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Warhorse of Esdragon #1
The Prince of Ill Luck
Leith had been born under a curse, but when he found Valadan, a fabulous black stallion, he thought his luck and his life were about to change. He was only partly right. He wins the hand of a maiden who she doesn't want to be won. The maiden claims her missing mother is a witch and wants to look for her, not marry. And with Leith's help, she can. Perhaps when they finally find her, he can get rid of this curse. . . once and for all!
249 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 1994
10 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Susan Dexter
23 books66 followersSusan Dexter’s favorite subject for her books is fantasy and throughout her life has worked as a librarian, teacher, and writer.
Susan received her first award, the Merit Award, in 1976 from the Lawrence County Open Arts Show. She also received the Distinguished Award from them in 1982 and 1983. The Wizard’s Shadow was listed among the “Books for the Teen Age” in 1993 by the New York Public Library.
She now lives in New Castle, Pennsylvania in the vintage house that her book sales enabled her to buy and restore.
Susan received her first award, the Merit Award, in 1976 from the Lawrence County Open Arts Show. She also received the Distinguished Award from them in 1982 and 1983. The Wizard’s Shadow was listed among the “Books for the Teen Age” in 1993 by the New York Public Library.
She now lives in New Castle, Pennsylvania in the vintage house that her book sales enabled her to buy and restore.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 7, 2017
Good airplane read, which is what I bought it for. Omniscient viewpoint including that of the horse -- at a certain younger age, I would have been all over that. Well proof-read, being an older title long out of print. I'm not sure I was engaged enough to go chasing after the three sequels, but I don't regret the time spent on this.
Alternate-world medievaloid fantasy, uniting the quests of a down-on-his-luck prince, a duke's daughter whose dad (and mom) have disappeared mysteriously, leaving the dukedom under pressure from people trying to move into his power and marry his daughter unwilling, and the magical horse fathered by the wind itself.
If the author has recovered the rights, she should get them up as self-pubbed e-books. I'd have bought it retail for my Kindle if I could have found it, but was instead forced to hit the used market, from which the author gets nada.
Ta, L.
Alternate-world medievaloid fantasy, uniting the quests of a down-on-his-luck prince, a duke's daughter whose dad (and mom) have disappeared mysteriously, leaving the dukedom under pressure from people trying to move into his power and marry his daughter unwilling, and the magical horse fathered by the wind itself.
If the author has recovered the rights, she should get them up as self-pubbed e-books. I'd have bought it retail for my Kindle if I could have found it, but was instead forced to hit the used market, from which the author gets nada.
Ta, L.
July 31, 2023
I loved most of this book.
I loved Leith, the eponymous Prince of Ill Luck. Born under a curse which causes misfortune to follow him like a huge and malevolent shadow, he absolutely can’t catch a break (unless it's literal). He is constantly bumped and bruised and broken, and is living proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But the ill luck is also that of those around him: wherever he goes, calamity follows. Cattle plagues, fishing hauls dropping from bumper crop to empty nets … earthquakes … Whatever he does, wherever he goes, terrible things happen. Finally, his father the king sends him off to marry a distant princess. Unfortunately Leith + ship = shipwreck, and he – possibly the only survivor – is washed onto an unknown shore, and has to decide whether to seek out people, and thereby endanger them, or figure out some lonely alternative. In his wanderings, he comes upon a horse, also wandering loose: a beautiful black stallion, small but perfect. (Valadan, the horse somehow communicates to him.) Leith – eventually – captures him, not only for the simple reason that riding will be easier than walking but also because the money from selling the horse might make the difference his life needs.
When he arrives on a certain beach, however, he decides to try something different with the amazing little horse: there is a competition going on, young men attempting to take their horses up a hill of glass to claim a gold ring at the top. A gold ring is worth money – maybe, he thinks, he can take advantage of the weird communication he has with Valadan, and the stallion’s extraordinary agility, to claim the ring – and sell it instead of the horse, which he is more and more reluctant to do.
And it works.
Sort of.
The fly in the ointment is that the ring isn’t the real prize; it is only the immediate proof that the task has been accomplished. The real prize for accomplishing the task is the hand of the Lady Kessalia in marriage. Leith is dismayed – this is not what he had planned – but not nearly as dismayed as Kess: she has no intention of marrying. The whole competition was meant as a distraction, as she worked out her plans to go off in search of her mother, who disappeared years before; her father went to look for her, and has not been seen since. And now she just can’t be rid of Leith. He is a man of honor – he will not let a young (very young) woman go off into the unknown by herself … and, too (mostly), once he learns that Kess’s mother is a witch, he wants to meet her. Maybe she can alleviate, or even remove, the curse.
And here’s where the book lost a lot of love. Valadan, of course, is as always wonderful. The story is grand, or begins so. Leith is steadfast and cheerful in the face of the most abysmal happenings, but not to a degree where I wanted to drown him myself. He has had a horrible life from the moment of his birth, and has managed to reach adulthood scarred (internally and externally) but generous, devout, and surprisingly optimistic. As I said, I love Leith.
Kess, though … She’s shockingly awful. She’s spoiled, is part of it, and also she hasn't had an easy life herself - her mother's witchyness has led to ostracism for Kess. So some anti-social behavior is understandable. But Kess goes well beyond simple brat. She is self-centered, self-absorbed: anyone else in her vicinity only exists insofar as they can serve and obey her. Otherwise they need to just shut up and get out of her way. Or else. When Leith comes into her vicinity and refuses to leave it even when ordered, even when shrieked at, even when she tries stealth to escape him, she takes to abusing him. He is a gullible sort, so desperate for a way to turn his luck and spare not only himself but those around him that he will do anything she suggests, not suspecting for a good long while how evil she is. When finally he realizes that she is telling him to do painful and humiliating and ridiculous things just to inflict pain and humiliation and ridicule on him, he stops listening, finally – but he still refuses to leave … why, then she simply resorts to poison.
Literally.
She poisons him.
I hate Kessalia.
Her behavior is extreme, inexcusable, and unredeemable, she quickly became one of my most-hated characters in all of fiction, and not very far into the book I made a note that this would be a wallbanger if Leith and Kess ended the book married. (Wallbanger: book which makes a bang when flung against the wall.) I won’t spoil the ending, but it was not what I would have chosen.
The writing is excellent. The characters, even the hateful Kess, are well-drawn; I couldn’t hate Kess with such a passion if she hadn’t been given life by the writing. The plot never does just what is expected, which is good, and the story as a whole is lovely, weaving fairy tale elements into a realistic and heart-felt tale.
If only the female lead wasn’t a sadist.
I loved Leith, the eponymous Prince of Ill Luck. Born under a curse which causes misfortune to follow him like a huge and malevolent shadow, he absolutely can’t catch a break (unless it's literal). He is constantly bumped and bruised and broken, and is living proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But the ill luck is also that of those around him: wherever he goes, calamity follows. Cattle plagues, fishing hauls dropping from bumper crop to empty nets … earthquakes … Whatever he does, wherever he goes, terrible things happen. Finally, his father the king sends him off to marry a distant princess. Unfortunately Leith + ship = shipwreck, and he – possibly the only survivor – is washed onto an unknown shore, and has to decide whether to seek out people, and thereby endanger them, or figure out some lonely alternative. In his wanderings, he comes upon a horse, also wandering loose: a beautiful black stallion, small but perfect. (Valadan, the horse somehow communicates to him.) Leith – eventually – captures him, not only for the simple reason that riding will be easier than walking but also because the money from selling the horse might make the difference his life needs.
When he arrives on a certain beach, however, he decides to try something different with the amazing little horse: there is a competition going on, young men attempting to take their horses up a hill of glass to claim a gold ring at the top. A gold ring is worth money – maybe, he thinks, he can take advantage of the weird communication he has with Valadan, and the stallion’s extraordinary agility, to claim the ring – and sell it instead of the horse, which he is more and more reluctant to do.
And it works.
Sort of.
The fly in the ointment is that the ring isn’t the real prize; it is only the immediate proof that the task has been accomplished. The real prize for accomplishing the task is the hand of the Lady Kessalia in marriage. Leith is dismayed – this is not what he had planned – but not nearly as dismayed as Kess: she has no intention of marrying. The whole competition was meant as a distraction, as she worked out her plans to go off in search of her mother, who disappeared years before; her father went to look for her, and has not been seen since. And now she just can’t be rid of Leith. He is a man of honor – he will not let a young (very young) woman go off into the unknown by herself … and, too (mostly), once he learns that Kess’s mother is a witch, he wants to meet her. Maybe she can alleviate, or even remove, the curse.
And here’s where the book lost a lot of love. Valadan, of course, is as always wonderful. The story is grand, or begins so. Leith is steadfast and cheerful in the face of the most abysmal happenings, but not to a degree where I wanted to drown him myself. He has had a horrible life from the moment of his birth, and has managed to reach adulthood scarred (internally and externally) but generous, devout, and surprisingly optimistic. As I said, I love Leith.
Kess, though … She’s shockingly awful. She’s spoiled, is part of it, and also she hasn't had an easy life herself - her mother's witchyness has led to ostracism for Kess. So some anti-social behavior is understandable. But Kess goes well beyond simple brat. She is self-centered, self-absorbed: anyone else in her vicinity only exists insofar as they can serve and obey her. Otherwise they need to just shut up and get out of her way. Or else. When Leith comes into her vicinity and refuses to leave it even when ordered, even when shrieked at, even when she tries stealth to escape him, she takes to abusing him. He is a gullible sort, so desperate for a way to turn his luck and spare not only himself but those around him that he will do anything she suggests, not suspecting for a good long while how evil she is. When finally he realizes that she is telling him to do painful and humiliating and ridiculous things just to inflict pain and humiliation and ridicule on him, he stops listening, finally – but he still refuses to leave … why, then she simply resorts to poison.
Literally.
She poisons him.
I hate Kessalia.
Her behavior is extreme, inexcusable, and unredeemable, she quickly became one of my most-hated characters in all of fiction, and not very far into the book I made a note that this would be a wallbanger if Leith and Kess ended the book married. (Wallbanger: book which makes a bang when flung against the wall.) I won’t spoil the ending, but it was not what I would have chosen.
The writing is excellent. The characters, even the hateful Kess, are well-drawn; I couldn’t hate Kess with such a passion if she hadn’t been given life by the writing. The plot never does just what is expected, which is good, and the story as a whole is lovely, weaving fairy tale elements into a realistic and heart-felt tale.
If only the female lead wasn’t a sadist.
May 3, 2012
I picked this up after I read a review that professed astonishment at its out-of-print state. I'm not as surprised.
The beginning of the story concerns itself with the conception of a stallion, apparently sired by the wind. The level of detail makes me assume that Dexter is something of a horsewoman, and I was entertained by how briefly the eponymous prince's background was described in comparison. The prince is cursed: after his father tried to kill him as a newborn, he was given to priests to raise, only to be rejected by the goddess. He sets off overseas to a betrothal (so he'll take his ill luck to another kingdom), only to get shipwrecked, of course. In the same place where a certain stallion is roaming free. At this point I was expecting The Black Stallion for adults.
Enter Kess, both a duke's daughter and a witch's. Here my interest plummeted and never really stopped falling. She's a spoiled piece of work, convinced that the mother she's never known will offer her a special understanding (since her doting ducal father apparently isn't good enough for her), and after using the prince to abandon her responsibilities as regent, tries to get rid of his companionship by playing cruel pranks and eventually poisoning him. (Not fatally, but dude, still.) After she falls into a trance in a system of caves and the prince rescues her over a course of dark, arduous days, she wakes up and wants to go back in. Only after she deliberately leaves him injured and unconscious does she show any remorse at all. Personally, by that point I wanted their positions reversed.
Let's not forget the magic stallion, who helps them survive a number of dangers. For all the care given his entrance into the world, his main purpose seems to be allowing the prince to keep up with Kess. And yes, there is a romantic subplot to this book--something I'm usually quite vulnerable to, but which in this case made me gag.
It's a pity, because there were some nice bits of writing here and there. But I couldn't stand the characters. I can't imagine telling anyone to do anything but steer clear of this book.
The beginning of the story concerns itself with the conception of a stallion, apparently sired by the wind. The level of detail makes me assume that Dexter is something of a horsewoman, and I was entertained by how briefly the eponymous prince's background was described in comparison. The prince is cursed: after his father tried to kill him as a newborn, he was given to priests to raise, only to be rejected by the goddess. He sets off overseas to a betrothal (so he'll take his ill luck to another kingdom), only to get shipwrecked, of course. In the same place where a certain stallion is roaming free. At this point I was expecting The Black Stallion for adults.
Enter Kess, both a duke's daughter and a witch's. Here my interest plummeted and never really stopped falling. She's a spoiled piece of work, convinced that the mother she's never known will offer her a special understanding (since her doting ducal father apparently isn't good enough for her), and after using the prince to abandon her responsibilities as regent, tries to get rid of his companionship by playing cruel pranks and eventually poisoning him. (Not fatally, but dude, still.) After she falls into a trance in a system of caves and the prince rescues her over a course of dark, arduous days, she wakes up and wants to go back in. Only after she deliberately leaves him injured and unconscious does she show any remorse at all. Personally, by that point I wanted their positions reversed.
Let's not forget the magic stallion, who helps them survive a number of dangers. For all the care given his entrance into the world, his main purpose seems to be allowing the prince to keep up with Kess. And yes, there is a romantic subplot to this book--something I'm usually quite vulnerable to, but which in this case made me gag.
It's a pity, because there were some nice bits of writing here and there. But I couldn't stand the characters. I can't imagine telling anyone to do anything but steer clear of this book.
October 11, 2017
Susan Dexter is one of my favorite authors, and by that I mean one of the handful of authors I have gone out of my way to find and read everything she has written.
Leith is one of my all-time favorite characters. He's not your normal fantasy hero. His character is incredibly strong, not physically strong no, his strength comes from somewhere deep within him. He was cast aside as a baby by his own father, his father who tried to murder him with sword and boot. The traumatic first hour of his life left him with a scarred cheek and damage to his right leg.
Leith was the first fantasy hero I ever read about who is disabled. (This had a HUGE impact on me because I have been disabled since childhood). Leith's disability is simply another aspect of who he is, something he deals with every day, it isn't a focus of the story it's simply part of him. The main focus of the story is the bad luck he is cursed with and his quest to rid himself of it.
Leith is one of my all-time favorite characters. He's not your normal fantasy hero. His character is incredibly strong, not physically strong no, his strength comes from somewhere deep within him. He was cast aside as a baby by his own father, his father who tried to murder him with sword and boot. The traumatic first hour of his life left him with a scarred cheek and damage to his right leg.
Leith was the first fantasy hero I ever read about who is disabled. (This had a HUGE impact on me because I have been disabled since childhood). Leith's disability is simply another aspect of who he is, something he deals with every day, it isn't a focus of the story it's simply part of him. The main focus of the story is the bad luck he is cursed with and his quest to rid himself of it.
July 7, 2012
Excellent. Truly. Loved the prickly Kess and luckless Leith. I'm so glad I picked this one up and can't wait to continue on with the end of the series.
Have to say however that THE WIND WITCH is still my clear favorite...
Have to say however that THE WIND WITCH is still my clear favorite...
July 18, 2009
I ran across a copy of THE PRINCE OF ILL LUCK in a southern California bookstore I'd never been to before. The year was 1994. I went in in an attempt to prove to a skeptical friend that the smell upon first entering a bookstore is one of the true pleasures of life. That you have to pause just after walking in and savor it. Pressed pages and promise. It's a heady combination, my friends. The book had just come out and was faced out on the shelf. I bought it because I liked the boy on the cover and the blurb on the front declaring it to be a delightfully funny book. I was in the mood for some laughter. As luck would have it it turned out to be a two birds with one stone scenario as I was not only rewarded for my impulse buy but managed to prove my point to my friend. He closed his eyes and let out that happy sigh. You know the one. All in all, an incredibly satisfying outing.
Leith is a prince. But that's where the blessings stop. He is also cursed with ill luck. The kind of ill luck that not only affects him on a minute by minute basis, but bleeds over onto any companions or random strangers in his general vicinity. After singlehandedly destroying a temple (well, it was actually an earthquake but the villagers were certain he caused it) and getting himself shipwrecked off the coast of Esdragon, Leith finds himself the unexpected owner of a rather singular stallion called Valadan. The stallion does not seem to mind Leith's deplorable luck and, what's more, he seems to be able to communicate his thoughts to Leith via some sort of spiritual connection. In an effort to hang onto the remarkable warhorse, Leith climbs to the top of a glass mountain retrieving the gold ring at the top. But in true Leith fashion this single act rains down what is undoubtedly the worst his curse has to offer. By retrieving the ring Leith finds himself betrothed to the most displeased of princesses--Kessalia. She had set the task certain no one would ever be able to complete it and she would never have to marry. Leith cannot fathom wanting to marry the beautiful harpy and agrees to release her from their engagement if she allows him to accompany her on her search for her witch mother. You see Leith is harboring the secret hope that the witch will be able to relieve him of his curse.
This book is, first and foremost, delightfully funny. It's humor is its most endearing quality. The reader's sympathies entirely belong to the hapless and loyal Leith. And Valadan the warhorse is wonderfully mystical and powerful. Kess is another matter entirely. I have to say I loved how prickly she was. I mean I hated her, really despised her at times. But I loved hating her, you know? And Susan Dexter writes her characters so skillfully that you absorb their background, their motivations, their hopes and fears in such a slow and seamless way that it's a delight and not a burden accompanying the spiteful Kess and the dogged Leith on their journey. There are no clear heroes and heroines here. Leith is not particularly powerful or strong. Kess is certainly no bed of roses. But she's so magnificent in her heinousness that it's pure entertainment watching her scratch and claw her way to what she wants, even if it means sabotaging or attempting to poison Leith. Poor guy. As I said, you feel an affinity for him from the start. The magic is mysterious, the world is interesting, and the romance is...not what you'd expect. In a good way. These two are good and truly opposites. They don't belong alongside the more predictable bicker-and-smolder set. Theirs is a relationship that has to be bought and you will have to be the judge of whether, in the end, the price is too high. This book is the first in the Warhorse of Esdragon Trilogy. Reading order: THE PRINCE OF ILL LUCK, The Wind-Witch, and The True Knight. All three are out of print but availabe used quite cheap. I recommend all three.
Leith is a prince. But that's where the blessings stop. He is also cursed with ill luck. The kind of ill luck that not only affects him on a minute by minute basis, but bleeds over onto any companions or random strangers in his general vicinity. After singlehandedly destroying a temple (well, it was actually an earthquake but the villagers were certain he caused it) and getting himself shipwrecked off the coast of Esdragon, Leith finds himself the unexpected owner of a rather singular stallion called Valadan. The stallion does not seem to mind Leith's deplorable luck and, what's more, he seems to be able to communicate his thoughts to Leith via some sort of spiritual connection. In an effort to hang onto the remarkable warhorse, Leith climbs to the top of a glass mountain retrieving the gold ring at the top. But in true Leith fashion this single act rains down what is undoubtedly the worst his curse has to offer. By retrieving the ring Leith finds himself betrothed to the most displeased of princesses--Kessalia. She had set the task certain no one would ever be able to complete it and she would never have to marry. Leith cannot fathom wanting to marry the beautiful harpy and agrees to release her from their engagement if she allows him to accompany her on her search for her witch mother. You see Leith is harboring the secret hope that the witch will be able to relieve him of his curse.
This book is, first and foremost, delightfully funny. It's humor is its most endearing quality. The reader's sympathies entirely belong to the hapless and loyal Leith. And Valadan the warhorse is wonderfully mystical and powerful. Kess is another matter entirely. I have to say I loved how prickly she was. I mean I hated her, really despised her at times. But I loved hating her, you know? And Susan Dexter writes her characters so skillfully that you absorb their background, their motivations, their hopes and fears in such a slow and seamless way that it's a delight and not a burden accompanying the spiteful Kess and the dogged Leith on their journey. There are no clear heroes and heroines here. Leith is not particularly powerful or strong. Kess is certainly no bed of roses. But she's so magnificent in her heinousness that it's pure entertainment watching her scratch and claw her way to what she wants, even if it means sabotaging or attempting to poison Leith. Poor guy. As I said, you feel an affinity for him from the start. The magic is mysterious, the world is interesting, and the romance is...not what you'd expect. In a good way. These two are good and truly opposites. They don't belong alongside the more predictable bicker-and-smolder set. Theirs is a relationship that has to be bought and you will have to be the judge of whether, in the end, the price is too high. This book is the first in the Warhorse of Esdragon Trilogy. Reading order: THE PRINCE OF ILL LUCK, The Wind-Witch, and The True Knight. All three are out of print but availabe used quite cheap. I recommend all three.
September 12, 2013
I've had the second and third books in this series in my collection for years, waiting until I could find this book and read it. I finally thought to order it on line (thank you internet!)
I debated giving this book 4 stars because I felt the heroine was slightly too violent toward the hero. I had to remind myself that this is a work of fiction, with characters living in a sword and sorcery type setting. In such a world, a young woman might be forgiven for being a little too ready to resort to violence toward a man who (however unwittingly) threatens her freedom.
I debated giving this book 4 stars because I felt the heroine was slightly too violent toward the hero. I had to remind myself that this is a work of fiction, with characters living in a sword and sorcery type setting. In such a world, a young woman might be forgiven for being a little too ready to resort to violence toward a man who (however unwittingly) threatens her freedom.
April 19, 2021
I dislike the idea that relentless pursuit of a woman against her will is rewarded by love. Also, the female lead the male lead; there is quite enough of that sort of thing in reality, I don't need to see it in fiction.
October 14, 2017
3rd reread. I still think it's a great story and perhaps one of my favorite horses I have never met!
March 24, 2009
If you’re read Susan Dexter in the past, you’ll understand when I say that the hero here is yet another wooby in heroic clothing. She is a master at writing men who are nearly overly sensitive and bumbling incompetents in so many things, and yet caring, loving, and the one gift (whether magical or otherwise) they have being almost frighteningly powerful, but you never think they are not hetero men who will love their chosen woman forever, even if she is a raging bitch, which, by the way, the heroine of this story happens to be… in spades. Our hero is born to a royal family who is delighted by this until they see he has a blue eye and a brown eye and since they realize, as all morons do, that this must herald him being evil, the father tries to hack off the babe’s head. As suspected, since he DOES grow to be the hero of the book, the babe lives, and the scar he bears, a crescent mark, destines him for the priesthood … except ill luck seems to follow him wherever he goes. Yes, it really might just be happenstance, and the fact that since he KNOWS he is cursed, he does stupid thing after stupid thing, and refuses to watch his own damn two feet so that he is always tripping, falling and giving himself dire injuries… but no, it’s the fact he is cursed you see. On the day he is to be made a full acolyte, an earthquake destroys the temple… he is exiled for this, as he’s managed to convince an entire ISLAND of people he is cursed finally. And then the boat he is in… wait for it… sinks.
He ends up on Estragon, where the Duke, obsessed with having his favorite mare bred, seeks the aid of a wizard, and she is bred to the wind, dropping a male foal before the wind takes her away. The same Duke, not yet realizing that maybe it’s not a good thing to muck with magic, woos a Witch, and SHE leaves him a daughter before vanishing. The Duke, STILL not being the brightest tool in the shed, raises his daughter to be his heir, but letting her be a sniping spoiled bitch who is always right, and then when she might need him most, the Duke packs up and goes off hunting a chimera, sure it means his wife, the Witch can be found again. Thing that was confusing? It gets worse—his leaving leads to a REALLY convoluted plot where not only do the cursed Prince and the Duke’s daughter meet up, but they go off to find her father and mother—the Prince hoping the Witch can remove his curse. Enter then page after page of the snotty girl tormenting the patient and rather annoying Prince, some magical and non magical fighting, and discoveries, revelations and of course, the inevitable love but in the end, the only character you continually LIKE is that Wind Sired Foal, now grown up into a sentient and semi magical stallion named Valadan. This isn’t a BAD book, but you really want the snotty daughter to get a comeuppance… and she never DOES get it. We never really get a good story, either. And yet, there are two more books to go…
He ends up on Estragon, where the Duke, obsessed with having his favorite mare bred, seeks the aid of a wizard, and she is bred to the wind, dropping a male foal before the wind takes her away. The same Duke, not yet realizing that maybe it’s not a good thing to muck with magic, woos a Witch, and SHE leaves him a daughter before vanishing. The Duke, STILL not being the brightest tool in the shed, raises his daughter to be his heir, but letting her be a sniping spoiled bitch who is always right, and then when she might need him most, the Duke packs up and goes off hunting a chimera, sure it means his wife, the Witch can be found again. Thing that was confusing? It gets worse—his leaving leads to a REALLY convoluted plot where not only do the cursed Prince and the Duke’s daughter meet up, but they go off to find her father and mother—the Prince hoping the Witch can remove his curse. Enter then page after page of the snotty girl tormenting the patient and rather annoying Prince, some magical and non magical fighting, and discoveries, revelations and of course, the inevitable love but in the end, the only character you continually LIKE is that Wind Sired Foal, now grown up into a sentient and semi magical stallion named Valadan. This isn’t a BAD book, but you really want the snotty daughter to get a comeuppance… and she never DOES get it. We never really get a good story, either. And yet, there are two more books to go…
May 13, 2010
2.5 stars
An interesting world, but the characters never came alive for me, though Kess and Leith have plenty of spirit and passion. The curse never really seemed dire nor real enough either. Nothing objectionable, just did not catch my fancy. Also, Kess is pretty awful for the vast portion of the book. Valadan, on the other hand, is simply made of awesome.
An interesting world, but the characters never came alive for me, though Kess and Leith have plenty of spirit and passion. The curse never really seemed dire nor real enough either. Nothing objectionable, just did not catch my fancy. Also, Kess is pretty awful for the vast portion of the book. Valadan, on the other hand, is simply made of awesome.
September 13, 2023
I really liked this book, the main character and the horse were my favorite characters. The story starts a bit slow, but once Leith is in it, it really picks up. I loved reading about him and really just wanted to give him a hug as I was reading. His story made me cry a bit too, but that's because the writing is so good.
September 3, 2020
I read this as a teenager and absolutely loved these books. I need to reread them and see if they stand the test of time.
May 19, 2020
Shipwrecked on a wild and foreign coast, Leith, Prince of the Isles, born under a bad-luck curse, meets Valadan, a fabulous black stallion, and together they embark upon a series of remarkable adventures.
November 21, 2020
Revisiting a favorite author from my teen years! The heroine, Kess, is a little too “no one’s damsel in distress, spunky spitfire” to be likable for me, but I adore gentle, self-deprecating hero Leith so much, and if he loves her, well, I’ll accept that. Just a fun, solidly-plotted fantasy romp.
April 28, 2019
Nice enough. I first read this when it came out and had fond memories of the story, but was less impressed this time.
December 21, 2020
(2.5) Not much world building, character development, or plot momentum to recommend it.
October 31, 2024
Poor Leith, who has bad luck. Or does he?
He meets the princess, chasing her mother, the magical horse helps, choosing Leith.
A fun YA tale
He meets the princess, chasing her mother, the magical horse helps, choosing Leith.
A fun YA tale
September 10, 2024
I forget who mentioned this book to me some years ago, but it's been on my to-read list for a while. Leith, Prince of the Isles, is thought to be under a curse of bad fortune, which spreads to others as well. He's sent off by himself to a foreign land, where he meets a magical stallion created by a wizard, and rides the horse up a glass hill to win a ring, in the manner of the Polish fairy tale. He then finds out that the actual prize is the hand of Kessalia, a Duke's daughter, in marriage, and neither of them want that. The two of them travel together, and she's a jerk to him, and even poisons him at one point. It's meant to be one of those cases where someone is mean to a person because they secretly have feelings for them, but it's a bit extreme in this case. She's looking for her parents, and her mother is a witch whom Leith hopes can lift his curse. Apparently Dexter had written about the horse Valadan in an earlier work, and this is a backstory for him.
July 7, 2011
Another book that’s been sitting unread on our shelves for a while, which is a real shame, because it was a creative and fun read. It’s apparently first of a trilogy called “The Warhorse of Esdragon,” but it does just fine as a stand-alone novel (we haven’t got the other two).
The warhorse in question (Valadan) is not really a new idea – sired by the wind, don’t you know. The poor Prince Leith, though, with his horrible curse of bad luck, is a wonderful fellow and I like him very much. The Duke’s daughter Kessaline, on the other hand, is not nice at all, and I’m still not quite willing to believe they’re in love with each other at the end.
At any rate, Leith was shipwrecked, runs across the lost horse, winds up (with the horse) in the duchy of Esdragon, and accomplishes the task Kessaline had set for her suitors (climbing a glass mountain). This annoys her no end, since she’d intended the task to keep the suitors occupied while she slipped away to find her missing father (who went to look for her missing mother). On learning that her mother is a witch, Leith insists on accompanying her, in the hope that she’ll be able to remove the curse.
It’s a long scramble across a surprisingly unpopulated landscape, with key events including deliberate food poisoning, getting lost in a mine, slaying a chimera, and having two different parties looking for Kessaline catch up with them when they’re very close to their goal.
I enjoyed the book, except for Kess. I just can’t work up any sympathy for her, even though there are reasons for her aggravating nature. But I like Leith and Valadan, and the twisting of various fairy-tale themes in the novel. And I have to wonder if this series would do better in the current market, with Mercedes Lackey splashing fairy-tale adaptations all over the place, than it did back in the mid-eighties.
The warhorse in question (Valadan) is not really a new idea – sired by the wind, don’t you know. The poor Prince Leith, though, with his horrible curse of bad luck, is a wonderful fellow and I like him very much. The Duke’s daughter Kessaline, on the other hand, is not nice at all, and I’m still not quite willing to believe they’re in love with each other at the end.
At any rate, Leith was shipwrecked, runs across the lost horse, winds up (with the horse) in the duchy of Esdragon, and accomplishes the task Kessaline had set for her suitors (climbing a glass mountain). This annoys her no end, since she’d intended the task to keep the suitors occupied while she slipped away to find her missing father (who went to look for her missing mother). On learning that her mother is a witch, Leith insists on accompanying her, in the hope that she’ll be able to remove the curse.
It’s a long scramble across a surprisingly unpopulated landscape, with key events including deliberate food poisoning, getting lost in a mine, slaying a chimera, and having two different parties looking for Kessaline catch up with them when they’re very close to their goal.
I enjoyed the book, except for Kess. I just can’t work up any sympathy for her, even though there are reasons for her aggravating nature. But I like Leith and Valadan, and the twisting of various fairy-tale themes in the novel. And I have to wonder if this series would do better in the current market, with Mercedes Lackey splashing fairy-tale adaptations all over the place, than it did back in the mid-eighties.
March 27, 2012
Reviews on the internet kept mentioning what a good book this was and how funny it was.So when I finally decided to buy from an used book site this was a given.
I was sorely disappointed though.
I am not sure wich humor the reviews were refering to,sure there is a lot of wording that makes you go "that was cleverly put" But still it doesnt make it humorous.
The world building was a bit sparsely described and I didnt connect with the characters.
I could have felt for more for the characters if they were a bit more wellrounded and I could have immersed myself more into the world if I had gotten to see more of it.
It all felt a bit thin.
Its not among the worst books Ive ever read its just that it was all a bit bland.
I was sorely disappointed though.
I am not sure wich humor the reviews were refering to,sure there is a lot of wording that makes you go "that was cleverly put" But still it doesnt make it humorous.
The world building was a bit sparsely described and I didnt connect with the characters.
I could have felt for more for the characters if they were a bit more wellrounded and I could have immersed myself more into the world if I had gotten to see more of it.
It all felt a bit thin.
Its not among the worst books Ive ever read its just that it was all a bit bland.
August 27, 2012
The oddest thing about this book is the blurb on the front. According to Marion Zimmer Bradley, it was "One of the most delightfully funny books I've read in my life."
There is nothing funny about this book. The writing is lovely, the settings are different and wonderful and strange -- a nice change from the Standard Fantasy Landscape which is basically England. The main character is sad and gentle, the heroine is pretty obnoxious but is marginally redeemed by the beginning of the second book which adds yet another layer of pathos to what is already a bittersweet, achy kind of story. I like the sequel much better, but this one was also good -- just not funny.
There is nothing funny about this book. The writing is lovely, the settings are different and wonderful and strange -- a nice change from the Standard Fantasy Landscape which is basically England. The main character is sad and gentle, the heroine is pretty obnoxious but is marginally redeemed by the beginning of the second book which adds yet another layer of pathos to what is already a bittersweet, achy kind of story. I like the sequel much better, but this one was also good -- just not funny.
August 27, 2015
An interesting start, but very frustrating book to get through. Ms. Dexter seems to enjoy leaving the resolution to the VERY LAST PAGE, and it is not satisfying. However, I love Valadan so she gets a pass.
October 28, 2012
I resd many of Susan Dexter's fantasies in the 80's.
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