The Fire Dragon (Dragon Mage, Book 3)

And by that I don't mean this is the best so far, although it's great. I mean reading THE FIRE DRAGON didn't just keep me on the edge of my seat, it sent me back to read over all the rest--and, as readers of these books know, they just get better and better (and more nuanced and layered) with each read. If you haven't read a Deverry book yet, start today with DAGGERSPELL. (If you know me and have any interest in fantasy at all, I have already bought you a copy; for the rest of the world, I will have to be satisfied with urging you to buy it yourself.) If you've read the books before, don't wait! This book's incredible and, I promise, it will send you scurrying back to every book in the series to pay closer attention to plots you *never knew were there*... plots I now *can't wait* for the next book to follow... esp. this 'falcon' book... we all know who that must be! Or I hope we do!But I digress. My perspective? I was a little worried after A TIME OF OMENS and more recently that the books were losing a bit of their momentum--but I couldn't have been more wrong. The events of those books will take on new significance and now I'm ready to protest that two more books will not be enough! What can I say? I loved it. I feel like I'm discovering this series and the characters all over again, and I think everyone else should too! Happy reading!

I just visited Katherine Kerr's web site, and got some horrible news: Bantam has decided it will not publish the next two novels of the series in the United States. Even though ALL TEN books so far are still sellers, a rare event in serialized novels, the last few novels have not sold "enough".Bantam will continue to publish the first 10 novels for as long as they sell. Let's hope Ms. Kerr's agent can find another U.S. publisher for the next two. The good news is that the next two books WILL come out in the United Kingdom, so loyal readers won't get left hanging.Thank you, Ms. Kerr, for writing such great novels, and creating such memorable characters. I can't wait to see Jill again!One final thought. I realize that life isn't fair, but I still feel the need to point out that Goodkind (eh), Feist (double eh) and Eddings (shame, shame) are all wildly succesful. There's a place for these authors (male, teenage; basically me 15 years ago), but I wish they wouldn't crowd out intelligent fantasy for more demanding readers.

I have been following this series for a very long time. And I have been waiting for this book since I finished the Black Raven. The Fire Dragon Does a great job of picking up where the Black Raven left off. I must admit that there were more than a few shocks while reading this latest volume. I wish that there were more epics out there that are as colorful and detailed as this one. Ms. Kerr has done a wonderful job of keeping her reader's interest. Bravo!One slight little problem though. I have to wait for the next one...

While I have never entirely been clear as to the reasons behind separating this ongoing---to date eleven books---saga into three separate component series---Deverry, Westlands and the current Dragon Mage---as satisfying as the last two books of the latter have been, there is little question that "The Fire Dragon" elevates the story progression found in the two previous books, significantly ratcheting forward the tale's plot progression, and easily standing as one of the best books of the entire series. Many of the plot threads established in "The Red Wyvern" and "The Black Dragon" come to fruition in tragic as well as anticipatory ways, leaving one breathless for what I am told will be the concluding novel of this outstanding series that started with "Daggerspell" in 1986. And, perhaps, at no time has the author's prose seemed so sure of itself, boding for what I expect will be a stunning conclusion to the series.As I have commented in earlier reviews of other books in this series, it is a shame that this complex and rich saga has not reached the attention of more readers. It is without doubt one of the finest epics of fantasy ever written, deserving the accolades to date heaped upon George R. R. Martin and Robert Jordan, let alone the popularity accorded less rewarding work, such as Terry Goodkind or Raymond Feist. Along with Patricia McKillip, Katherine Kerr remains, in the popular mind, one of the best and most underrated and least read authors writing fantasy today, and this is unfortunate, not only for the author but particularly for all those readers who are unaware of what gems this series represents. I can only hope that at some time in the future those who love fantasy will come to recognize this classic in the making, and that these books will be republished as a set in the form of which they are deserving. To see this book released only in mass market, and after the holidays, seems a travesty when one considers the quality of the work contained.Once again, for whatever reason---I would like to suspect publisher indifference---this edition has been released without a complete list of characters, or in this case, incarnations. In a tale spanning several hundred years, with characters that shift and reappear upon the stage in various guises, it would have proven helpful to have been given a complete cast of characters. Even having read all the books, I find myself continuously having to refer back to the incomplete table of incarnations to fix the various characters and their manifold relationships in my mind, and this is compounded by the arbitrary absence of certain characters in the tables, such as here Nevyn (who, I suppose, by now we all know) and Aerynn, and the fact that the characters listed in the table for the Mid-1060's are incorrectly paired with their predecessors. In a tale as complex and chronologically complicated as this, with books separated in publication by at least a year and spanning almost two decades, it w

For those who have complained that the plot threads of THE RED WYVERN and THE BLACK RAVEN were left dangling---it is time to stop. THE FIRE DRAGON draws together all the major threads of its companion volumes and ties them into a beautiful knot.In the past, Prince Maryn's forces hold Dun Deverry, and the spring's campaign may well bring Deverry to peace. But the peace that Nevyn himself has schemed and sacrificed for may demand yet another price from those he loves, not only on the battlefield, but in the subtler intrigues of a newborn court. In the present, also, Rhodry, Dallandra and Evandar have survived a war won only by a terrible sacrifice, only to find that,once again, peace may demand an even higher cost than victory. Past and present resonate as the fates of characters both old and new converge, and even the compulsively careful reader may find a few surprises in store. Well worth the read.