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The DragonSpawn Cycle #1
AutumnQuest
It is unlawful for anyone but cruel King Erno to have dragons. So when Donavah finds one, newly hatched, in her brother Breyard’s room, she begs him to let it go. The Royal Guard discovers the crime and takes Breyard away to be executed. Heartbroken and guilt ridden, Donavah runs away from school to save him. Pursued by the king’s savage soldiers, her treacherous journey turns into one of self-discovery as Donavah learns to use her “maejic” gift for animal communication. She forms a special bond with Xyla, who turns out to be no ordinary dragon. When Xyla is captured, everyone is depending on Donavah―whose destiny is somehow linked with this mystical beast―to rescue her. As her brother’s execution looms near, Donavah wonders how she can possibly save both of them...
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 7, 2014
Donavah is surprised to find her brother is keeping what he calls a dragon's egg, since keeping dragons is illegal and grounds for execution. She's even more surprised when the egg hatches and the dragon falls under her care, because her brother has been arrested. Determined to save her brother, Donavah ventures out with nothing more than the dragon, a kitchen boy, and her own small---or perhaps not so small---maejic.
The book starts by plunging right into the action, and the pace doesn't let up. Donavah's brother introduces the egg on the first page, and trouble isn't long following. To Donavah the question of rescue isn't even a choice. Of course she'll go.
Unfortunately, the book has a number of weak points. The biggest is setting. Although the pace is very good, it was often difficult to figure out where Donavah is at any given point. In the beginning of the book, for example, Donavah sounds like she's at school. Or maybe a monastery. Or is it a boarding school? It's not until quite a ways in that she reveals it's a magic school, and yes, she lives there. No word about the school itself, other than the fact it is prestigious. And despite it being a magic school and supposedly training up magicians, nobody in the book uses magic. This is a particular problem because much of the tension rests on the fact that Donavah has maejic, not magic, and the difference between the two is not very apparent.
There is not much sense of nationality or much that distinguishes the places from the generic medieval fantasy setting. The backstory is similarly vague. Donavah loves her brother enough to go after him, and enough to stay the course even when she finds out she's likely to be executed if she doesn't succeed, but there are no memories with which the reader can connect to him.
Another thing that bothered me was the various snippets between chapters that were from other places than Donavah. Many of them are letters between an unnamed father and son that hint at something ominous, but are so vague they really don't add much to the tension. The rest tend to be snippets from books expanding some obscure custom or fact. These would be very nice if there was any consistency to them. As it is, it just felt like a way the author could dump in a lot of explanation without having Donavah have to explain it.
Overall it wasn't such a terrible book, I suppose, but I would rather spend my time in other books than reread this one. I rate this book Not Recommended.
The book starts by plunging right into the action, and the pace doesn't let up. Donavah's brother introduces the egg on the first page, and trouble isn't long following. To Donavah the question of rescue isn't even a choice. Of course she'll go.
Unfortunately, the book has a number of weak points. The biggest is setting. Although the pace is very good, it was often difficult to figure out where Donavah is at any given point. In the beginning of the book, for example, Donavah sounds like she's at school. Or maybe a monastery. Or is it a boarding school? It's not until quite a ways in that she reveals it's a magic school, and yes, she lives there. No word about the school itself, other than the fact it is prestigious. And despite it being a magic school and supposedly training up magicians, nobody in the book uses magic. This is a particular problem because much of the tension rests on the fact that Donavah has maejic, not magic, and the difference between the two is not very apparent.
There is not much sense of nationality or much that distinguishes the places from the generic medieval fantasy setting. The backstory is similarly vague. Donavah loves her brother enough to go after him, and enough to stay the course even when she finds out she's likely to be executed if she doesn't succeed, but there are no memories with which the reader can connect to him.
Another thing that bothered me was the various snippets between chapters that were from other places than Donavah. Many of them are letters between an unnamed father and son that hint at something ominous, but are so vague they really don't add much to the tension. The rest tend to be snippets from books expanding some obscure custom or fact. These would be very nice if there was any consistency to them. As it is, it just felt like a way the author could dump in a lot of explanation without having Donavah have to explain it.
Overall it wasn't such a terrible book, I suppose, but I would rather spend my time in other books than reread this one. I rate this book Not Recommended.
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Julie T. for TeensReadToo.com
AUTUMNQUEST immediately starts at a blistering pace. Donavah attends a school for those with the gift of maejic. Everything is going wonderfully with her studies, until her brother reveals that he has a dragon egg in his possession; a crime punishable by death! Without warning, the egg hatches to reveal a small red dragon, the rarest of its kind.
Donavah's brother is found and captured by soldiers.
Desperate, Donavah abandons school with her lunch boy companion, Traz, to find the dragon and prove her brother's innocence, all the while trying not to be captured by soldiers herself.
AUTUMNQUEST by Terie Garrison is a fast read, but brilliantly so. Garrison's clear voice and direct dialogue take this story from beginning to end at a mind-blowing speed that will leave readers with the desire to read more about Donavah's adventures. Those who enjoyed Christopher Paolini's ERAGON and are looking for a shorter book will take pleasure in AUTUMNQUEST's story.
AUTUMNQUEST immediately starts at a blistering pace. Donavah attends a school for those with the gift of maejic. Everything is going wonderfully with her studies, until her brother reveals that he has a dragon egg in his possession; a crime punishable by death! Without warning, the egg hatches to reveal a small red dragon, the rarest of its kind.
Donavah's brother is found and captured by soldiers.
Desperate, Donavah abandons school with her lunch boy companion, Traz, to find the dragon and prove her brother's innocence, all the while trying not to be captured by soldiers herself.
AUTUMNQUEST by Terie Garrison is a fast read, but brilliantly so. Garrison's clear voice and direct dialogue take this story from beginning to end at a mind-blowing speed that will leave readers with the desire to read more about Donavah's adventures. Those who enjoyed Christopher Paolini's ERAGON and are looking for a shorter book will take pleasure in AUTUMNQUEST's story.
February 4, 2016
Donavah and her brother Breyard study magic at the same school, but when her brother brings a dragon egg into their lives everything changes. It is forbidden to keep a Dragon so when it hatches and a red dragon is brought into their lives disaster strikes. The Kings Royal Guard imprison Breyard and Donavah is sent to a retreat to deal with her sorrow at the loss of her brother who will be killed by dragon in the arena. But as she travels Donavah hatches a plan of her own to save her brother, but in order to do that she will need the help of the red dragon. She must find the dragon and then get to her brother before he is executed.
I've been waiting to read this book for awhile. It has dragons in it so that is one reason I wanted to read it. It's a quick read, but i think it needed more characterization. There are 3 more books in the series and I'm looking forward to them as well.
I've been waiting to read this book for awhile. It has dragons in it so that is one reason I wanted to read it. It's a quick read, but i think it needed more characterization. There are 3 more books in the series and I'm looking forward to them as well.
August 10, 2016
I read this book a bunch of times when I was around 11 years old. It's been a really long time and my judgment of books has become a lot more critical, so im not sure how much I would enjoy it if I were to reread it today, but it was one of the books that really got me into dragons and I definitely liked it a lot back then. I've been trying to remember the name of it for years because I never got to read the next book in the series!
June 2, 2011
A short and highly enjoyable read - Looking forward to the rest of the series!
March 6, 2012
Starts off like a mix of the Harry Pottor cross Ergon but then takes you on a different path. I like the background between the chapters which gives the story a much biger view.
August 11, 2015
Another one that was better than I thought it would be. Didn't realize it was first in a series until the end of the book. Hate that when that happens.
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October 11, 2017Autumn Quest by Terie Garrison is a very adventurous book. This story is about Donavah trying to save her brother from being killed because he had a dragon egg which is illegal. On her journey to go and save him she figures out she has powers and is maejic. So she can talk to animals and know when things are wrong with them. On her quest she finds the dragon from the egg her brother had named Xyla and she helps Donvah. On there way to save Breyard they find out things aren’t what they seem and there are some bad people following them.
Donavah was first told by her parents to never speak of her powers when she was young and this is why she no longer knows of them but figures them out later in the story. Breyard is kind of foolish and tends not to think think things through her plays pranks on his sister so when he said he had a dragon egg she didn’t believe him. If he wasn’t so foolish around his sister she pry would have believed him sooner and these things wouldn’t have happened. Yet then again Donavah would not have found out about her powers if these things didn’t happen. So you can get good things from bad problems.
I think this book was easy to enjoy because I like adventurous books like this one. It was cool to see Donavah unlock her true potential and have an alliance with Xyla. It was fun to see how Donavah overcame her problems and thought things through. I did enjoy this book and look to find more like it. If you enjoy adventurous books then Autumn Quest would be a good book for you to read.
Donavah was first told by her parents to never speak of her powers when she was young and this is why she no longer knows of them but figures them out later in the story. Breyard is kind of foolish and tends not to think think things through her plays pranks on his sister so when he said he had a dragon egg she didn’t believe him. If he wasn’t so foolish around his sister she pry would have believed him sooner and these things wouldn’t have happened. Yet then again Donavah would not have found out about her powers if these things didn’t happen. So you can get good things from bad problems.
I think this book was easy to enjoy because I like adventurous books like this one. It was cool to see Donavah unlock her true potential and have an alliance with Xyla. It was fun to see how Donavah overcame her problems and thought things through. I did enjoy this book and look to find more like it. If you enjoy adventurous books then Autumn Quest would be a good book for you to read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews