The third book in the imaginative DragonSpawn Cycle begins as Donavah and the red dragon Xyla narrowly escape the dreaded dragonmasters. Suddenly they are transported from the midst of a deadly battle to Stychs, a legendary and mystical land that looks just like Donavah’s home world―though just how and why she is there yields more questions than answers. Only dragons can move between the two worlds so quickly, and Xyla is now gravely ill from the strain. Donavah and her friends must undertake a treacherous journey to find the other red dragons if Xyla is to be healed. Along the way Donovah is kidnapped and cruelly imprisonedby a rogue magician, an ordeal that leaves her forever scarred. Rescued by the desert sages of Delaron, Donavah finally learns of her role in an ancient prophecy―a prophecy that must be fulfilled if maejic is to survive in Alloway.
Donavah is falling into a new pattern of life with the baby dragons, Grey, and the mages, only to have everything taken away again when the dragonmasters attack. When she wakes up, only Grey, Traz, and Xyla are with her, and Xyla is weakened by some strange malady. With the guidence of a native named Shandry, Traz and Donavah go to get help for Xyla while Grey stays behind to feed and protect her. But Donavah has caught the attention of a sinister power, and the journey won't be nearly as uneventful as she hopes.
Like the previous two books, this one has a strong sense of plot. Something is always moving, always happening, but it never gets ahead of the reader. As a bonus, there are also scenes fleshing out a bit of Donavah's backstory, her relationship with her brother, and the year her brother spent in Stychs.
Unfortunately, the strong characters that helped the previous two books don't return for this one. Everyone is out of character at the beginning, even accounting for the unpredictability of love that is popping up in certain people's lives. Donavah gets all weepy and childish, Grey is far too comfortable with people for being a hermit and seems to have undergone a complete personality transplant, and Shandry flips from psychopath to helpful guide without much explaination. Shandry's backstory is brief, and her character doesn't get a chance to develop at all. She feels more like she's there to fill space and offer a few explanations than do anything useful.
The book suffers a disjointed start, and the events don't really get much better. Donavah once again falls into the clutches of a sadistic man who wants to torment her, but the strength she has in WinterMaejic is here one minute and gone the next. In terms of her emotional journey, it's virtually identical to WinterMaejic. Like the previous two books, Donavah is completely helpless, except at the beginning and the end, when she's vastly overpowered.
The death of a certain character also left much to be desired. For one, I had been strongly hoping it would not happen off-screen. The scene with Etos was probably not supposed to be funny, but I couldn't help laughing. It was more than a trifle over-dramatic, and a cheap way of getting Donavah healed of a few scrapes. Unsurprisingly, Traz also finds he has power, and it relates to the stick he found back in AutumnQuest. At least something has a point, although the whole thing is so heavy with omens and portent I'm almost making wagers what he'll do for the final book.
Overall this was a step down from WinterMaejic, and particularly disappointing in light of the way Grey and Traz changed. I didn't mind all of Traz's changes, but part of his appeal lay in the fact that he was the only character without power inside a community of mages. I rate this book Not Recommended.
This was a disappointment after Wintermagic. The plot fell apart and didn't flow- it felt very forced. I felt like the story was being 'told' to me as opposed to it being shown. Not sure I will read the next one.