, and the cost of that might be the wiping out of humanity.
Weis really redeems herself with Master of Dragons. Yes, Evelina's still annoying (and more on her later), but Marcus is a much stronger character here than he was in the second book. We don't see a lot of Ven, so he wasn't as irritating either. In fact, the characterization all around was pretty good, with Draconas (as always) being the best and most fascinating. It truly helps this book that he is featured a lot more than he was before. He has walked among humans for many years, and he has a grudging affection for them, even as they get on his nerves. He spends some time hiding in DragonKeep as a little girl as he is being hunted by Grald and his minions. He ends up being sheltered by a nice couple whose daughter has been given to the dragon (though, as far as they know, she is thoroughly happy there, not knowing the evil truth). He feels a lot of sympathy for them, especially after he discovers the truth of what happened to their daughter.
There is one characterization issue that continued to bother me, but it wasn't the mishandling of the character that was the problem. There are characters that you love to hate, and those that you just wish you could reach through the page and rip them out of it so you never have to interact with them again while you are reading. Evelina is one of those characters. She's a scheming harpy, only looks out for herself, and unwittingly saves the day at the end, but her conniving just became abrasive to read about. It didn't help that Weis figuratively puts her in the reader's face, with many asides talking about her schemes (either through narration or Evelina's thoughts). I'm glad that she avoids a last minute redemption for her, however, as that would have truly grated and made the rest of the story virtually worthless.
The plot was a lot more interesting this time around, too. We finally see the culmination of the dragons' plans, and we see a lot of interesting interaction among the various dragons of the Parliament. Since I cared about the characters more this time, the action was actually quite tense. I was actually affected when Grald was threatening to fulfill his threats to take over Ven and use his body to lead the Dragon warriors to victory. I hated Evelina, I didn't want to see Marcus get hurt by her. Ok, I wouldn't have minded if a dragon swooped down and bit Evelina in two, but they can't all be winners. Overall, though, the plotting and the characters were quite well done. I didn't even mind the "how convenient" way that Evelina unwittingly saved everything, though I did roll my eyes a bit.
Weis' prose gives the action scenes a quite vivid feel, and I was almost able to see the dragons swooping around fighting each other. The final battle between Draconas and the last remaining dragon conspirator was breathtaking. Even more effective was the rescue of Marcus from the dragon army. While the characters involved (with the exception of Marcus) weren't anybody we had been introduced too, Weis gives them just enough depth that the inevitable result feels like it matters.
If it weren't for Evelina and Weis inability to make me even like to read about her (since we're obviously not supposed to like her), this book would easily be a 5-star conclusion to a great trilogy. Her ability to bring together all the myriad pieces that she's introduced in the first two books is very good. That, combined with the characterization that I did like, and plotting which made sense, makes this an enjoyable read. I can't wait to see what Weis has up her sleeve next.
David Roy
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent conclusion to this trilogy, December 13, 2005
This review is from: Master of Dragons (Dragonvarld Trilogy, Book 3) (Hardcover)
Master of Dragons by Margaret Weis is the third and final book in the Dragonvarld Trilogy. In this book Weis ties up loose ends from the previous two books and brings the trilogy to a conclusion while still leaving it wide open for future novels with these characters.
I have a few complaints, all minor, about this book. However, I think overall this is a very good book and continues the long tradition of Weis' writing. Unlike her co-author of many books (Tracey Hickman) Weis is able to weave an intriguing tale in her own world and continue to show the depth of both plot and characters.
While the plot in this book, and trilogy for that matter, is interesting, make no mistake about it - this book is driven by the characters. All of the characters from Marcus to Ven all the way to Draconas have doubts and flaws. These flaws make the characters more believable and it makes it easier to get into the story and `root' for certain characters while despising others. As with most trilogies the vast majority of actual character development happened in the two previous books. There is some development in this book, but not a large amount.
The plot has been laid out for the reader in the first two books for the most part. There are a few elements that are added to the story, most elements are fleshed out more and depth added to them. In terms of fantasy genre plots this plot is a little on the cliché side. Many plot points within this story can be guessed by the reader taking a little away from the reader wanting a `fresh' reading experience. However, Weis writes it in such a way that it doesn't overly detract from the story. Being that I have read a lot of fantasy, particularly from Weis, maybe I was expecting too much from this final book.. I don't want to come across as saying this was a bad book, quite the opposite, it is very good.
My one major complaint is the ending of the book. It seems very rushed and too compact for the scope of the story. It all seems so nice and polished when in fact the entire three books are chaotic and all over the place, for some books the ending would be appropriate, for this book (and trilogy) the ending just didn't seem to fit for me.
With all that said I would recommend these three books to fantasy fans wanting a nice gentle read with some intrigue and mayhem. This is not an epic fantasy tale, but it is a nice compact well written tale that I believe most fantasy fans will enjoy. If you are a fan of Weis' Dragonlance work, you will definitely enjoy these three books.
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