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A Sending of Dragons
(Pit Dragon Chronicles #3)
by
Teens dragon master Jakkin and beloved healer-in-training Akki hide in mountain cave network beside Heart's Blood warm hatchlings, exchanging mind-picture "sendings". But who could leave a huge pile of stripped dragon bones neatly interwoven? The monstrous secret is bloodier than they could imagine. Can they save anyone, even sacrificing themselves?
Paperback, 296 pages
Published
1997
by Magic Carpet Harcourt
(first published September 1st 1987)
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Start your review of A Sending of Dragons (Pit Dragon Chronicles, #3)
Disappointing. The plot felt rushed and choppy, never seemed to find a rhythm or establish what direction the story was trying to take, and left any number of loose threads dangling. For instance, the possibility of the (view spoiler) emerging to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting outside world is never referred to or discussed after the first time it is mentioned. After all the horrors they experience, and the suggestion of worse to come, Jakkin
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The main characters Akki and Jakkin, living in the mountains with Heart's Blood's offspring, discover a secret no one else on the planet appears to know. It's an obvious homage to The Time Machine and yet it works pretty well; Yolen has sorted out how her surprise could be the way it is and what the ramifications are. More of the story follows Jakkin than Akki, which is kind of a shame since Akki probably has a lot more that could be told about her. Akki still contributes a lot, though, and they
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Every book in this series is completely different from the others. This one was extraneous, weird, and discomfiting. And kinda gross. I liked the first book of this series the best and did not enjoy books 2 or 3, so I don't recommend picking it up.
Someone on Goodreads told me to definitely avoid book 4 so I'm taking that advice.
Someone on Goodreads told me to definitely avoid book 4 so I'm taking that advice.
Read this series (then only 3 books) when I was a kid back in middle school -- I absolutely loved every page. I plan on going back through this series eventually, especially since there's a new book (as of 2009); we'll see if I enjoy it as much as an adult.
Solid finish to the series (well, original trilogy), following up on the new elements introduced at the end of the second book.
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Meh, I'm giving up on this halfway through. I just don't care enough to finish it. The main characters have adopted some wild baby dragons that they're (sort of?) raising while they're trying to escape capture from the authorities. They go underground & stumble upon some isolated humans who have formed a completely different society. This should be a fun, cool, series with some interesting world building, but somehow Yolen has just botched this. I've really enjoyed some of her other books, which
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Kinda feels like everything that was built up in the first two books (the Austarian economy and culture, the dragon fighting pits, Jakkin joining the Master class, the rebel vs Fedder plot) gets ignored so we can spend a bunch of time staring up the birthing canal of a pregnant dragon in the mountains. :\ If that's not your thing, you probably won't enjoy this book. I know I didn't.
The "twist" in the final chapter about two of the characters we thought were dead actually being alive felt really ...more
The "twist" in the final chapter about two of the characters we thought were dead actually being alive felt really ...more
Pit Dragon Chronicles, book 3.
Jakkin and Akki are presumed dead, but thanks to the sacrifice of Heart's Blood, a mother dragon, they can now survive the cold of the wilderness and communicate with dragons by sending mental images. When a helicopter flies over the cave where they are living with Heart's Blood's five hatchlings, they push further on into the wild, desperately seeking safety.
They discover a cave entrance that leads deep into the bowels of the earth. Once below ground, they lose to ...more
Jakkin and Akki are presumed dead, but thanks to the sacrifice of Heart's Blood, a mother dragon, they can now survive the cold of the wilderness and communicate with dragons by sending mental images. When a helicopter flies over the cave where they are living with Heart's Blood's five hatchlings, they push further on into the wild, desperately seeking safety.
They discover a cave entrance that leads deep into the bowels of the earth. Once below ground, they lose to ...more
Jakkin and Akki go from one danger to another. Fleeing from both the Wardens and the Rebels, they make their way into the system of caves in the Astarian mountains. There, they make a sinister discovery...
I have mixed feelings about this series. The writing is fairly utilitarian, but the plot moves quickly, so once I get caught up in the story, I find them quick and engrossing reads. There's not a lot of depth to the characters, and I could use a bit more explanation of how certain elements of t ...more
I have mixed feelings about this series. The writing is fairly utilitarian, but the plot moves quickly, so once I get caught up in the story, I find them quick and engrossing reads. There's not a lot of depth to the characters, and I could use a bit more explanation of how certain elements of t ...more
This is the third of four books in the Pit Dragon Trilogy. It picks up immediately after book two and most likely wouldn't make a lot of sense without the context of the other two. This book was published in 1987, five years after the first book in the series. The next (and currently last) book wasn't published until 2009. There's not much to say about the plot that wouldn't give away the first two books, so I'll just say that it does a good job of moving the story forward without retreading muc
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This one was just weird. It tried to address the more brutal parts of the world that was taken for granted in the two previous books, but it didn't do it effectively. Also the last ten pages were just a big infodump on what was happening in the rest of the world during the entire book, but that was more interesting than the weirdness that happened to the Jakkin and Akki.
I'm no longer enjoying these, and if I didn't have to write an essay on all four, I'd quit reading them.
I'm no longer enjoying these, and if I didn't have to write an essay on all four, I'd quit reading them.
This dipped farther into the pressure of connecting with others and sharing their burdens. After the death of his beloved dragon, Akki and Jakkin are on the run and isolated from society- while more joined together than ever thanks to their ability to "send" thoughts and feelings to each other and their dragons. Connection, like isolation, can be warping though as they discover in the caves- a group of people with powerful sendings and stunted empathy.
This was a seriously weird book, but I kind of liked it anyway. My main issue with it was not the weirdness but the ending, where the characters find out that most of their problems have been easily resolved without their involvement while they were off doing other things. It's a very short book, and adding an end which let some of the earlier plotlines play out a little longer wouldn't have made it unbearably long. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it up until that point.
I always enjoy Jane Yolen's books; I think she really knows how to craft a story and characters. The Pit Dragon Chronicles is one of my favorite series of hers and it definitely holds up over time. I do think the first couple books are the strongest and then it does tail off a bit after that. There are many dragon stories but this does not feel repetitive or similar to others.
Yolen keeps the story moving along. This book was like a detour on the path, both interesting and disturbing.
Could have been better. Sort of anticlimactic.
After this book I decided not to read the fourth.
Not as good as the others, but still good.
Jakkin and Akki are living in the mountain caves to hide from rebels or wardens who might blame them for the bombing of Rokk Major. With them, are the five hatchlings of Heart's Blood. Jakkin still grieves for Heart's Blood who saved their lives. And they have undergone a change. Because they hid in Heart's Blood's egg chamber after her death, they now can survive the cold of Dark After and can mind speak with all creatures. But, a copter appears one day and they must flee from this make shift h
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"Like his mother before him, and like [sister] Sssasha, [eldest, biggest] Sssargon was mute .. But his sendings were always louder than necessary, like a young boy clamoring for attention" p 34. Sendings have sound, even if voices do not. Author misleads by calling them "pictures", confused me for weeks. "Out loud, in imitation of Sssargon's sendings, Akki announced in a deep voice "Akki sleeps" p 59. Dragons can joke; Sssasha plays trick with "Splat!"
Three smaller "remarkably alike" p 28 browns ...more
Three smaller "remarkably alike" p 28 browns ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Well, we've come a long way in these three books, haven't we? First we're fighting to get ahead in a dragon-exploiting society and then we try to start a revolution in that same society. This book is far too short for what it is trying to accomplish. And the cover art sucks, but that's hardly the author's fault. Some readers may find the Austarian's use of dragons uncomfortably like the way we use and abuse livestock -- and that may be the point.
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Book three of Pit Dragon Trilogy. A story of a young couple on the run with dragons. They escaped to a land so inhospitable that anyone staying there for very long would die of the cold. But they live there because they are hunted at their home; a home it appears they will never be able to return to. Suddenly a chopter shows up at their makeshift home in a cave and in their attempt to escape it find themselves captured by a community of srtange semi humans living in a cave network with a couple
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While technically science fiction, too many elements feel more like fantasy in their execution, so it's kind of a hybrid. Still, this story was a good completion to the original Pit Dragons trilogy, with some interesting tidbits and payoffs for the careful reader.
In this book, the central characters are in hiding after being framed for a terrorist-style event. They are successful mostly because they shouldn't have been able to survive their escape, according to what everyone in their society has ...more
In this book, the central characters are in hiding after being framed for a terrorist-style event. They are successful mostly because they shouldn't have been able to survive their escape, according to what everyone in their society has ...more
Third installment of the Pit Dragon trilogy. Jakkin's thoughts about his life—past, present, and future—make him a complex character; it's an interesting way to show how a character grows and figures out what is important to him and the type of person he wants to be. Also, a neat message about the power of words, specifically human speech. Mental bonds are intimate, but speaking is a natural human act that helps Jakkin and Akki feel more closely bound together and more human than beast or fantas
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The one got even weirder than the others, but was still interesting. The series is not the most captivating in the world--I probably remembered nothing of the latter two books because I probably only read them once--but there was nothing really wrong with them. They're all a good diversion, if that's the type of book you're looking for (I reread them while I was sick on the couch one day and it was plenty satisfactory for me).
One great thing, however: even though the protagonists tell each other ...more
One great thing, however: even though the protagonists tell each other ...more
I actually read this series when I was a kid, and decided to reread it before suggesting it to the girl I nanny for. I quickly found myself engrossed once again with Jakkin and his adventure to steal an dragon egg and train his own dragon. Jakkin is a wonderful character, set apart from the others but always willing to help anyone he considers a friend. Really this series as a whole, including the more recently written 4th book, are great for kids who love the fantasy genera. These books are not
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Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachuset
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