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Star Rigger #3
Dragon Rigger
Legends of a subjective reality in the hyperspace Flux, where dragons combat stray riggers, have existed since the rigger pilots began their navigations. But Jael LeBrae discovered legend is real enough in the Flux, when she met Highwing, a dragon in mortal battle with the evil creature Tar-skel, known as the Nail of Strength. Now Jael finds herself thrust back into the battle again, but this time with a much reduced band of dragons. Tar-skel is expanding his dominion beyond the dragon universe and the fate of all humanity now rests on the outcome.
475 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 12, 2023
Nah. This one ventured too far into the realm of spells and sorcery. It started with the same scifi feel as in the previous two novels, but ended up focusing on a high fantasy like war between the dragon factions. I'm sure it's still good storytelling but it's just not for me... so much so that I'm hesitant to continue the series.
June 9, 2010
The first book in this duology is a simple story of the star rigger Jael - a young woman wrestling with personal issues regarding her dishonest father, and her lack of success in her chosen profession. Desperation leads her to take a commission with a decidedly shady star captain - who, sure enough, tries to enslave his new navigator with banned drug technology, and assaults her when she protests.
However, Jael finds unlikely allies - in the 'warp' space known as the flux, which riggers 'visit' as a mentally-generated landscape, she finds that there has been some truth to the unsubstantiated rumors of dragons in space...
A very light and simple story - I almost felt that it would have been better as a short story rather than a novel.
The sequel, Dragon Rigger, is much more complex - one almost feels as if the first book was merely an introduction to the characters and scenario. Now, the realm of the dragons is torn by a vicious civil war. If the Enemy wins, he may even break out of the Flux and subsume human space with his evil plans.
However, an ancient prophecy seems to indicate that Jael may be involved with the end of the war - the good dragons hope that this means she will help them - but it could equally be interpreted to mean that her death will spell the end of the dragons' Realm. Better than the first one, I thought, but the book suffers from weak individual characterizations and a fairly typical fantasy plot.
(But I liked the parrot - more spaceships should have a cyber-parrot!)
However, Jael finds unlikely allies - in the 'warp' space known as the flux, which riggers 'visit' as a mentally-generated landscape, she finds that there has been some truth to the unsubstantiated rumors of dragons in space...
A very light and simple story - I almost felt that it would have been better as a short story rather than a novel.
The sequel, Dragon Rigger, is much more complex - one almost feels as if the first book was merely an introduction to the characters and scenario. Now, the realm of the dragons is torn by a vicious civil war. If the Enemy wins, he may even break out of the Flux and subsume human space with his evil plans.
However, an ancient prophecy seems to indicate that Jael may be involved with the end of the war - the good dragons hope that this means she will help them - but it could equally be interpreted to mean that her death will spell the end of the dragons' Realm. Better than the first one, I thought, but the book suffers from weak individual characterizations and a fairly typical fantasy plot.
(But I liked the parrot - more spaceships should have a cyber-parrot!)
May 7, 2017
I'm a big fan of Jeffrey Carver's science fiction and let myself be talked into this early series of his as a mix of SF and fantasy. I'd read the earlier books awhile ago but I recall that as being mostly true. Not the case here. In spite of a rocket ship and an alien (not counting the dragons), this is fantasy: spells, sprites, prophecies, characters with insufferably cute names, etc. I think this is the last of the series but after this if he writes any more, this is not a universe I care to return to, although I'll snap up any of his SF upon publication.
And just so people have a context for my take here -- so you'll know if yours will vary -- I found "Lord of the Rings" to be a crashing bore.
And just so people have a context for my take here -- so you'll know if yours will vary -- I found "Lord of the Rings" to be a crashing bore.
February 16, 2021
I wanted so much to like this book, as I love anything with dragons. However, I just couldn’t do it. I persevered, as I HATE giving up on a book, but it wasn’t until the last 50 pages that I really started to enjoy it, and then it was done. And I don’t think it was 100% necessary to have read the previous book. I hadn’t, and managed quite well, considering.
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July 10, 2022I found this to be a nice mix of fantasy and science fiction, my two favorite genres. While it does make it obvious that there is a book before this one, you can read this one without reading the other. The story is compelling and I did want to know how the heroes and heroine would triumph at the end.
April 16, 2018
Great read
Would you give up everything for a friend? Life as you knew it to live in another world in another form, perhaps described as a ghost. Jael did and was the one to save their world and in doing so lost her own. Great read.
Would you give up everything for a friend? Life as you knew it to live in another world in another form, perhaps described as a ghost. Jael did and was the one to save their world and in doing so lost her own. Great read.
July 21, 2017
I quite enjoyed this tale of dragons and star riggers. It was a great mesh of fantasy and sci fi.
March 31, 2018
It says you should read the preceding book. I believe them. Didn’t bother continuing with this one.
October 22, 2019
Couldn't put it down.
A fantastic read. I really enjoyed the view from a dragon. I didn't want to put it down to sleep.
A fantastic read. I really enjoyed the view from a dragon. I didn't want to put it down to sleep.
February 17, 2021
I gave up
I gave up reading this book. The plot was long and dragged out, and I lost patience and interest. The characters didn't appeal to me either.
I gave up reading this book. The plot was long and dragged out, and I lost patience and interest. The characters didn't appeal to me either.
July 2, 2023
070123
This was a great read. Pills you in, hook line and sinker by first chapters end. You don't want to stop reading to come up for air.
This was a great read. Pills you in, hook line and sinker by first chapters end. You don't want to stop reading to come up for air.
June 8, 2015
Had read this long ago and just remembered it after coming across it here.
Complex and deep themes with rich storytelling but with other elements that lacks luster, the whole story failed to hold together or stimulate.
The story focuses on characters that are barely so so. Characters that you soon forget as the spotlight leave them. Events then seem to stretch out to infinity as the characters that we don't care about act their parts. There was this interesting character from the previous book, but she appears here only to die after a few paragraphs (or so it seems). Then the build up of action and conflict, only to have a rather wimpy end.
After industriously plodding through the whole book. My only reaction is a shrug. I never read such a novel that that makes me feel indifferent about it.
Complex and deep themes with rich storytelling but with other elements that lacks luster, the whole story failed to hold together or stimulate.
The story focuses on characters that are barely so so. Characters that you soon forget as the spotlight leave them. Events then seem to stretch out to infinity as the characters that we don't care about act their parts. There was this interesting character from the previous book, but she appears here only to die after a few paragraphs (or so it seems). Then the build up of action and conflict, only to have a rather wimpy end.
After industriously plodding through the whole book. My only reaction is a shrug. I never read such a novel that that makes me feel indifferent about it.
March 6, 2020
Unfortunately, I could not get into this book at all. I liked the characters of Jael and Windrush and some of the others, but the setting and the story just didn’t interest me, and I was not a big fan of the writing style, though I got used to it. Some of the writing and characterization could have used some focus or maturation, and I don’t think it was intentional on the author’s part. My favorite parts dealt with Jael in the normal realm, which was so sparse as to be non-existent.
My full spoiler review can be found here:
http://ossuslibrary.tripod.com/Bk_SF/...
My full spoiler review can be found here:
http://ossuslibrary.tripod.com/Bk_SF/...
March 19, 2016
This really felt like a fantasy wrapped in a science fiction shell. Both parts were well written, but it seemed the fantasy story dominated the novel. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I don't know if I will read more in the wider series yet. If there were another with a focus (even minor) on the dragons, I certainly would.
I think you need to like both science fiction and fantasy to enjoy this book. If you do, I urge you to start with Dragons in the Stars and continue on to this one.
I think you need to like both science fiction and fantasy to enjoy this book. If you do, I urge you to start with Dragons in the Stars and continue on to this one.
January 8, 2016
Magical - AND SF!
A fantastic turn through space, with a fantasy - but not fantasy - theme. Hard to describe, but in the realm of space opera, so often filled with military campaigns and battles, this Tolkeinesque story of spaceships and dragons was ... refreshing. And the themes of risk and sacrifice were deep and meaningful - not simple adventure.
A fantastic turn through space, with a fantasy - but not fantasy - theme. Hard to describe, but in the realm of space opera, so often filled with military campaigns and battles, this Tolkeinesque story of spaceships and dragons was ... refreshing. And the themes of risk and sacrifice were deep and meaningful - not simple adventure.
September 5, 2013
Still not quite coming together for me as a series. Not a bad book but not quite as riveting as I'd like. It's nice that more explanations of what was going on occurred but still the pacing and character development simply weren't jelling for me.
October 7, 2010
A detailed follow-up to "Dragons in the Stars".
April 14, 2017
Not feeling it. Maybe if I'd tried the earlier stories first, but mainly just not into it.
April 18, 2017
Entertaining story with imaginative characters but too drawn out.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews