Customer Reviews

Samurai (Saint of Dragons)

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The remarkable thing about this book is its pace. It is non-stop. Truly. The villain characters are the most memorable, a completely new vision of dragons--walking around in the modern world disguised as human beings--but the heroes, a teenaged warrior and his father, are certainly interesting and unconventional, given the modern day setting.

But it's the absolute page-turner part of this that gets me. It may not be the most deeply meaningful story for kids, but I can tell you, seeing it firsthand in our house, kids over the age of about 10 will NOT BE ABLE TO STOP READING, especially if they are boys, from what I've seen.

I think based on that, I have to recommend it fully. Because how many times do you have a book that gets a kid's interest like that??

Dragons are responsible for the miseries of the world, but only the St. Georges can see them and use the Deathspell to kill them. These malevolent beasts cause natural catastrophes as they live off the suffering and pain of humanity that comes with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that they inflict on mankind. Aldric St. George, his son Simon, and the Magician Alaythia are under constant attack from dragons. Research reveals that when a magician falls in love with a knight, she emits a sound that only dragons hear; that hum irritates them so much they track it down to the source to kill the Magician.

Alaythia leaves her beloved men to find a way to muffle the sound in order to keep her mate and his son safe. However Aldric and Simon refuse to let her go alone and catch up to her in Japan where they meet dragon hunting samurai and a St. George they never knew existed. When the Dragon of Japan goes to India, the Tiger Dragon wants to mate with him, then she plans to kill him afterward so he is out of her way while raising their offspring to rule the world. Aldric and company follow knowing they must stop the mating before the carnage begins.

Although SAMURAI is aimed at a teen audience, adults will enjoy this fun urban fantasy though the plot is a bit over the top. The fast-paced story line contains fully developed characters especially the heroic trio who work so well together. However, the key to this solid tale is the antagonists as each dragon is unique with distinct personality traits and eccentricities.

Harriet Klausner

In Hightman's sequel to Saint of Dragons, Simon St. George and his estranged father Aldric are globe trotting in search of Alaythia a powerful witch whose love for Aldric is attracting dragons. While on this dangerous mission the pair meets up with Samurai, Japanese dragonhunters, who protect a St. George family secret. United to fight numerous dragons, the dragonhunter's mission is more interesting than the characters, who remain flat throughout the action driven story. Although the plot heavy story would appeal to a younger audience, the descriptions of the atrocities perpetrated over the years by the dragons is sickening and not appropriate for this same age group. Hightman's book is difficult to read (it took me nearly a month) and its odd combination of simplicity and violence makes it tricky to know whom this book was intended for. Fortunately its not necessary to read the first book to make sense of Samurai.

Simon St. George is the youngest male descendant of the legendary Saint George. Simon and his father, Aldric, are also the last to carry on the dragon slaying legacy of their ancestor. Or so they think.

Their latest adventure (SAMURAI is the sequel to The Saint of Dragons) takes them to the Far East on a hunt for an elusive group of Asian dragons. The father and son team encounter an ancient order of samurai, sworn to defeat the dragons. The samurai and the St. Georges could be powerful allies, if they can all figure out how to work together for the greater good. And if they could all stop keeping secrets and holding grudges. Things that Simon and Aldric are having a few issues with between each other.

Until everyone can unite, the battle between human and dragon rages on.

This story is about more than just the obvious battle, though. It's a battle between east and west, past and present, father and son, and the personal battle each of the main characters has to go through. No struggle is easy. There isn't a whole lot of black and white here. And each decision made, or not made, affects many people.

The top layer is a great adventure. But underneath there are many more levels. Dragons and demons have many faces, and most of them aren't what you'd expect.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

A good book, not as good as the first, but I can't wait to read the third!