Alex James's Blog: AlexJamesNovels Blog - Posts Tagged "dragon"

I found reading What’s in a Name? to be a surprising, dark, and not-too-short fantasy short-story that packs a punch.

An intrepid company of elves led by Commander Vondrall must venture towards the volcanic Thunderer peak, where a dragon lies, to make good the King’s wedding commitment to his blushing bride. There are riches, treasure, and secrets there, but what exactly are they after? Armed with a dragon scale and a spell, they fancy their chances, but a rival company of men is similarly equipped and is covetously intent on securing the treasure. For Vondrall and his elves, the quest will not be as easy or simple as he foolishly assumes.

Good descriptive imagery that brought the action to life, especially in the dragon’s lair, but equally with the dark monstrous elements that surface later. It was juicy and chilling darkness that really shows the author’s strength in this area, and had me transfixed. I liked the way a set of old ideas was reshaped into something that read new as well: a dragon cursed by his own name by an ancient elven warrior. I would compare it to Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Beowulf.

Criticism: the pacing in the first half was a touch too fast for me and it was difficult to decipher which group was doing what and for what reason, and even who the main elven character was. Upon reaching the dragon’s lair, it redeemed itself and showed some exceptionable writing.

(The Sword of Idis – Book 2)


‘After all this time, all she wanted was revenge’. Awaken is an epic fantasy adventure, with a traditional fantasy magical realm and urban human realm, set in a post-apocalyptic world after the Pulse, a weapon used in a past war which caused catastrophe and revealed the magical realm. Awaken mainly focuses on the point-of-view of half-breed Esa as she comes to terms with how she feels about Thomas when he left her to her fate after the Battle of the Realms, which was when the Council (of Elves?) took Esa and then let her go. The reader is deliberately kept in the dark about what exactly happened, and discovering the truth was one of the intriguing mysteries for the characters around Esa.

Esa has to contend with her risen status as somebody of consequence, but still struggles to receive the respect she by no means expects. The elves are superior, arrogant, and disdainful of “inferior” races. They think they can act in the best interests of all, and are happy to use any means to achieve their goals. However, for Esa, fighting off Thomas and the strong feelings she has for him is as much of a challenge as her relations with elves. It’s easy to see how Esa has matured in the second book. She’s strong enough to cast Thomas aside to protect her feelings. All she needs is to stop letting her falls get the better of her willpower, and to be careful her growing independence doesn’t alienate her friends.

At only 10% through, I could see terrific flowing writing and interesting character dynamics, such as when Rootu wished to find juicy bugs and show them at inappropriate times like at dinner, which made me laugh out loud a few times. Indeed, Rootu’s inappropriate behaviour was his one discernible flaw, though I found it funny most of the time. Rootu was the most captivating character for me, being the adorable insect-catching Spinner. Apart from the dark humour he brought, as a companion he is Esa’s most pleasant constant, willing to sacrifice himself for her happiness even though he is sad and lonely himself.

The first fight scene at 20% through was brief, well described visually, and exciting. I soon came to the conclusion that Awaken had quality writing. HJ Daly has a focus and control over her characters, more so than in the first book Pulse. The reader is brought clearly and progressively into the world at the right pace that made it easy to comprehend. When situations were repeated, like when all the characters looked at Esa, they were perceived differently: ‘pity parted starting again’, which made the same things appear new and interesting. I became completely invested in the characters’ lives, so much so that I found myself cross when they weren’t able to find happiness. Impossibly, the writing turned up a notch in the last 10%, and the scenes flowed visually and cinematically at very exciting pace and I read much more than I intended to. It was a reminder that the author can spin an immersive fight when she wants to, and at this point I found myself needing to know how Awaken would end.

Criticism: Sometimes the point-of-view switches felt too sudden and produced a jarring effect, and the scene breaks marking the passage of time or events might have been clearer. Also, I got confused who exactly Marcus was; a character from the first book?

Awaken was a vast improvement, well put-together, and with emotionally driven characters that brought out humour, sadness, conflict, and pain. I was brought into the story through the characters’ differences, and their adventures never bored me. Yes, prepared to be stunned with this sequel.

Door Into Shadow is a self-discovery for Segnbora, who is a deadly swordswoman without much ‘fire’, sorcery, to defend against the dark monsters and demons of the Shadow. Segnbora’s failure with fire is revisited often when she compares herself with prodigy Herewiss, the only male fire-wielder who can outperform most Rodmistress fire-wielders. Most of the story is about the adventures of her allies, and tales of past lovers and how they relate to Segnbora’s failure. Throughout, she is not seen by the reader as a failure but as a brave sacrificial swordswoman who is the first to jump into the conflict and save her friends.

There were many remarkable scenes throughout – infiltrating the Glass Castle that only appears at a certain time, and confronting evil variations of the Goddess or manifestations of the Shadow. The battle scenes were engrossing, and allowed the story to release its true energy.

There were aspects I really liked about this book. The atmosphere, landscape, and scope of the story were terrific and realistic. Diane Duane had gone to lengths to create varied cultures and an immense fantasy world. The dialogue was good, and she kept the quest going with new challenges. For example, a challenge of note was when Segnbora must join with a dragon and the memory of its ancestors to save the dragon from the terrible fate of death and its associated loss of its race’s ancestral memories. Thereafter the dragon is a part of her; talking to her, aiding her, and giving her a cool dragon shadow.

I did think there was too much lore, and the significance of much of it was lost on me, perhaps because this is the second book in the series and I hadn’t read the first. The story needed more present action and breathing room. The character focus was a bit off too. At the beginning Segnbora’s attention is fixed on exile prince Lorn, but then Lorn becomes almost a sub-character and all the action occurs around Herewiss. Some events, such as the treacherous Cillmod’s deeds, were only mentioned in passing, instead of being shown, which was disappointing because I thought he should have been the main tool of the Shadow. The Shadow’s tools ended up being hordes of developed monsters, and we didn’t learn much about them or understand their significance clearly. Cutting down a touch on the fantastic elements and on the lore of gods and goddess may have helped to see where parts weren’t developed.

The Door Into Shadow had its memorable moments. I may read the first book, if only to see if I can make more sense of the world, but it wasn’t one of my favourite fantasy reads, even if it was well written.