"Dragonknight" by Donita K. Paul

Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 20, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400072506
ISBN-13: 978-1400072507

Unlike the first two books, the third installment of the Dragonkeeper Chronicles follows Bardon, instead of Kale. After two years finishing his training in Wittoom with Dar, Bardon sets out on a Sabbatical to decide what he wants to do with his life. Expecting r & r, instead Bardon is forced into a quest when a young Emerlindian and a Granny ask for his help to rescue her father. Along the way his patience is tested as he deals with the antics of a naive emerlindian and an overly kind granny. Not to mention a less than trustworthy tag-a-long.

N'Rae, the young emerlindian, is a beautiful girl, rather naive being that she grew up with Ropma. I disliked her instantly, as she was the kind of stereo type of perfection. Men fall for her, not caring that her mind is rather empty. Bardon seems to grow fond of her quite fast, rather unlike him. (I think Mrs. Paul was trying to make N'rae seem morel likeable to the reader, though it had the opposite affect on me.)
Granny Kye, the caretaker of N'rae, is always polite, but the way she manages to convince Bardon to help her is rather annoying. She doesn't carry the charm of Granny Noon and refuses to listen to Bardon on many occasions, without any explanation. Her one redeeming quality is her kindness, though it gets her in trouble.
Holt, ends up tagging along and is a rather shady young man. It's obvious from the start that he only cares for himself, but he finds N'rae cute.
Sittiponder, the blind boy that Toopka knew, comes along on the quest. He is patient and clever, rather the opposite of Ahneck.
Ahneck, the orant, comes along on the quest as Sittiponder's eyes. The banter between the two of them is rather funny and reminds me of Fenworth and Librettowitt.

The story is as fast paced as the last two with enough action to satisfy the reader. Although I admit the first time I read it I practically speed read until we finally bump into Kale. Seeing her and Regidor is a rewarding experience after more than half the book is empty of their presence.
Another downside could be the lack of our favorite doneel, Dar. I really missed him.
So when it comes down to it, my only real critique would be the lack of Kale, and her less than desirable replacement. (I mean N'rae, not Bardon.)

Even so, it's a worthy book in the series with the same originality we have seen before from Mrs. Paul. I give "Dragonknight" four stars. :)

If you want to learn more about the Dragonkeeper Series, check out Mrs. Paul's homepage.

You can be the book at Amazon.com.

Next up, I'll review "Dragonfire" by Donita. K. Paul.

"The Candlestone" by Bryan Davis

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Living Ink Books (September 25, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899571719
ISBN-13: 978-0899571713

In the sequel to "Raising Dragons", Bonnie is just about to have her adoption finalized by Walter's parents when her father shows up, claiming that her mother is still alive. Reluctantly, Bonnie returns to Minnesota with him. Meanwhile, Billy and company discover a death certificate for Bonnie's mom and head to bring her back home. Then Bonnie trusts her dad and tries to rescue her mom from a candlestone, only to become trapped inside it herself.

As for our new characters...
Ashely, is a teenage genius hired by Bonnie's dad. She envies Bonnie for her faith but doesn't trust anything she can't see for herself. She is completely motivated by saving her own dad from his failing health.
Karen, the oldest of the girls living at the lab, is probably one of favorite characters. I love the banter between her and Walter. She shares the same sense of humor as he does.
Bonnie's dad is actually hard to figure out. One moment you are sure he is a villain and the next you think he might actually care about his daughter. The suspicion involving him is drawn out well.

The scientific notes about the lab are interesting and give the story a sci-fi feel. They keep the story from feeling cheesy. I mean, turning yourself into light and traveling inside a stone? Sounds, unbelievable, but the author makes it seem real.
This story is just as fast paced as the first, but we see some real character development, mainly in Billy, as he decides what he truly believes in. But *cough* it comes about in an odd way...

The criticism I have first of all, is an aspect of Bonnie's character.  Billy reads her journal where she spouts words like a veteran poet. The flowery writing made me grimace. No one talks that way. No one writes that way. It just sounded unnatural.
My second, *spoiler alert* is when Billy kills a man who kidnaps him. He does it from behind, even after having read a prophecy that says only cowards kill from behind. So he should have waited until the man turned around and shot him? Billy protected himself and the others the wisest way he knew how.
Try this: Billy remembers the rule, gets shot, has to be taken to the hospital and never saves Bonnie. The end. God isn't a magic genie who will make a bullet vanish, and sometimes you have to do unsavory things. Like taking a life at all.
I think the author was trying to get Billy to learn that Christians don't live their lives like other people and wanted to do it in a dramatic fashion that wasn't preachy. -_-; But it came off more like a useless code of honor that could get people killed.

Even after my ranting I still believe it is a very original plot for the sequal to "Rising Dragons", so three stars.

If you want to me find out more about Bryan Davis and his many books, see his website.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com.

Next up, I'll review, "Dragonknight" By Donita. K. Paul