Servant of the Dragon

I was reading these series because I thought the only interesting character is Ilna the Weaver, and I was curious about what happened to her. I was very surprised when I read this book and found it to be by far the best one in the series. The plot was much better than the first two books. Prince Garric and Tenoctris are trying to close the bridge that opens Valles to the cosmos, letting in dangerous creatures. Same old same old there, nothing new and exciting. Sharina is taken through the bridge by a creature that serves the Dragon, turning Sharina herself into a servant of the dragon. However, the Dragon is not evil, he needs her help to recover his mummy that is being used to destroy the world. He sends Sharina through many worlds with her new friend, the birdman Dalar. Cashel goes in search of Sharina and ends up in the Underworld after killing the wizard he was supposed to ask for help. He is accompanied by the wizard's ring, which has a demon trapped in it. The demon Krias is a refreshing addition to the stories with his witty sense of humor. He reminds me strongly of the faerie Mellie that Cashel befriended in Lord of the Isles. Lastly, my favourite character Ilna has her best adventures yet, which make the book a good and interesting read. She is taking the child Merota, niece of Lord Tadia, with her on a ship to Erdin. On the way they are shipwrecked on Yole, risen from the sea again with an army of dead things. Ilna meets the best character Drake has yet introduced into the story yet, the sailor/pirate Chalcus. He actually loves Ilna, and he let's us see her softer side. His witty humour and dialogue add a lot to the story. I found myself breathlessly waiting to find out what would happen to him and Ilna next. It seems that Drake has finally figured out how to write romance. He did a very poor job with Mellie and Halphemos. I was sad about Halphemos' death, but Chalcus is much better than he ever was.

When i first read "Lord of the Isles", first book in this series, i was convinced that Drake had decided to see if he could out-Jordan Robert Jordan.And there are some similarities.But Drake has a more mordant approach and wit than Jordan, and isn't afraid to have a little fun with the conventions of the quest-fantasy genre... and he does.As before, he takes his core group of adventurers -- Garric, Cashel, Ilna, Sharina, Tenoctris and company -- and sends them by ones and twos on separate quests of hair-raising difficulty and (in many cases) grusomeness. But all of them (even the grim and apparently humorless Ilna) find occasional causes for humor, gallows-style or otherwise, and for moments of beauty and happiness among the violence and dangers.Of the bunch, i'd say that Ilna -- who's had the hardest life of the adventurers so far -- ends up the best off in terms of Good Stuff accumulated in her quest.The various quests -- Cashel's to find the sorcerously-abducted Sharina, Ilna's to find a way home after being marooned with companions, Garric and Tenoctris's to lay to rest a magical menace to the Kingdom if the Isles -- all SEEM unrelated, and have a habit of suddenly turning into something other than we thought they were, but looks can be deceiving in this sort of fiction, and the grand finale when Everything (almost) Is Revealed is quite satisfactory.I want to make it clear that following is a High Compliment from me, reading this story was in many ways like playing one of the best-constructed of the old text-only computer games; everything dovetails nicely, and an apparently-unimportant action taken or not taken on one quest may have a huge effect on all of the other players' efforts, and one important clue missed anywhere could mean ultimate and horrible failure.

I think this might be one of my favorite of David Drake's books yet, if for Ilna and Chalcus if nothing else. The only problem was that the pattern of the "group" being together at the beginning, breaking up during the book, and getting back together in time for the end is beginning to grate on my nerves. Otherwise, it's a brilliant story with brilliant writing...and I love the constant reminders of Nonnus.

I read the first book in the series and gave it a marginal thumbs up. I listened to the second book and enjoyed it. I listened to the Servant of the Dragon and was transported into the land of the Isles. The story lacks some action and the ending really is nothing more than Drake tying up all his plot strings at once (too quickly and at odds with the pace of the rest of the novel). Given Drakes writing style it might be fair to say that Servant of the Dragon is little more than small vignettes strung together, but that would sound more critical than I intend. I found myself transported beyond the traffic and the grind of the commute as I listed to the book and I was terribly disappointed when it was over. I also have to add that the development of Ilna and her relationship with Chalkas was excellently done.

The first two books were superb, so I'm sure this one will rock! The storyline is exiting, the battle scenes are well-written, and the characters are very interesting and complex. Read it, and enjoy!