SummerDanse

The DragonSpawn Cycle #4

by Terie Garrison

On the cusp of an evil plot to overthrow the Kingdom of Alloway, fifteen-year-old Donavah finds herself a pawn in the hands of an evil mage. In the culmination of this imaginative saga of dragons, maejic, and time-defying lands, the girl who can communicate with dragons and animals is now fighting for herself, her family, and the rightful return of the Red Dragons. Held hostage, Donavah must be wary of whom to trust and whom to run from, as traitors, thuggish guardsmen, and a corrupted king are all working against the good of the land. Fearing for the life of the young man who once saved her from certain death, Donavah’s spirit is crushed after she unknowingly led him into danger. In this fresh and inspiring tale, the dilemmas facing Donavah can only be resolved if she trusts in her gifted maejic and relies on the strength of her heart.

Genres: Young Adult, Dragons, High Fantasy

233 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Aelvana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Donavah has hardly returned to her own world when she's kidnapped again, this time by Anazian. Unable to use maejic, she suffers through days of abuse, both physical and mental. With her family's welfare being used against her, she doesn't resist her captors. Freedom looks increasingly unlikely.

I'm getting tired of Gerrison rehashing the same plot over and over again. Yet again, Donavah is captured, deprived of her maejic, and abused. Despite the fact none of them actually rape her, the threat is always present. Donavah and everyone around her calls her strong for resisting---but all she does is follow everything they want her to do, while hating herself. I wish she had the courage to stand up for herself.

I'm also getting tired how Donavah finds a new boyfriend in every man who treats her kindly. Grey was set up to be her protector, but suddenly Garrison changed her mind, and Grey is eliminated from the story with only a few by-lines. Donavah doesn't even see him after she's free.

I don't mind what happened to Traz, particularly---the twist at the end was a nice touch. But I truly think these would be better stories if Traz had been the one to tell them. He, at least, does something other than stay stuck in various prisons for the majority of the series. Or Breyard would do. Breyard stepping in to command the dragons is of necessity summarized here because Donavah doesn't see any of it, but it would have been very interesting to see what happened.

I finished the series for completion's sake, and I am almost sorry I did. Donavah pulls out another overpowered maejical coup for the end, the deaths of the major villains hardly gets any screen time, and people like Grey are left with unrealistic loose ends. Not worth a read, and certainly not a series I will re-read. I rate this book Not Recommended.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books of this series but my expectations fell flat with the third and fourth. I could deal with our heroine being captured and tortured by a powerful male mage in the third book. (Not graphically - I don't do graphic.) But the same theme shows up in the final book, just a different mage and our heroine passively goes along with it - through most of the book. Then the third evil mage captures her and starts in with "torture." GEEZ! (Picture me reading quickly to get through it.) Disappointing.

[Misty-wings · Rating 2 out of 5]

tres tres tres tres long, les histoires de couples sont pourrites, bref il y a juste les dragons d'interessant.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read, but I found the ending extremely disappointing. The worst of the series IMO.