The Book of Air: Volume Four of the Dragon Quartet

The Book of Air is the fourth and final novel in Marjorie B. Kellogg's wonderful Dragon Quartet, and while the ending to this saga may not delight all readers, I found it a fitting end that somewhat defied my expectations (and that is almost always a good thing). Readers had to wait three years between the third and fourth novels, and the buildup of expectation this caused is a factor, I feel, in the disappointment some fans seem to feel with this concluding volume. Certainly, things did not really go the way I wanted them to, a couple of plot points seemed a tad clumsy, and the dragon Air defied the very idea of dragonhood on a primal level, but this shows the courage of the writer. Kellogg let this novel go where the story led her, and while readers are of course the very business of writers (successful ones, anyway), I feel it is more important to place your trust in the story and not in reader expectations. Thus, what some see as the weaknesses in the novel strike me as strengths. This whole story started long ago - at the very creation of the world, in fact. Four elemental dragons (Earth, Water, Fire, and Air) were brought into being in order to create the world; their job complete, they went to ground to wait for the end of that world. Something has gone wrong, however, and the dragons have awoken early. Separated by centuries, responding to a summons they can not identify, called to a quest they do not understand, and seeking to find each other as the process of remembering begins, they locate their dragon guides and head toward a shared fate that will determine not only the future of mankind but the past as well. Each book formally introduces us to a new dragon, and now we finally get to meet Air, the most important of the dragons, the one who can supposedly answer all of the questions the other dragons (and we the readers) have about their all-encompassing purpose. Earth awoke in the Germanies of 913, where he met up with 14-year-old Erde as she escaped the castle of her baron father and false charges of witchcraft by an evil, powerful priest; Water appeared on the coast of Africa in 2013 and bonded with N'Doch, a rather troublesome young man with big dreams and a talent for singing; Fire resides in 2213, where he reigns as a god, installing his dragon guide Paia as his high priestess; and Air is missing, reportedly imprisoned by Lord Fire. Fire, you see, wants nothing to do with this big quest his younger siblings are following. He is in rebellion against his fellow siblings, and this sets the stage for the exciting action of The Book of Air. The reader eventually finds himself in a future world that is both real and unreal, but the story comes back full circle to where it all began. The fate of each character and of the earth itself is a mystery until the very end, and while the ending did not satisfy my own personal desires, it works quite well in my opinion. The real strength of this novel is the wonderful characte

What a great gift! I just received all four books in the Dragon Quartet for my birthday and couldn't put them down until I had completed the series. The first chapter of each book is online. Do yourself - or your friend - a favor and get all 4 books.

The dragons of Earth, Water, Fire and Air created the globe and when they were through, they went to sleep beneath the orb expecting to arise at the world's end. Air was the first to wake up and realize the destiny of her siblings but when she told Fire he imprisoned her so she would not tell her siblings about the quest and its aftermath. Fire went on to become mankind's enemy. In the year 2213 the Earth was in its death throes, he set himself up as a God with his bondmate Paia as his high priestess.When Water woke up she bonded with a twentieth century young man from a war torn African country. Earth bonded with Erde, a medieval maiden who has more courage then a dozen knights. Earth and Water forced Fire to retreat from the field of battle after Paia turned against him. Gerasch, who has lived through several life times and is not quite human, must find and free his dragon Air for only with the dragons and their bondmates working together can Earth be saved.This is the latest and final installment in "The Dragon Quartet" series and it is a powerful work of sword and sorcery. All loose ends are tied up and all questions are finally answered so readers are left totally satisfied and gratified with this magnificent tale and the entire four-book saga that is so reminiscent of the Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.Harriet Klausner