Customer Reviews

Rhiana

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

 

 

Without going over the plot (already well articulated by the other reviewers and Amazon staff), please find my opinion here only.

My advice is to skip this one! I had previously read SERAPHIM which was most enjoyable. But, this particularly story falls far short of the quality of Hauf's first book.

Although the character of Rhiana would seem to be interesting by description (a tall Amazonian dragonslayer with tumbling garnet-colored tresses... a gold eye and a green one... a woman capable in her warrior skills, yet unsure of her feminine attributes...), she actually is not compelling at all.

Bored at reading the first fourth of the book, I had to do my "stinky book trick" which is to jump to the end and read the last few chapters. (If the ending looks better than I expect, I will go back and read the rest.) Unfortunately, except for her eventual meeting with Seraphim & Co. at the end, the culmination of the story seemed just as weak and predictable. So, I closed the book and piled it on my "already been read" pile and didn't waste another minute of my time.

I had just finished reading Michelle Sagara's CAST IN COURTLIGHT which was infinitely more compelling, so perhaps the blandness of this story came in the comparison for me. But, if I can help another reader save a few bucks in the bookstore when they pick up one of this slightly bigger and more costly paperbacks, I like to do so.

So my advice is to skip this one... look at the pretty cover art at the store... skim the book jacket overview... peek at the last chapter... and then put it down and move on. If you haven't read SERAPHIM, do so because that is a much better read. But, save your $ on this one!

In 1437 in the French village of St. Renan, the residents have become complacent because no dragons have come seeking the vast hoard in years. That abruptly changes when a flock of dragons descend upon the village killing anyone outside when they flew over the site. The village has a dragon slayer Rhiana Tassot, a warrior who is not afraid to enter the dragon's lair.

She differs from her neighbors as she can belch fire and is not burned when fires strikes her. Rhiana has no explanation for these phenomena and even her own mother keeps a distance from her changeling daughter. With so many dragons in the area, she welcomes fellow dragon slayer Macarius Fleche, the son of the father who trained Rhiana in dragon fighting. In an odd development Baron Guiscard forbids the two slayers from killing any dragons. Unless they disobey his orders, many innocent people will die; but by doing so Rhiana and Macrius would become outlaws.

In a society that thinks women are weak, Rhiana proves they can be warriors too, just ask SERAPHIM or GOSSYMYR. There is plenty of action in this exciting romantic fantasy even as the heroine has doubts about the love of her life which adds a charming subplot to a fantasy that can be too tense at times. RHIANA needs to know more about her heritage as she can sense when dragons are near by the tingling in her blood. She makes the tale soar as Michele Hauf provides an entertaining tale that will elate her numerous fans.

Harriet Klausner

I perfer the other two books with Seraphim, and Gossaymer than I do this one. It's ok, it's not fantastic or all that spell binding but it's cute i suppose. Could have been better with more details, and even with more characters. But I think she's a good writer and I hope that her other books are just as good as the others I mentioned earlier.

Some men can't cope with strong women. That is as true in Rhiana's 15th century France as it is today. But strong women will love reading about Rhiana, even if they have never hunted a dragon in their entire lives.

Michele Hauf tells another enchanting fantasy tale in Rhiana, the third in her Changeling series (after Seraphim and Gossamyr).

For all her strength and unique gifts, and her determination to protect her family and friends from the dragons attacking her village, Rhiana struggles with how different she is, more comfortable in armored tunic than in gowns, not at all feminine like her half-sister Odette. She wonders if she'll ever be courted and kissed.

Mysteries abound in St. R?nan - who is Lady Anne, Lord Guiscard's not-all-there wife? Why does Ulrich, Rhiana's first stepfather, suddenly return after a 20-year absence? And who is Rhiana's father?

The tale ends with answers to all these mysteries. The resolution of Rhiana's wonderings comes with kisses and courtship from the only man who could truly appreciate her for all she is, Macarius Fleche, the slayer.