The Ring of Five Dragons (The Pearl, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Eric Van Lustbader (Author) "Sixteen years-a lifetime-later, Bartta, now a small, dark, hunched figure not unlike a lorg, found herself on the same path..." (more)
Key Phrases: ion mace, cloudy rakkis, salamuuun trade, Nith Sahor, Kinnnus Morcha, Olnnn Rydddlin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Eric Van Lustbader leads off his Pearl series by mixing science fiction and fantasy into an exciting adventure with The Ring of Five Dragons. Although much of the book's mythology is standard fantasy fare, Lustbader creates intriguing and conflicted characters and spins a complex world of religion, magic, and technology around them.

The Ring of Five Dragons tells the tale of the people of Kundala, who have suffered for 101 years under the oppression of the alien invaders, the V'ornn. The Kundalan people are treated as slaves by the technologically superior and Nazi-like V'ornn, who seek to dominate them and deplete the planet's resources. But even the V'ornn have masters.

The Gyrgon are mysterious technomages who rule the V'ornn and have their own agenda--they want to find the source of the Kundalans' magic. To discover the secret, they must first find the Ring of Five Dragons, which is said to open the Storehouse. It has been written that untold treasures rest in the Storehouse, perhaps including the sacred Pearl. Now only the prophesied Dar Sala-at, who was born at both ends of the cosmos, can save and restore hope to the oppressed Kundalan people.

The Ring of Five Dragons follows the path of many fantasy series, with a prophecy to drive the action and a powerful hero to save the day. However, Lustbader writes rousing action scenes and gives his characters plenty of complex issues to deal with. He nicely switches between the V'ornn intrigue and the struggle of the Dar Sala-at, offering a surprise or two along the way. The Ring of Five Dragons is a satisfying read that sets up a good foundation for the rest of the Pearl series and that includes plenty of untied threads to weave together for future adventures. --Kathie Huddleston --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

An imaginative, otherworldly culture clash between technology and spirituality fires this ambitious first novel in a projected multivolume epic fantasy from bestseller Lustbader (Angel Eyes; French Kiss; etc.). Under the oppressive rule of the technologically superior V'ornn, the spiritually evolved people of Kundala have suffered a century of enforced slavery, wondering why their goddess Miina has abandoned them. The militaristic Gyrgon technomages, members of a V'ornn caste, yearn for the secrets of Kundalan magic, yet their misuse of the lost Ring of Five Dragons could be cataclysmic. Gifted in healing and mystical arts, the twin Ramahan priestesses, Giyan and Bartta, know they must locate and protect the prophesied savior, Dar Sala-at, "the Chosen One of Miina who would find The Pearl and use it to free the Kundalan from their bondage to the V'ornn." The twins head a huge cast an appendix lists 30 major characters that parades against the backdrop of Lustbader's richly detailed tapestry, with its complex plotting, fluid action writing and vivid descriptive passages. Another appendix provides a pronunciation guide to the V'ornn language, but a much-needed lexicon to Lustbader's litany of curiously coined words (cthauros, laaaddis, numaaadis) is unfortunately absent a minor quibble, since both newcomers to Lustbader and his ardent admirers will champion this novel as a potent portal to fabulous mythic realms. (June 4)Forecast: Lustbader's international reputation, with his titles translated into more than 20 languages, guarantees more than enough readers to warrant this 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (July 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812572335
• ISBN-13: 978-0812572339
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #296,938 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars And this was PUBLISHED?!, December 13, 2003

By	"rkcontreras" (Edgewood, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring of Five Dragons (The Pearl) (Hardcover)

Lustbader takes an intriguing idea and a decent story and ruins it with some of the worst writing I've seen in years. We're subjected to heavy-handed exposition, stilted, unbelievable dialog (REGENT'S SON'S FRIEND TO REGENT'S SON: "Your father is the second of the Ashera dynasty and you will succeed him, and your son will succeed you." REGENT'S SON: "Yes, Kurgan, and now that you've told me a fact I know perfectly well, the reader knows it too!"), abrubt, distracting point-of-view changes, bad TV sci-fi melodrama, and characters who do things convenient to the plot, rather than what someone would really do in those circumstances. Say, for example, the girl who's rescued from a rapist, then hangs around to watch rapist and rescuer do battle. Duh!

And then one of the main characters changes from a male V'ornn, the conquering race, to a female Kundalan, one of the conquered people. The guy evinces convincing initial horror at the transformation, then promptly assumes the behaviors and values of a Kundalan girl, with a few token flashes of his old personality sprinkled in here and there. I mean, really, where's the conflict and torment such a catastrophic change would create in a person? What we end up with is not a dominant male imprisoned in a slave-girl's body, but instead two different characters!

I tried really hard to read the whole book, but had all I could stand after plowing through half of it. I'm disappointed that a reputable publisher like Tor would inflict this kind of dreck on readers. Surely there are plenty of writers out there who not only can tell a good story, but who also know their craft. After 30 years of reading fantasy, can the genre have come to this?

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly different!, July 12, 2001

By	David Rasquinha (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ring of Five Dragons (The Pearl) (Hardcover)

Ring is a refreshingly different entry in the fantasy sweepstakes with Lustbader breaking away from the stereotyped battle between a group of innocents and an imprisoned "Dark One" aided by a band of apostates. For one, the scale of this series is galactic. The drama is played out on a single planet, but the key protagonists come from different star systems and in fact are ethnically very different. On one hand are the peaceful, almost passive Kundalan and on the other hand the aggressive, oppressive V'ornn. The V'ornn, as part of their history, have warred with and eradicated numerous other planets at the bidding of their mysterious technomage lords the Gyrgon. V'ornn society is male dominated and strictly stratified into merchants, warriors, workers and women. The Gyrgon themselves are a kind of super-caste who direct the actions of the V'ornn in a quest for an unknown goal. This quest has brought V'ornn and Gyrgon to Kundala where they oppress the peaceful Kundalan in a savage campaign of suppression. The Kundalan, unable to resist the superior might of the V'ornn, are driven to questioning the old gods and traditions of Kundala, which kept them prosperous and happy, yet were of no avail in the face of the V'ornn assault. Into this long dark night of the Kundalan soul comes a prophesied savior who may be able to restore the balance. That is the bare bones of the plot; however Lustbader brings a number of innovations that make this story special. First, the world of Kundala and the lifestyles of Kundalan and V'ornn are very well depicted, so much so that the reader can easily picture the scenes. Second, in keeping with some of his earlier writings, Lustbader brings a large dollop of mysticism to Ring. The blend of religion and sorcery is very well handled and the mystic element shapes the story. Third, social interactions within and across boundaries are very well painted. For all their external differences, the politics, lusts and feuds of V'ornn, Gyrgon and Kundalan alike are eminently human! For a change, women do play a more than ornamental role and in fact the unusual male-female dichotomy of its main protagonist should make future volumes very interesting indeed. And make no mistake, there will be more volumes! This book is just the setting of the stage (in fact it's ending hangs in the air) and the main story is yet to develop. A very promising first volume of a possible series (though of course this is really not Lustbader's fantasy debut - remember the excellent Sunset Warrior trilogy). Highly recommended.

46 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 21, 2001

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ring of Five Dragons (The Pearl) (Hardcover)

Over a century ago, the vicious V'ornn conquered the peaceful Kundala as the military superiority and the amoral ability to kill overwhelmed the more spiritual people. Brutally enslaved by their conquerors, the Kundala cannot understand why the Goddess Miina abandoned them. The younger Kundala are leaving the ancient beliefs for a new religion as the V'ornn force their culture on the losers with little counter absorption.

Unlike their drones, the V'ornn leadership covet whatever is hidden inside the Kundalan Storehouse where they expect all sorts of sorcery secrets to be found, including eternal life. However they need to find the RING OF FIVE DRAGONS to open the door to the mystical storehouse. If they succeed, will the V'ornn obtain their desires, will they set in motion a doomsday scenario destroying everyone, or will they inadvertently begin the fulfilling of a prophecy that forecasts a Kundalan freedom fighter leading a resistance?

When the RING OF FIVE DRAGONS concentrates on the social interactions and upheavals between the two distinct societies, the novel is a superior fantasy tale. That part of the story line is incredibly insightful as it feels like the German blitzkrieg of Europe, especially when the bellicose V'ornn impact the culture of the pastoral Kundalan. When the story line returns to traditional epic fantasy, it retains its high level of quality and remains a fun to read adventure, but the plot is not any different from some of the other well-written genre tales. Eric Van Lustbader has written a fabulous book that fantasy readers will find entertaining and insightful, but could have been a cultural milestone if it stayed the interrelationship course.

Harriet Klausner