Publisher: WaterBrook Press (July 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400072514
ISBN-13: 978-1400072514
In the fourth installment of the Dragonkeeper Chronicles, we jump three years into the future, where we find Kale and Bardon, a young married couple. They have spent most of their time in the reclusive bogs and are only now seeing the signs of a growing war in Amara. The two are split up to go on seperate quests, Kale with her newly reawakend father, and Bardon with Kale's mother.
Kale's father is the only real new character as Bardon's dad isn't much involved. He is just as charming as his wife although he is somewhat unpredictable and almost carefree, which rather bugs Kale at first.
There aren't many new characters in the book, but because of the many from previous books it feels unneeded. Instead, we revisit old characters such as...
Gilda, the dragon we only visited with a small amount of time in "Dragonknight" is more developed and we learn about who she really is. She looks down on the low races and has a condescending tone, believing that the Meech race's secret home must be truly advanced and evolved.
Leetu Bends, whom has been absent since book one, finally returns. Although I find any development in her character lacking.
I admit, the first time I slipped open the book, I was extremely disappointed to discover that Kale and Bardon were already married. -_-; I had daydreamed for nearly a year after reading "Dragonknight" how their relationship would progress. I guess its a fantasy book, not romance, right?
Even so, like many Christian authors writing for young people, Mrs. Paul makes sure there relationship is seen in a certain light...rather similar to that of the later books in the "Dragons in our midst" series by Brian Davis. Romantic hints in that series are kept to a minimum. The most we see is a hug, or a kiss on the forehead...really. This is my personal pet peeve.
What, we can read about men getting their heads chopped off but sexual desire is off limits? Perhaps the authors are following strict quidelines from their publishers but if so, these bogus concepts of perfection should be stopped. That's the number one flaw in Christian fiction, portraying Christians as perfect people. We all face tempation, and no doubt sexual temptation is the most common. So why doesn't anyone acknowledge it?
Okay, had to get that out there. *sweatdrop*
Back to the review...
As for action, there is plenty, my fave scene being where Kale is trapped in burning woods. I could really feel her despair, and the best aspect of this adventure is that for the first time, Kale faces temptation herself, and makes a drastic mistake by accepting a gift from Pretender to ease her pain after the fire. They way Mrs. Paul portrayed the desire to sin, take the easy way out, and have herself healed was amazing. It truly caused Kale's character to grow and it was my favorite part of the book. And when she discovers the truth about her scars, it's really priceless.
So, I give "Dragonfire" four stars. An amazing read for fantasy lovers everywhere. :)
If you wanna check out the other DragonKeeper books, please check out Mrs. Paul's website.
You can buy her book at amazon.com.
Next up, I'll review the last book in the series, "Dragonlight".
P.S. 100 views. I must be getting popular. *crickets churp* Not really.
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