Starlighter

Okay my first question is when is this going to be a movie? I enjoyed this far more than Diamond of Darkhold or even Harry Potter. I loved loved this book! Starlighter is the first book in the Dragons of Starlight series. If it's any indication of what's going to happen in the rest of the series I'm sold! I am pretty sure I've found an author worth following. If you're a fan of "The Seeker" or "Merlin" you'll enjoy this book! At first I only wanted to read about Jason. Jason is a young warrior who gets dubbed into searching for a secret portal. Between that, his missing brother and the crazy guy named tibber who talks in riddles I was sucked right in , but soon was enchanted by the redheaded, green eyed starlighter named Koren. Koren is a slave on Starlighter; she is enslaved to dragons. She discovers she has powers that the dragons aren't too keen about. As Jason and Koren's worlds collide can she be rescued or will he just get sucked in and become a slave as well? This masterfully crafted story will have you dreaming of dragons and other talking animals and the hidden meanings behind every turn. There are so many wonderful characters in this book and interesting subtleties. Starlighter can be enjoyed on two different levels ~ one as a great work of fiction and two as an allegory. You can easily hand this book over to a non-christian, but if you look at it as a Christian you'll get twice as much out of it! It's not preachy at all, but boy it makes some powerful points. I mentioned better than Harry Potter in my earlier comment because it has that magical element to it, but on a whole new level that just draws you in! And I would definitely have it in that category! Bryan keeps the book entertaining all the way through. Starlighter is a YA fiction, but I think Adults alike will thoroughly enjoy this book! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series! Uprising isn't out til January 2011, so I'll have to be unwillingly patient for it to come out! ** review copy provided by harpercollins canada

Humans have been abducted by dragons and forced into slavery. Jason has been raised with this knowledge because it hits home. Jason's brother, Frederick, is missing and his other brother Adrian has set out to find Frederick and bring him home. Adrian has Jason do some snooping while guarding the Governor, Prescott. Their friend Elyssa went missing and Adrian thinks the Governor had a hand in it. When Prescott is murdered, one of the guards decides to give Jason a way to find Elyssa and even tells him how to make it to the Dragon world. Can Jason make the trip and successfully rescue the Lost Ones? I love to read and I love dragons, so of course I fell in love with this book. The writing had a flow to it and the characters came to life. I can't wait to read the rest of this series.

Jason Masters is fighting in the "blood match" in the youth division of the tournament against the governor of Mesolantrum's, Prescott, son who is named Randall. Randall is bigger and stronger than Jason, but Jason's instructor has been his older brother Adrian who is also Prescott's personal bodyguard. Jason wins through his cunning and is "crowned" the victor but he wonders why he learns all the sword fighting techniques and the pretend battles with fiery beasts and dragons when it doesn't appear there are very many dangerous animals on his planet, Major Four. Jason hurries home to wait for his brother as he is sure Adrian will have a copy of the latest newsletter where the rumors and other articles talk of "Lost Ones" and dragons going through a secret Gateway. Koren is a slave girl on the planet of Starlight. This planet is home to dragons and all humans are their slaves. Many of the humans are assigned to a specific dragon. Koren and her friends, Natalla and Petra, along with an older woman, Madam Orley are assigned to Arxad. While Arxad and his wife and son are a little less cruel, the dragons still want their breakfast on time and the chores done. Sometimes Koren and her friends are assigned to help with other tasks like felling trees to make rafts when the young boys and men are helping the adults at mining tasks. The dragons in charge often whip the humans to try to get more work out of them. It is a very hard life. The humans have to hide the very few books they have. These books tell of a time and place where they were free, but Koren and her friends are not sure they should believe in this time. As the author brings these stories together and each of the main characters has adventures, learns more about their fellow beings and fellow humans, the character growth and development is very well done. I highly recommend this book for ages 10 and up depending upon maturity level as there is quite a bit of violence, some of it graphic.

This is a really good book. The story just sucks you in, I almost stayed up all night just to see how it ended. Great description and story make it realistic. I was a little confused by the fact that everything seems medieval but they have electric lights and blaster pistols. Beyond that, this is one book to read if you like science fiction/fantasy. Here is a brief summary of the story: Jason Masters grew up with stories of dragons kidnapping people from his world and taking them to their world. His brother, Adrian, leaves to follow these underground stories and find their missing older brother, Frederick. Jason is chosen to take his brothers place as guard for the Governor, Prescott. But Adrian also wants Jason to look around Prescott's house in search of the missing friend Elyssa. While there, Prescott is murdered and the lead guard gives Jason the information to rescue Elyssa and a way to get to the dragon planet. While rescuing Elyssa, Jason discovers Tibalt, the son of the only guy that said he escaped the Dragon world. Everyone thought he was crazy so he was locked up in the insane asylum. But Tibalt has some memories the guides Jason and Elyssa to the gateway. At the same time, Koren is a slave in the Dragon world to a priest, Arxad. One of the other slaves, Natalla, has been selected to be Promoted and not knowing what that entails, Natalla is afraid that she is going to be eaten by the dragons. When she tells Koren that she is going to run away, Koren decides to find out what happens to the Promoted. While looking for information, Koren learns that she is a Starlighter, a person that can tell such vivid stories that the listeners become part of them. The lead dragon, Magnar, wants to put her to death so they don't have to risk Koren's powers. But the unhatched dragon prince decides that he wants her devotion. While talking with the price, she learns of Jason trying to rescue the Lost Ones from his world. Now Koren and Jason are working to save as many humans from the Dragons rule as possible. Shawn Kovacich Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence book and DVD series.

For years they had been told stories of the Lost Ones--humans taken from their planet through a hidden portal to works as slaves in a land ruled by dragons. Until recently, Jason Masters believed they were little more than myths. However, a series of events forced Jason to make a choice to believe and attempt to rescue the Lost Ones or abandon his family. Meanwhile, a young slave Koren, also believed the stories of another world to be little more than legend, until she discovered her gift and was able to see into the past to discern the truth. Armed with her new knowledge, she must outwit the dragons and join with Jason in an effort to bridge the two worlds and rescue the enslaved humans. As legend is deciphered and the truth revealed, Starlighter brings the reader into a mythical world where dragons reign and humans serve. I had a lot of fun reading this book. Within a few pages I was wrapped up in the story and enjoyed being whisked away to Davis' imaginative worlds of Starlight and Darksphere. The dragon lore was masterfully woven into the story and the background of both planets was interspersed nicely keeping me wanting to know what was truth and what was carefully constructed legend. The heroics of the main characters were exciting to read about and kept me pulling for them to outwit the dragons and other foes they faced during their journey. I enjoyed the adventure and am glad this is only book one in a series. Starlighter is marketed to a teenage audience with good reason. While I thought it was a fun story and it kept me reading, the suspense was a bit short with tense situations quickly resolved. Additionally, the characters were not as well developed as I'd like, but they will most likely appeal to teenagers and be easy to relate to. Though most adults would probably enjoy it also, they would need to let some of the pacing and character development slide as well as forgive the light descriptions of settings and events. There is an allegorical element to this story, but it is easy to detect and not particularly deep. It is good, but not quite as elaborate as some other allegorical literature within this genre. It is a `clean' book with no objectionable language or situations. It is not scary nor is there excessive gore. With confidence parents can allow and encourage their kids to read it without fear of questionable content. For those who enjoy a good fantasy novel with a healthy dose of dragons, this is a good choice. It's not terribly original, but it is fun and easy to read. Since it is quite engaging, the 400 pages flew by and now I'll patiently wait for the next book in the series.