Dragon's Treasure

Dragon's Winter #2

by Elizabeth A. Lynn

A half-human half-dragon liege struggles to control his inner beast and preserve a kingdom in this masterful tale from a two-time World Fantasy Award winner.

The new lord of Dragon’s Keep, Karadur Atani assumed ultimate power by destroying his malevolent twin brother and usurping his throne. Determined to rule wisely and benevolently in the world of Ippa, the changeling fears he will fall victim to the madness that plagued his father. And he knows he must keep his violent and unpredictable dragon nature in check.
 
Sometimes, however, the dragon’s vengeance must be unleashed. When foul murder in the countryside demands justice, Karadur assumes his most fearsome form to destroy the outlaw Unamira clan with fire—and without mercy.
 
But two members of the family survive his wrath. Karadur will take one, the beautiful herbalist Maia, as a lover in order to soothe his troubled heart and volatile spirit, and to produce the dragon-changeling heir he so fervently desires. The other, Maia’s half-brother, Taran, will pursue the criminal life he was born into, becoming a dangerous scourge, a pitiless avenger, and a threat to the fragile peace of the dragon lord’s realm.
 
The winner of two World Fantasy Awards—one of the genre’s most prestigious honors—author Elizabeth A. Lynn adds new depth to the medieval fantasy world she first conceived in Dragon’s Winter . Rich in color, character, and imagination, Dragon’s Treasure is further proof of Lynn’s exceptional world-building skills as she presents a fantastic adventure as enthralling as the best dragon tales of Anne McCaffrey, Robin Hobb, or George R. R. Martin.
 

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Paranormal, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBT

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Elizabeth A. Lynn is a US writer most known for fantasy and to a lesser extent science fiction. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the LGBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.

Reviews

[Paulette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. I thought there was going to be a 3rd volume but apparently not.

[Sara (BookshelfSOS) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was initially hesitant to read this, because I though that Dragon's Winter ended in an odd and unsatisfying way. Well, I have never been happier to be wrong.

You should take this book as a partner to Dragon's Winter, and don't treat it as a standalone. As a pair, this is a really lovely set. Granted, it's pretty clear that there is meant to be at least one more book in this series which is probably never going to be released. Normally, I wouldn't read a series that I knew was abandoned but sometimes it's just so good that it's worth it. This is one of those times!

This book had a lot more politics and world-building than the first. We get to see places beyond Ippa, which was really fun. I liked the new characters that were introduced, especially Azil's protege, Juni.

If anyone else is in the same boat that I was and wondering about how the relationship between Azil and Karadur is dealt with (especially after the epilogue of the previous book and the summary of this book being all about Karadur transformed by love for Maia)... let me reassure you that this book features their relationship *prominently*. In my opinion, it's more prominent here than it was in Dragon's Winter. There is explicit acknowledgment of their relationship from multiple characters, and a scene from Azil's POV where he is lying in bed with Karadur and thinking about their relationship. Like the first book, this is all dealt with subtly and, in my opinion, with a perfect amount of balance. Honestly, the whole plot of the book could basically be boiled down to "how can Karadur balance his love for Azil with his need to have children (and necessarily find a female lover)".

I can't get over the way that Lynn writes. Her prose is so sparse, but she manages to convey a TON of emotion and nuance. She is clearly a virtuoso of the "show, don't tell" philosophy. If nothing else, this book could be part of a course on how to convey meaning and atmosphere without the need for adverbs, which is something you should definitely study if you're a writer.

I love this book. I wish Lynn had finished the series, but I'll take what I can get.

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this better than Dragon's Winter. Where Winter is a good vs. evil quest, leaning hard on fantasy tropes and a cold authorial voice, Treasure is about people, with an interpersonal and political plot, less subtext, and a more immediate tone. That shift in tone and the increased scale of the worldbuilding creates uneven pacing, and, despite returning to the interpersonal roots that make them successful, this isn't as distinctive or memorable as Lynn's earlier work. But it's likable, which is a pleasant surprise after its unapproachable predecessor, and satisfies me as a Lynn completionist.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book a lot, but it will always feel incomplete to me. I want more Karadur and Taran and more Karadur and Jewel. Just more in general.

[Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to Dragon's Winter, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's effectively more of the same, except with less of a focused plot. This is not the kind of story you would really enjoy reading unless you've read the first book, I think. Since I liked the characters from the first one, this was enjoyable to read and find out what happened to them in the future - it also ties up the semi-cliffhanger ending from the first book nicely.

Whereas the first book had a clear villain and goal for the lead characters, this one lacks that kind of clear overarching plot. I've always enjoyed family saga type novels, so for me it was more than enough just to see what the characters were getting up to. There are hints at a coming war and political intrigue, but none of that comes to fruition in this book. Maybe it was intended for a third in the series?

This review has been wandering back and forth a bit now without any clear direction (like the book) so I'll finish up by saying I enjoyed it a lot. I like her writing style and I liked seeing more of the characters from the first book. If you don't agree with both those points or didn't read the first book, I wouldn't recommend this one.

[Flashfang Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit my expectations for this book were rather low when I started reading it. I was rather disappointed by Dragon's Winter and wasn't feeling too thrilled but I bought the duology so why not. I must say I am certainly glad I did because Lynn did pretty much a 180 turn in terms of quality. This is a far superior book than the first one I must say. It seems the author really dialed in and refined her writing on this one. As always, I will break up the review into categories based on what I liked and did not about the book. There will possibly be minor spoilers here and probably some for Dragon's Winter so just a heads up but I'll try to keep all of that to a minimum. Keep in mind these are my personal thoughts on the book though I try to be objective.

What I Enjoyed:

Worldbuilding:
The author manages to expand upon the world and flesh it out more. In Dragon's Winter, the setting just kind of felt 'there' and not really built up or explored in any kind of detail. That gets remedied here and Ryoka really gets explored in more detail in terms of its politics and such thanks to exploring different PoVs throughout the story. We learn Karadur's relation to the other lords of the realm along with how they interact with each other. It provided a lot of backdrop and context for the various goings on in the book.

Characters:
This is one of the things that truly hurt the previous book for me and contributing to its low rating. In Dragon's Winter, the characters a lot of the time just felt either wooden or like props only meant to propel the story forward. Here they are fleshed out in far more detail and truly feel like distinct people which really made me think so much better of the book. We truly get to know more of Karadur and how he feels lonely given he's the only one of his kind. In addition, we also see his temper come into play more and the reasoning behind it when it happens. In addition, his relationship with Azil is demonstrated far better in this book and we really can see how much they care about each other. His other love interest Maia also is clearly her own person in story which is something a lot of writers screw up with the love interest as the daughter of a disgusting and despicable nobleman that literally everyone else hates. At first, she has consigned herself to being the pariah daughter of a bandit clan leader but as time goes on she befriends the people around her and starts to make a name and living for herself as an herbalist healer. Shem Wolfson is also a prominent PoV in Dragon's Treasure as the orphan son of Wolf the changeling. His arc revolves around coming to terms with his own distinct heritage and manifesting powers. Maia's half brother Treion is also a great character in his own right to the point I'd like to talk about him specifically for a moment.

In Dragon's Winter, Tenjiro just felt like a cackling villain with being basically boiled down to 'jealous sibling who goes to the dark side to prove his 'superiority' to his hated sibling.' He was just so incredibly one dimensional and it was so hard to really get invested. Treion Unamira on the other hand is an infinitely more fascinating character. He begins the story doing what he thinks is just natural being the grandson of a bandit leader and is pretty competent at it as well. However he's not just a mustache twirling villain, he does have some standards such as being disgusted with the rumors of the atrocities his right hand man has committed and really does care about his sister. Over the course of the story, he really grows as a person and starts to question what it is he really wants out of life which leads to a redemption arc. He is a very engaging character overall who is just fascinating to read and a lot of authors could learn from the example.

More Tightened Focus
In my opinion, quite possibly the biggest weakness of Dragon's Winter was at times it's like it wasn't sure what kind of story it was trying to be. Half the time it tried acting like an old school epic high fantasy adventure and the other half of the time an exploration of character and their place in the world to the point both were executed poorly. Here however, it's very clear this is an exploration of the characters and the ways they interact with the world around them and it was done very well.

Issues:

Lack of Resolution:
Here's where I think the big problem with this book was and why I had to ding it to 4 stars. There were several sideplots going on throughout the book and it felt like they never really got wrapped up unlike Treion's. How was Prince Cirrion able to calm Karadur down at the wedding? Does he have magical powers of some sort? That's never expanded upon, it's merely noted a few times as strange by some of the other characters but never really explored. Shem's personal arc was about his powers awakening and other changelings like Karadur and Hawk are astonished with his ability to link with other minds at his age. By the end of the book, he goes off with a relative of his to learn more about his changeling nature and his abilities but it feels like a cutoff point. There is another one with Azil but to talk about that one is major spoilers so I won't mention what happened there.

The biggest lack of resolution however was with Karadur himself. The blurb acted like it was a story of him learning to control his dragon temper which he really needs given it literally led to the deaths of multiple allies of his throughout the story in a very heartbreaking manner. But besides his relationship with Maia blooming, it feels like he himself didn't have too much character development with him wrestling with that anger. According to some reviewers, it's like Lynn had meant for this series to have another book in it but she just never wrote it and I must say I can see the reasoning there and agree with it after reading this. That's a real shame though given I had finally got emotionally invested in these characters and there was a lot of potential easily for a third book.

Conclusion:
Overall, I thought Dragon's Treasure was a vastly superior book compared to its predecessor. It felt far more dialed in and did a much better job of execution in terms of characters and even prose. Such a shame it follows a very mediocre first book which hurts its ability to be enjoyed by people. In any case, I think Lynn certainly redeemed herself here and I greatly enjoyed this book.

[Lisa H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So torn about this one. It's very much a middle book, although it had been so long since I read Dragon Winter that I remembered very little about it, and relied on the strength of Lynn's worldbuilding to pull me back in. (She did, beautifully.) Her writing is so lyrical, and she crafts such complex relationships in spare prose, I can't NOT read anything she's written.

Here's the frustrating thing about the book: It just leaves you hanging, and even more so than most fantasy-epic offerings. It took 6 years for her to follow up DW, and it's now been 10 years since DT. I had actually been under the impression that this was just a dualogy, but about 100 pgs from the end realized that no, it wasn't going to wrap up by book's end, and I have to wonder what her publisher's doing - have they given up? is there ever going to be a concluding book? and WHY do I always fall in love with authors/stories that end up dragging on for decades without resolution???

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 in the series. I think Lynn is an amazing writer. Her images and myths are so well wound into her storylines. She presents both hetero- and homosexual relationships so believably. She writes about singers/songs in such a way you can almost hear them. If you are a fantasy fan AT ALL, you should know her.

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Dragon's Winter -- equally as good and a good thing she wrote it because it helps finish the story of Dragon's Winter. A good read.

[R E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly imagined and compellingly written, Dragon's Treasure, the second of the two books in Elizabeth A. Lynn's Dragon series, is nearly as dark and violent as the first book, Dragon's Winter. Dragon's Treasure is told from the viewpoint of several main characters, but everything centers around the crimes committed by Treion Unamira, who is likely the step brother of the Dragon prince, and his band of marauding thieves as they kill, burn, and pillage. One of Treion’s men viciously tortures a young boy to death, only one of many crimes that keep him and his men on the run.

Karadur, the Dragon prince, and the man he loves, the singer Azil, play key parts in this book, as does Shem Wolfson, the young wolf changeling orphaned in the first book. New villains, in addition to Treion, are introduced, as is Maia, Treion's half-sister and a potential rival for Karadur's affections. Other, secondary characters from Dragon's Winter play larger roles in this one, such as Rogys, the red-headed soldier who loves Karadur from afar, and Lorimer, the captain of Karadur's forces.

Lynn, in an obscure blog post to a fan, has indicated that there won't be any more books in the Dragon series. But reading Dragon's Treasure, which introduces a rich variety of cultures, principalities, and mythic belief systems, all described in concrete detail, I get the impression Lynn might have considered a third book at some point. It's a bit frustrating.

By analogy, there's a painting by Rembrandt in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, called "Artist in His Studio." It's a fine painting, but there's an old black and white photograph of it that shows what we're missing. The painting on exhibit feels tight and cramped for Rembrandt, who was a master of composition. In the photo, we see a much bigger canvas. As soon as I saw the photo of the original, my body and mind relaxed into the perfect pictorial logic of what Rembrandt intended. At some point, some brute cut off the top portion of the painting, and the remnant that we're left teases us with an experience we'll never have.

Reading Dragon's Treasure is like looking at Rembrandt's cut-down painting. It teases us with a rich tapestry of stories we'll never get. Lynn's is a powerful, imaginative voice, and, without a third book, it feels as if it's been cut off and silenced, a thought only partially formed.

That said, everything I wrote in my review of the first book applies to this one. Operatic themes of intense emotion and loss, of jealousy, greed and betrayal, thread through the daily lives of its characters. Despite the dark story, Lynn attempts to stand Dragon's Treasure in a Hegelian opposition to Dragon's Winter, and, by the end, also tries to give us an aufheben, a potentially transcendent new beginning after so much tragedy. Perhaps if there had been a third book this attempt might have worked. But as it is, there's little humane or redemptive in Dragon's Treasure; at most, they are hinted at, but never made a reality.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently read two of Elizabeth Lynn's books after a long hiatus from her fiction. Both of these have stood the test of time. In Dragon's Winter , Dragon is caught between good and evil, and must make a number of difficult choices. It is a conflict between two superpowers, which could move the land into an ice age. Dragon's Treasure, on the other hand, is a somewhat quieter book. Karadur continues to struggle with impulsive outbursts of anger, but he also practices forgiveness (of self and others) and builds his chosen family.

Dragon's Treasure feels like the second in a longer series, although it is Lynn's last novel. Her secondary characters – Shem, Hawk, One-arm, Azil, Maia and her child, and others – seem to have been set out on Karadur's keph board, to put into play in future books in the series. I imagine a Shem grown into his abilities; a wise Hawk, guiding the less experienced around her; Maia's child, also Dragon.

Unfortunately (for me), Lynn struggled with writer's block, writing sporadically in later years. As far as I can tell, she only published a single short story since this last book. As she is only 77 or 78 at this point, one can hope.

A 1997 interview with Lynn: https://www.locusmag.com/1997/Issues/...

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given my love affair with Elizabeth A. Lynn's Dragon's Winter, I was excited, to say the least, to read the sequel, Dragon's Treasure. It was a very different book, than its predecessor; slower paced, wider ranging with the cast of characters, with a looser plot overall, that showcased the characters' internal growth rather than the society's external change.
Dragon's Treasure is a tender, compassionate, and glorious slice-of-life tale that showed what happens after the big battles and the big losses of the first book on Karadur, Azil, Hawk, Shem Wolfson, and even the newer characters such as Maia and her brother Trieon. My main complaint is that while Dragon's Treasure follows a complete story arc, the characters and the world do not feel finished. There is so much potential to continue with Shem's journey, with Azil and Karadur's relationship, and with Karadur's daughter, still unnamed. I honestly hope that Lynn will return the Dragon duology and continue to write installments in this beautifully realized world.
To be brief, it was an absolute treat to return to the world of Dragon's Winter, and while I am honestly sad to leave behind my friends in Dragon's Keep, I will most definitely return someday.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The synopsis is very miss leading. The main character Dragon has two lovers and I would say the man Azil is probably more important to him than the women love interest. Also if you are looking for a hero Dragon isn’t one. He basically has control issues(losses his temper several times and kills people on accident). Yet the people under his command still follow him loyally and without question. But I guess if I was confronted with strong angry fire breathing dragon I’d fall in line too. Really what option is there?
This book picks up from the end of the first book but from a different point of view. So you could probably read this book as a stand-alone if you wanted. Both books are completely different ideas with same characters.
I feel like this entire book is full of half developed themes, direction, plot. Also no one thought was followed to completion or elaborated on. A lot of character dialogue but you don’t really get any vibes/emotion/sense of how characters felt. Ending leaves you unsatisfied. I will say even with all the problems this book was much more enjoyable to read than Dragon’s Winter.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meld of the ordinary in a fantasy world along with the heroic; where kindess and cruel deeds create a bubbling cauldron of consequences, which simmer to a satisfying conclusion, save for one, the last. We should have gotten more at the end. Other than that, this was a rich and intricate follow-up to the first book; focusing more upon character development and how the world comes to life around those characters than a single foe, a single threat in need of defeating for the world’s sake. The characters carried the story forward, creating its movement as opposed to an overwhelming evil overshadowing everyone. Threats emerged and were faced as part of the overall tapestry of life playing out in this fantasy world, drawing attention with their individual development. This felt like an organic, natural response to the events of the first novel, bringing everyone full circle in an equally organic manner.

[Zara West · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came packaged with Dragon's Winter. The characters are a carry-through from the first book, but the story continues on with only a hint of the aftereffects of the dragon's battle with evil. In general, this reads more like the start of a long series than the second book. Lots of characters are introduced and deeply developed. I particularly liked the small boy, Shem, who was described beautifully and who has the potential to be the hero of the whole series, at least, for me.
If you like convoluted, complex, deep fantasy this is the book for you.

[Russall Noell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly a well written story. The dynamic between the King and the musician is both heartwarming and sad as not only does the past still hunts them but the future starts to take hold as the King finds another who is not afraid of what he truly is. And can give him a heir.
That being said, do not invest your time into this book. It ends on the biggest cliffhanger I have ever read. And does not continue. The author themself has said that they will not be continuing the story.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Azil the harpist flees Dragon Keep when his lover, Lord Karadur Atani, gets a human woman with child.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never get over how perfectly Elizabeth Lynn writes. No word wasted, simple graceful sentences splashed with beauty, images I can picture with radiant clarity.

[Tamra Oscroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, but it kind of rambled with no real continuous plot. It was almost like a series of short stories.
But, it was a nice clean read with good characters!

[Netti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantasy. First published 2003

Wie der erste Band, ist auch "Dragon's Treasure" unterhaltsame, etwas oberflächliche Fantasy mit nicht allzu viel detaillierter Gewalt, aber auch nicht allzu atemberaubend. Erfreulich aus dem üblichen Rahmen fällt das liberale Gender-Konzept.

Was mir nicht gefällt: "Dragon" darf offenbar straflos morden. Während der Durchschnittsbürger für einen Totschlag hingerichtet wird, ist es völlig akzeptabel, wenn "Dragon" bei einem Wutanfall oder einer "Bestrafung" mehrere Tote als Kollateralschaden verursacht. Während er einen Feind richtet (der das definitiv verdient hat), tötet er auch sämtliche Hausangestellten (bei einem so reichen Mann dürften das sicherlich ein Dutzend sein)! Aber, OMG, er rettet ein Baby!!! Soll der Leser ihn dafür etwa bewundern???

Die Welt ist tatsächlich so. Genau so. Aber gerade deshalb wäre es wünschenswert, dass jemand, irgend jemand unter den Protagonisten dies ausspricht! Warum wählen Menschen seit tausenden Jahren "Monster" zu ihren Anführern... aggressionsenthemmte, egozentrische, oft psychopathische Unmenschen? In der Hoffnung, das eigene Monster schützt die Gemeinschaft vor fremden Monstern? Warum werfen sich sabbernde Frauen solchen Kerlen zu Füßen und haben nichts eiligeres zu tun, als kleine Monster in die Welt zu setzen?

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low star is entirely because of the ending. The book itself was good - it didn't have the focus of the first one, tended to meander around a bit, but I enjoyed all of the characters (even the one who started life as a villain) and didn't mind following them around in vaguely interconnected stories.

....and then it ended. With NONE of the plotlines resolved. Or rather, everything had a soft resolve, but nothing that was satisfying to the reader, nothing that actually wrapped up loose ends, just sort of gathered them into a bunch and dropped them. I turned past the last page and was literally "....what? The publisher forgot the rest of the book? The author got tired of writing it and just stopped? What just happened?"

If you enjoyed Dragon and Shem and the other characters from the first book, and are open to meeting new ones, this isn't a terrible waste of time. Just be warned - the ending is nonexistant, and that's all there is.

[Karen Crouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book as it had be ages since I read the 1st in the series. Once I started to get into it and remember what had happened previously I did enjoy it but of course it ends on a bit of a cliff hanger so I will need to get the next one.

[Judith · Rating 2 out of 5]

It passed the time, that's about all I can say about this one.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even worse than Dragon's Winter. Don't bother.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine sequel to the first novel in this series.

[Bec · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what the point of this book was, then ended with a fantastic cliffhanger that would probably eventuate to another bland non event in the next book. It was free.

[Tessa in Mid-Michigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Very poignant and rich and just a bit more graphic than I like. Filled with streams of mercy and grief with lovely stories, some sad. I wish Lynn would write more.

[Harriet Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon's Treasure

This is a very well written book. Ms. Lynn develops interesting characters along with the story line. Hopefully she will continue with a new story of Dragon.