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Stonefort #1
Dragon's Eye
Two magical families live in the hardscrabble town of Stonefort, Maine: the shape shifting Morgans and the Haskell witches. But evil is coming to Stonefort. A drug lord and frighteningly powerful sorcerer covets the Morgans' alliance with the magical being known as the Dragon.
Now 17-year-old Gary Morgan must claim his heritage and save his family. But first, he will have to master the power of the Dragon-and he'll need the help of the Haskell witches to do it. Somehow, the Haskells and the Morgans must overcome their differences before the sorcerer assumes the power of the Dragon and destroys them all.
Now 17-year-old Gary Morgan must claim his heritage and save his family. But first, he will have to master the power of the Dragon-and he'll need the help of the Haskell witches to do it. Somehow, the Haskells and the Morgans must overcome their differences before the sorcerer assumes the power of the Dragon and destroys them all.
355 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2005
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158 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 18, 2008
I picked this book up at the library, because the guy on the cover looked like Tom Welling, which struck me as hilarious. The cover was incredibly misleading: first, Tom Welling appears nowhere in this book, but secondly, on the basis of the cover, I was expecting some story about pretty teenagers, stupid with hormones, angsting about having magickal powers. This could not be less the case.
The only sexual tension of note in the book is between two middle-aged women, the protagonist depicted on the cover, who I will name Clark because I can't remember his name at the moment, is sensible, fairly intelligent, and responsible, and while there are glowing rocks, there is not a sexy bald millionaire perving on the local football team.
I really blame the font on the cover. This is a book about family, and responsibility, and inheritances. It is a Garamond or Goudy type of book, not a ... whatever the hell that font set is.
Anyway, if you like books about sensible people being brave for the sake of their family, extended, and slightly confusing family trees, and slightly silly middle-aged lesbians, then this book is adorable.
The only sexual tension of note in the book is between two middle-aged women, the protagonist depicted on the cover, who I will name Clark because I can't remember his name at the moment, is sensible, fairly intelligent, and responsible, and while there are glowing rocks, there is not a sexy bald millionaire perving on the local football team.
I really blame the font on the cover. This is a book about family, and responsibility, and inheritances. It is a Garamond or Goudy type of book, not a ... whatever the hell that font set is.
Anyway, if you like books about sensible people being brave for the sake of their family, extended, and slightly confusing family trees, and slightly silly middle-aged lesbians, then this book is adorable.
May 27, 2012
The cover to this book does it little justice. A better cover would include a dragon's tear, Celtic knots, a Selkie and the wild coast of Maine and maybe a lobster boat or two.
The main character is not the guy in the water (on the cover), but the House and Aunt Alice, the Haskell witch who helps to protect Stonefort, a small coastal town in Maine. She's part of a long line of Haskell women who not only guard the springs under the house, but who've intermingled and tangled with the almost equally long line of Morgans who carry a special gift of their own - the ability to turn into a Selkie (a seal-like creature of Celtic/Welsh lore). The Morgans also have an agreement with an otherworldly being known only as "The Dragon" who loans her powers to those she accepts into her perception of strength.
The two families unite when there's a threat to themselves and their town. When a big threat, in the form of a Peruvian brujo seeking to steal the Dragon's power for himself shows up, it's going take every weapon their collective arsenal to put him down.
The story is fast paced and good, the language straight forward. The author doesn't try to do anything fancy which would make the story clunky. His description of the Haskell House is interesting - one can 'travel' through the centuries from the fairly modern to several centuries back, down in the cellar where the ancient springs is protected from the eyes of men. It is a house only women live in and it is a living entity in its own right.
All in all, a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable story. I think I might track down more of Mr. Hetley's books.
The main character is not the guy in the water (on the cover), but the House and Aunt Alice, the Haskell witch who helps to protect Stonefort, a small coastal town in Maine. She's part of a long line of Haskell women who not only guard the springs under the house, but who've intermingled and tangled with the almost equally long line of Morgans who carry a special gift of their own - the ability to turn into a Selkie (a seal-like creature of Celtic/Welsh lore). The Morgans also have an agreement with an otherworldly being known only as "The Dragon" who loans her powers to those she accepts into her perception of strength.
The two families unite when there's a threat to themselves and their town. When a big threat, in the form of a Peruvian brujo seeking to steal the Dragon's power for himself shows up, it's going take every weapon their collective arsenal to put him down.
The story is fast paced and good, the language straight forward. The author doesn't try to do anything fancy which would make the story clunky. His description of the Haskell House is interesting - one can 'travel' through the centuries from the fairly modern to several centuries back, down in the cellar where the ancient springs is protected from the eyes of men. It is a house only women live in and it is a living entity in its own right.
All in all, a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable story. I think I might track down more of Mr. Hetley's books.
April 3, 2008
Okay, so this probably in all honesty doesn't really deserve 4 stars -- it was a little jumpy/gappy, as well as occasionally cliched. BUT I enjoyed the hell out of it; this is the kind of stuff I love: mythic fiction in the vein of Charles de Lint, just right up my ally. So it gets a 4 star rating for that simple fact. Deal with it. ;)
August 4, 2017
It was a quick and interesting read. Taking the Romance (magician) mode pretty neatly.
A lot of different points of view which is nice although I got a little confused a couple times. Would've been nice to have markers of some kind to know who's point of view it was gonna be and stay. Or change marker or something. Most of the time I got it but still, never know.
The story was thrilling and action packed and well amazing and sad and dangerous and cool. Interesting idea.
A lot of different points of view which is nice although I got a little confused a couple times. Would've been nice to have markers of some kind to know who's point of view it was gonna be and stay. Or change marker or something. Most of the time I got it but still, never know.
The story was thrilling and action packed and well amazing and sad and dangerous and cool. Interesting idea.
February 10, 2018
Dragon's Eye was better than I expected. When I picked this book up at the library, I looked at the cover and expected a cheesy fantasy novel. Instead, the novel was down to earth, realistic, and had a little bit of romance in it that worked well. I am excited to read the sequel.
September 19, 2021
Another great author to follow
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward eagerly to reading more by this author. I loved the contrast between the Morgan's and the Haskell's; the Dragon and the House.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward eagerly to reading more by this author. I loved the contrast between the Morgan's and the Haskell's; the Dragon and the House.
April 15, 2024
I read this back when I worked at a bookstore in high school and haven’t read it since. HOWEVER, I have regularly thought of the Haskell House and the lesbian romance subplot ever since and only today rediscovered the title and author, which merits a reread and five stars for sticking power.
August 14, 2015
There are a few points I want to make before I get into my opinion of the book itself. First is that cover. Yes, we've all established that the cover is wretched, but I think it needs to be said again. It is HORRIBLE! It has nothing to do with the book and it gives a reader all the wrong impressions of what this book could be about. Whose idea was that, anyway? They should be demoted or fired or something, because that cover really is that bad. Yuck.
The second point I wanted to go into is that too many people are complaining about the mature content of the book and giving the book undeserved bad ratings because of it. I'm confused why such people would be wandering around the fantasy and sci-fi section of the book store or library in the first place, and I'm pretty sure this book isn't somehow slipped into the young adult section, because it IS NOT young adult. This is firmly a book for adults who do not have any problems with reading about any of the following, which are prevelent throughout the book: drugs, murder, homosexuality, swearing, rape, witchcraft and sorcery. This book is not for children, and if you have a problem with any of the things I listed, then please put the book down and don't offend yourself. The book has enough poor ratings from people who were offended by these elements. It doesn't need any more.
Now to my opinion of the book!
The story and the writing are very good, actually. I admit that the cover threw me off when I first looked at it. This book was a gift to me from an old friend, and I admit this wouldn't have been something I'd have picked up myself because of that terrible cover, so I'm really glad she looked past that and picked it up and then passed it on to me. I'd have really missed out on a good story if I had let my cover snobbery get the better of me here. Don't let that happen to you!
I hate to compare anyone's work to anyone else's work because I very much dislike it when people do that to me, but in this case, I think it should be noted. The writing reminds me of a cross between Stephen King (and not just because it's set in Maine, either) and Mercedes Lackey. I don't typically like fantasy stories that are set in modern, real world times, but in this case, it works well. The fantasy aspect of the book is present almost all the time, but there are some little pockets of horror in there, too. A couple scenes are downright scary!
The main character is Alice. Her support is Kate. I'm confused why the cover and the summary on the back make it out like Gary is the main character. He isn't.
I understand there's a sequel to this book called "Dragon's Teeth", but I'm unsure I'd want to read it. I wouldn't mind revisiting the characters, but at the same time, I don't want to spoil what I felt was a really good story with good characters with a sequel that wasn't up to the task of doing either of these things justice. So I might pass on that.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
The second point I wanted to go into is that too many people are complaining about the mature content of the book and giving the book undeserved bad ratings because of it. I'm confused why such people would be wandering around the fantasy and sci-fi section of the book store or library in the first place, and I'm pretty sure this book isn't somehow slipped into the young adult section, because it IS NOT young adult. This is firmly a book for adults who do not have any problems with reading about any of the following, which are prevelent throughout the book: drugs, murder, homosexuality, swearing, rape, witchcraft and sorcery. This book is not for children, and if you have a problem with any of the things I listed, then please put the book down and don't offend yourself. The book has enough poor ratings from people who were offended by these elements. It doesn't need any more.
Now to my opinion of the book!
The story and the writing are very good, actually. I admit that the cover threw me off when I first looked at it. This book was a gift to me from an old friend, and I admit this wouldn't have been something I'd have picked up myself because of that terrible cover, so I'm really glad she looked past that and picked it up and then passed it on to me. I'd have really missed out on a good story if I had let my cover snobbery get the better of me here. Don't let that happen to you!
I hate to compare anyone's work to anyone else's work because I very much dislike it when people do that to me, but in this case, I think it should be noted. The writing reminds me of a cross between Stephen King (and not just because it's set in Maine, either) and Mercedes Lackey. I don't typically like fantasy stories that are set in modern, real world times, but in this case, it works well. The fantasy aspect of the book is present almost all the time, but there are some little pockets of horror in there, too. A couple scenes are downright scary!
The main character is Alice. Her support is Kate. I'm confused why the cover and the summary on the back make it out like Gary is the main character. He isn't.
I understand there's a sequel to this book called "Dragon's Teeth", but I'm unsure I'd want to read it. I wouldn't mind revisiting the characters, but at the same time, I don't want to spoil what I felt was a really good story with good characters with a sequel that wasn't up to the task of doing either of these things justice. So I might pass on that.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
February 19, 2011
First off. Ignore the cover. It's terrible.
I felt like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be an action story or a slice of life. The book follows seven characters, and two plot lines that somewhat connect at the end of the book. The characters switch out getting a chapter to themselves. The first plotline is that of the captured Daniel and his son and brother's attempts to locate and rescue him. The other plotline is that of Alice and Kate's relationship. The book plods along slowly through he first half, and picks partway through when the seventh character, Caroline is introduced.
Overall I found that I didn't really care what happened to most of the characters. Kate's chapters were rather dull unless she was actually talking to another character which she usually wasn't. SHe almost seemd under utilized as a character. Alice irritated me. A LOT. She was constantly showing off how much she knew about everyone's secrets, and had this I'm-smarter-than-you and I'm-always-right attitude to all the other characters with the exception of Kate. The other characters get irritated, but Alice is never called out on it.
Caroline is introduced halfway through the book, but when she shows up she knows everything and seemingly has nothing she can't do. Precision shots from the back of a speeding boat? No problem. Sneaking into a fortress? Not a sweat. Knowing every secret ever? Of course. Just walking in and taking a powerful magical artifact because she's just that special? You bet. As much as I initially had hopes for her, she was starting to set off the Mary Sue radar. Fortunately, she stops just short of crossing the line during the climax of the book. YMMV though on whether this is too little too late.
The most interesting characters to me were Daniel and his son, Gary. The selkie aspect to them was really interesting, and it's a shame the author didn't do more with it. In the first chapter Daniel is captured by a rival group who wants to posses the Dragon's Eye, a magical artifact that his family possesses. He is faced with trying to resist the spells and torture that they inflict on him in order to protect his family. Meanwhile, Gary is faced with trying to protect his little sisters and rescue his father while learning everything he can from his uncle.
Overall, the book was entertaining, but not riveting. The kind of book I'd read in a waiting room or on an airplane. At the very least it's different compared to all the other urban fantasies out there.
I felt like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be an action story or a slice of life. The book follows seven characters, and two plot lines that somewhat connect at the end of the book. The characters switch out getting a chapter to themselves. The first plotline is that of the captured Daniel and his son and brother's attempts to locate and rescue him. The other plotline is that of Alice and Kate's relationship. The book plods along slowly through he first half, and picks partway through when the seventh character, Caroline is introduced.
Overall I found that I didn't really care what happened to most of the characters. Kate's chapters were rather dull unless she was actually talking to another character which she usually wasn't. SHe almost seemd under utilized as a character. Alice irritated me. A LOT. She was constantly showing off how much she knew about everyone's secrets, and had this I'm-smarter-than-you and I'm-always-right attitude to all the other characters with the exception of Kate. The other characters get irritated, but Alice is never called out on it.
Caroline is introduced halfway through the book, but when she shows up she knows everything and seemingly has nothing she can't do. Precision shots from the back of a speeding boat? No problem. Sneaking into a fortress? Not a sweat. Knowing every secret ever? Of course. Just walking in and taking a powerful magical artifact because she's just that special? You bet. As much as I initially had hopes for her, she was starting to set off the Mary Sue radar. Fortunately, she stops just short of crossing the line during the climax of the book. YMMV though on whether this is too little too late.
The most interesting characters to me were Daniel and his son, Gary. The selkie aspect to them was really interesting, and it's a shame the author didn't do more with it. In the first chapter Daniel is captured by a rival group who wants to posses the Dragon's Eye, a magical artifact that his family possesses. He is faced with trying to resist the spells and torture that they inflict on him in order to protect his family. Meanwhile, Gary is faced with trying to protect his little sisters and rescue his father while learning everything he can from his uncle.
Overall, the book was entertaining, but not riveting. The kind of book I'd read in a waiting room or on an airplane. At the very least it's different compared to all the other urban fantasies out there.
October 10, 2013
The Morgan household holds the Dragon's Eye that only Morgan men can handle. The Haskell House has witches which are all female. When you put the two of them working together to stop a Brojo from taking over you get some incredible power and magic that cannot be broken.
The "Dragon's Eye" was a very well written book. The characters were striking and larger than life. Each house held a certain power as if they were actually alive. It was a wonderful concept from the author.
The plot was a bit weak and loose. It seemed as though there was just too much going on and not enough focus was on the events that were taken place. The personal lives took precedent over the plot and action. There was ebb and flow throughout the book but there was some stalls in between.
Overall, I thought the book was good and I look forward to reading the second installment.
The "Dragon's Eye" was a very well written book. The characters were striking and larger than life. Each house held a certain power as if they were actually alive. It was a wonderful concept from the author.
The plot was a bit weak and loose. It seemed as though there was just too much going on and not enough focus was on the events that were taken place. The personal lives took precedent over the plot and action. There was ebb and flow throughout the book but there was some stalls in between.
Overall, I thought the book was good and I look forward to reading the second installment.
September 8, 2014
I enjoyed this book about three families -- two with centuries-old criminal backgrounds, two with magical backgrounds -- in a small town in Maine. When a South American sorcerer in the drug trade takes up with one of the families, the other two come together despite mutual distrust to guard the community.
In some ways it reminded me of a Charles DeLint story, with old magic -- both indigenous American and Old Country -- surviving into and quietly shaping lives in the modern world.
I'm definitely going to read the next book in the series.
In some ways it reminded me of a Charles DeLint story, with old magic -- both indigenous American and Old Country -- surviving into and quietly shaping lives in the modern world.
I'm definitely going to read the next book in the series.
January 11, 2012
This is rated with one star not due to the writing quality but to the elements in the book. As a Christian, the Wicca, witchcraft, murder, etc., are not presented in a manner which I can overlook. Too demonic.
January 6, 2014
All through this book I could not decide if I liked it or not. But I guess I didn't not like it enough to quit reading. I can't even write a real review, my thoughts about it are just too much of a confused jumble. I had to really concentrate to keep up with the plot.
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August 9, 2007Great new writer of urban fantasy, similar to Charles DeLint.
August 22, 2008
I loved this book. I think it was AWESOME! Definatly a good read!
January 27, 2017
This was interesting, yet very drawn out.
July 22, 2010
i bought the copy since i thought this might be good because of the cover. i was truly dissapointed as it was very misleading. the story was kinda lame.
May 28, 2012
Amazing follow up! Loved it!
February 16, 2013
I adore this book (ignore the cover on the paper edition) - as of now there's an ebook edition and at the moment it's 99 cents. I'm rereading and still loving it.
May 16, 2015
My thoughts on Dragon's Eye are available on my book blog at Booklikes.
January 18, 2010
Some nice writing.
March 3, 2012
bad book. bad.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews