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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, September 15, 2003
First a word about this series. It is not a trilogy as such, because there's no overall story arc that binds these volumes together. This could be best called The Adventures of Firekeeper and her Friends, with each new volume being a complete story within itself. However while these are fairly standalone, they do assume character and world knowledge from previous volumes, and so should be read in order. Evidently a book 4 is in the planning also.I have to admit I expected something more from this book. I really liked the first two books in this series, because I enjoyed watching the characters grow as Lindskold presented us with interesting political situations and other problems inherent to her world. However in this book not only did the characters not really grow much, they seemed to be at odds with themselves. Derian, who had been growing into a self-assured counselor for the king, is mostly relegated to the role of lackey. Doc is there just to heal everyone and on rare occasion look wistfully at Elise. Firekeeper spends half the book doing stupid cub things that she seemed to have grown out of in previous books, getting the group into trouble which just extended the plot (which really didn't need it). And why has her speaking regressed? You'd think a year of immersion would give her some improvement since she was able to reach her current point in a matter of weeks. Even Blind Seer loses his playful charm. The plot revolves around Melina, Citrine, various people within New Kelvin's political structure, and Grateful Peace, and frankly I didn't care about them. I thought the plot fairly dreadful. Melina marries the mostly powerless ruler of New Kelvin and binds everyone in sight with her power, and searches for ways to extend her power, while some of them search for ways to dump her. King Tedric finds the most useless way he can fight this threat: sending our intrepid team from the second novel back to the scene. So did I like anything? I liked the ruler of New Kelvin, who shows an interesting POV. I liked Edlin's character growth. There was a small subsection of the book regarding settlers moving into the area west of the mountains and the problems this causes among the animal kingdom. That would have been a terrific novel, but it only takes up a small part of this one. That's about all. I honestly recommend that readers of the series wait for this in paperback if they're going to get it at all.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Returns and Confrontations, August 19, 2003
The Dragon of Despair (2003) is the third novel in the Firekeeper series, following Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart. In the previous volume, Firekeeper and her companions had traveled to New Kelvin to confiscate three magical artifacts taken there by Lady Melina Shield in collusion with agents of the Isles. At least one of the artifacts, a mirror, had exhibited powerful properties and King Tedric had no desire to allow Melina, or anyone else, to acquire such powers. The Hawk Haven party managed to steal the articles with the help of Grateful Peace, a high official in the New Kelvin government, and Firekeeper then carried the items to the Royal Beasts for proper disposition.
In this novel, Hawk Haven learns that Melina has married the Healed One, the hereditary Chief of State of the New Kelvin government. Nobody knows what her intentions are nor how much authority she has in New Kelvin. Even Grateful Peace, who is now living in exile within Hawk Haven, is uncertain about her position, especially since Melina has certain powers to influence the thoughts of others. Consulting his heirs and councilors, King Tedric decides to send a party to New Kelvin under the pretext of establishing trade relations, a party that will consist basically of the persons who gone on the previous mission to New Kelvin, including Firekeeper, Derin Carter, Elise Archer, Sir Jedred Norwood, Edlin Norwood, Wendee Jay, and Elise's maidservant Ninette. When Grateful Peace volunteers to accompany them, he is added to the party in the disguise of a local guide.
Melina's daughter Citrine has become very disturbed by events that occurred while she has held hostage by the pirates and then subsequently abandoned by her mother. Moreover, attempts to break the possessive bond placed on Citrine by Melina have failed. Now the healers have suggested that Citrine's only hope of recovery is to confront her mother, so Citrine is added to the party in disguise as the guide's son.
During this time, another problem is found west of the mountains. A fairly large grouped of pioneers have established a new colony. They have settled on the same ground as Prince Barden's colony and have even named the budding town Bardenville. The Royal Beasts are not pleased and have requested King Tedric, through Firekeeper, to dismantle the town and remove the settlers.
This novel delves deeper into the people and politics of Hawk Haven and New Kelvin. It also explains more about the days when the fire plague killed so many magic users and the remaining colonists were abandoned by their mother countries. In particular, the author shows how many of the customs and governmental institutions in New Kelvin were shaped by the first Healed One, the only magic user to survive the plague, and his expectations that the homeland would soon re-establish control of the colony.
Highly recommended for Lindskold fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures and strange magics.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Going down, August 19, 2003
I waited an entire year for this book to come out---and maybe that's why I was so disappointed.I found the first novel in the series very charming and full of delicious political intrigue. The characters were fun and real, the plot was thick but not mucky, and the action was on-going. Firekeeper was (and still is, I admit) an engaging main character. The second novel, I confess, is kind of a blur. I can't really remember what happened. The action was not so great this time, although the characters were still interesting. The romance b/w Elise and Doc was "sort of" interesting, although since Lindskold didn't pay too much attention to it, I couldn't really connect with it and really enjoy it. I was hoping the third novel would swing around and resemble the first---but no. In fact, it's almost a complete replica of the rather dull action-less second novel (they even venture into the same land and combat the same enemy). Interesting characters like Princess Saphire and King Tedric are barely mentioned---Saphire has even had some spunk taken from her and made PREGNANT. That leaves us with: Grateful Peace---the boring New Kelvinese guy with one arm. You remember him, right? Yeah, didn't think so. Citrine Shield---Sapphire's little sister. Or you could have just given us Sapphire again, thanks. Wendee Jay---I mean, seriously. Who is she, and why do I care?? Elise---Okay, she's still interesting. Hasn't changed a bit, though. Sir Jared (Doc)---The character who's always there but does nothing. That is, he speaks and moves, but we don't care. Derian---Raise your hand if you've been waiting for THREE books now for him to fall in love with Firekeeper. Okay, now put your hand down and keep waiting. And of course there's Firekeeper and Blind Seer. Remember the cool falcon, Elation? Gone. Why? I don't know. Really, I don't. As if to solidify the lack of romance b/w Derian and Firekeeper, Lindskold has Derian "flirting" with a random, nameless New Kelvinese girl whom he hopes to see more of. Wow, I think I'm getting teary-eyed already. Not. As this review is starting to sound peevish, I'd better stop. But hey, I just had to say SOMEthing. Because I honestly was a fan, I really was. Now? I'm not so sure. I can only take so much, you know.
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