Inheritance book 3 announcement

Random House has announced that book 3 of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle will be called Brisingr! It will be released on September 20, 2008. The cover features a picture of the gold dragon Glaedr.

From the press release:

“BRISINGR is one of the first words I thought of for this title, and it’s always felt right to me,” said Christopher Paolini. “As the first ancient-language word that Eragon learns, it has held particular significance for his legacy as a Dragon Rider. In this new book, it will be revealed to be even more meaningful than even Eragon could have known.”

Read the press release here.

Brisingr is the sequel to the popular books Eragon and Eldest. Fans have speculated that the title of the third book would begin with an 'E' also, like the first two books. Empire was a popular guess for the book 3 title. I think the actual title will catch a lot of people by surprise.

The Random House AuthorTracker email provides more clues to the title and cover: "Both elements of the cover, the gold dragon Glaedr and the title, touch on Eragon’s inheritance. With his painting, John Jude Palencar has captured the dignity and wisdom of Glaedr, and Random House has again designed an awesome book cover."

Book Review: Dragon's Keep

Dragon's Keep
by Janet Lee Carey

When King Arthur's younger sister Evaine was exiled to Wilde Island, Merlin made a prophecy to her:

The signs all point to the twenty-first queen of Wilde Island.... Three things the stars say of this queen. She shall redeem the name Pendragon. End war with the wave of her hand. And restore the glory of Wilde Island.

...And yet I see darkly in the stars...a beast"

Many years later, Evaine's descendent Rosalind grows up knowing that she is to be the twenty-first queen of Wilde Island and destined to fulfill the prophecy. But there's one problem: Rosalind was born with a birth defect. The ring finger on her left hand is a dragon's claw instead of a finger, a sure mark of the devil. Rosalind has had to spend her entire life gloved, for fear that someone will see the mark.

Rosalind's mother, Queen Gweneth, is determined that she will find a way to heal her of her mark. She believes that once healed, Rosalind will marry the English Prince Henry, currently in exile in France, and that the two of them will become king and queen of England. To this end, Queen Gweneth subjects Rosalind to the ministrations of healer after healer. None of the healers are allowed to know what the problem is, of course, so they have to work without knowing what they are trying to cure. Some of the cures are unpleasant, and none of them works.

A dragon's mark is especially bad, because Wilde Island is beset by a dragon, who attacks and kills the inhabitants. Dragons are not looked on with favor on Wilde Island. When the dragon abducts Rosalind, she learns a lot more about dragons than she ever wanted to know, and her destiny turns out to be very different than she expected.

Dragon's Keep is a beautiful book, but a dark one. Rosalind's life is such a horror, and that the pain of it is caused by the mother who thinks she is doing the best for her daughter is unspeakable. When Rosalind is abducted by the dragon, her life is still a horror, but in a very different way. It raises the question of just who is the beast in Merlin's prophecy: the dragon or the mother? Queen Gweneth reminds me of some parents who push their children too much in areas such as sports or acting, thinking that they are helping their child and not realizing that they're carrying it too far. (As a stage parent myself, I can see how easy it is to get carried away and think that you are doing what's best for your child).

Dragon's Keep also shows how different sides in a war can perceive the same things very differently. Dragon Slippers, which I reviewed yesterday, deals with the same theme. It was interesting reading these two books so close together. They are, in many ways, very different books: where Dragon Slippers is humorous and lighthearted, although with some darker moments, Dragon's Keep is dark and intense.

The dragons in the two books are very different as well; the dragons in Dragon Slippers are so very human whereas the dragons in Dragon's Keep are clearly a different species with an alien (to us) way of thinking. And yet both books deal with the same theme of reconciling the "us vs. them" mentality in a war. In Dragon Slippers, the author takes the approach of making the dragons so likable that the reader can easily bridge the gap between "us" and "them." The dragons in Dragon's Keep, however, seem harsh to us, and yet as time goes on, we begin, as does Rosalind, to understand how they think, and we find ourselves drawn to them. And so the gap is bridged, and bridged in a way that has a stronger psychological impact.

I hope that my description hasn't led you to believe that these weighty themes drag down the story, because they don't. I doubt I would have noticed all the above quite so strongly if I hadn't read both books practically back-to-back during my Cybils reading. Dragon's Keep is a strong story, exciting, and enjoyable to read. The plot twists and revelations hold your interest and pull the story along. I highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in dragons, or who just likes interesting, thought-provoking fantasies.

Book Review: Dragon Slippers

Dragon Slippers
by Jessica Day George

Dragon Slippers is a 2007 Cybils nominee.

Creel and her brother Hagen live with their aunt and uncle, who took them in when their parents died. But the family is poor, and Creel, with no prospects for a good marriage, is a liability. So Creel's aunt sets her mind on a plan: Creel will offer herself to the dragon, and when the dragon takes her prisoner, a brave knight will rescue her and marry her, taking the entire family to live in his castle. Creel knows it's a stupid plan, but she has no choice but to go along with it.

Right from the start, things don't go according to plan. The dragon doesn't want to take her prisoner. He really doesn't want to battle a knight. And he doesn't hoard gold; he hoards shoes. Creel makes a deal with him: she'll leave, taking the need to battle the knight with her, in exchange for a pair of shoes. As Creel heads off to seek her fortune in the city, she has no idea just how much trouble those shoes are going to cause...

Dragon Slippers is a must-read book for dragon fans. It's a delightful book with a fairy-tale feel, but with more depth and better developed characters than your typical fairy tale. The story is told in the first person, and Creel's voice is a fascinating blend of naiveté and worldliness. She has a certain appealing innocence about her, and yet she displays quite a bit of grit and determination.

But the best thing about this book is the dragons. Author Jessica Day George has imbued her dragons with distinctive personalities. And each dragon hoards something different: one collects shoes, another one tapestries and others...well, you'll just have to read it and see. I don't want to give too much away. From the noble Shardas to the anxiety-ridden Feniul, you'll love them all. The book is at its best when the dragons are in the picture.

There's more to this book than dragons, though. There's a budding romance with a prince and even a ball, but Creel is no passive Cinderella. She's determined to make her own way in the world, and the ball is one for people who want to start their own business to help them find patrons to invest money to get them started. There's also a war, and heroes, and a message about how leaders sometimes distort the truth for their own ends.

For all Creel's good points, though, at times she seems a bit dim. You want to slap her for the things that she doesn't see. And the book drags a little in places. Overall, though, it's quite an enjoyable story that will appeal to dragon lovers and those who love modern fairy-tale type stories.

Book Review: The Book of the Sword

The Book of the Sword
Darkest Age: Book 2

by A.J. Lake

The dragon Torment has carried Edmund and Elspeth to the cold northlands, where the dangerous god Loki is imprisoned under a mountain. Captain Cathbar is also there, having grabbed onto Torment with a rope at the last minute so that he could protect the two children. In the northlands, they meet a girl named Fritha, who takes them to her home where she and her father offer hospitality and care for their wounds. But the sword bonded to Elspeth's arm is pushing her on, drawing her towards Eigg Loki, the mountain where Loki is imprisoned. Elspeth, Edmund, and Cathbar, guided by Fritha, set off on a dangerous journey towards Eigg Loki. Along they way they will encounter many perils, but the greatest peril lies at the end of their journey. For while the sword is the only thing that can destroy Loki, it's also the only thing that can free him.

Edmund and Elspeth have grown up quite a bit in this book. No longer are they children, swept along unwillingly by events. Now they are young adults, making difficult choices and taking responsibility for their actions. Elspeth especially has become quite an interesting character as she wrestles with how much to allow the sword to lead and how much to make her own choices. Edmund is less central in this book; he does use his Ripente skills in several key instances, but in many ways this is Elspeth's book. There are some interesting revelations in this book as we find out more about the sword and about Clauran, the minstrel who guided them in the first book. Overall, this is a much stronger book than the first one. Like the first book, this one leaves things open for the next book, and I look forward to reading it.

Also read David's review.

Technorati Tags: book review | children's books | young adult books | fantasy | dragons | swords

Book Review: Sir Kyle and Lady Madeline

Sir Kyle and Lady Madeline

by Sallie Lowenstein

Kyle loves his new house. In his imagination, it's a castle, with turrets and secret passageways and wizards. He's not so sure about his new neighbor, though; Madeline seems like trouble. When she agrees to play knights with him, she clearly has a different game in mind than he does. In Kyle's game, the knight goes hunting dragons, but in Madeline's game, the princess gets to kiss the knight. So Kyle uses his imagination to deal with his pesky neighbor. But does Madeline's game have a different ending?

Sir Kyle and Lady Madeline is a delightful picture book that does a wonderful job of conveying the vivid imagination of children at play. The illustrations, done in colored pencil and opaque ink on rough paper, are beautiful, and go hand in hand with the text to convey the full story. As the dragon fades in and out of view, sometimes appearing to be almost part of the natural environment, and sometimes dominating the illustration, the reader gets a sense of the ebb and flow of imaginative play. One final illustration after the end of the text clues the reader that Kyle's ending isn't the only possible one.

Technorati Tags: book review | children's books | picture books | knights | dragons | imagination

Book Review: The Coming of Dragons

The Coming of Dragons
The Darkest Age: Book One

by A.J. Lake

Two children, Elspeth and Edmund, are shipwrecked together with a mysterious chest. Elspeth is the daughter of the ship's captain, and Edmund is the son of the King of Sussex, traveling incognito. During the storm which wrecked the ship, Edmund saw a dragon; but more than that, he saw through the dragon's eyes.

The two children and the chest are found on the beach by on old man, Aagard, who turns out to be more than he seems. Aagard was one of the council of the King of Wessex, called the King's Rede, before the Rede was betrayed by an evil, power-hungry man called Orgrim. Orgrim was a ripente, someone who has the capability of entering anyone's mind and seeing through their eyes. Aagard tells Edmund that the reason he could see through the dragon's eyes is that he is a Ripente also.

The chest contains a crystal sword, a sword coveted by Orgrim. If Orgrim gets the sword, he will be unstoppable. The sword chooses Elspeth and bonds itself to her hand. Edmund and Elspeth just want to go home, but fate has another destiny in store for them. The two children may have no choice but to use their unwanted gifts to try to defeat Orgrim.

The Coming of Dragons is set in a land which closely resembles England of the Dark Ages, but in this England, things such as magic and dragons are real. The story is exciting; kids who like swords and sorcery adventures will enjoy it. I liked the strong-willed Elspeth a little better as a character than the cautious Edmund, but even Edmund develops some spirit as they go along and as he learns better how to use his gift. The protagonists act stupidly a little too often for my taste, but hopefully as the series progresses they'll grow into their responsibility.

In spite of the title, there's not much of dragons here; the one dragon appears only twice in the story. However, the next book, The Book of the Sword, promises to have more about the dragon. I'll find out soon: I have a copy of The Book of the Sword and will read it as soon as I can get it away from David.

Technorati Tags: book review | childrens books | young adult books | fantasy | swords | dark ages