"Dragonquest" by Donita. K Paul

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 7, 2005)
ISBN-10: 1400071291
ISBN-13: 978-1400071296

Kale Allerion is finally where she was headed to in the first book, "Dragonspell". She is living in the hall and serving under Paladin as a Leecent. But she has only been there a month when she is set out on another quest to visit the now hatched meech egg she fought to rescue from Risto. But this time, her companion is not Dar, or Leetu Bends, instead it's Lehman Bardon, an older, stiff student who up until to know, has completely ignored Kale's existance. Along for the trip, is a young, homeless, doneel girl, who happens to be put into Kale's care after she saves her from being punished for stealing food. To complicate dealing with a mischievous doneel and a reclusive Lehman, Kale discovers that her mother is alive, then two show up both claiming to her real one.

Kale, although now under Wulder, still faces doubts about her own abilities and if she can get along with Bardon. The same realistic feelings she had in the first story make her my favorite heroine in all of Christian fantasy.
Bardon is a stoic loner, and recites Wuldar's tomes without any passion, although he truly believes them. He is mysterious but a certain fact is eventually revealed about him.
Toopka is a charming edition to the story, and some of things she blurts out will leave you smiling and maybe even laughing. She is stubborn but good hearted and grows fond of her new caretaker quickly.
Regidor, the meech dragon is intelligent and witty, although rather proud in the start. He learns at an amazing pace and quickly becomes an asset as a wizard and a fighter.
Cam, our newest wizard, is a lake wizard and a distant cousin of Fenworth's. The conversations between the two of them are perhaps even more entertaining then those between Fenworth and Libretowitt in the previous book. :)

The development of the characters is the strongest asset to this story, although it is just as action packed as the first. Kale's growth in the first was obvious, she was a slave and then she is a servant of Paladin. But to see Bardon's attitudes change and Regidor mature into a fighter and a dragon versed in the ways of Wuldar is quite rewarding.

Again, my only crituque is the climax, although we see a battle, it seems all to short.

My favorite book out of the series, I give "Dragonquest" a full four stars for an excellent cast of characters and an exciting plot.

If you want to see more of Donita K. Paul's books, which I suggest you do, check out her website.

You can can buy her book at Amazon.com

Up next, "The Candlestone" by Bryan Davis

"Raising Dragons" By Bryan Davis

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Living Ink Books (June 25, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899571700
ISBN-13: 978-0899571706

Billy Bannister has always had problems, mainly his hot breath that has gotten him the nickname "Dragon breath" at school. But his breath is the least of his problems when Billy learns his father is a dragon, making him one too. Not to mention his principal is actually a slayer, determined to kill both Billy and his dad. Along the way, Billy learns that the new girl at school, Bonnie Silver, is actually a dragon too. They flee together on a plane only to have Bonnie kidnapped and the plane destroyed, with only Billy and his mom surviving. Billy heads out to prove his dad is alive and save Bonnie.

Billy is your average teenager, just concerned with fitting in and staying out of trouble. His reactions to the events around him are what make him realistic. He is doubtful of his abilities and even his own father. He has little to no relationship with God.
Bonnie has an amazingly pure heart, which is a miracle considering how she has had such a hard life as an orphan. My only complaint is that her perfection becomes a little jarring at times. She is the perfect christian girl we all want to be and in the scene where she prays and recites scripture like a poet made me wince. But other than that part, she seems real and it's hard not to feel for her.
Walter is the most likable character. He says the silliest things that make you laugh out loud. I think he made the book. :)
Mr. Hamilton, is Billy's history teacher who becomes something of a mentor to all three young heroes. He is slightly eccentric but lovable in his knowledge and bravery.
Mr. Whittier makes a convincing villain as he truly believes he is in the right, and must destroy all of the remaining dragons.

There really isn't any weak points in the first of this series. Later on, it's easier to criticize the characters. But in book one they are fresh and enjoyable.
Having Merlin as a prophet rather than a wizard is a unique twist and believable since the tales surrounding him and Camelot are shrouded in mystery.

I give it four stars, for a very original story full of detail. ^__^

To see more of Bryan Davis's many books, check out his homepage.

You can buy his book at Amazon.com

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

"Dragonspell" by Donita K. Paul

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 22, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1578568234
ASIN: B003STCQOI

Warning: This is the first Christian fantasy book I ever found, and I found it by chance browsing at the local library, having no idea I had just found an author that would rival J.K. Rowling on my favorites list. How is that a warning? Dunno, just wanted to tell you how I discovered her. :) It was fate.

Kale is a fourteen year old o'rant girl who has lived her entire life as a slave in the country of Amara...until now. She is sent to live at the Hall in the large city of Vendela. But her journey is put on the back burner when Kale discovers she has an amazing gift that allows her to find dragon eggs. This gets her into trouble and she is rescued by Leetu Bends and Dar the doneel. Together the three set out to find an important dragon egg that must be found in order to keep it out of the enemies hands. Along the way they are joined by wizards, librarians, and many new dragon friends.

Kale hoped to be a servant rather than a slave but winds up with more than she bargained for. She is isn't particularly skilled at anything other than finding dragon eggs. So she doesn't come off as the perfect heroine and is easy to like.  She becomes a hero reluctantly, knowing the dangers that many fantasy-book characters never even think of.
Dar easily becomes my favorite, as a doneel he is only four feet tall with dog-like features of fur, pointed ears and a beard. The distinct characters of his race make him charming and easy to love.
Leetu Bends is beautiful and a skilled warrior, but Kale is her first pupil and she makes some mistakes in her teaching ways.
Wizard Fenworth is lovable and the one character that will make you laugh out loud. I love the conversations he has with Librettowit, the librarian who gets dragged along.
The minor Dragons that are born throughout the book are charming and you have a hard time not sympathizing with the major Dragon, Celisse.
Paladin is like the father Kale never had. Although he only just met her he treats her like he has always known her.

My only real criticism is the climax, it seems a little too short. Instead of fighting our villian, Risto, we simply meet him and escape. But, looking back on the book, it makes sense. Kale hasn't yet learned to fight, only to tap into her mind speaking abilities and trust Wulder.

The strongest points are really the variety of original races, such as Doneels, O'rants, Emerlindians, and many more. Not to mention the unique monsters, plants, and even food. Daggart, anyone?

For creative characters, a detailed world, and a unique plot, I give "Dragonspell" four stars. ^__^

If you want to check out more of the DragonKeeper Series, go to Donita K. Paul's official website.

You can buy the book for a GREAT deal at Amazon.com

Next up, I'll be reviewing "Dragons in our Midst" by Brian Davis.

"The Door Within" by Wayne Thomas Batson

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Lost Chapter edition (April 8, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400310113
ISBN-13: 978-1400310111

I'm not dead. Hooray! And I'm finally getting into reviewing fiction I like-fantasy!

The Door Within Trilogy is about a teenager named Aidan, whom after finding ancient scrolls in his basement, crosses a bridge that he finds in his mind. There ends up in a place called the "Realm", where Glimpses, counterparts of actual humans on earth, make their home. The Realm is a place of honor, castles, kingdoms, and knights. There he gets caught up in the battle to tell others about the truth and save them from King Rucifel, who betrayed King Eliam and murdered hundreds. After being trained as a knight Aidan and eleven others set out the nearest kingdom, which is undecided in it's loyalties.

Aidan, having just moved far away from his only friend, Robby, is easy to like. He's all alone in a new place, and angry at his parents about having to move. His desire for truth is his main driving point.
Gwenne is pretty, smart, and a good fighter. But she doesn't come off as overly perfect, so she still retains her realism and likability.
Valithor, the leader of the knights has a very distinct way of speech and his stern way of teaching. Think of a drill seargant with a sense of humor.
The twins, Nock and Bolt, are entertaining, and almost as bold as Valithor.
One weak point is that many other knights simply get a name and a very small part. Because of this, we don't really get to know any of them.

The strongest points are the different creatures, like moonrascals (which I'm pretty sure are adorable), spider lanterns, and a giant spider that grows a new set of legs every five years.
When it comes to allegories, we've all read about characters who represent Jesus, God, Satan, ect. But The scrolls Aidan finds in the beginning of the story actually represent something too. The scrolls are a copy of a book that claims to know the origin of the universe, have been around for thousands of years, and are available in every bookstore. The scrolls are the Bible. Talk about original. Mr. Batson deserves your respect for that idea alone. :)

I give "The Door Within" three stars, for an original fantasy world and story idea.

If you want to check out the other books by Wayne Thomas Batson, which I suggest you do, check out his website.

You can buy this book at Amazon.com for $10.

Next up, I'll review one of my favorite books, "Dragonspell" by Donita K. Paul.

Martyr's Song, book 2 "When Heaven Weeps" by Ted Dekker

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 084994516X
ISBN-13: 978-0849945168

Jan Jovic, after witnessing the murder of an innocent priest and young girl in Serbia, during WWII, has moved to America and made a fortune with the book he wrote, summarizing the events that changed his life and converted him to Christianity. His perfect plants to marry a beautiful co-worker, Karen, go up in flames when he ends up saving a young woman named Helen, who happens to be a drug addict. His closest friend, Ivena, convinces him to help the poor girl, and both lavish her with clothes, food, and a home. In no time at all Jan has to admit he has fallen in love with this woman, but things can't be easy. Even after revealing to his friends that he has married a drug-addict, he faces the wrath of one man who has supplied Helen-a dangerous man called Glen Lutz. Jan does everything he can to help Helen, but both of their lives end up threatened.

Jan's character is hard to understand at certain points. You know he has turned his life around, but upon falling in love with Helen, we are not truly informed of what motivated him to be with Karen in the first place.
Helen, at first, is someone you can feel sorry for. Her life has basically sucked and she now only lives for the feeling of drugs. Time after time, even after Jan has married her and fought for her, she continues to return to Glen. And I do mean, time after time...after time, after time...after time. A lot of times!
Ivena is probably the most like-able character. She is like a mother to Jan and the wisest person around being as she witness the events In Serbia. She is the one who convinces Jan that his motivations have changed since WWII and now revolve around the money he makes for his ministry.

I admit I have my share of complaints in this book, the main one being how fast Jan falls for Helen, and the irrationality of how he treats her behavior. There never seems to be a moment, where he says, "maybe she won't change, maybe she doesn't want to, maybe she's using me", and I thought that doubt would have crucially improved his character. And the scene where Jan admits he loves her, is rather cheesy-granted, these things are hard to write without coming off that way but still, it was cheesy.
But even with all of my complaints, one thing makes this book worth reading-the close up accounts of drug addiction. Of all the christian authors I have read, none has ever been brave enough to show such things. These sort of things are often viewed from the far away lense of  "I'm a Christian, so don't show me these things". Not in this story.

For that alone, I would give it three stars. No avoiding the dirty truth here.

You can buy it at Amazon.com for a decent price.

If you want to learn more about the many books that Dekker has written, see his website.

Next up, I'll review "The Personfied Project".

"Wormwood" by G.P. Taylor

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Firebird (September 22, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142404691
ISBN-13: 978-0142404690

Wormwood takes place in eighteenth century, same as "Shadowmancer". Our main characters are a young girl named Agetta Lamien, who is a maid to the other main character, the wealthy Dr. Sabian Blake. He is a man obsessed with science or more specific, his newfound book, the Nemorensis. Agetta pays him no mind, only happy to swipe money for herself. But when a beautiful, wealthy woman directs her to a bookstore, promising her fortune and happiness, she befriends the owner Thaddeus. He then confides in her that he lost the Nemorensis, and Agetta finds herself promising to bring it to him. Meanwhile, Blake announces to the Royal Society that "wormwood", a comet, is on it's way to strike London. After stealing the Nemorensis, Agetta decides to free Tetagus, an angel that her father had secretly locked up. Together, they head to see Thaddeus.
Eventually, Agetta discovers that the wealthy woman she met is not even human, and plans to use the young girl for her new body.

Agetta comes from a poor family that runs a small inn. She has a rough father and a drunkard for a mother. Feeling no direction in her life, she is easily swayed into stealing from her employer.
Blake develops from a power-hunger scientist to a confused student as he discovers the trouble he is in. I didn't dislike him, but found myself wishing I knew more about his history, or family. Not even his age is mentioned.
Tetagus, apparently an angel whom has fallen from grace, decides to watch over Agetta. His motivation doesn't seem clear though. He does not believe he can be redeemed but still wishes to do good.
Abram, Blake's own guardian Angel, is one of the more unique characters. His honesty along with his wit made me pause and take note after he spoke.
Yerzina, the main villain of this story, is a creature that has lived for centuries, and she finds a new body when her current one is ready to pass on.

The flaws I noticed didn't hit me at any one moment but were similar to "Shadowmancer", his previous book. Just a lack of detail on things I decided I wanted to know. Like, who was the woman Tetagus fell in love with? How long ago was it? Had Tetagus ans Abram ever tried to stop Yerzina before? They made it obvious they knew of her past deeds. Maybe It's just my interest in angelic warfare stories but I did also wish to know more about Blake, as I previously stated.
The only other flaw, I think, was the lack of meetings between the two main human characters-Blake and Agetta, although it seems essential to the story. Perhaps when they met near the end, if there had been a moment of clarity-Agetta's guilt over causing trouble and stealing, Blake's new found forgiveness. But any feelings or a new relationship being formed is left to the imagination, as the book seems to cut right off after the villain is vanquished.

For a story so full of twists, I only wrote about half of them in the summary, I'd give "Wormwood" three stars. Just as creative as the first book, with a ghost, a man made of dirt and clay, and a Diakka to fuel the imagination.

If you want to learn more about the many highly underated books that G.P. Taylor has penned, just check out his homepage.

You can buy it at Amazon.com.

Up next? Dunno...perhaps a Ted Dekker novel.

"Marduk's Tablet" by T.L. Higley

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Incorporated (September 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1586607685
ISBN-13: 978-1586607685

Emilie Nazzaro is just trying to finish college and is none too pleased when she is whisked off the street and offered a job to translate a tablet that took her own father away from her. Somehow, she ends up traveling to Israel, and working at a dig site. After being warned about thieves, she has a hard time making friends. Things are hardly uneventful though, when the first time she touches the tablet she gets a vision of ancient Babylon. The affect vanishes, but every night from then on, she dreams of the detailed life of a priestess. Suddenly she wonders if perhaps she truly was a Priestess in a past life. Happy to further herself from the flirtatious Jack, she accepts an invitation for dinner from a handsome stranger named Sheldon Gold, but her anxieties lead her to suspect him as well. Eventually, Emilie finds herself in jail, accused of stealing the tablet herself! After getting bailed out, she sets out the capture the thieves, on her own.

Emilie loves history, and has immersed herself in her work. Although she is hesitant to turn to God, she is not close-minded, and is willing to consider all options. Because of her father rejecting her, she hasn't had any close relationships.
Jack Cabot is not what he seems. He finds himself attracted to Emilie because she seems to actually see he is wearing a facade. But, due to rejections of his past, he doesn't trust her.
Margaret is the nice woman you would want to sit beside you at church. She is confident in her beliefs but is completely calm and respectful.
Jenn, Emilie's roommate, is confident in her beliefs as well, but they are her new-age religion. She seems rather angry at times, which clues you into the effects of her lifestyle. She is condescending to Margaret, and unwilling to hear an opinion other then one she agrees with.

My favorite aspect of this book is that it deals with a belief outside of Christianity, mainly the idea of reincarnation. I have read more Christian-fiction than I can remember, and I have no memory of this belief being mentioned. Most books just mention the evils of witchcraft if they mention any other belief.
There is plenty of suspense in this book, thanks to Jack, who made me constantly wonder whose side he was on. Jenn, and Sheldon also have secrets, and did I mention the moral struggles of Victor Herrigan?
The perspective switches from Emilie, to Jack, and even to Victor sometimes. But it never bored me or made me anxious to get back to our main character, as I have sometimes experienced with other books.

For lots of suspense and good characters, I give it three and half stars.

Go to the author's website to learn more about her historic-fiction.

You can buy it used at Amazon.com.

Up next, I'll review "Wormwood" by G.P. Taylor.