King's Dragon (Crown of Stars, Book 1)
by Kate Elliott
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 233)
Read in May, 2008
I had a really, really hard time getting into this book. I probably would have neither started nor finished it if it weren't a book of the month for a reading group I belong to. I just hate getting into multi-volume (7) epic fantasies. This one took about 200 pages (out of 600+) to get interesting. I was never able to pinpoint quite why it was so hard to get into. For the record, I'm going to list some positives and negatives of this book.
On the positive side:
1. There aren't too ma...more
On the positive side:
1. There aren't too ma...more
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Read in May, 2008
It's okay. This is your basic sprawling fantasy story that happens to be set in a world where there is some war and some invasion but without the single hero that kills everything and wins the lady. No, things are a tad more complicated than that. However, this story does fall to some of the most obnoxious clichés found in fantasy - specifically the love at first site between people that shouldn't have anything to do with each other. Oh, and the death of a family member causes heroine to be...more
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Read in December, 2007
Finished this in a day! The whole series of The Crown of Starts was a gift from my boyfriend, and I was eager to start in on this. There is so much going on already in this book. It seems a typical fantasy at first, lost elvish nations, scary lizard-ish bad guys, a brother and sister fighting for the thrown, and a couple of kids caught up in the middle. Mostly, I'm intrigued by the religion Elliot creates in it. Clearly, there is a lot of traditional, Medieval basis in it. Fathers and "bisc...more
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I want to read this because of what Orson Scott Card said about it:
"Kate Elliott joins my very small pantheon of great living fantasy writers.
"[She is:] one of the best world creators in fantasy literature.
"[The readers:] are so fully immersed in this world, and its details are created so convincingly and richly, that it's a pleasure to simply live there with these characters.
"[It has:] the most wonderfully frustrating villain you have ever experienced in lite...more
"Kate Elliott joins my very small pantheon of great living fantasy writers.
"[She is:] one of the best world creators in fantasy literature.
"[The readers:] are so fully immersed in this world, and its details are created so convincingly and richly, that it's a pleasure to simply live there with these characters.
"[It has:] the most wonderfully frustrating villain you have ever experienced in lite...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers
I started reading this series a while ago, but never got to finish it.
I enjoyed it so much that I am starting from the beginning so I can follow the story the whole way through.
I will update my 'review' once I have finished it. (it's great so far)
*UPDATE*
Yes, it was as good as I remembered. I think Kate Elliot does an absolutely wonderful job combining real historical data with fantasy characters to bring an air of realism to this series. It gives her books a real level of believabili...more
I enjoyed it so much that I am starting from the beginning so I can follow the story the whole way through.
I will update my 'review' once I have finished it. (it's great so far)
*UPDATE*
Yes, it was as good as I remembered. I think Kate Elliot does an absolutely wonderful job combining real historical data with fantasy characters to bring an air of realism to this series. It gives her books a real level of believabili...more
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A very good (albeit very long) series. If you like George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, you will like this one as well. They are very similar in many ways - lots of political intrigue, all the characters have their virtues and their flaws, and bad things happen to everybody, even the heroes. The main villain in this series will make your skin crawl - Eliott does a great job of making the reader dread his appearances, and passionately hate him. I just bought the last book in the se...more
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Read in December, 2007
I'll preface this review by saying this is a looong book and you have to be used to reading detailed fantasy series to get into it, otherwise you'll find it boring and be annoyed that it took 100 pages to get into it. With that out of the way, about 100 pages in I had a hard time putting it down and finished this 800 page book in a couple of days. The descriptions of the world's mythology and religion were a bit much at times, but the story kept going quite nicely. I'm planning on getting the se...more
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Read in August, 2008
I enjoy reading fantasy novels, but I usually steer clear of the big fat ones in very long series like this one. I found this first novel in the Crown of Stars series to be a decent read; a lot of it has been done before, like the usual Eurofantasy setting, but at least Elliott is doing some interesting things with gender and religion.
On a side note, judicious skimming helped make the length a lot more bearable. It seems like a good strategy to apply to the next book, when I get around to i...more
On a side note, judicious skimming helped make the length a lot more bearable. It seems like a good strategy to apply to the next book, when I get around to i...more
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recommends it for:
patient readers
it took a long time to get into it but it was a page turner once i figured out that kate elliot dosent just make charcters dissapear but invents new ones about every page. it is a long read and entertaining once you understand their system of religion. beware of a name overload, i would reccomend writing names down and doing a bit of a description on a piece of paper. the characters fade in and out of the story, but overall a good read.
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Read in November, 2007
Not bad, though a bit slow to build up the kind of can't-put-downness that would have given this book 5 stars. The world is well-imagined, building off a medieval Christian world with some interesting and welcome twists. The characters, though not strikingly original for the most part, are interesting and multi-dimensional. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
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Read in December, 2007
At first, I was disappointed; the first volume seemed slow and un-organized, jumping from plot line to plotline. (The first 250 pages or so) However in the end everything came together. So instead of calling this book slow I rather call it a vary long prologue. The stage is set for a fantastic epic that promises to be labeled as a great read, for fantasy lovers. Enjoy
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In King's Dragon Kate Elliott opens her Crown of Stars series with a richly developed fantasy world that will both satisfy and tantalize readers...
Read my full review of this book as originally published on ARWZ by visiting the link below:
www.arwz.com/zinereviewSKS1.ph...
Read my full review of this book as originally published on ARWZ by visiting the link below:
www.arwz.com/zinereviewSKS1.ph...
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Read in August, 2008
A friend at work recommended this series. I read it in three days. I'm ready to buy to the whole series and rip through it. I haven't read a fantasy series this good since Melanie Rawn a few years ago. I'm back on a reading kick!
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
ages 17 and up
I recommend knowing at least some politics of medieval times (sorry I misspelled medieval). It helps you understand how complex the form of goverments are in this book and in the others in this series.
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Read in December, 1998
This is really engaging high fantasy. Lots of characterization and world building from the very start. No infodumps. Just good, solid fantasy, complete with doomed loves and huge batttles.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2000
recommends it for:
fantasy readers
Good story but unnecessarily wordy, huge book that should have been edited down a few hundred pages. The Crown of Stars series is big, but a fairly good read despite the extras.
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There's about 50 interesting pages in this book. The rest are concerned with describing the ever-present religion that pervades this world. Very slow.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
Fantastic book. I carried it around with me wherever I went and read through meals. Really well written Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
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I liked this book. It was entertaining and I enjoy the twist on medival history. It has engaging characters and plot.
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Read in January, 2008
It was all right. I kind of had to force myself to finish it. There is potential, but the book never really gripped me.
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