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The Dragonvarld Trilogy #2
The Dragon's Son
In Mistress of Dragons we were introduced to a world where political deception, greed, and avarice have lead to a violation of the "hands off" policy of the Parliament of Dragons concerning the affairs of men. Indeed that violation threatens more than policy and order it threatens the peaceful existence of the human race.
Man's only hope and his greatest threat is
The Dragon's Son
Twins born out of violence and raised apart.
Ven (short for Vengeance) is raised in seclusion under the watchful eye of his deceased mother's Amazonian lover. He is a child whose appearance belies his heritage - half-man/ half-dragon.
Marcus is raised in a court, and given all of the protections and breeding that would entail. He appears to be completely human, yet his psychic link with the brother he has never known betrays the dragon magic that lies within him.
It is up to the dragon emissary who passes himself off as a man, Draconas, to protect them both before the internecine struggle destroys the Parliament of Dragons and brings an oppressive reign of fire down upon all mortal men.
Man's only hope and his greatest threat is
The Dragon's Son
Twins born out of violence and raised apart.
Ven (short for Vengeance) is raised in seclusion under the watchful eye of his deceased mother's Amazonian lover. He is a child whose appearance belies his heritage - half-man/ half-dragon.
Marcus is raised in a court, and given all of the protections and breeding that would entail. He appears to be completely human, yet his psychic link with the brother he has never known betrays the dragon magic that lies within him.
It is up to the dragon emissary who passes himself off as a man, Draconas, to protect them both before the internecine struggle destroys the Parliament of Dragons and brings an oppressive reign of fire down upon all mortal men.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
20 people are currently reading
950 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Weis
677 books5,838 followersMargaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 1, 2022
This series is amazing!
Keeps taking weird sideways turns whenever I think I know what's going on.
Can't wait to find out how all these pieces fit together, hello book 3!
Keeps taking weird sideways turns whenever I think I know what's going on.
Can't wait to find out how all these pieces fit together, hello book 3!
December 29, 2014
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
This typical middle novel concerns the twin sons born to Melisande: Marcus, the son of the King of Idlyswylde, and Ven (short for Vengeance), the son of the dragon who (in the body of the human Grald) raped her. Most of the book focuses on the development of both boys from age 6 to 16. Neither of them know about the other. Ven is half dragon (his legs are dragon's legs) and is being raised by Bellona (Melisande died at the end of Mistress of Dragons). Bellona keeps Ven hidden from the world as best she can. He is, of course, frustrated and lonely and feels like a freak. Marcus is a bastard prince who lives in luxury but possesses some form of Melisande's Dragon magic, so he kind of feels like a freak, too. The rogue dragons Grald and Meristara are looking for the boys, but Draconas watches the boys from afar and occasionally intervenes when necessary, telling the boys not to open their minds to "The Dragon" (Grald).
Things finally get going when Ven encounters a thief and his daughter Evelina (by far the two most interesting and well-done characters) who find out he's a monster and manage to capture him and sell him to a travelling freak show. In desperation, he calls for his father, and Grald and Maristara show up in human bodies to rescue him. They take Evelina, too, which makes things more interesting because she's such a greedy opportunist. So far, she's been completely repulsed by Ven, but when they arrive at Dragon Keep and she finds out he's the prince, she changes her tune.
Belona, desperately searching for Ven, finds Marcus and asks for his help because she somehow guesses that the boys can contact each other through their minds. So, off go Marcus and Belona to save Ven. They arrive in Dragon Keep and the boys finally meet each other. The fun part is when Evelina finds out that Marcus is a prince, too, and again changes her tune. Evelina is an entertaining character so far, and Weis handles her deftly, but too much more and it would be over-the-top. In fact, Margaret Weis's strength is excellent characterization and her villains are especially well-done.
There is a surprising betrayal at the end of the book and, in addition, it is unclear whether Ven will choose to go the human way or the rogue dragon way, therefore, the reader feels compelled to finish the trilogy. In fact, The Dragon's Son is a typical middle novel in that it doesn't accomplish much except to set up the scene for the final act.
I listened to this on audio. The readings are divided between a male and female reader. The male reader did a fine job (though this is clearly not up to the standard of Recorded Books or Blackstone Audio), but the female reader was annoying. Rather than just read, she sort of acted out the parts and often chose a whiny wheedling voice that really got on my nerves. Two and one half stars.
This typical middle novel concerns the twin sons born to Melisande: Marcus, the son of the King of Idlyswylde, and Ven (short for Vengeance), the son of the dragon who (in the body of the human Grald) raped her. Most of the book focuses on the development of both boys from age 6 to 16. Neither of them know about the other. Ven is half dragon (his legs are dragon's legs) and is being raised by Bellona (Melisande died at the end of Mistress of Dragons). Bellona keeps Ven hidden from the world as best she can. He is, of course, frustrated and lonely and feels like a freak. Marcus is a bastard prince who lives in luxury but possesses some form of Melisande's Dragon magic, so he kind of feels like a freak, too. The rogue dragons Grald and Meristara are looking for the boys, but Draconas watches the boys from afar and occasionally intervenes when necessary, telling the boys not to open their minds to "The Dragon" (Grald).
Things finally get going when Ven encounters a thief and his daughter Evelina (by far the two most interesting and well-done characters) who find out he's a monster and manage to capture him and sell him to a travelling freak show. In desperation, he calls for his father, and Grald and Maristara show up in human bodies to rescue him. They take Evelina, too, which makes things more interesting because she's such a greedy opportunist. So far, she's been completely repulsed by Ven, but when they arrive at Dragon Keep and she finds out he's the prince, she changes her tune.
Belona, desperately searching for Ven, finds Marcus and asks for his help because she somehow guesses that the boys can contact each other through their minds. So, off go Marcus and Belona to save Ven. They arrive in Dragon Keep and the boys finally meet each other. The fun part is when Evelina finds out that Marcus is a prince, too, and again changes her tune. Evelina is an entertaining character so far, and Weis handles her deftly, but too much more and it would be over-the-top. In fact, Margaret Weis's strength is excellent characterization and her villains are especially well-done.
There is a surprising betrayal at the end of the book and, in addition, it is unclear whether Ven will choose to go the human way or the rogue dragon way, therefore, the reader feels compelled to finish the trilogy. In fact, The Dragon's Son is a typical middle novel in that it doesn't accomplish much except to set up the scene for the final act.
I listened to this on audio. The readings are divided between a male and female reader. The male reader did a fine job (though this is clearly not up to the standard of Recorded Books or Blackstone Audio), but the female reader was annoying. Rather than just read, she sort of acted out the parts and often chose a whiny wheedling voice that really got on my nerves. Two and one half stars.
October 11, 2018
Ik had deze serie een beetje verwaarloosd, maar door de maand-challenge van de ff-leesclub heb ik dit tweede deel uit de kast gepakt. En het was ouderwets genieten van een fantasy verhaal met draken, dus wat wil je nog meer.
October 20, 2014
That seems as the rule of thumb already with Weis that second book in the series is better than first one. Plot twists and character killings are not very smoothly written: an axe is used instead of a carving knife, but they make story more compelling and intriguing.
January 12, 2016
Finished reading this book in two days time. So far I really enjoy the series and it still manages to surprise me. I especially liked some of the plot-twists at the end of this book,can't wait to read the last book to find out what's going on. The coming-of-age part and the highly predictable scenes when Ven goes to the market and the issues that follow could have been left out for me, but a good book nontheless.
I also noticed that this is one of the very few books in a series that is actually perfectly readable without having read the other parts in the series first. There are a few links to what happened in the first book, but nothing more than is necessary to understand the characters' behaviour and just enough to make you curious about what happened before, but not enough to feel like you're not enjoying this book to the fullest because you haven't read the previous book.
I also noticed that this is one of the very few books in a series that is actually perfectly readable without having read the other parts in the series first. There are a few links to what happened in the first book, but nothing more than is necessary to understand the characters' behaviour and just enough to make you curious about what happened before, but not enough to feel like you're not enjoying this book to the fullest because you haven't read the previous book.
March 15, 2011
This book is book two of a three book series. Due to availability at my library, I read books two and three out of order. After having read books one and three, I debated whether to go ahead and read book two because I felt quite satisfied that I had a good understanding of the entire story without it. I did decide to read this book, however, and am glad I did. Although I knew how the story began and ended, there were definitely worthwhile pieces of the story that I would not have had if I had foregone reading this one.
December 9, 2011
I liked this book more than the previous. It was a decent story not muddled with some of the garbage from the previous. Although it was still missing "something" for me. It didn't leave me wondering "what's going to happen next?!" I really could have stopped listening to the series altogether and been okay with it. I'm going to listen to the next book simply because I would like to see where everything is going and because there is only one book left in the trilogy why not.
August 25, 2014
This was a decent sequel for The Mistress of Dragons, the characters were engaging and the story flowed nicely.
I may not be the best person to write a review, because overall this was a neutral read - not boring, but not particularly engaging.
I will only pick up the next in the series because overall it's more enjoyable than not finding anything else to read.
This book is a good way to pass an afternoon, but not enough to buy a copy for my shelf.
I may not be the best person to write a review, because overall this was a neutral read - not boring, but not particularly engaging.
I will only pick up the next in the series because overall it's more enjoyable than not finding anything else to read.
This book is a good way to pass an afternoon, but not enough to buy a copy for my shelf.
July 27, 2014
Better than the first! The twist at the end had me completely floored...Also, the main characters were more developed in this book than in the last, especially Ven. The only thing that sucked was that everyone was so sad for a lot of the book. Hopefully in the next book, things will start to look up! On to the next!
September 9, 2009
Better than the first! The twist at the end had me completely floored...Also, the main characters were more developed in this book than in the last, especially Ven. The only thing that sucked was that everyone was so sad for a lot of the book. Hopefully in the next book, things will start to look up! On to the next!
February 25, 2012
Pretty darned good book, though I am aggravated that such an author as Weis would result to the same "plot twist" twice. Namely someone being beaten "to death", Draconas thinking they're dead, and then finding out they aren't. The "man" is supposed to be several hundred years old! I think he'd be a little smarter.
March 11, 2015
Reading about each of the sons of Melisande was fascinating. Again, something Weis does excellently is create characters that she is not afraid to let fail. I found myself hoping that a certain character who is believed to be dead at the end of this book is not actually dead. I wait with dread to see what becomes of the man and woman who escape together at the end of this book.
September 1, 2016
I read this book in Dutch
So, this book is an improvement over the first in every way. I feel as though this is where the story actually begins. The characters are more diverse and better defined. I enjoyed this book.
So, this book is an improvement over the first in every way. I feel as though this is where the story actually begins. The characters are more diverse and better defined. I enjoyed this book.
September 29, 2012
I enjoyed the book but the themes suddenly changed from the previous book. There is almost no mention of the intense love of Bellona and Melisande, almost as if the author was afraid to have risked too much in the previous book. This is a little disappointing.
March 18, 2013
Margaret Weis, while one of the greatest sci-fi novelists of all time, definatly has trouble with the 2nd novels in her series'. This is once again a good informational filler novel but could have been a bit deeper on the plot.
April 20, 2013
I really liked this book. It's the first fantasy book that I've read and really liked. It was a bit confusing but I blame that on myself considering I didn't even notice that it was the second book in the series.
February 25, 2008
Excellent second book in the series!!! Even more characters to be fascinated by.
May 6, 2010
Very "young-adultish," but still a good read. Margaret Weiss is one of my favorite "older" authors of fantasy.
December 26, 2009
Interesting, but not really living up to its potential.
June 20, 2011
Not as good as the first book. The characters not as interesting but it set up for the story for the third book.
October 13, 2010
It's been some time since I enjoyed a story this much. The pace was excellent and the story gripping. I stayed up past midnight finishing it last night!
July 26, 2019
I loved that the entire novel was really a letter, in a way. There’s a mystery at the center so I can’t say too much more. But this YA book was short and sweet. I really liked it.
August 3, 2024
I don't really know how to rate this because on one hand, this series is a case study in the absolute minimum effort one can put into worldbuilding in high fantasy. But because it doesn't spend any time establishing a unique setting, it can spend all its time on the story and characters. Not that either of those are mind-blowing anyway, but I still enjoyed it. The dragons' meddling gone awry. Hybrid brothers trying to learn about themselves and their magic when their minds work differently from the people around them.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it only gets 2 stars because I don't know how I would recommend it to others. You have to look past quite a bit. Characters who repeatedly made me question how a woman wrote this in good conscience (early 00's and beyond... you were a different time). Characters based on Romani stereotypes and use of the respective slur. A dash of Orientalism for good measure. A little more SA in case the first book wasn't enough. Not graphic, but like, we're not even going to question the status quo here, I guess. As God intended or whatever. Again, no effort in the worldbuilding department, just move along.
I wanted to see more of Maristara and the bad stuff she's supposed to be doing, but it seems I'll have to hold out for the last book. I'm still here for the dragons and their mess.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it only gets 2 stars because I don't know how I would recommend it to others. You have to look past quite a bit. Characters who repeatedly made me question how a woman wrote this in good conscience (early 00's and beyond... you were a different time). Characters based on Romani stereotypes and use of the respective slur. A dash of Orientalism for good measure. A little more SA in case the first book wasn't enough. Not graphic, but like, we're not even going to question the status quo here, I guess. As God intended or whatever. Again, no effort in the worldbuilding department, just move along.
I wanted to see more of Maristara and the bad stuff she's supposed to be doing, but it seems I'll have to hold out for the last book. I'm still here for the dragons and their mess.
October 9, 2018
There was something punishing about reading this book. Perhaps it was the one dimensional characters, or the tired fantasy tropes that made me think that this book was 20 years older than it was. Maybe it was just the Book Two slump, and it was a necessary evil for Weis to set up what I hope is a more dramatic third book. Whatever it was, I found it hard to get through this one. There was no pleasure in the reading, so it was a matter of forcing myself through. I think I need a break before I finish off the trilogy, sort of cleanse the palate a little and see if that improves things.
Edward has become wooden, and Bellona has defied belief and become even more so. Evelina is, frankly, offensively tropey and I found myself continually hoping for her demise. Ven and Marcus, as the focus of the entire book, are boring. One is angry and jaded, the other is a daydreamer. I care little for either one of them. The only character that I have any interest in following, Draconas, pops in and out of the story at convenient times to save the day, and his descriptions continue to make it sound like he's a long running character from some other set of books with which I should be familiar. This doesn't seem to be the case, which is particularly frustrating.
Edward has become wooden, and Bellona has defied belief and become even more so. Evelina is, frankly, offensively tropey and I found myself continually hoping for her demise. Ven and Marcus, as the focus of the entire book, are boring. One is angry and jaded, the other is a daydreamer. I care little for either one of them. The only character that I have any interest in following, Draconas, pops in and out of the story at convenient times to save the day, and his descriptions continue to make it sound like he's a long running character from some other set of books with which I should be familiar. This doesn't seem to be the case, which is particularly frustrating.
October 19, 2025
The first book in this series was schlocky fantasy trash, but it was fun, with great characters that had wonderful relationships between them.
This... Not so much. Instead you get every female character being schrewish and awful (I expected better from Weis, honestly), and just flat characters that have no meaningful connection between them.
I own the third book on audio so maybe I'll try it out anyway. But wow, what a disappointment.
This... Not so much. Instead you get every female character being schrewish and awful (I expected better from Weis, honestly), and just flat characters that have no meaningful connection between them.
I own the third book on audio so maybe I'll try it out anyway. But wow, what a disappointment.
February 27, 2023
Can't wait to read the last on the trilogy, this is page turning book in where you'll just say "what just happened". A lot of expected happenned in an unexpected way in the middle to the end. A four star because I feel that it can do more than the story of 2 brothers, I need more of the daywalker and the fearless warrior story too!!
October 20, 2024
Much more depressing than Weis’ usual books with the sibling sons hard to like. And many characters keep getting killed off — all very suddenly too. However, Weis has weaved in just enough mystery in the storyline to keep me coming back for more.
December 3, 2014
The good news: This book is, in my opinion, the strongest book in The Dragonvarld Trilogy.
The bad news: Considering the first and third books use dragon rape as a major driving force, I'm not so sure if this is a distinction this book can be proud of. (and I'm not being flippant about this either; the third book in particular is pretty gross)
Oh boy, despite my complete disgust with the first book, I decided to forge on through with the sequel. Call it bile fascination, a chance for redemption, or just plain stupidity, but I had to see what the first book set up play out. And, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't good, but it felt like a huge improvement nonetheless.
This book is not as action-packed as the first and third novels in this series and mainly involves the two sons of Melisande and their two different struggles in growing up with two very different forms of dragon magic flowing in their bloodstreams. Ven is the son of Grald (aka a dragon with a lot of problems) and he's physically a scaly monster from the waist down. Marcus is the son of King Edward but inherited dragon magic from his mom that allows him to enter trances and listen in on the dragons' telepathic conversations. There is some intrigue involving dragon politics, there is a traitor in the dragon council, Draconas is still trying to stop an impeding war, and the two main dragon villains are still kicking around, but the sons are the main focus and the pace kind of slows down a bit as we watch these two boys grow up.
Out of the two sons, I ended up liking Marcus a lot more just because Ven falls into the brooding antihero "I will never experience true love" category without offering much of anything new. He mopes, he considers himself a freak and an outcast, he has some near misses with his many disguises, his home life is not ideal (even though I kind of wish Bellona would acknowledge her past relationship with Melisande; did the explicit lesbianism not get past the censors the second time around?)...meanwhile, I ended up empathizing more with Marcus because his status of being an outcast was more subtle. The people in his life don't hate him so much as pity him and coddle him because they fear he might have a mental illness. Marcus is overall a more pleasant character to read about.
I think what bumped up my opinion of this book is the cast of characters. The cast of Mistress of Dragons was, for the most part, pretty boring at best and annoying to downright revolting at worst. The Dragon's Son at least improves things a little bit by introducing some characters that carry the story a lot better. Bellona, now embittered by the death of her former lover, tries to craft the freakish half-dragon adopted son of hers into a tool of vengeance (hence his name; this is the same universe where Draconas is an appropriate name for a disguised dragon). Ven and Marcus, while not terrifically exciting main leads, are a huge improvement over the King and Melisande in the first book. The King from the first book is back but he's matured and we even get some personal conflict from his wife as she's raising his bastard child.
And then we get to Evelina and her father, swindlers who run a freak show and kidnap Ven. Margaret Weis has a peculiar strength in writing engaging con men and the moment Evelina shows up in the book, she sweeps the carpet underneath our brooding male protagonist and steals the entire show just by how over-the-top she and her father are. Easily my favorite parts of the book were Evelina's parts, especially when she would learn of someone's social status and instantly change her behavior after being rude to them in hopes of gaining a piece of that princely pie.
In terms of actual story, it's typical "time skip in a series" fare in that most of it is setting up the new cast of characters and laying down the groundwork for the final book. No actual progress is made for the good guys and there are some fight scenes that actually were kind of neat but aren't actually important to the plot. It was just pleasant to read. Not the best, but I had to see the book through to the end rather than slog through it in vain hope that it would improve and that's the best praise I can give it.
There is a twist at the end involving Ven...it feels abrupt and there isn't much development that leads up to it. But I at least felt compelled to read what happened after said twist, which is more than what I can say about the first book.
All in all, I think this book, this poor beleaguered piece of literature attached to a very lackluster trilogy, could almost make it as a standalone book. If you have to read a Dragonvarld book (and honestly, why would you, when Weis has written dozens of books far better than this in her career), the events of Mistress of Dragons are effectively summed up in this book and it would be better to imagine your own ending than dive into Master of Dragons.
The bad news: Considering the first and third books use dragon rape as a major driving force, I'm not so sure if this is a distinction this book can be proud of. (and I'm not being flippant about this either; the third book in particular is pretty gross)
Oh boy, despite my complete disgust with the first book, I decided to forge on through with the sequel. Call it bile fascination, a chance for redemption, or just plain stupidity, but I had to see what the first book set up play out. And, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't good, but it felt like a huge improvement nonetheless.
This book is not as action-packed as the first and third novels in this series and mainly involves the two sons of Melisande and their two different struggles in growing up with two very different forms of dragon magic flowing in their bloodstreams. Ven is the son of Grald (aka a dragon with a lot of problems) and he's physically a scaly monster from the waist down. Marcus is the son of King Edward but inherited dragon magic from his mom that allows him to enter trances and listen in on the dragons' telepathic conversations. There is some intrigue involving dragon politics, there is a traitor in the dragon council, Draconas is still trying to stop an impeding war, and the two main dragon villains are still kicking around, but the sons are the main focus and the pace kind of slows down a bit as we watch these two boys grow up.
Out of the two sons, I ended up liking Marcus a lot more just because Ven falls into the brooding antihero "I will never experience true love" category without offering much of anything new. He mopes, he considers himself a freak and an outcast, he has some near misses with his many disguises, his home life is not ideal (even though I kind of wish Bellona would acknowledge her past relationship with Melisande; did the explicit lesbianism not get past the censors the second time around?)...meanwhile, I ended up empathizing more with Marcus because his status of being an outcast was more subtle. The people in his life don't hate him so much as pity him and coddle him because they fear he might have a mental illness. Marcus is overall a more pleasant character to read about.
I think what bumped up my opinion of this book is the cast of characters. The cast of Mistress of Dragons was, for the most part, pretty boring at best and annoying to downright revolting at worst. The Dragon's Son at least improves things a little bit by introducing some characters that carry the story a lot better. Bellona, now embittered by the death of her former lover, tries to craft the freakish half-dragon adopted son of hers into a tool of vengeance (hence his name; this is the same universe where Draconas is an appropriate name for a disguised dragon). Ven and Marcus, while not terrifically exciting main leads, are a huge improvement over the King and Melisande in the first book. The King from the first book is back but he's matured and we even get some personal conflict from his wife as she's raising his bastard child.
And then we get to Evelina and her father, swindlers who run a freak show and kidnap Ven. Margaret Weis has a peculiar strength in writing engaging con men and the moment Evelina shows up in the book, she sweeps the carpet underneath our brooding male protagonist and steals the entire show just by how over-the-top she and her father are. Easily my favorite parts of the book were Evelina's parts, especially when she would learn of someone's social status and instantly change her behavior after being rude to them in hopes of gaining a piece of that princely pie.
In terms of actual story, it's typical "time skip in a series" fare in that most of it is setting up the new cast of characters and laying down the groundwork for the final book. No actual progress is made for the good guys and there are some fight scenes that actually were kind of neat but aren't actually important to the plot. It was just pleasant to read. Not the best, but I had to see the book through to the end rather than slog through it in vain hope that it would improve and that's the best praise I can give it.
There is a twist at the end involving Ven...it feels abrupt and there isn't much development that leads up to it. But I at least felt compelled to read what happened after said twist, which is more than what I can say about the first book.
All in all, I think this book, this poor beleaguered piece of literature attached to a very lackluster trilogy, could almost make it as a standalone book. If you have to read a Dragonvarld book (and honestly, why would you, when Weis has written dozens of books far better than this in her career), the events of Mistress of Dragons are effectively summed up in this book and it would be better to imagine your own ending than dive into Master of Dragons.
March 18, 2017
Second book in series is even more meh than the first one, but the ending made me want to pull through and read the third book.
December 11, 2019
Solid fantasy tale. Decent read. =)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews