Firedrake (Dragonrealm)

Book Description

The New York Times bestselling fantasy author Richard A. Knaak brings to print an epic realm of magic and intrigue! In a land ruled by the shape-lifting Dragon Kings, Cabe Bedlam is hunted for both the legacy he represents and the future he may bring. Yet, dragons may be the least of the dangers, for in a land drenched with sorcery, Cabe's very legacy may be what destroys him!

Customer Reviews:

Great Start.......2005-08-27

I loved Knaak's Legend of Huma for the Dragonlance setting. It is how I first got to know him. Some of his other writing is hit or miss for me, but I loved this book. It is a quick read, but a great start to a very interesting world of sword and sorcery. If you like his Dragonlance work, you will certainly love this.

Dragons Rule in this book........2003-06-06

Lets face it I am not a big fan of fantasy books but this one I found to be a pleaser to read. I loved the way the Dragons where not portrayed as stupid animals but as cunning if not evil for the most part rulers.

I read this a few years ago and became fascinated with the way it showed the dragons way of life and culture. I enjoyed reading it then and pleased to see it back in print.

Food for the imagination!.......2003-06-02

Let's get straight to what you want to know, why this book is so good. You do have the typical conflict between good and evil, wars are waged and light seems as though it will fall. There are powerful warlocks abound, a beautiful enchantress, and shapeshifting Dragon Kings. But as usual, something unexpected occurs, and so the forces of evil are thwarted once again. The thing about this novel, is that the unexpected really is unexpected. Knaak creates a plot filled with twists and turns, not to mention fantastical concepts that I have not seen paralleled in all of my readings. I give this book a five purely on its ability to drive thought and imagination. Once you get past some of the rather unimaginative names (i.e. the gold dragon is named Gold, the black Black, and so on and so forth) then you are free to enjoy a magical ride of intrigue and suspense.

Dragonrealm Expert reviews Firedrake.......2002-06-25

I've read all of the Dragonrealm series which consists of The Shrouded Realm, Dragon Tome, Firedrake, Ice Dragon, Children of the Drake, Shadow Steed, Wolfhelm, The Crystal Dragon, and The Dragon Crown. Each of these are spectacular fantasy books, and Firedrake is by far the best work of the bunch. There are many well developed characters, and several good storylines going on at once which all come together for an outstanding climactic end. Most definitely one of my favorite books. Much better than any other Fantasy stuff that I've read including AD&D.

One of my first forays into Sci-Fi / Fantasy.......2001-12-02

All right, I read this book when I was about 9. It was my very first, real fantasy book, and there are very few authors in my opinion who can even come close to Knaak. He is still one of my all time favorite authors (he and Feist, not to mention Roberson, Brooks and Lackey are among the top ten), and I still own my battered old paperback of Firedrake I've had since I was nine years old. I am now 22, and a fantasy artist. Knaak has been a major influence on my tastes in artwork, reading material, and the like, and I never get tired of reading his works.

At this point, I own the entire Dragonrealm series (including the Origin of the Dragonrealm series), and am hoping he'll pick it up from where he left off on the Horse King. Those half-human, half-Dragon people sound very interesting, and I'd love to see more of them.

Average customer rating:

A bit stark in style for my tastes

Lean, mean book for lean, mean hero

HISTORICAL FICTION AT IT'S BEST

The first by one of the best

A Symbolic Comet

The Firedrake
Cecelia Holland
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0595175821

Book Description

Cecelia Holland's first novel follows the career of an Irish mercenary knight who joins the army of William the Conqueror and fights at the Battle of Hastings.

Customer Reviews:

A bit stark in style for my tastes.......2005-06-03

The Firedrake tells the story of an Irish knight whose latest paycheck arrives fighting for the Duke of Flanders. As part of the Duke's support for William of Normandy, he sends Laeghaire to assist in a series of campaigns thoughout France. Proving to be a valuable warrior, William eventually takes him along on his conquest of England in 1066. Along the way, Laeghaire struggles with love, lust and loss. He contemplates portents and he ponders his own humanity and what he truly wants from life. It's a nice tale, but I was dissapointed that there was not a better view of William from Laeghaire's perspective. Naturally, this depiction exists, but it is far from the centerpiece of the story. I think this could have added a more powerful undercurrent to the story than Laeghaire's inability to understand his relationship with his German lover. Holland writes in a very brief and almost curt manner. Her sentance structure is very abbreviated and I felt the writing simply did not flow as well as I would personlly have liked. The writing style seemed more appropriate to a court transcript or police report than for telling the tale of a great warrior of old. I also felt her battle scene depictions were less than vivid. In fact, the culmination of the entire story - the Battle of Hastings -is but a snippet of the book compared to the LONG lead up to it.

This book certainly ranks below Housecarl by Laurence J. Brown and The Lord of Sunset by Parke Godwin. When it comes to events surrounding 1066 - those are FIVE star works of art; this...a two star use of free time.

Lean, mean book for lean, mean hero.......2005-04-22

Cecilia Holland's "The Firedrake" recounts some of the events in the life of the Irishman Laeghaire of Tralee, of the Long Road. Using stark, spare prose, Holland tells Laeghaire's tale, a tale of war and conquest, with a bit of humor and a lot of sorrow thrown into the mix.

The novel starts out with Laeghaire on the run across Germany for unknown reasons . . . indeed, much throughout the novel is unknown as there is virtually no time spent on third-person exposition. We learn about the characters entirely through dialogue and Laeghaire's internal observations of the responses he sees, and Laeghaire is not a poetic man prone to drawn-out soliloquies. He is a sharp-tongued rascal, and is willing to incur the wrath of lords and ladies, not least one William the (...) who has his eyes set on the conquest of England.

Laeghaire is a mighty swordsman who cares little for his own life, which of course makes him virtually unbeatable in battle. As willing to cut down a surly subordinate as the enemy, Laeghaire builds a reputation for fierce brutality that surprisingly wins him the adoration of his men. Similarly, Laeghaire treats his woman, Hilde, with contempt -- he responds to her "I love you's" with "That's good." While Laeghaire and Hilde have three children together, this is a family unit condemned to unhappy endings rather than a ride into the sunset.

As the novel builds towards the invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Holland's tale grows more complex as the nomadic Laeghaire must confront the burdens of his successes -- by helping William win the crown of England, he has won the right to a lordship and lands for his family, but does Laeghaire want this? What indeed does he want, besides to kill? These difficult questions do not allow for easy answers, and Holland refuses to provide them.

While the spare prose provides for several powerful scenes, the novel also keeps the reader at arm's length a little bit. Laeghaire is not an accessible character, and his aloofness keeps the other characters at a distance as well because the book is told from his perspective. Accordingly, this book does not reach the heights of, say, Sharon Kay Penman, Colleen McCullouch, Conn Iggulden, or Bernard Cornwell.

A fast-moving novel tracking an intriguing anti-hero in Laeghaire, "The Firedrake" is a fun, fast read that fans of medieval historical fiction will enjoy.

HISTORICAL FICTION AT IT'S BEST.......2004-09-17

A very unique book, particularly a book for a first time author (at the time - this was her first). I love this author's syntax. You will find little of the blah, blah, blah which plague many historical fiction works. I first read this one in 1979 an have been a fan ever since. The book was well researched and the story flows well. Recommend it highly.

The first by one of the best.......2004-08-22

As any regular reader of my reviews knows, I'm a great fan of Cecelia Holland's historical novels. This is her very first, written as an undergrad and published just as she was starting graduate work at Columbia and working at Downtown Brentano's. I was also in grad school and I read it avidly the same year. She chose for her first excursion one of the key events in Western European history (and therefore in our own history on this side of the Atlantic): The last phase of the rise of William of Normandy as a charismatic figure of major influence and the decisive day of battle near Hastings that completely changed the course of everything having to do with England. But that's only the final few chapters. We start with the journey of Laeghaire (pronounced "Lear") of the Long Road, an Irish knight with Viking ancestors (making him kin to William himself), a berserker fighter who builds a reputation to silence those beside whom he fights. Laeghaire has fought for pay all over Europe for nine years and now, fleeing the vengeance of a stingy Thuringian lord, he heads back to the court of the Count of Flanders, Duke William's father-in-law. He leads the Flemish contingent in the Norman conquest of Maine, where he comes to William's notice in both good and bad ways. The Irishman is touchy of his honor and reputation, a free knight who doesn't take orders easily, an intelligent and literate man with a gift for languages who is uncommonly useful to his employer. He acquires a woman, and a son, and begins to care about someone other than himself, until Hastings comes and reorders his life yet again. Laeghaire would not be an easy man to be around, but he's certainly a man you would want to be sure was on your side. All the elements of Holland's very personal approach to medieval military history are here -- the lesser figure as viewpoint who mixes with the great and powerful, the use of vivid colloquial English so carefully crafted you'll think you're eavesdropping on the original vernacular, the spare prose that doesn't describe every tree and field but that points up the occasional crucial detail as a key to mood and character. The author also relies on short, simple declarative sentences -- a style which was somewhat overdone in this first book but which was modified in her subsequent work. With all the reading I do of new releases, I manage always to salt my list with re-reads of Holland's best half-dozen novels every few years, as a matter of balance.

A Symbolic Comet.......2004-01-01

This is Cecelia Holland's first novel, maybe her best, and the first book of hers that I read, and it made me an instant fan of Ms Holland. It is now a classic of historical fiction. Her prose is economical, which may be almost unique among historical fiction writers who tend to be windy. This spare writing style lets the reader's imagination engage more fully. She has a knack for making horses seem incredibly true in her books, possibly from having been raised on a ranch or farm, this being a good artifice for making her fiction seem more real in eras when horses were commonplace in people's lives. One reviewer complained of a lack of conflict in THE FIREDRAKE. One wonders what type of conflict they want. Surely the Norman invasion of England was more than a dart-throwing contest at your corner pub. Our protagonist in THE FIREDRAKE, the knight-mercenary Laeghaire, alone in a world of chaos and anarchy in a time when most such men were bound to a leige lord seems another major issue of conflict: one man against the world. Don't we all feel like that sometimes? Of course, William the Bastard seeks to make Laeghaire his own man, another point of contention. I see Laeghaire as the Modern Man born in the wrong century. Myself, I rooted for Harold Godwinson and his grim shield wall on Senlac Ridge in the climatic battle scene of the book, but then I've always tended to support an honorable underdog. The firedrake was a comet and THE FIREDRAKE is a symbolic comet, announcing Ms Holland's arrival as argueably our foremost writer of historical fiction.

Average customer rating:

Firedrake's Eye
No Bed Of Roses for Elizabeth I
Major disappointment
A Very Well-Researched Spy Thriller
Great Elizabethan thriller, excellent prose style...

Firedrake's Eye
Patricia Finney
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312180942

Book Description

Brilliantly written in language eerily reminiscent of sixteenth-century England and filled with the dazzling color and drama of Tudor England, Firedrake's Eye concerns a meticulously constructed plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I. Tom O'Bedlam, the mad son of prominent Catholic family, stumbles upon evidence that his hated brother has returned to England to spearhead a scheme to assassinate the Queen.Patricia Finney transports the reader back in time to the dirty, dangerous underbelly of 1583 London. Combining accurate and detailed historical research with story-telling of an unusually high caliber, Firedrake's Eye brilliantly evokes that danger and treachery of Tudor politics.

Customer Reviews:

Firedrake's Eye.......2005-01-27

A cast of characters which include a noble scion gone mad, a mercenary fallen on hard times and a soft-hearted Inquisitor must foil a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.

Wonderfully styled and characterized, with an active, emotionally moving plot and a genuinely period feel, Firedrake's Eye is an intelligent, sophisticated novel which will probably appeal to readers of Dunnett, Gentle and Kushner. Its inventive narration and its clear yet Elizabethan-feeling prose help it to stand out.

No Bed Of Roses for Elizabeth I.......2004-12-26

An extensive cast of characters are used in this tale which happened, not in fact but partly based on history of the Elizabethean period, which this author seemed to dislike. Only 36 or the 90 people who populate her imagination were historical, the rest as she called them "invented." She didn't find much good or decent to write about these "not very nice people" who were cruel to animals and each other.

Using the ballad, 'Tom O'Bedlam's Song' about a beggar from Bedlam who is crazy and sees things in the night, the author of which is unknown, but she innovates her own version thus. It seems that Tom 'Bedlam in his drug addled roaming had learned that his brother was highly involved in the scheme. But he's not believed, as a large float in the form of a dragon called a 'firedrake' is to be used during the festivities commemorating her accession to the throne. The assassin would shoot a poisoned arrow from the dragon's eye when it get to the Queen's balcony where she is standing.

The best known of the factual personages was Sir Walter Raleigh, who she labels as Elizabeth I's new favorite. As historical background, the author explains how Elizabeth (daughter of Henry VIII's second wife) became Queen of England and the mechanizations involved to hold on to the throne. At the age of fifty, in 1583, she still had not chosen a King. The mores of the time required that whoever she wed would become her 'lord and master' and she had no intention of handing over any of her power.

Due to England's rivalry with Spain, and the pirates looting of the Spanish ships, Elizabeth's life was daily in danger. Sir Francis Drake captured so much valuables during the later 1500s he made her, as one of his investors, a very rich woman. The costume she wears on the cover of this book is elaborate and colorful.

Using actual events during that time about counter espionage capers and tales of assassination plots, especially Throckmorton's (a Catholic traitor) plot in 1582 and Walsingham's (head of Elizabeth's secret service) success provided the author with the inspiration to use the records of those accounts. She wrote this fiction of the 1583 Accesion Day assassination attempt which didn't happen.

Ms. Finney is an Oxford scholar where she studied history in the 1970s; she states that she reads history for pleasure and adventure. She is steeped in this early history giving a long list of nonfiction she used for her knowledge of the Tudor politics. She discovered in her research that Walsingham and his son-in-lar, Phillip Sidney, were in Paris during the Saint Bartholomew's Eve massacre and had been forced to hide from the mob.

She revels in the details of the dangers, savagery and treachery in that time period (as in the movie, 'Braveheart'), comparing it to VietNam. Part of this book is about an Ames family, one of the sons being clerk to Walsingham, based on a real merchant and his family in the 16th century London, which is well documented.

This story describes the towers, where Elizabeth's own sister is a prisoner, torture chambers in the royal palaces, and other unpleasant and ugly things. Only a true historian could appreciate all this hypothesis of what might have been. And what happened to Philip's Great Armanda as a result.

The stilted and flowery language, which makes little sense to our American ears, brings back the English Lit I suffered through at Martin College 400 years after the facts they wrote about, not understanding much. My favorite, as I recall, was 'Abou Ben Adhem,' but that's a different story altogether.

The Elizabethean language was such that she included a glossary to define strange things like 'close stool': chamber pot hidden inside a seat with a lid (we had those here, I believe); 'gossip': old friend, especially female; 'melancholia': depression (used in America to describe Lewis' ailment when he was found dead in Tennessee); 'duds': clothes (I've heard that before, thought it was American slang); and 'winding up a jack': winding the clockwork mechanism for turning a spit in the kitchen. She even said that tobacco had been introduced into England from America by Hawkins and combined with the leaves of the hemp plant.

This book has been compared to Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE.

Major disappointment.......2003-06-14

I couldn't make head nor tail of it all and got rather upset about it. What a waste of time and energy!

A Very Well-Researched Spy Thriller.......2002-10-01

Ms. Finney never ceases to amaze me with her books. She does a tremendous amount of research for each one and it really shows. In this particular case, the book transports the reader back to the reign of Elizabeth I. She paints the picture of life in England at this time so realistically. We see the squalor and the corruption. We fully realize that, as Ms. Finney states in her introduction, that the Elizabethan people were not very nice people. Ms. Finney's love of history shows in her writing, and this book is no exception. She sees things and tells things like they were, with no frosting or frills. This book is about a terrorist plot to kill the queen, and all the intrigue and ferreting of information that was required to uncover the plot. We see two very different protagonists in this book - Simon Ames - the bookish, Tower inquisitor, who shows really endearing qualities in his friendship with Becket (the other protagonist), and Agnes Fant whom he imprisons in his tower. Mrs. Fant is the pregnant wife of a rich merchant and is the sister of one of the plotters. Becket is entirely the opposite - a hard drinking, whore visiting, trained soldier who befriends Simon, and takes him under his wing after he saves his life at the beginning of the book. What really makes this book special is the narrator, who is mad street beggar, who has very telling episodes of lucidity. Because Ms. Finney tries to make the language more realistic to the era, the reader may find the book difficult to read at first, but if you persevere, you will not be disappointed.

Great Elizabethan thriller, excellent prose style..........2002-09-26

This book has very well conceived gritty characters. The three main ones are David Becket, a toughened gentleman and swordmaster who fell on hard times fighting in the Netherlands; Simon Ames, a Jewish Portuguese agent of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, and 'Tom O'Bedlam' an old law school buddy of Becket's who has given way to madness, who sees angels and devils everywhere, and has an alternate personality called "The Clever One." The story has action and intrigue which is made all the more compelling since it is narrated, at least mostly, by "The Clever One," who because of Tom's discourse with angels can see events as they happen to others. The Elizabethan color permeates the text in an attractively idiosyncratic way. Walsingham makes for the most lively Historical character. In the beginning of the book he is suffering from kidney stones, and Ames' uncle, Dr. Hector Nunez, attends him. Finney takes the time to delve into Walsingham's psyche pondering the effect that being present at St. Bartholomew's massacre when he was Ambassador to Paris may have had on him. This only adds to our understanding of both his role and the intrigue which is the main portion of the story. Other historical characters presented, include Walsingham's son-in-law Sir Phillip Sidney who is working on a procession float for the Queen in the shape of "The Dragon of Discord." And another not so well known historical character, Laurence Pickering, 'the King of Thieves', makes an important contribution to the plot. There are still more interesting characterizations and relationships developed, many quite sad, but I don't want to give too much away. The writing style, above all, impresses. It is really effective and poetic. I felt as though every word was being read to me and didn't want to miss a single one.

Average customer rating:

A great start in a good series
Firedrake
Fire Drake
wow!
This book represents escapism in its finest form. It rocked!

Firedrake: The Dragonrealm
Richard A. Knaak
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0445209402

Customer Reviews:

A great start in a good series.......2000-10-10

Ok. This book is awsome. Well, I suppose I should write more. I suppose I could tell you that Richard Knack is one of the best writers when it comes to plot twists. I could tell you about how the book grabs you and makes you want to read the book in one sitting (you should be warned at this time that while reading this book time passes at a much faster rate so set an alarm to go off whenever meals are ready). But the two things that make this book so endearing that you will want to read it time and time again are that Knack is possibly the best writer when it comes to battles of sorcery (his unique ideas and perspectives really make the magic come alive) and then there are his characters. Now I have read many books with cookie cutter characters (I know you all know what I mean) but Knacks characters are both unique and ineresting. All of them have something more going on than the story at hand and that is the way it should be. Alright, I'll give an example, stop shouting. Where did darkhorse come from and what are his motives, is he a friend, or is he just following the best coarse for his own motives. You find out in later books but I'm not going to tell you so there! I could tell you all of that but I think "This book is awesome" pretty much sums it up.

Firedrake.......2000-09-28

It is a really great book and i haven't read anything better in my life. I can't believe how good his books are and I can't stop reading them. I am constantly looking for other books written by him. I love the adventures and can't wait to see whats else is going to happen. I felt as if I was fighting right along side them, fighting the aweful Duke Toma. I cheared when they defeated many of the drake lords, and I wish i could have given Azran what he diserved myself. I love the ending, and I will keep reading more of his books. I recomend this book or any of his other books to anyone of anyage with any sort of imagination!

Fire Drake.......2000-09-28

I thoght this book was awsome!! I cheered at Cabe's esacpe from the Brown Dragon and the defeat of several other dragon kings. I enjoyed reading about the Gryghon's, Cabe's and the Lady of the Amber's adventures in the dragon relm. I felt as if I was there fighting along them and aginst the awful Duke Toma. And about Cabe's mad father Azran, I wish I could have given him what he deservrd by myself.The ending was better than I could have imagined. This was the first book by Richard A. Knaak that I've read and it kept me coming back for more and more of his books. I'm now hooked and I can't stop, I don't want to stop either. I've never read better books than his, and I dought that I ever will.

wow!.......1999-12-16

Wow! I was blown away by this book. It is the best of all time. The characters are so lifelike and the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat. Darkhorse gives a little bit of humor to the book and Shade entrances the reader with his unpredictability. This is a must read for all fantasy lovers! Only one question: Why is this series out of print?

This book represents escapism in its finest form. It rocked!.......1998-06-30

I was bored with reading until this book came along. The characters were completely unique and totally captivating. I've read King, Rice, Anthony and too many others to name, but have yet to get as exited about reading as I did when I stumbled upon the masterpiece of a series that is the Dragonrealm!

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Dragon Rider

Manufacturer: Scholastic, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0439543428

Product Description

A Boy. A Dragon. A Quest. Firedrake, Ben,and their furry friend, Sorrel, are in search of the mythical place where dragons can live in peace forever. Together they embark on a journey that takes them to magical lands where they meet marvelous creatures-and one ruthless villian. Along the way, they will discover allies in odd plalces, courage they did't know they had and a hidden destiny that changes everything.

CODENAME FIREDRAKE: Life through the eyes of an FBI Asset

Average customer rating:

About this book
Excellent Read!!!!

CODENAME FIREDRAKE: Life through the eyes of an FBI Asset
Johnathon Drake
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1414043317

Customer Reviews:

About this book.......2004-02-29

Great story. From the book this is what captivated me, and that it's a true story.

About the book:
CODENAME FIREDRAKE : Life through the eyes of an FBI Asset

John Drake, a recruited covert FBI asset runs for his life. His identity as an FBI informant was intentionally leaked by one twisted rogue agent connected at the hip to the very targets the FBI was infiltrating, and this is his story.

After being recruited as an informant for the FBI, Drake has uncovered a deep and long-reaching conspiracy between a powerful mob figure, a prosecutor, and an FBI agent. The agent is leaking the identities of unsuspecting informants who are attempting to take down the notorious mobster, and is causing their deaths in a conspiracy to protect his cohorts in a large mid-west American city.

This discovery caused the trio to turn their sites on Drake, forcing him to flee, to leave his family, and to fight for survival. The story begins in the present as Drake ponders whether to send newly-acquired information that could save his country from would-be Sudanese terrorists...terrorists connected to the notorious Bin Laden Al Qaeda faction that is planning an attack on the United States. Drake must make a decision that will undoubtedly and ultimately bring the trio, his would-be assassins, roaring right back. The alternative would be to allow a potential attack on the Whitehouse, and other U.S. targets. This is an outcome that he cannot, and will not, allow.
Through a subtle use of flashback, Drake's life unfolds into a mixture of intrigue, conspiracy, and romance, reaching back to his unusual childhood. He is the son of a made-man within the mob, who even as a child took part in the day-to-day operations of the family's dirty business. He eventually was railroaded and forced to turn on the mob through his closely-knit ties with the big-time mob boss, and an FBI agent gone bad.

Once targeted, he vowed that it will be a mistake these men will regret until the end and directed his efforts to exposing them and destroying the crime ring...while keeping his family safe. His mission separates Drake from his beloved wife Tammy and son Nathan. Drake can only dream of someday making a quick and dangerous rendezvous to satisfy his passion for them. Codename: Firedrake is fiction based on fact, on the true experiences of a former member of the mob.

* Names have been changed to protect rights and identities.

Excellent Read!!!!.......2004-02-03

I found this book to be great from the beginning to the end. The incidents surrounding the character make you wonder how many of these guys are out there...

Average customer rating:

The Dragonrealm Firedrake
Richard A Knaak
Manufacturer: Orbit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UGIX4E

Average customer rating:

Engaging tapestry in bridled colours

Firedrake
Ann Ewan
Manufacturer: Thistledown Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1894345452
Release Date: 2002-10-20

Book Description

Although Shan cannot see well and is barely an adult, she teams up with her unlikely companions – a madman (a handsome but rather depressed warrior) and a wizard (a well-intentioned but ineffective magician) – to destroy the Firedrake and free the Perinan people. Firedrake is in breadth, scope and style one of the most ambitious and successful young adult fantasy novels yet written.

Customer Reviews:

Engaging tapestry in bridled colours.......2002-12-15

This book struck me as "realistic" in the following sense: not everyone is extraordinary in a positive way, an outlier, when the majority fall into the hump of the bell curve. Neither is the main character Shan so handicapped that engagement with her fate comes from a story of overcoming personal adversity. I admire books in which the protagonist is not special, not a hero or heroine, anti-hero or anti-heroine, with unusual capabilities, etc.

The variety of interpersonal roles that Shan assumes over the course of the book presents a kind of feminine reality. In addition, several instances of the Wise Older Women archetype, both good and evil, reinforce an emerging truth about womanhood. Does this book present a positive feminist outlook on the world? The author seems to take a middle-of-the-road position with respect to the emergence of gender identity.

I felt that the subtext of the book deals with repression at the personal and social levels, dealing with feelings of inferiority, and surviving by keeping one's head down. The overall impression was that of Van Gogh's sketches, especially those inspired by the works of Millais. Enthusiastic recommendation.

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The Firedrake

Manufacturer: Hodder and Stoughton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 034012962X

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Firedrake
John D. Hederman
Manufacturer: Saunders of Toronto Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding

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ASIN: 0584311559

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