King's Dragon (Crown of Stars, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

by Kate Elliott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
The first volume of Crown of Stars, another complex fantasy saga of political and magical intrigue, bodes extremely well. The Kingdom of Wendar is beset by civil war between brother and sister for the throne, by two hostile nonhuman races, by ghosts roaming the streets, and by enough other plots and counterplots to fuel the average Balkan war. Key to successfully resolving the overly fraught situation are Alain, a young prophet who needs to learn his parentage before he can act safely, and Liath, a lifelong fugitive sheltered by her father from worldly knowledge that she must acquire before she can act. The saga's world is exceedingly well built (including a working economy, for instance), its pacing is brisk enough to keep the pages fluttering, and its characters are, at this stage, at least archetypes who may develop into more. This certainly could become one of the best multivolume fantasies--fans, take note! Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
From the author of The Golden Key (with Melanie Rawn and Jennifer Roberson, p. 1108), the first entry in a projected fantasy series. In a Europe-flavored fantasy world, King Henry of Wendar is beset by two powerful enemies: the invading nonhuman Eika and their huge, terrible dogs; and by his half-sister Sabella of Varre, who denies Henry's right to name as his heir his bastard son Sanglant. Young, parentless Alain, seemingly destined for the church, is granted a vision of the Lady of Battles and eventually attaches himself to Count Lavastine--who also keeps large, vicious dogs that, other than the Count himself, only Alain can control. At this point, however, Lavastine, a neutral in the struggle for power, is ensorcelled by Sabella's allies and marches to war against Henry. Meanwhile, Liath, having spent most of her young life with her beloved Da fleeing unknown enemies, is enslaved by churchman Hugh when Da is murdered, leaving Liath unable to pay his debuts. Hugh hopes to grab the book of magic that Da left Liath, but just in time she's recruited by Wolfhere of the King's Eagles. Wolfhere knew Da and suspects Liath has magic abilities; both Alain and Liath will play important parts in the showdown between Sabella and Henry. A creditably self-contained and appealing, modestly engrossing opener, though without much originality or bite. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: DAW (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886777712
• ISBN-13: 978-0886777715
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #137,892 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #9 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( E ) > Elliott, Kate

• This is item 1 in The Crown of Stars Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A strong start to an outstanding series, August 24, 2002

By	M. Smith "cenmad" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up this book on a whim at the library, and ploughed through it and the next three of the series within two weeks. Elliott has developed an intricate, compelling storyline that rewards the attentive reader. Each chapter uncovers some new layer to the onion -- or suggests that one will be uncovered later. This is a story of sweeping scope, with more than seven distinct "main" protagonists, whose individual stories intertwine and separate, then intertwine again. Most of the main pro- and antagonists are fairly clearly good or evil, but there are several important characters hovering somewhere in the middle. This dynamic makes for an engaging plot that doesn't suffer from predictability.

This first book is the slowest of the lot, so far. It does delve heavily into background and history, but it does so for a VERY good reason. Everything you learn in this book is important for the later books, and I found myself in book IV wishing I'd paid better attention back in book II to some chance story a minor character told in passing. The intrigues and hidden manipulations only comes to light slowly, as the protagonists themselves learn the truth. A story of this scope can't be done justice by being told quickly.

As I see it, the books seem to fit the following pattern: book I is foundation, suggesting some greater plot is driving the action; book II shows there is more than one greater plot, and introduces several mysteries; book III slowly unravels a couple of mysteries, but mostly establishes a few new ones and moves the story closer to conclusion; book IV drives clearly toward the series climax and explains several of the mysteries, but leaves more than enough to make you wish book V had been published already.

One note: This first book contains a central plotline of domestic violence and rape. Some readers may find this very disturbing, especially as there's no skipping over those sections without missing too much to continue.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth it! But not the best!, May 5, 2001

By	"stak8" (United States) - See all my reviews

My three favorite authors from this genre are Jordan, Martin, and Tolkein. If you enjoy these authors then you may find this review helpful.

Elliot's characters, plot, and history reflect a feminist tendency that runs strong throughout the series. Two of the protagonist characters are women, one being the hero. The two male protagonist characters are slightly feminine, particularly Alain(even his name sounds like a girl's). On a positive note, Elliot seems to excel at revealing each character's deepest emotions. Additionally, her female characters are well rounded and strong. However, in terms of the world dynamics, Elliot goes overboard. In example Elliot uses many references to Latin(Dariyan) even changing Virgil's Aeneid to Virgilia's Heleneid, which I think is too blatantly feminist. Also, the main deity(ies) are women. While I welcome strong female characters and historical influence, I dislike such an unbalance. Similarly, I don't enjoy totally male dominated stories. If Elliot insists on creating a world with a powerful female element, she could at least have done her readers the service of creating her own history rather than just flipping our world's history(it just seems lazy, and lends discredit to that creative option). If you have gotten this far, then you should buy this book. The plot is addictive and her writing style is adequate. The high points much outweigh the faults in her exciting series of novels. But do not expect a read like that of Tolkein or George R.R. Martin. In terms of enjoyment, I compare Elliot's work to Terry Goodkind. Many people disagree with me and believe Elliot is worthy of Jordan like praise, so read the books. To each his own.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Epic, September 30, 1999

By	EquesNiger (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews

The Kingdom of Wendar is in turmoil. King Henry still holds the crown, but his reign has long been contested by his sister Sabella. There are many eager to flock to her banner, whether from belief in her cause or the hope of personal gain. Internal conflict weakens Wendar's defenses, drawing raiders, human and inhuman, across its borders. Terrifying portents abound and dark spirits walk the land in broad daylight. Two innocents are to be thrust into the midst of the conflict - Alain, a young man granted a vision granted by the Lady of Battles, and Liath, a young woman with the power to change the course of history. Both must discover the truth about themselves before they can accept their fate. For in a war where sorcery, not swords, may determine the final outcome, the price of failure may be more than their own lives.

It has been quite a while since I read a series and thought "damn, it's over!" at the end. The author has built a vast number of interesting characters but, despite the number, one is able to know and relate to each. Each of the characters has their own remarkable flaws and imperfections, and you actaully have opportunities to sympathize with each throughout the series (even the remarkably "evil" ones you think you would never agree with). Unlike the Robert Jordan WoT series which seems to go on and on and on without resolution, Elliot has squeezed a sweeping epic into a (mere) 7 books, and I found myself disappointed when I finished the last of the third book. Fortunately, there are enough open issues, unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts in the end that Elliot could forseeably write another series to "fill in the blanks". I, for one, sincerely hope to see more from this author in the very near future.