Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums
342487
A trilogy concerning a young woman's achievement over adversity.  Ms. McCaffery is a wonderful story teller.
259352
My favorite books and noveletts are the Dragons. This book is my next favorite! Great characters a traitor, and a treasure hunt. Of course romance. Again blending of characters from different books. It's all about the characters to me!
1370148
I enjoyed this book alot. In the end I was crying when SPOILER ALERT Clearsight says goodbye forever to Darkstalker also when she realized after talking about having dragonets with darkstalker a while back she knew she could never have dragonets named Eclipse, Shadowhunter or Fierceclaws with Darksltalker. That broke my heart. Also hearing that she could move on and get married to someone else made me sad. I was so sad that they would never see each other again. I was overall impressed by how much emotion the author put in this book.
3573030
This was a wonderful addition to my bookshelves. I am a huge fan of the DragonLance series and all the other titles based on the world of Krynn.

It includes background info on the gods of Krynn, songs and poems, dragons, wars and other info.

It is full of anecdotes about the characters as well as being of source of recipes that we have read about in the books, including Otik's spicy potatoes, which I have made.  They are delicious.

This is a must for any fan of the DragonLance\Krynn Books.
1428525
What can I say??? Ms. Aiken just keeps feeding my addiction with her hilarious dragon books. I impatiently wait for each new one to come out. And when it does, I reread the whole series.
In A Tale OF Two Dragons we go back and see how Addolgar and Braith became a couple. I love the sarcastic dialoge, the bawdiness, and just the general story line. You can't go wrong with a cheerful low born dragon and a royal dragon who thinks the low born is just goofy. We get to see the how the dragon parents are as young adults and they haven't changed.
This is a must read.
3512996
This is the 2nd novel of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series.
It is written so that it can be read not only in the series, but also stand alone.

Our local library classifies these novels as "Science Fiction" and/or "Fantasy". I classify them as "Great Reading". Anne McCaffrey is one of the best authors I have read. Her other works are very good also.

If you want to start with the first in the series, read "Dragonflight".
After that "Dragonquest". Then "The White Dragon".

Get all three! They may even have them as a set.

After that - you'll be back to find out what else she has written.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
1540403
Great for my stand in weekend DnD games, but also something my 4 yr old can play with when I am not using them. They came in 2 colours, gold and silver, which is nice for team battles or just for the kids. There are 3 types, sword and shield, spear and shield and archer. Didnt do a count to determine if equal numbers of each, but none appeared damaged so that is all I cared about.
305348
Realms of the Elves is the latest anthology released by Wizards of the Coast and is set in the Forgotten Realms. Like most of the other anthologies WotC releases there is a central theme to this one, and that is Elves. This anthology is supposed to drum up more interest for the final installment of Richard Baker's Last Mythal trilogy.

Instead of giving a full review for each short story, which would take entirely too long, I will try to say a few words about each story. I will do so in the order they are in the book.

#1- "Traitors" by Richard Lee Byers. This is an ok story. For whatever reason, Mr. Byers can't stay away from dragons right now. Everything has to have something to do with his The Year of the Rogue Dragon trilogy. See his last novel Queen of the Depths for what I mean there. I had a feeling dragons would appear and they did. I was disappointed by this story. Average at best.

#2- "The Staff of Valmaxian" by Philip Athans. Athans was the editor of this book, so I am a bit surprised he found time to write his own short story as well. Decent short story here. As with most short stories they either grab you quick and interest you, or you have to drudge through and finish it to move one. I enjoyed this story, but not to the extent I was hoping. Slightly above average for this one.

#3- "Necessary Sacrafices" by Lisa Smedman. This story, I think anyway, is the crown jewel of this anthology. It was a fantastic read. It has a small compact plot, interesting characters and a very, very good ending. In fact I gasped at the ending of this. This story grabbed me right away and didn't let go the whole time. Excellent read in my opinion.

#4- "The Greater Treasure" By Erik Scott de Bie. This story is the hardest to rate out of this anthology. There were some things I liked, the Character Twilight for example and some things I didn't like, the character Yldar for example. The actual story, plot etc, is pretty good. I still think Mr. de Bie's short story in the last Realms of the Dragons anthology was better. This story does have some good moments though. Above average for this one.

#5- "Comrades at Arms" by R.A. Salvatore. This story is probably the most anticipated short story in this anthology because it features Drizzt. However, some Salvatore fans may be a little disappointed in that it's not the classic hack and slash Drizzt we see here. This story is all character development for Drizzt. Saying that other Salvatore fans will absolutely love it. Myself, I would have like to see a mixture of both, but that is merely my opinion. Very good story none-the-less.

#6- "Tears so White" by Ed Greenwood. There are few books or stories by Greenwood that I have ever liked. This proves to be no exception. I did not finish this story because, to me, it had very little flow and even less purpose. I will withhold a rating on this one for fear personal bias would cloud that judgment.

#7 - "The Bladesinger's Lesson" by Richard Baker. Mr. Baker does a very good job in writing this short story. He captures the readers attention right away and keeps the plot moving at a pretty good pace. Not only is the plot good, but he made me care about the main character in just a few pages. While I don't think this story is as good as Ms. Smedman's, I think it is right up there with Salvatore's. Very good read.

In my opinion there are four good stories in this anthology. Most are fairly quick reads, so even if you don't like them you didn't waste too much time at all. I recommend this anthology to fans of the Realms, but if you have no connection to the Forgotten Realms there are probably betted books out there for you to buy.
1590514
Mostly I just wanted the music to "Puff, the Magic Dragon", but it does include other things which were interesting, too. Playing remarks given will help if I want to arrange something.
1766837
Dragonsinger is the second book in the Harper Hall Trilogy and is the sequel to Dragonsong. It starts right after the previous book ends, with Menolly arriving in Harper Hall a-dragonback. There she begins her musical education with the masters of music. Menolly always thought that harpers would be different and that she would fit in among them, but she finds that people are the same wherever you go. All of the other girls are jealous of her musical talents and do not want her living in their cottage. The boys insist that she has no place with them and her nine fire lizards make her stand out even more. Still, she is Masterharper Robinton's special apprentice and he seems to believe in her and to love her new songs. As Menolly struggles to find her place among the harpers of Pern she will discover much about herself, as well as the remarkable secrets about fire lizards and eventually find an honored place among the Harpers of Pern.
Even though I have enjoyed all of McCaffrey's books, the Harper Hall trilogy has always been my favorite. I first read this book when I was in junior high school and simply loved it. I have read my copy time and time again. McCaffrey has a nice, smooth writing style with great descriptions so readers will have no trouble visualizing the life on Pern. She also does a nice job of throwing in little recaps so that those who have not read Dragonflight and Dragonquest can still understand what is going on. I simply loved the world of the Harpers and think that any reader of fantasy will enjoy this enchanting series.
996728
Some of the games on this game anthology are a blast. My favorites so far are Syvalion, Cameltry and Raimais. There appears to be something in here for everyone as it contains a wide variety of games made by Taito from 1979 to 1997. I haven't even played them all and already I'm having a blast. There's a maze/shooter in which you control a robot dragon to eliminate outer space enemies. There's a marble maze type of game. There's a maze game that plays like a Pac-Man and Dodge'em hybrid. There's a game that combines the elements of Gauntlet style mazes with the side scrolling brawling elements found in Double Dragon. There's also a weird side scroller in which you play a monk who throws beads at enemies. There's also a bunch more but these are what I thought of off the top of my head.
2976114
Alert! This is not a completely separate book or series from The Draqonriders of Pern series.  You should actually read at least the first 3 in the original series and then it doesn't matter as much in reading any out of order.

There's background information for Menolly there that explains a lot about her character here.  This book is a deeper look at who and why she is the person described in the 3rd book, The White Dragon, but to start with this may be confusing.

That said, I loved this deeper look into Menolly, as one of the more interesting and important characters in the series.  Here's the blurb from the book:
Menolly, youngest daughter of Masterfisher Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Seahold, is a gifted musician who is punished for using her musical talents after Petiron, the Harper who encouraged her talent, dies. Finding life at the fishing community unbearable because her father forbids her to express her musical talents, she runs away from home. Menolly takes refuge from falling Thread in a caveand discovers hatching fire-lizards, the precursors to the great dragons which are Pern's primary defense against Thread. Isolated from civilization in her cave and forced to care for nine baby fire lizards that she Impressed, Menolly quickly learns to be resourceful and independent. Freed from the restrictive role forced upon her by her family, she indulges her passion for music.

Menolly is out foraging one day when she is caught in Threadfall. She is rescued by a dragonrider, T'gran, and his brown dragon, Branth, who take her to Benden Weyr. As she is adjusting to the liberal lifestyle of the Weyrfolk, she is discovered by Masterharper Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern, who has been searching frantically for Petiron's mystery apprentice. He discovers that she is the writer of two songs that Petiron (his father) sent him and offers her a place at the Harper Hall as his apprentice.
4413225
I enjoyed this story.  Has lots of fun elements. I enjoyed the dragons but, hope for more world building in the sequels.
2203759
Excellent characters, innovative ideas. Dragons development most engaging.

You see very few of my recommendations elsewhere.  I have stopped reviewing what I don't like.

At this time the series has three books.  Purchase all three at the least cost possible.  The quality of the writing and the intense adventures do not diminish with subsequent volumes to date.

The editing is also good quality.  So many authors lately have followed up a good initial volume or two with voluminous drivel.  That is NOT the case here.

May subsequent volumes continue to be so well constructed.

Matt Muldoon
1120164
"Spellsinger" is the first volume in an entertaining series about the adventures of Jon-Tom, summoned to another world to help fight a growing threat to the lives of all sentient animals and possibly his own world.

Back cover of book:

The Wizard's World

It was where beasts walked and talked as men, armed with sword and dagger.  And it was where Clothahump, turtle and wizard, stretched his powers to sorcery, seeking a source to the unknown evil that threatened his land, seeking a helper from another dimension, another universe.

And so Jonathan Thomas Meriweather - grad student and rock guitarist - found himself plucked from his cannabis-filled campus room in L.A. and whisked into a world of disarming beauty and savage violence.  Here Jon-Tom, Mudge the otter, the flame-haired Talea and others would form a motley fellowship with the wizard.  Their mission:  to travel where no warm-blooded being has been and destroy the strange new force emanating from the dreaded Greendowns.

Now the peace-loving student must become a soldier and crusader, fighting with sword and song.  For strumming his otherworldly duar, he is the maker of magic, his music conjuring configurations, transforming Jon Meriweather into the

Spellsinger

End back cover of book.

I loved this story but it is incomplete without the second volume titled "<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Spellsinger-The-Hour-of-the-Gate/dp/1857231449/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Spellsinger: The Hour of the Gate</a>".  Given the lengths of recent novels, combining the two would be welcome.  The characters aren't limited to unaccented English but have a range including Australian, possibly making Mudge the original Lizard (Crocodile) Hunter, and Brooklyn, New York.  Understanding a written accent can be more difficult than hearing it and the rare vulgar word (not beyond a modern schoolyard) should be noted.

As a fan of the classical, rock, and heavy metal music genres, I find the magic Jon-Tom creates with his duar exciting since I believe a well-constructed song can affect people with its intensity and power in a primal aspect.

Thank you.
2702539
Dragon Wytch is the fourth book in the Sisters of the Moon series, the follow-up of Darkling(3). In Witchling(1) we meet the D'Artigo sisters- Camille, the eldest who is a witch, Delilah, the middle child who is a werecat, and Menolly, the baby of the family who is a vampire.

The plots of Witchling(1), Changeling(2) & Darkling(3) established the confusing existance of the three realms- Otherworld, Earth and the Subteranean Realms and introduces us to a host of otherwordly species from both those found on Earth and those from without. The three D'Artigo sisters and their friends have been fighting to protect their home, Otherworld, and their new home in Seattle (in the Earth realm) from the demon forces of Shadow Wing. There's civil war going on back home in Otherworld and there are twelve Spirit Seals hidden on earth that could open the portals between all three realms letting loose the demons of the Sub-realms into the others, destroying all life as we know it.

Returning to Camille as narrorator (she narrorated Witchling) we're picking up with the protection of the realms but there's a whole new cast of characters and troubles. A royal prince of the unicorns has come to give Camille a special gift, one that only she can wield, but first they have to find the pixie who was carrying it who was captured. Morgaine, yes *that* Morgaine, is also on the hunt for this mystical hierloom and she's camped out near Smoky's on Mt. Rainier annoying the crud out of the dragon. She's intent on raising the Earthside fae's courts back to life and needs Camille to help her do it. Then there's Benjamin, a human who has seen visions of a stone and demons, his family thinks he's crazy, but Morio thinks there's more to his visions than the ramblings of a nutcase.

Lots of fighting, plenty of sisterly antics and a sprinkle of Camille and her triad of men makes for a very involved but strangely smooth plot. If you've been following the series and are a fan of Morio and Smoky you will probably really enjoy the face time these two get.

I'll be honest... the first two books in the series didn't quite fully sell me on Galenorn as a fiction writer. Conceptually they were good but I needed to see a stronger voice coming through. Darkling it started to show and Dragon Wytch showed how very much she's grown as a fiction writer. I'm really happy with how far along she's come and how well she's crafted not only a really good urban fantasy realm and characters, but at how very well she's kept them. Smoky fans might argue a bit after reading this book, he did seem slightly less dragonly in this one, but I think that was done intentionally because of where Galenorn went with him and Camille.

If you've been reading the series this is a must read! Sexy, action packed and impossible to put down. Enjoy!
687699
Learn the myths surrounding the dragons, discover their secrets, and unlock the mysteries that surround these grand monsters. Presented as a compilation of notes and stories by dragon-hunting adventurers,  Draconomicon features details on roleplaying dragons for DMs, statistics  for infamous dragons including Tiamat, new dragon species, dragon magic,  and four short adventures involving the great wyrms.
This book is  interesting to read and have many usefull information for DM, who like to  terrorize players by dragons.