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Dragon's Ring (2009)

by Dave Freer(Favorite Author)

3.96 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1439133190 (ISBN13: 9781439133194)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Baen

series

Dragon's Ring

review 1: The magic system was complex but not really well thought out. Seemed like there was vague descriptions of who was strong against who but the few 'rules' seemed to be revised on the cuff as it suited the storyline. Dragons are only weak to human mages ... Except when two or more sentient species combine forces? Also there seemed to be very little boundaries placed on the magic system ... Except a vague warning that if you used too much power it could kill you. Finally, the ending seemed to draw together a bunch of lose threads that weren't really parts of the storyline ... Like what compulsion spell? and what romance? Overall was an ok read but I'm left with little desire to read any other books by this author.
review 2: Dragon's Ring is well-enough written, if... more a bit abrupt in places. I really liked both Fionn and Meb and enjoyed their rambling story. Much is made of Fionn's goal to destroy the world and many descriptions tend to over-emphasize this aspect of the story, in my opinion. It doesn't take long for us to learn both his motives and his nature well enough to understand that there is a bigger picture at work and that his actions are meant for the betterment of all. Indeed, characterizing Fionn as some kind of trickster is a huge, and completely unjustified, stretch. He is certainly a rogue and comes at solutions to his problems sideways, but that's hardly the same thing.I didn't think that I would like Meb as much as I did. She is kind of clingy (until the end of the story, see below), but this is completely justified in a girl with a limited upbringing who is thrust out of everything familiar and forced to cope in an unforgiving world with no useful skills or knowledge. Her attachment to Fionn begins naturally enough and deepens as naturally as she tags along on his pursuit of his work.That said, the pacing and events are a bit rocky in places and some things I just had to take on the author's say-so. Some of the ancillary view-point characters were hard to distguish from one another and their motivations seemed, to me, to fluctuate more than they maybe should have.In all, this book was a solid three stars, verging on 3.5, until the climax of the story. At the end, Meb's growth culminates in a difficult decision where she has to synthesize all she has learned from Fionn and their journey together and she has to make the decision that will forever alter the lives of all in her world. Her poise and determination in that moment shows that she really had been internalizing all that had occurred and leads her to a course that is as beautiful as it is unexpected, landing the book solidly in the four stars I ended up with.I'd have no trouble recommending the book to anyone interested in a solid Fantasy story with an interesting world, a good story, and characters you can eventually fall in love with. less

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