Book Description
When Oxford archeologist Mensun Bound—dubbed the “Indiana Jones of the Deep” by the Discovery Channel—teamed up with a financier to salvage a sunken trove of fifteenth-century porcelain, it seemed a dream enterprise. The stakes were high: The Hoi An wreck lay hundreds of feet down in a typhoon-prone stretch of water off the coast of Vietnam known as the Dragon Sea. Raising its contents required saturation diving, a crew of 160, and a fleet of boats. The costs were unprecedented. But the potential rewards were equally high: Bound would revolutionize thinking about Vietnamese ceramics, and his partner would make a fortune auctioning off the pieces. Hired as the project’s manager, Frank Pope watched the tumultuous drama of the Hoi An unfold. In Dragon Sea he delivers an engrossing tale of danger, adventure, and ambition—a fascinating object lesson in what happens when scholarship and money join forces to recover lost treasure.
Customer Reviews:
Dragon Sea - a Riveting Read.......2007-08-17
I loved this book! Frank Pope opens a window to the complex aquatic battleground of treasure hunters and marine arachaeologist, where ambition, gold fever and extreme pressures test men to the limit - physically, mentally and ethically. An excellent true life adventure, bravely told.
Dragon Sea.......2007-07-24
It is a rare writer that can document without dryness, dramatize without histrionics. Frank Pope has managed to span the gap. Dragon Sea provides both an intellectual discussion of marine archeology and artifact without getting bogged down in academic quicksand. He also provides enough on-scene sweat and nerves to keep the reader wondering what's around the next corner from beginning to end. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book and a wealth of information for diving and archeological punters like myself. I had always wondered about the DB29 disaster. Mr. Pope opened a window on it for me without veering off topic.
A book like this should have been written earlier!.......2007-04-23
I thank Frank Pope for writing such a powerful book on the tragic fate of the Hoi An Hoard. Judging from the dearth of book on this important archaeological discovery and the fascinating aspects of Vietnamese ceramics, the book is indeed very timely and does some justice those treasures.
I picked up this book by accident and was riveted for the whole afternoon, until the very last sentence. Pope had a unique perspective on the whole project, and the book has a great balance between more action-based narrative and probing thoughts on the dilemma of money vs. knowledge, as the reader is drawn into the tumultuous months in the sea during the excavations.
I just hope that everyone reading this will appreciate such discovery, and also the importance of preserving the treasures of humankind varied past.
A top pick for a wide range of collections........2007-04-12
DRAGON SEA: A TRUE TALE OF TREASURE, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND GREED OFF THE COAST OF VIETNAM comes from an archaeologist dubbed the 'Indiana Jones of the Deep' by popular TV, who teamed up with a financier to salvage sunken treasure in Vietnam's Dragon Sea. No small venture, this required a fleet of ships and a crew of 160: their efforts would not only result in success but would change thinking about Vietnamese arts. Readers needn't be archaeology students to appreciate this: epic action and adventure reads with the drama of fiction but includes all facts - including insights on Vietnamese culture and arts - making it a top pick for a wide range of collections.
A Real Page Turner.......2007-03-09
Some years ago, I happened on several Ebay auctions of blue and white covered jars and bowls which were part of the Hoi An Hoard. The description said they were 500 years old and had been recovered from the bottom of the South China Sea. I did some quick Internet reading on the Hoi An Hoard and my interest was sparked. I bought several lots of the beautiful pottery which had rested on the sea floor since before Columbus came to the New World. (From reading Dragon Sea I now know that they are pieces of lesser interest and beauty!)
I recently read that a book had been written about the salvage operation. I quickly ordered Dragon Sea. I read it just as quickly. The story of the Hoi An Hoard is a well written, fascinating tale full of bad guys, good guys and really over worked guys. It is the tale of fortunes won and fortunes lost by gambling on the sea and its hidden treasures. Author Frank Pope, who was actually involved in the Hoi An operation, weaves a quick moving story with wonderful characters. The best part is that those characters are real people -- each with an agenda of his own. The book is filled with wonderful detail -- from the spraying of the beer girls to the skin conditions of the saturation divers who worked for more than a month at incredible depths. But Pope's very best descriptions are of being caught at sea when the Dragon Strikes and the crew and barge are caught in the teeth of a major typhoon. You feel as if you are really there -- and are glad you're not. Pope teaches about sunken treasure, saturation diving,archeology and the politics of academia with ease.
I no more than put the book down than my husband snatched it up. He read deep into last night and awoke this morning with his glasses still perched on the end of his nose. Two thumbs up from our household! P.S. I treasure my 500 year old jars from the bottom of the South China Sea even more now that I know the amazing story of suffering, intrigue and greed which brought them to me.
Book Description
A hundred years before Columbus and his fellow Europeans began making their way to the New World, fleets of giant Chinese junks commanded by the eunuch admiral Zheng He and filled with the empire's finest porcelains, lacquerware, and silk ventured to the edge of the world's "four corners." It was a time of exploration and conquest, but it ended in a retrenchment so complete that less than a century later, it was a crime to go to sea in a multimasted ship. In When China Ruled the Seas, Louise Levathes takes a fascinating and unprecedented look at this dynamic period in China's enigmatic history, focusing on China's rise as a naval power that literally could have ruled the world and at its precipitious plunge into isolation when a new emperor ascended the Dragon Throne. During the brief period from 1405 to 1433, seven epic expeditions brought China's "treasure ships" across the China Seas and the Indian Ocean, from Taiwan to the spice islands of Indonesia and the Malabar coast of India, on to the rich ports of the Persian Gulf and down the African coast, China's "El Dorado," and perhaps even to Australia, three hundred years before Captain Cook was credited with its discovery. With over 300 ships--some measuring as much as 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, with upwards of nine masts and twelve sails, and combined crews sometimes numbering over 28,000 men--the emperor Zhu Di's fantastic fleet was a virtual floating city, a naval expression of his Forbidden City in Beijing. The largest wooden boats ever built, these extraordinary ships were the most technically superior vessels in the world with innovations such as balanced rudders and bulwarked compartments that predated European ships by centuries. For thirty years foreign goods, medicines, geographic knowledge, and cultural insights flowed into China at an extraordinary rate, and China extended its sphere of political power and influence throughout the Indian Ocean. Half the world was in China's grasp, and the rest could easily have been, had the emperor so wished. But instead, China turned inward, as suceeding emperors forbade overseas travel and stopped all building and repair of oceangoing junks. Disobedient merchants and seamen were killed, and within a hundred years the greatest navy the world had ever known willed itself into extinction. The period of China's greatest outward expansion was followed by the period of its greatest isolation. Drawing on eye-witness accounts, official Ming histories, and African, Arab, and Indian sources, many translated for the first time, Levathes brings readers inside China's most illustrious scientific and technological era. She sheds new light on the historical and cultural context in which this great civilization thrived, as well as the perception of other cultures toward this little understood empire at the time. Beautifully illustrated and engagingly written, When China Ruled the Seas is the fullest picture yet of the early Ming Dynasty--the last flowering of Chinese culture before the Manchu invasions.
Customer Reviews:
Not much to treasure in this book.......2007-08-27
Louise Levathes had me at "Treasure Fleet." Those two words next to each other inevitably make for a winning combination. But, while she had me at Treasure Fleet, she soon lost me after that. Which is a shame, because the topic is so darn intriguing. What went wrong? I'm not sure. Throughout the reading of the book, I kept asking myself the same. I wondered if maybe it was the author or the sources or some other unknown factor. All in all, however, the book just was not that interesting--which frustrated me, since I thought it should be. Here's what it felt like. It felt like Louise Levathes had enough information for a nice long National Geographic article, but not near enough for a book. So, to fill in the missing gaps, she added a bunch of pre-history and cultural quirks--many of which had absolutely nothing to do with the era where China ruled the seas. On occasion such offenses are forgivable, especially if the asides are interesting, but I found them to be annoying divergences. Then, when Levathes gets to the meat of the tale, the actual Treasure Fleet, it is surprising how little she actually tells about the treasure fleet's voyages. Certainly, they take several chapters worth and destinations are revealed, foreign countries dabbled on, but it feels so empty of actual, researched material. I understand if Levathes is limited in the information she could have garnered about these expeditions, but if that is the case, it would have been nice to explain the lack of resources to the reader so that the scarcity of knowledge on the voyages can be explained. Here's what I would have liked to see. I would have liked the author to skip past the distant, pre-history of China--or at least summarized the essentials in one, short chapter, and then moved on to the Treasure Fleet, dwelling there for the rest of the book. This could be filled in with accounts from the fleet or from the countries visited or compared with European progress at the time. That is what I would have enjoyed reading. To give Levathes credit, she does drop interesting tidbits here and there, such as the constant philosophical struggles between the Confucians and the Eunuchs in the royal court and how the personalities of the Chinese rulers controlled the fate of the fleet. But those things are verdant oases in an otherwise colorless text. It's possible that there are books out there (or articles, even) that do a better job presenting the world of the Chinese treasure fleet, but it will probably take a while before I'll dare pick them up.
Interesting topic with complicated explication.......2007-07-20
I bought this book because of the long-term interest in the treasure fleets. I have known of their existence for 30 years but did not really know much about them. This book provided a great deal of information and context about an interesting topic. I wonder, however, whether someone who did not already know some Chinese history would be able to follow the narrative. She covers an amazing amount of ground, and I would think that it would be easy to lose track of who was who and what was what. So I would highly recommend the book to someone who is interested in the topic and has some background in Chinese history. I would be more cautious in recommending it to a general reader with no real knowledge of China.
Nice book on Chinese history.......2007-03-19
This book is really a history of the Ming dynasty, with background material of Chinese history before their ascendence. It emphasizes the treasure fleet policies of the Ming dynasty, but there is much more in this book than that.
It is great for the general reader, because you really don't need to bring much to this book, it supplies everything you need to enjoy and benefit from it.
I was dissapointed that there was a lot less information about the voyages than I would have expected from a literate people like the Chineses, but, as explained in the book, all the logs of Zheng He were destroyed in a political blacklash. They were called
"deceitful exaggerations of bizarre things far removed from the testimony of people's eyes and ears."
"The expedition.... wasted tens of myriads of money and grain and ... although he returned with wonderful, precious things, what benefit was it to the state..... Even if the old archives were still preserved, they should be destroyed in order to suppress a repitition of these things."
This sort of attitude became govt policy, and helps to explain China's stagnation.
The most annoying part of the book, and only a small part thankfully, was the author's uncalled for unflattering comparisions between China's enlightened foreign policies and those of the West, including the USA, which, at this time, did not even exist. Her grand conclusion, that China's lack of an aggressive naval presence in the world was a good thing for China, as opposed to the European policies of a later age, seems bizarre in light of Chinese history after the suspension of its outward looking maritime policies.
Afterall, the resulting economic, political, and military stagnation lead to the decline and fall of the Ming dysnasty.
But, ignore the silly politics and just read and enjoy.
Zheng He: A Potential Promoter of "Third World" Unity.......2006-08-26
Louise Levathes' popular history WHEN CHINA RULED THE SEAS is an excellent book, whose star is naturally Zheng He. Although she avoids Gavin Menzies' fantastic theory that he reached the Americas, she demonstrates very well the greatness of his accomplishments as admiral of the Ming fleet, despite the fact that he had grown up with a handicap which fortunately few suffer from today: at a very early age he had been castrated. Zheng He seems to symbolize in his person and his achievements the potential for "Third World" unity. He was both a Chinese and a Muslim; and his voyages brought China, Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and Africa together in a vast network of trade, on the eve of European "discovery" of this world. One can only speculate about how strong an alliance against European colonialism could have been forged had the Yong Le Emperor (Zhu Di) not been foolish enough to squander his resources on a senseless war in Vietnam and a lavish new capital in Beijing, thus bringing all his projects, including Zheng He's missions, into disrepute with the Confucian scholar-bureacrats. Levathes' book compares favorably with Edward Dreyer's more recent and stolidly dull academic biography of Zheng He.
Interesting, informative, and factual.......2006-05-18
Unlike the book "1421," Levathes's book sticks with the known facts and provides more details about the Treasure Fleet and Ming China. Levathes did a lot of research and makes a compelling presentation, ending the book with an extensive notes and bibliography section. The text is interspersed with illustrations and photos. It's too bad this book is so hard to find in bookstores and libraries. Get it from Amazon and then donate it to your library (if you can give it up)!
Average customer rating:
- Cave of Doom
- my son loved the book
- My 8 yr old son loved it
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Class Trip to the Cave of Doom #3 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
Kate McMullan
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
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A Wedding for Wiglaf? #4 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
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Revenge of the Dragon Lady #2 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
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Knight for a Day #5 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
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The New Kid at School #1 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
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Sir Lancelot, Where Are You? #6 (Dragon Slayers' Academy)
ASIN: 0448431106 |
Book Description
The Dragon Slayers' Academy is back-and it's bigger and better than ever! The books have new covers and are now 112 pages long. Expanded from the old 96-page format, they now feature a fun Dragon Slayers' Academy Yearbook at the end of each story, with funny profiles of the faculty, the staff, and, especially, the students of D.S.A. All the things kids want to know about their favorite characters are revealed: their silly nicknames, inner secrets, wildest dreams, and lofty plans for the future!
The Dark Forest just doesn't seem like the best place for a class trip. But that's where Seetha the dragon hid her gold, so that's where Wiglaf and the other kids from D.S.A. have to go-even if it means entering the booby-trapped Cave of Doom!
Illustrated by Bill Basso.
Customer Reviews:
Cave of Doom.......2007-04-14
In this installment Wiglaf's headmaster is angry with him because he didn't bring home any gold in the last book. The headmaster takes the students on a class trip to the Cave of Doom to find Seetha's gold, and much Rin and Stimpie cartoon humor is used along the way. Of course Wiglaf and his friends find the gold and are given little credit for doing so at the end. This one is a little better than the first two, some of the stale humor being replaced by new ideas for amusement, and thankfully the plot does not center around an imposing dragon with a silly weakness that the kids are trying to discover the whole length of the book. These are really better suited to 6 to 10 year olds, and the sheer number of books and speed at which they were put out should alert parents that these are basically glorified comic books or saturday morning cartoons set to prose. Good for beginning chapter book readers who are being weened off of TV, but if you are looking for something to read after Harry Potter I'd suggest these:
Abacar the Wizard and the Dark Lord of Dragons: Book Two of the Abacar the Wizard series
Abacar the Wizard: A Tale of Magic, War, Elves, Goblins, Orcs, Monsters, Fantasy, and Adventure
J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore
my son loved the book.......2000-05-05
I disagree with Moira from Detriot. My son & nephew love the Dragon Slayers series. Getting boys to love books is a challenge. These books sparked a natural high in them. They've both been caught with flashlights reading after bedtime and lights out.
My 8 yr old son loved it.......2000-05-05
I disagree with the previous review, my son loved the book. His cousin, age 7, also loved it. Harry Potter is too much for this age. Dragon Slayer's is perfect. If you find a boy with a flashlight reading after lights out, it's a hit.
Book Description
A mystery as old as the desert sandsâ¦
When teenagers Jay and Lila Cooper and their archaeologist father travel to Nepur, an uninviting land of deserts and danger, they must search to uncover the truth behind an ancient legend. Locals claim that inside a dark cavern called the Dragon’s Throat is a forbidden Door that brings certain death to anyone who tries to open it.
Armed with the knowledge that God is more powerful than any legend or curse, Jay and Lila plunge down into the Dragon’s Throat, determined to find out what awaits them on the other side of the Door. This daring tale will have you on the edge of your seat.
Customer Reviews:
Great for all ages!.......2006-11-02
This book (being Peretti's first to be published) is probably one of the best christian fiction books for a kid. It entertians while it give a good message. It has a big twist, and I must point out that peretti did a great job on character detail and plot! A hands on book for all ages that will have you (if your a kid) Under the covers with a flash light and this book up all night, same thing with an adult (exept they probably won't need a flash light). Everyone needs to read this book, now (don't take that as a threat. But this one will be one of those books that you will always remember.)
Now get ready becuase your going to be on the edge of your seat, and at the end fall off of it! Read this book, becuase if you don't, yoo are going to miss out on alot!
Over all, a must read for all ages!!!
Very Good Book.......2006-09-24
I thought this book was very good. It had me at the edge of my seat. It was very faith-building and I did a Bible study on it. Every kid should read this book.
Good vs Evil - the next round.......2006-02-07
While visiting a book fair recently, I came across a whole pile of young adult fiction and picked up titles randomly without even reading the back covers. I had no clue therefore that Frank Peretti specializes in Christian fiction, but it didn't take me long to discover that this is no ordinary fiction series.
A combination of Indiana Jones and the Hardy Boys, the main characters are Dr. Cooper, an archaeologist and explorer of deep religious conviction, and his two children Jay and Lila, who accompany him on his expeditions as his assistants.
This first adventure takes them to the nation of Nepur, where a mysterious door stands in a deep cavern. Local folklore indicates that the place is cursed, but that a treasure beyond belief lies waiting behind door number one.
The Coopers are tested by the greed of local authorities, local legend, and a Shaman with beliefs different to their own Christian doctrine. The story essentially focuses on the constant battle between good and evil, and while the plot is good, there are too many cliches and it's a tad heavy in places where the dogma is laid on a bit too thickly.
Amanda Richards, February 6, 2006
Kept the attention of my ADHD son..........2005-07-01
My nearly-8-year-old son had no idea I'd ordered this book, but after I read the teaser on the back cover he couldn't wait for me to read it to him. We read this book in two sittings (he kept wanting more), and it was great not having the TV on. I loved looking at him while I read this to him...he was so engaged!
I also appreciated how this book wasn't preachy. The theme of "God is greater" and "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world" was weaved throughout the story so well. My son would stop me and tell me what he thought would happen, and he wasn't always able to predict correctly. I like that this story wasn't predictable 100% of the time.
After we finished, we looked up the scriptures referred to in the last chapters of the book. Another great conversion followed...
For those parents of younger readers, this is a great read-aloud book. Be prepared to explain what some words mean, but that just lends itself to another learning opportunity (can you tell I'm a teacher?) Most of the time there are enough context clues for the kids to figure out the meaning of the word, but you may want to have a dictionary handy for the harder-to-explain vocabulary.
I can't wait for the other Cooper Kids Adventure books to start arriving so we can have some more all-night reading fests!
Hit Its Mark.......2004-10-30
My boys enjoyed hearing this story read aloud to them. It is tense with suspense that is combined with a realistic adventure. Although the ending felt slightly less satisfying than the rest of the book, Peretti was able to give biblical concepts and a great story for the 9-14 age group. This book as a whole hit its mark in the lives of my boys.
Book Description
Fun and safety go hand in hand as a little girl and a dragon spend a hot summer day at the beach. The two friends build castles in the sand, splash and swim, and race a boatload of pirates to a hidden treasure. As they play, the girl teaches her irrepressible friend to be water smart. The winning combination of adventure and safety information - including The Dragon's Water Safety Rhyme and the checklist of rules at the end of the book - provide the perfect starting point for safety discussions.
Book Description
Join Wiglaf and the rest of the gang at the Dragon Slayers' Academy and find out what medieval mischief they encounter! Titles include #1 The New Kid at School; #2 Revenge of the Dragon Lady; #3 Class Trip to the Cave of Doom; and #4 A Wedding for Wiglaf?
Customer Reviews:
If it can get my daughter to read . . ........2007-03-27
My daughter is a ten-year-old, dyslexic, reluctant reader, so any book that makes her want to read more has got to have something wonderful going for it.
She started with #9--97 Ways to Train a Dragon--and now she wants to read the rest of the series.
Thank you, Kate McMullan, for giving my reluctant reader a reason to read.
Awesome.......2006-12-22
My 10 year old starting reading these books at the end of 4th grade. We kind of just fell into this series. He does not enjoy reading at all, but these kept him interested. He was at the end of book 3 at the end of 4th grade. Did not read them at all during the summer, But this year (School starts in Sept. We are in NY) He has read to volume 12. I hope she keeps writing so he keeps reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Funny, thrilling, well-written, and full of colorful characters.......2005-12-14
I enjoy reading the volumes in this series almost as much as my 5-year-old son enjoys hearing them read. Kate McMullan is a talented writer who displays wonderful wit and skill but also a great deal of heart. The Dragon Slayers' Academy books are a mixture of Harry Potter, Roald Dahl, and even (dare I say it?) the old Harvard Lampoon parody, "Bored of the Rings".
I should warn that my son does occasionally have difficulty following some of the dialogue and narratives (at which points, I simply pause to offer quick explanations or glosses). Also, there have been a couple of spots where gore becomes a concern (for example, the executioner's song in book 3).
The lively illustrations as well as the humorous "DSA Yearbook" (including a "campus" map) are great bonuses.
I think that this book (and the series) is an excellent step along the path toward, say, Harry Potter or the Hobbit, but will also be treasured (and re-read) on its own right.
Dragon Slayers' Academy #1-4.......2005-12-02
These books are hilarious. My 7 year old son and I both love them. My only disappointment is that I ordered volumes 1-4 listed as a Hardback volume. (ISBN 0-448-43976-x) However, it is not a hardcover as listed, but a slipcase boxed set of 4 paperbacks.
Book Description
With Dragon's Winter, two-time World Fantasy Award-winner Elizabeth A. Lynn made "a triumphant return"* to the fantasy realm after over a decade. Now, she returns to her imaginative medieval world-where a fearsome dragon lord struggles between ruling with might and ruling with justice.
Customer Reviews:
lacks focus.......2007-03-14
"Dragon's Treasure" is a meandering tale of . . . of . . . well, that is the problem. The tale starts with a young lady having an affair with a Lord, who can shape change into a dragon. Discovering she becomes pregnant, she dumps him to run off and marry someone else, fearing he will murder their child. By the next chapter, she is dead and her son born & grown to a bandit leader. His half sister lives with him & the grandfather & a bandit gang, who attack the wrong person and draw the wrath of the current Lord (another dragon shape changer), who burns down the whole nearby area, killing many of his own soldiers and almost none of the bandits. This doesn't offend anyone -- one of the few strong points of the book; if Global Warming turns out to be a hoax like the Coming Ice Age was, don't expect the politicians to appologise. The half sister goes off to live in poverty, interacting with her poor neighbors, and really doing nothing in particular (at great length) for the rest of the book. Her brother goes off to be a bandit elsewhere, committing atrocities. The dragon Lord goes flying. And so on.
This book wanders without focus. It is like walking in the woods on game trails. Every now and then, you notice that your path has quite disappeared. Then you find another, sure it is the real trail, but no, it too fades away. The writing is uninspired; the characters lifeless; and the plot non-existant.
Lynn's early books were quite well written. Try one of them instead.
Frustrating..........2007-01-09
Although Dragon's Treasure showed a great deal of promise, and the third book might be worth the read, it fell short in a great many places for me. Pro's were 1) not an overly long read; 2) character building was very real; 3) beautiful writing style I enjoyed. Con's: 1) No single main character. The story, told from the perspectives of a few instead of many would of been more effective. 2) Random violence that, although building depth in characters, was yucky to read through. 3) The sexual relationship between the Dragon Lord and his male singer was weird for me. I was in no way prepared when it cropped up in the middle.
Dragon's treasure.......2007-01-05
not a bad second part of a story. but lacked the excitement of the first.
Medieval fantasy.......2006-11-04
If you like grand adventures where you are transported to a different place with magic and dragons, this might be a book for you. Elizabeth Lynn writes with a wonderful style, full of vivid images and violence manageable for the delicate minded. This book is the sequel of Dragon's Winter, which I recommend you read first. The first book is a grand adventure about the stealing of something of great value to the dragon lord -taken by an evil wizard and guarded by orc-type creatures. Dragon's Treasure is mostly about the life surrounding the dragon lord's land: its bandits, its soldiers, the young wolf-boy and a sweet herbalist who is in love with the dragon lord. It is a music-filled land, whose lord is good and fair. The tension throughout the book has to do with the dragon lord's exacting justice as well as his potential explosive temper -not good for a dragon! It's a book of adventure and romance. Enter the world of Elizabeth Lynn; she weaves wonderful tales.
Great Book, but not for everyone.......2006-01-18
Dragon's Treasure is probably one of my all-time favorite fantasy books, but it's definitely not for everyone. Readers who want their blood and gore, high packed action sequences, and cookie-cutter plot will probably not like this book. It's far different from Lynn's first novel in the series: Dragon's Winter. There's no excessively evil bad guy, a huge war, or any real violence. Instead, the book concentrates on character development, relationships, and the complexities of daily life for both royalty and servants alike. Lynn's unique simplistic writing style makes it a fascinating read nonetheless, and it does a great job in setting readers up for the next book in the series - which will hopefully come soon. Overall, I preferred Dragon's Treasure over Dragon's Winter, but highly recommend both.
Average customer rating:
- A nice story of intrigue and adventure (spoilers)
- Can you locate the lost treasure ship?
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The Treasure of the Onyx Dragon (Choose Your Own Adventure #105)
R. A. Montgomery
Manufacturer: Skylark
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0553286102
Release Date: 1990-08-01 |
Customer Reviews:
A nice story of intrigue and adventure (spoilers).......2006-02-13
One of the better CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE books, TREASURE OF THE ONYX DRAGON earns points for being logically consistent. What you learn in each path fits in nicely with the other ones and they never contradict. To learn all the backstory and solve all the puzzles requires several tries, you don't get to learn everything by taking one path. The choices are also pretty nice, if a bit easy; the right course of action is usually fairly obvious, though sometimes the bold, foolhardy course is the right one.
This book also has a nice atmosphere, but how could it not? Archaelogists, a gang of burglars, an international terrorist group, a Chinese smuggler and his family, a mysterious tribe of Native Americans, and a ghost ship. That's what you call a cast.
I only have two gripes. While it is possible to find the Star of Asia, the most massive emerald ever found, you don't get to keep it; you turn it over to someone else. The only treasure you can keep for yourself are some gold coins from the Onyx Dragon. And you never find out exactly why your father disappeared.
But aside from those, this is definitely an enjoyable book.
Can you locate the lost treasure ship?.......2004-10-07
From the back...You're spending the summer with your aunt Lydia on Orcas Island, in the Pacific Northwest. You've always been curious about the island's legend of the Onyx Dragon, a treasure ship that mysteriously sank off the coast over one hundred years ago. When you stumble upon an old letter, you decide to search for the ship and its precious cargo-the infamous emerald known as the Star of Asia. The letter provides you with three clues. Where should you look first?
Average customer rating:
- Disappointing
- The First Three Were Better
- Disappointed!
- I hope she writes a fifth book
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The Wizard's Treasure (Dragon Nimbus #4 )
Irene Radford
Manufacturer: DAW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Renegade Dragon (Dragon Nimbus History)
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The Loneliest Magician (Dragon Nimbus)
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The Perfect Princess (Dragon Nimbus)
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The Last Battlemage (Dragon Nimbus History)
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The Dragon's Touchstone (Dragon Nimbus History)
ASIN: 0886779138
Release Date: 2000-10-10 |
Book Description
The complex fantasy tapestry of Irene Radford's acclaimed Dragon Nimbus series comes to a thrilling climax-as journeyman magicians Marcus and Robb, on a quest to find the missing dragons of Coronnan, are trapped in the workings of an ancient spell.
Praise for the Dragon Nimbus series:
"Plenty of popular elements: an intelligent cat, an en-chanted wolf, a redheaded witch, a missing prince, the apprentice mage with misunderstood powers, and, of course, dragons."-Locus
"An incredible story of courage and belief...will soon take its place among the greatest of fantasy epics."-Affaire de Coeur
"A first-rate fantasy adventure...Radford continues to grow in stature as a storyteller, weaving an intricate tale of magic, politics and romance to keep us spellbound."-Romantic Times
• 4th and final novel in Radford's acclaimed and popular Dragon Nimbus series
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2001-07-07
After reading the first three books in this series, I expected the fourth to be just as good as the last three. It surprised me, though.
First off, Jaylor and Brevelan-who were basically the main characters in the first three books-were barely mentioned. They were only included when Darville or Jack needed advice on a problem. Marcus and Robb who were secondary characters in the third book suddenly became the main characters. Secondly, the book also left a lot of unanswered questions. What exactly happens with Jack and Katrina? Do the ever discover Lyman's secret? What happens with the situation in SeLennica? Or right in Coronnan with Darville and Mikka? The book ended abruptly, with no epilogue to even tell you what would happen in the lives of her main characters. It seemed to me that this book was hurridly finished, with no care or thought given to how the character's lives who many followed so faithfully in the first three books were affected after Marcus and Robb and the old monastary. Foes were still left alive, if not sane, and as I stated before, many question as to the lives of Jaylor, Brevelyn, Jack, Katrina, Darville, Mikka, and all the others remain to be answered. I hope and expect a fifth book in this series. So, to all the readers who have so diligently followed the series as I have, I warn them not to get their hopes up to high, because this book does not live up to its predessors.
The First Three Were Better.......2001-03-14
That's not to say that this one was horrible. I just did not find it quite as interesting as the others. This book mostly revolves around Marcus and Robb. Senior Magician Jaylor had sent the two young journeyman on a mission to bring the dragons of Coronnan back to the kingdom. On their journey, the two magicians are trapped by a spell set to protect a jealous ghost's treasure. Back in the kingdom, Jack is sworn to free the Queen from the cat personality that has been sharing her body and to take his love, Katrina, back to her home land of SeLenicca. While I did not find this book to be as interesting as the other three, it continues the story of the dragons of Coronnan. I'm sure it's a necessary part in the ongoing series, and the ending was rather satisfying.
Disappointed!.......2000-12-06
I found this book to be a big disapointment. To be honest, I found the other books in the series were o.k., not great but not bad. The author's use of magic is all over the place with no rhyme or reason. Her more interesting characters, Brevelan, Jaylor, Rejiia, et al. are either just mentioned or are relegated to cameo roles. The two magicians in the book took forever to figure out how to break the spell...I knew how within the first page or two. She should have wrapped up the series with the Lonliest Magician.
I hope she writes a fifth book.......2000-10-24
I have read all of Irene Radford's Dragon Nimbus and Dragon Nimbus History books. I fell in love with them instantly. Like all books I had my favorite characters and there were characters that I didn't really like. But to my surprise I'm wishing she'd write a fifth book in this series so I can read more about the characters I didn't used to like as well as the ones I'd always loved.
I only had two problems with this last book. First, she seemed to focus mainly on two characters that had minuscule parts in the first three books, when I feel she had plenty of other characters that I had grown to love to write about, however I did grow to enjoy reading about these characters as well. Secondly, to fully understand this book you really need to read the Dragon Nimbus History Series first. There are at least three characters mentioned in more than just passing, to say more than this might ruin the ending and I don't want to do that to potential readers.
I hope Irene Radford left open some aspects of the story and added new ones in order to allow her to write more on this time of the Dragon Nimbus. I will be forever looking for new novels by her. Including those promised on her website about a time before the History trilogy.
I highly recommend this and all others written by Irene Radford.
Books:
- Dragon Wing (The Death Gate Cycle, Book 1)
- Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
- Energetic Anatomy and Physiology (Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy, Volume 1)
- Exiles Vol. 3: Out of Time (X-Men)
- Eye of Heaven (Dirk & Steele, Book 5)
- Falls the Shadow
- Fugitive Prince: The Wars of Light and Shadow (Third Part) (Alliance of Light/Janny Wurts, 1st Bk)
- Fundamentals of Physiology: A Human Perspective (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac®)
- GetBackers Volume 8 (Getbackers (Graphic Novels))
- Gone with the Wind
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