Customer Reviews

The Secret of Dragonhome

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Melayne is a teenage girl living in a fantasy kingdom embroiled in a war with another. She and her younger brother, Sarrow, are "Talents," which means they have special powers. It also means they are hunted down mercilessly. After her parents are killed at the hands of soldiers, Melayne and Sarrow flee for their lives to the neighboring enemy kingdom, where they pose as citizens. Melayne and Sarrow go to the castle of the young, widowed Lord Sander, where Melayne is givin a job to care for Sander's little boy. But there's at secret at the castle of Dragonhome that puts them all at danger. This book has everything: action, fantasy, suspense, plot twists, and even a romance (between Melayne and Sander). Please let their be a sequal!

John Peel, wherever you are, you are awesome! This is the best book I have ever read in my entire life! I couldn't put it down, it was impossible! This book is about a girl named Melayne and her brother Sarrow whos parents are slain by raiders. They fled their homes in hopes to reach their aunt way up north. The problem is they posses special talents and soldiers are after them. They run and find the old palace called Dragon home owned by a sad, and some say crazy, Lord Sander. She goes there looking for work and gets more than she bargained for. It's a fantasticle mystery full of love, surprises, fantasy, hatred, and joy. I reccomend this to anyone who can read. This is the best book I have ever read! And as for you, John Peel, YOU MUST WRIGHT A SEQUAL! PPLLEEAASSEE! I BEG YOU!

OH MY GAWSH, this book was waaaaayyyyyyy too good! I finished it in a day and a half and when I got to the end i was practically whining for a sequel. To all you people who havent read this book i HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend you do. You'll kinda get the feeling your hands are glued to the cover.
It's set in similar medieval time world where talents--people with special powers--are hunted down by the King's seekers to fight in a meaningless war. Melayne and her brother Sarrow are one of these people and live far away in hiding with their parents. Melayne has the ability to talk to animals and Sarrow isnt quite sure what his is yet.In the beginning, their parents are murdered (you never get to meet them, though) which starts the children on their trek to refuge. With a surprising turn of events, (involving a pack of wolves and a Talent War prepatory training center) Melayne and Sarrow end up at Dragonhome, the estate of a supposedly mad dark lord named Sander. After, employing Melayne to teach Lord Sander's son, Corran, secrets and mysteries begin to pop up, plunging Melayne and Lord Sander into deadly situations. To anyone who likes a total mixture of everything in one book, this is soooo for you. The Secret of Dragonhome is just cram PACKED with everything-fantasy, romance, adventure, secrets, betrayal. I enjoyed it tons and so did everyone else I've lent it to. Melayne meets so many different kinds of people, animals, and friends, you'll hardly miss out on the total yummyness of the entire read.

The book is about magic, dragons, mystery, love, secrets, brotherhood, and betrayal. No, not a romance novel, not a sci-fi, not kids stuff, but not really adult stuff either......I would consider this book great for 13-16 year olds. It is about two siblings--Melayne and her younger brother Sarrow--who posess magical powers, called Talent. If their Talent is discovered by the King's Seekers of Talent, they will be sent to fight in a brutal, magical, and secretive war sure to send them to their deaths. So they hide on a farm far away for many years.......until their parents meet a brutal death. They must leave the farm to survive and go into the world of unknown fears and refuges. After many a plight and plot, Melayne and Sarrow find themselves at Dragonhome, the castle inhabited by the strange Lord Sander and his young son and a few servants. There unfolds a baffling and surprising mystery, ending with a boom and bang caused by jealousy, love, magic, and dragons. With little offensive material, the book has the suspense and makings of an adult novel without the intense passion and language. I give it two thumbs up to the teenage crowd!

This book is about a girl named Melanya and her brother Sarrow. They are talents, which means the are gifted with a special power. their parents did not want them to get caught by the seekers so they hid them away. When Melanya's parents were killed by raiders they went on an adventure to find their aunt and live with her. Their plans change when the seekers come after them. To hide Melanya and her brother go to a castle called dragonhome. This castle was owned by Lord Sander and his child, Corran. While staying with them, Melayne finds a dark secret that Lord Sander is hiding. Melanya must help him with the secret and protect the secret also. While doing this someone very close to her will betray her. Read this book cause this is the only book I read all of and I think that anyone would love to read a book with romance, adventure, and fantasy. You will have to read the story to find the secret and what happens to Melanya and her friends.

Untouchable!That's what I think about it. It is by far one of his best books yet. When raiders from a bordering country decide to break a treaty, Melayne and her brother Sorrow are forced to leave their home because of some unfortunate circumstances. ( What are they? You'll have to read the book.) Continuing their trek toward their destination, they find themselves in more trouble. From being in a castle, practically, as prisoners, sleeping with a pack of wolves, to seeking refuge from a mysterious man called Lord Sander in an old castle estate, Melayne and Sorrow go through quite a bit. (Is Lord Sander friend or foe...you'll have to read the book to find out.) What secet is he keeping? Who knows...I do and so do the rest of these people who take the time to write these reviews for your conveniance. So show us you appreciate the gesture and get the book so you see what all the fuss is about. If you're a fantasy lover and you don't get this book, it's your loss. John Peel, if you're reading this I want to let you know that this was an awesome book. Great plot, humor, romance, everything a good book needs. You've done it again and I loved it! Melayne is an awesome heroin. With her quick wit, sense of humor, and gift of animal speach, she's always ready for trouble. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do and I hope to see more of her in the future.

The first time I read this book, I was about 11, and it was the most fantastic, wonderful, perfect book I'd ever read, but now I'm 16, and I reread it only to find extreme disappointment.
Synopsis: A young girl, Melayne, finds herself responsible for her brother, Sarrow, after their parents are killed by raiders (Viking style). This would be okay, but they are Talents, a hated kind of person due to their special skills. Melayne and Sarrow search the land to find an ally, and find themselves in the hall of Lord Sander, a shadowy 25-30-something man with a gloomy disposition.
Pros: A cute, flouncy storyline. Extremely easy to read (no big words in this book!) Cute, flouncy characters.
Cons: Flat, hollow dialouge. No use of vivid verbs. Oversimplification through the entire book. Overly charming, overly calm female. Overly gloomy, overly stubborn male. Overly gripy brat. Underdeveloped characters. A title that gives away the &$%@#*^ secret of DRAGONHOME. An ending that's as abrupt as being pushed off of a cliff. Irritating repetition of scenes and sequences. No vivid imagery. No symbols. No use of unique literary technique. Nothing asthetically pleasing whatsoever. Borrows concepts from ever book and story ever written.
Analysis: I should stop complaining. :K But it's true, the book does fall drastically short of a great, and the worst thing is it is OVERFLOWING with potential!!! If the characters weren't so dull and the dialouge wasn't so awful, I'd be more inclined to like it. I like that Lord Sander is a widow though, most romance-fantasies involve a 21-something year old who has never had sex but just happens to be dreamy and amazing in bed. =K So, this book is like a stone waiting to be polished. With one or two rewritings, it could be a fantasy classic. Buy this if you can find it cheap, it's VERY hard to come by!

I think everyone that has written a review did a good job, except for one small thing....They did not mention the wolf, Greyn. Greyn is Malayne's faithful companion, he follows her because of her Talent...she can speak to animals...any animals. Greyn is one of my favorite characters. (Can you tell?) I loved Melayne and her lord. Malayne is a young girl with good morals and is an independent thinker who is afraid she will never find love because of her talent...but then she meets Lord Sander and fears he might propose something indecent... The rest is up to the reader to find out but I must say that this is a book that I am not afraid for my 12 year old sister to read (and she is reading it and enjoying it), and a book that I (at 21 years of age) have read at least 5 or 6 times. The plot is intriguing and the characters are engaging, it is a fabulous book for any age. It is definitely a keeper....

Mr.Peel, where is the next one? There is so much left to find out... Do they get to their destination? What happens to Melayne's friends? Do they meet up with Melayne's friends? What about Greyn, where does he end up? Does the world find out the truth about talents? More importantly, do they find out the truth about the war?

John Peel stuns us again with his novel, "The Secret of Dragonhome." It is about two siblings whose parents are killed by Raiders and go on a quest to live with their aunt. They never make it, though, because the Raiders are after them, and they seek refuge in Lord Sander's castle, Dragonhome. The story is compelling and very emotional. You won't be able to put it down. This is probably Peel's longest novel ever written-- almost four-hundred pages.

Let my preface my comments by saying I've read everything from Tom Clancy to Robert Jordan, From Terry Brooks to Terry Goodkind, and from Anne Rice to Robert A Salvador (just to name a few). And even with such names this story stands out as an excellent peice of fiction that I found both extremely engrossing and imaginative. Part of my love for this book might have something to do with the fact that I first read it close to 6 years ago (and have reread it every year since).

The story starts off strong, pulling you in in the first chapter and it doesn't stop to let you catch your breath. The story is mature enough to hold older readers in while simple enough that younger one's can follow it. I am extremely disappointed that there was not (at least to date) a sequel, but, that said I can understand why. I will note however that, as some others may have commented, there is no shortness of sexuality in the book. Its not overbearing, indeed in the context of the book it is a great addition and adds a degree of realism to the story missing from many other children's books.

If you enjoyed this I suggest you take a look at Tamora Pierce and her Circle of Magic series (and subsequent sequels).