Dragon Avenger

The book I have read is called Dragon Avenger by E. E. Knight it is a sequel in the age of fire collection. This is a very good book for a person how has a big imagination and can follow through with fantasy. This book is about a beautiful green dragon named Wistala and how her life plays out. (From her mother, father and siblings being killed for there hides to when she meats a kind elf and then the most important part how she gets her revenge on there her families murders.) My impression on this book is that it is a good book to pass away the hours and get lost in (that is if you like adventure.) this book would be great for kids of about 12 and up.

I'm not one for sappy anthropomorphic animal tales and, as with Dragon Champion, this is definitely not that. Dragon Avenger is a no-holds-barred look at the life of a dragon whose family is mercilessly slaughtered by humanoid races. But things aren't black-and-white in Knight's creation as one finds in most other stories - not all humanoids are bad, not all dragons are good. As is Knight's style, all is not always what it seems. I was concerned about how Knight would pull off re-telling the story of AuRon's and Wistala's family's murder, but he did it wonderfully. Though they are - at their most basic - the same first few chapters, the difference in the points of view between AuRon (Dragon Champion) and Wistala (Dragon Avenger) read as different as any two true accountings of events between two different people. Throughout the two books I was amazed at how well Knight kept the two stories completely separate - there was no rehashing or plot regurgitation anywhere (something I seriously dislike in most other serial writing). Each book - as each dragon - is its own creation and wholly independent of the other. I cannot wait for Book Three! E. E. Knight is a master storyteller and creator of characters, settings, and cunning plots. Wistala's travels from nest to the climactic ending are filled with life and color keeping the reader eager to know what comes next. And though she's a dragon, Knight's personification of Wistala makes it easy for the reader to fit into her shoes - er, claws.

After reading the first novel, I picked this up and was startled to realize that is from the perspective of yet another dragon, but not the one in the first book. At first this turned me off, because I thought, how can he write another dragon personality? I realized, that after reading this excellent novel that my main concerns applied to other authors, because Knight has created two distinct and separate personalities, that of the dragon in this book, and AuRon in the previous. I do have to say it is refreshing to read a novel where the stereotypes do not apply. If you enjoyed the previous novel you should definitely pick it up, you will anticipate the third book much more.

Wistala is a dragonet who with her two brothers and sister survived their hatching and is happy to live in their cave with their mother and father cocooned in their love. The copper dragon stays away from his family; the gray dragon Auron is scale-less; Jizara is shy and clings to her mother; while Wistala is strong and independent. There idyllic life is destroyed when slave traders of the Wheel of Fire kill Tala's mother and Jizara. Unable to fly yet Auron diverts the hunters so Wistala can have a chance to grow up free. Tala finds her injured father Aurel who is near death and tries to save him but he prefers to die fighting the dwarves. Tala flies away and is joined on her journey by the elf Rainfall who takes her into his home and shows her nothing but love. For years the two live together in peace until Thane Hammar wants Rainfall's beautiful estate. The elf makes Tala his heir and to avoid Hammar's ire he encourages her to travel with his friends where she sees much of the land of Hypatia. While on her journey she devises a way to take vengeance for her family's long ago destruction even though she risks her own death because she will be in the heart of the enemy. The second book of the Age of Fire concentrates on Auron's sister and how she copes with being alone in a somewhat hostile world. E.E. Knight is a great worldbuilder who populates his story with humans, elves, dwarves, and dragons. This is a charming and enchanting fantasy with magic though it is not much in evidence. The characters who befriend Wistala love her for her mature view that homids are for the most part not evil. Told from the point of view of Tala, readers will be enamored by this beautiful specimen of dragonhood. Harriet Klausner

Wistala is a green dragon hatchling. She and her brother, Auron, escape the massacre of their family only to be separated within days. Left alone, and without wings or fire, Wistala is forced to fend for herself in a hostile world. She vows to avenge the destruction of her family by finding those responsible. Wistala's journey will take her throughout the Hypatian Empire and beyond. As she grows from hatchling to drakka to a fledged dragonelle, Wistala will become part of a family, travel with a group of show people, and seek her vengeance for the wrongs done to her family. This is the second installment in the powerful new "The Age of Fire" series. Told through Wistala's point of view, readers will be drawn into the brutal reality of her life. Wistala will know peace, but as a dragon in a world bent on driving her species extinct, she will also know peril and loss. Knight brings these experiences to readers in a vivid voice sure to be celebrated within the genre. As with DRAGON CHAMPION, Knight offers a thoroughly crafted fantasy world. While DRAGON AVENGER stands on its own, it also compliments the first book in the series, addressing several unanswered questions from the first novel. Of course, not all will be told, as there is much more Knight is sure to bring to future installments. For a lushly unique fantasy read, look into DRAGON AVENGER, as well as its predecessor, DRAGON CHAMPION. You'll never look at dragons the same way again. Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer 11/26/2006