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The Dragonvarld Trilogy #1
Mistress of Dragons
Welcome to the Dragonvarld... In Mistress of Dragons we are introduced to a world where political deception, greed, and avarice have lead to a violation of the "hands off" policy of the Parliament of Dragons concerning the affairs of men. Indeed that violation threatens more than policy and order it threatens the freedoms and survival of the entire human race.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
54 people are currently reading
1864 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Weis
678 books5,839 followersMargaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
November 6, 2018
tw for rape, i guess forced pregnancy etc. i'm dumping spoilers. read them anyway. Maybe they'll convince you to spare yourself.
Every time I say to myself, "This is the worst book i have read this year!" the universe, ever inexorable, strives to prove me wrong. Am I too arrogant in my one-star reviews? Is this my punishment? Has Anne McCaffrey's vengeful ghost returned to torment me for rating her masterpiece one star?
(F'lar was a creep and there is no reason at all for his name to have that a'pos'trop'he in it. I will die on this hill.)
Come to my house, please. End my suffering. Just take a large rock to my skull and knock me unconscious. I could use a good, long coma right now. Anything to deliver me from the draughts I take, like an incurable dumbass, from the eternal wellspring of bullshit and rotting garbage that is my reading selections.
This book. I just. Can't.
The first 20 pages are straight infodumping. The writing style has all the grace of a combine harvester. No clunker I've read compares. I only liked one character and the book ruined him for me by the end. The worldbuilding is just straight up Minstrels and Chivalry in Knightcastlekingdom and there are a bunch of pseudo-catholics. This king dude keeps talking about God. I don't know. I'm tired. I physically turned every damn page of this book, y'all.
Hell. I don't even know. Where the hell were we? There is one mention of "The Middle East" but other than that it seems like we're just in a fantasy land dully derived from England. I'm so confused.
It probably would have earned two stars if the latter half of the book wasnt about
-the main character, set up as a lesbian and in a loving same-sex relationship (albeit amidst a disagreement that could have been solved if they'd TALKED their conflict was annoying me so much throughout the book), falling in love with a married man
-the aforementioned characters having sex because someone put sex potion in their water because he wanted to BREED them (??)
-the main character getting brutally and graphically raped by the antagonist after this happened
-the main character getting pregnant and then dying a horrible death moments after giving birth
That's it. That's what happens. I'm not putting this on my lgbt shelf when one of the MC's gets raped and dies in the end.
There's a lot of sexism stuff that I could go into (i mean a lot lmao), but i'm damn tired. night
Every time I say to myself, "This is the worst book i have read this year!" the universe, ever inexorable, strives to prove me wrong. Am I too arrogant in my one-star reviews? Is this my punishment? Has Anne McCaffrey's vengeful ghost returned to torment me for rating her masterpiece one star?
(F'lar was a creep and there is no reason at all for his name to have that a'pos'trop'he in it. I will die on this hill.)
Come to my house, please. End my suffering. Just take a large rock to my skull and knock me unconscious. I could use a good, long coma right now. Anything to deliver me from the draughts I take, like an incurable dumbass, from the eternal wellspring of bullshit and rotting garbage that is my reading selections.
This book. I just. Can't.
The first 20 pages are straight infodumping. The writing style has all the grace of a combine harvester. No clunker I've read compares. I only liked one character and the book ruined him for me by the end. The worldbuilding is just straight up Minstrels and Chivalry in Knightcastlekingdom and there are a bunch of pseudo-catholics. This king dude keeps talking about God. I don't know. I'm tired. I physically turned every damn page of this book, y'all.
Hell. I don't even know. Where the hell were we? There is one mention of "The Middle East" but other than that it seems like we're just in a fantasy land dully derived from England. I'm so confused.
It probably would have earned two stars if the latter half of the book wasnt about
-the main character, set up as a lesbian and in a loving same-sex relationship (albeit amidst a disagreement that could have been solved if they'd TALKED their conflict was annoying me so much throughout the book), falling in love with a married man
-the aforementioned characters having sex because someone put sex potion in their water because he wanted to BREED them (??)
-the main character getting brutally and graphically raped by the antagonist after this happened
-the main character getting pregnant and then dying a horrible death moments after giving birth
That's it. That's what happens. I'm not putting this on my lgbt shelf when one of the MC's gets raped and dies in the end.
There's a lot of sexism stuff that I could go into (i mean a lot lmao), but i'm damn tired. night
August 19, 2022
Check out my Booktube channel at: The Obsessive Bookseller
Unfortunately even dragons couldn’t save this from mediocrity.
The beginning of the story had me feeling like I was in for an excellent dragon book. But aside from that kickstarting scene, it didn’t contain a lot of dragon action. Granted, there were dragons in almost every scene, but they were in human form and may as well have been slightly more perceptive humans. I do tend to prefer my dragons to be more bestial, but even for human-shifting dragons, these were just okay at best.
The premise of the story sounded interesting, but in execution there were a lot of things that made me scratch my head in bewilderment. Foremost of which is why a human had to be involved in this “grand mission” at all and why the dragons didn’t just buck up and take care of business themselves? But I suppose if that were the case, how would the two main protagonists meet? It’s bothersome when a story feels contrived just to get a character from point A to point B.
I did enjoy the basic flow of the writing style. This is a very relaxed read and one I devoured quickly. I even found myself curious at the end to see where things were going to go next, and that just might get me to pick up the next one if I can find an audio copy on discount (I’m not curious enough to dedicate any of my precious physical reading time).
I read a few reviews before venturing in that cautioned of a possibly triggering scene within the book, which were accurate, so keep that in mind if you plan on reading it.
Overall I wish I’d like it more even though I picked it up knowing it didn’t have the best reviews. Both the plot and the characters were thin, but there were just enough interesting components to make me think I’ll pick up the next one eventually, but it’s definitely not a priority.
Recommendations: with all of the amazing dragon books out there, this is not the place to start. Pick this one up for a very light fantasy read that just happens to have some dragons.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, and Katrin! <3
Other books you might like:
*
*
*I had issues with both The Last Dragonlord and Dragonmaster, but if you loved this book by Weis, you might love those also.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Unfortunately even dragons couldn’t save this from mediocrity.
The beginning of the story had me feeling like I was in for an excellent dragon book. But aside from that kickstarting scene, it didn’t contain a lot of dragon action. Granted, there were dragons in almost every scene, but they were in human form and may as well have been slightly more perceptive humans. I do tend to prefer my dragons to be more bestial, but even for human-shifting dragons, these were just okay at best.
The premise of the story sounded interesting, but in execution there were a lot of things that made me scratch my head in bewilderment. Foremost of which is why a human had to be involved in this “grand mission” at all and why the dragons didn’t just buck up and take care of business themselves? But I suppose if that were the case, how would the two main protagonists meet? It’s bothersome when a story feels contrived just to get a character from point A to point B.
I did enjoy the basic flow of the writing style. This is a very relaxed read and one I devoured quickly. I even found myself curious at the end to see where things were going to go next, and that just might get me to pick up the next one if I can find an audio copy on discount (I’m not curious enough to dedicate any of my precious physical reading time).
I read a few reviews before venturing in that cautioned of a possibly triggering scene within the book, which were accurate, so keep that in mind if you plan on reading it.
Overall I wish I’d like it more even though I picked it up knowing it didn’t have the best reviews. Both the plot and the characters were thin, but there were just enough interesting components to make me think I’ll pick up the next one eventually, but it’s definitely not a priority.
Recommendations: with all of the amazing dragon books out there, this is not the place to start. Pick this one up for a very light fantasy read that just happens to have some dragons.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, and Katrin! <3
Other books you might like:
*
**I had issues with both The Last Dragonlord and Dragonmaster, but if you loved this book by Weis, you might love those also.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
February 14, 2020
I remember being fooled into reading this book because of how cool this cover is. Look at this majestic, powerful lady, the Mistress of Dragons, posing regally on her awesome throne with those badass warriors and the big snarling, well-rendered dragon! Man, what story awaits me in this treasured tome?
Turns out it was a very bad one.
Reading this book was very disappointing, as someone who grew up with a fair amount of Weis and Hickman novels. I own a lot of Dragonlance novels, I constantly reread The Death Gate cycle and would put that series as one of my favorites, and enjoyed the Sovereign Stone trilogy. So I came into this book fully expecting to love it.
Instead, I was met with a book that I feel could've been decent if the main leads weren't so unlikeable and the plot didn't suddenly swerve into a weird, weird territory.
How weird? Well, content warning: This book has a lot of sexual assault in it. Grape without the G.
The plot of the story is thus: The dragons in this world have a parliament and a hand's off approach to handling humans, but a dragon named Maristara (a name that would be extremely fitting for a dragon in the Warcraft universe) has taken control of the human settlement of Seth and has set up a magic barrier and has trained an all-women coven in dragon magic. She must be stopped, especially after she has killed one of the dragons in Parliament, but they need the help of a dragon taken human form named Draconas and King Edward of Idlyswylde in order to break through the barrier. Can they stop her? Can they figure out the secret behind the humans with dragon magic in their blood?
Well, it's the first book of three. You figure it out.
This book can be best described as eating a bowl of store-brand cereal with some thumbtacks hiding within. Sometimes the spoonfuls you put in your mouth are decent if lacking in flavor; the setting and the dragon politics were not the most original ideas (the dragon telepathy that all dragons have in particular reminded me of better books) but at least set up a world that I wanted to learn and read more about. The coven of all women that could practice a special form of dragon magic and was very selective on partners to keep the dragon magic flowing in future bloodlines was sort of fun. The relationship between Melisande, one of the priestesses in the all-women coven, and her same-sex partner Bellona is good at first, until you eat a thumbtack when her soldier partner suddenly distrusts her lover based upon pure hearsay and the word of someone who was already established as untrustworthy.
Soon we get our main "hero" in King Edward, but then you eat another thumbtack when his character dissolves the moment he runs into Melisande (who discovers the secret behind Maristara, a secret that probably one of the more original ideas in the book and is delightfully bone-chilling), who in turn also becomes whiny and annoying to even read about. Their dialogue with each other the moment they meet is a huge mouthful of thumbtacks in terms of how bearable it is. Even though one of them is a happily married man and the other is a lesbian, of course the plot pushes them together and gives them little relationship development or a reason for them to fall in love beyond plot convenience.
And then, right when you're thinking that the worst you have to deal with are some whiny leads being lead on by Draconas who thinks too highly of his own plans (and just comes off as overbearingly smug in his thoughts), you crunch upon a large rusty nail that is .
Yep. Rape and forced pregnancy is a huge plot point in a book titled Mistress of Dragons and has a book cover of Strong Female Characters standing proud among roaring dragons and I'll be damned if there isn't some form of irony to that. One would say that it's even the most important plot point, because this event is what kicks off The Dragon's Son.
Obviously this book is supposed to be a prologue of sorts for the second two books in this trilogy, where the twins are the leading characters, but the way the rape scene was done (in that this book made me read a rape scene period) left a really bad taste in my mouth. It was written so poorly that the rape felt like it was purely there for shock value because it develops no one and ends up completely overshadowing the rest of the events in the book because the rest of the book isn't very engaging at all. There was a "daring" escape scene and a fight with crazy monks but my mind kept going "Wait, she totally had sex with a dragon. Why. WHY."
Basically, in the end, Melisande, the titular Mistress of Dragons,
Not exactly the experience I was expecting when I picked up this book. Perhaps Weis was taking writing pointers from Terry Goodkind?
It's a real shame this book and the two books that follow it are the duds that they are because if you dig deep enough, there are some interesting plot points that would have worked in a better written novel. I liked the secret behind the two evil dragons' human forms (which is horrifying in a good way; an odd thing to say about this novel in particular) and the twisted ritual behind the actual Mistress of Dragons, I liked the overall style of writing, and the Dragon Parliament trying to find the secret behind a dragon's murder was fun to read. But the grotesque plot points (I cringed more often reading this than the infamous vampire placenta-chewing birth scene in Breaking Dawn. That's how bad it was) and the characters made this a very sad experience indeed.
On the bright side, the cover still looks really cool. Just wish it was attached to a story that wasn't terrible that led into two equally terrible books.
Turns out it was a very bad one.
Reading this book was very disappointing, as someone who grew up with a fair amount of Weis and Hickman novels. I own a lot of Dragonlance novels, I constantly reread The Death Gate cycle and would put that series as one of my favorites, and enjoyed the Sovereign Stone trilogy. So I came into this book fully expecting to love it.
Instead, I was met with a book that I feel could've been decent if the main leads weren't so unlikeable and the plot didn't suddenly swerve into a weird, weird territory.
How weird? Well, content warning: This book has a lot of sexual assault in it. Grape without the G.
The plot of the story is thus: The dragons in this world have a parliament and a hand's off approach to handling humans, but a dragon named Maristara (a name that would be extremely fitting for a dragon in the Warcraft universe) has taken control of the human settlement of Seth and has set up a magic barrier and has trained an all-women coven in dragon magic. She must be stopped, especially after she has killed one of the dragons in Parliament, but they need the help of a dragon taken human form named Draconas and King Edward of Idlyswylde in order to break through the barrier. Can they stop her? Can they figure out the secret behind the humans with dragon magic in their blood?
Well, it's the first book of three. You figure it out.
This book can be best described as eating a bowl of store-brand cereal with some thumbtacks hiding within. Sometimes the spoonfuls you put in your mouth are decent if lacking in flavor; the setting and the dragon politics were not the most original ideas (the dragon telepathy that all dragons have in particular reminded me of better books) but at least set up a world that I wanted to learn and read more about. The coven of all women that could practice a special form of dragon magic and was very selective on partners to keep the dragon magic flowing in future bloodlines was sort of fun. The relationship between Melisande, one of the priestesses in the all-women coven, and her same-sex partner Bellona is good at first, until you eat a thumbtack when her soldier partner suddenly distrusts her lover based upon pure hearsay and the word of someone who was already established as untrustworthy.
Soon we get our main "hero" in King Edward, but then you eat another thumbtack when his character dissolves the moment he runs into Melisande (who discovers the secret behind Maristara, a secret that probably one of the more original ideas in the book and is delightfully bone-chilling), who in turn also becomes whiny and annoying to even read about. Their dialogue with each other the moment they meet is a huge mouthful of thumbtacks in terms of how bearable it is. Even though one of them is a happily married man and the other is a lesbian, of course the plot pushes them together and gives them little relationship development or a reason for them to fall in love beyond plot convenience.
And then, right when you're thinking that the worst you have to deal with are some whiny leads being lead on by Draconas who thinks too highly of his own plans (and just comes off as overbearingly smug in his thoughts), you crunch upon a large rusty nail that is .
Yep. Rape and forced pregnancy is a huge plot point in a book titled Mistress of Dragons and has a book cover of Strong Female Characters standing proud among roaring dragons and I'll be damned if there isn't some form of irony to that. One would say that it's even the most important plot point, because this event is what kicks off The Dragon's Son.
Obviously this book is supposed to be a prologue of sorts for the second two books in this trilogy, where the twins are the leading characters, but the way the rape scene was done (in that this book made me read a rape scene period) left a really bad taste in my mouth. It was written so poorly that the rape felt like it was purely there for shock value because it develops no one and ends up completely overshadowing the rest of the events in the book because the rest of the book isn't very engaging at all. There was a "daring" escape scene and a fight with crazy monks but my mind kept going "Wait, she totally had sex with a dragon. Why. WHY."
Basically, in the end, Melisande, the titular Mistress of Dragons,
Not exactly the experience I was expecting when I picked up this book. Perhaps Weis was taking writing pointers from Terry Goodkind?
It's a real shame this book and the two books that follow it are the duds that they are because if you dig deep enough, there are some interesting plot points that would have worked in a better written novel. I liked the secret behind the two evil dragons' human forms (which is horrifying in a good way; an odd thing to say about this novel in particular) and the twisted ritual behind the actual Mistress of Dragons, I liked the overall style of writing, and the Dragon Parliament trying to find the secret behind a dragon's murder was fun to read. But the grotesque plot points (I cringed more often reading this than the infamous vampire placenta-chewing birth scene in Breaking Dawn. That's how bad it was) and the characters made this a very sad experience indeed.
On the bright side, the cover still looks really cool. Just wish it was attached to a story that wasn't terrible that led into two equally terrible books.
March 23, 2022
A magic filled, lesbian cult story that has dragons.
This is a little slow to start, but sooo worth sticking around for.
Beyond excited that there are 2 more books in this series!
This is a little slow to start, but sooo worth sticking around for.
Beyond excited that there are 2 more books in this series!
July 11, 2013
I didn't like this book. It's not because of the lesbianism and it's not because of the non-unique plot. I was actually really enjoying myself for the first half of the book. I couldn't wait to find out who the traitor dragon was, and what was going to happen in the monastery, and how long it would take the king to find out about the dragon man. Unfortunately, it turned into a story about a whiny irritating woman and a fawning unfaithful king traveling across the country to fulfill a strange solution to the evil dragon problem. It all started when the main character's lover decided to believe a very untrustworthy character. It irritates me that someone that supposedly loves the main character will believe the crap someone makes up, just like that. It only got worse from there. The plot disintegrated and became non-plausible. Everything was pretty much hanging on traveling to the new land over the mountains to discover how the evil dragon was doing things. So when they made it there a little over halfway through the book, there wasn't much left to talk about. I loved the dragonlance series and I'm really hoping to enjoy other books written by Weis and Hickman, but so far it has not gone well (Mistress of Dragons and Well of Darkness).
November 12, 2020
It is garbage. I advise everyone to stay away. Content warnings for rape and assault.
As to not have suffered through this book in vain, here's a spoiler review, filled with spite and disgust (oh joy):
Ok, so. I picked this up on a whim because I was in the mood for a B-Fantasy book. Just the cheesiest possible. Walking around the library looking for something that screamed classic fantasy and I chose this one, because just look at the cover.
To my surprise, I started off delighted. The first chapter I sensed such lesbian vibes between the main character and another lady warrior, though I doubted it was intentional, because I don't expect gay relationships in random cheesy fantasy books, sadly enough. But then a few pages later, it turns out that I'd been right! An ESTABLISHED AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A PRIESTESS AND A WARRIOR-LADY. So much devotion and love, just placed right before me. Obviously, that was exciting!
I could've read all of this from their perspective. But then the pov-shift happened. Two men, a king and a dragon in human form. Both bland. King Edward was vaguely heroic, Draconas (trying to read this name with a straight face) was a blanket of mopey indifference. It wasn't that I *actively* disliked the journey of those two guys, not like I *actively* minded that this boy Edward was head over heels for Melisandre, one of the wonderful wlws (because Melisandre's pretty great). It wasn't that Edward was *actively* thinking about cheating on his wife because "woman pretty" was made to further the garbage plot. I had hopes that the two boring boys would contribute something fun when they joined with Melisandre, becoming an ensemble of different people taking down a mutual enemy, but that hope was crushed pretty much immediately.
I guess you could say my problems began when the author gave Edward and Melisandre a MUTUAL chemistry. It was pretty weird, and let me explain why: Sometimes there's this vibe coming off like the author firmly believes that anything aside from a relationship between a man and a woman cannot be "real romance", and you start to not trust them. That was this. That was the vibe I got. It was not like Melisandre shouldn't be allowed to explore her sexuality. She could be bi or pan (although I doubt the author had any of that in mind). The problem wasn't the fact that she was interested, but the way it was framed. Something that salvaged it a little bit was that Melisandre's interest in Edward at least cannot be blamed upon the author's execution of the "greedy trope" as Melisandre did think her beloved warrior Bellona hated her and wanted her dead and it was reasonable for her to believe their relationship was very, very over. So that counted for something.
But the worst part, the absolute grossest part, was that neither of them would have acted on their curious chemistry if they hadn't been MAGICALLY DRUGGED to do so.
I hoped - I FUCKING HOPED - that the mutual chemistry would develop into Edward accepting that Melisandre didn't love him and they'd become great friends, because that was kind of where the story was heading. They yearned a little but were steadfast in their beliefs that it wasn't fair to act upon their attraction, that they were two capable adults able to rein in their horniness. And yes, thus I hoped that they'd make up with Bellona eventually and fight the Evil-Dragon-Mistress-Whatever together. That would have been a very satisfying end. But women and men staying platonic friends? Apparently impossible.
The plot had to happen when dragons (??) thought "hmm we should breed these two it's for the greater good" (WHAT). If it had stopped at that, I might have been able to swallow it as a plot device and move on - Melisandre and Bellona reunite after all and all should be well - BUT FUCKING NO.
There had to be an EVIL dragon-in-human-form ambushing Melis and Edward riding the high of the sex-drug they'd unknowingly been fed, and said dragon rapes Melisandre (because he wants her Pure Fucking Magic Blood to be Bred into His Bloodline god I'm at a loss for words how UTTERLY offensive this is). It was presented as misery-porn and the graphic horror was written like it tried to justify the dragon as all Melisandre felt was pain and terror (because the sex drug was wearing off). I cannot stress enough how badly this was handled.
This left Melisandre horrified and scarred and hurt. Obviously. She would never be the same again. And then there were 9 months of painful pregnancy where Melis and Bellona live together but they'll never be like they once were because Melis is scarred for life - and then Melisandre dies in childbirth.
"Kill your gays", eh? Everyone applauds this perfectly unique twist, yay for shattered hopes! Yay for undying tropes!
At least she got to die traumatized and bleeding in her beloved's arms! (sarcasm.)
It's not that I expect everything to be unproblematic media. Obviously not. You could explore these topics and horrify your readers with the appaling actions of the villains. But this was, simply put, EXTREMELY poorly done.
The only character to die was Melis (gay/bi) while the king Edward survived being attacked by a dragon that intended to kill him? (THE FUCK? talk about a plot-shield) Let's not mention the added effect of rape in an already kind of rapey situation that wasn't respectfully written, just let's not.
I read for enjoyment. For inspiration and energy. I'm obviously not picky, either. But this garbage did a number on me. And I'm so, so tired.
No. I won't continue this series. I thought I'd found a hidden treasure but it turns out it was filled with stuff that I hate and I'm sick of and I just don't want. The writing is... I could say bad, but I will give some slack and call it "ok". It was clunky, sometimes, and places are described both too much and too little. The gay chemistry was well written.
I finished it because of the love I had for Melisandre and Bellona. There isn't much salvaging it for me now.
I repeat: It's garbage. Stay away.
As to not have suffered through this book in vain, here's a spoiler review, filled with spite and disgust (oh joy):
Ok, so. I picked this up on a whim because I was in the mood for a B-Fantasy book. Just the cheesiest possible. Walking around the library looking for something that screamed classic fantasy and I chose this one, because just look at the cover.
To my surprise, I started off delighted. The first chapter I sensed such lesbian vibes between the main character and another lady warrior, though I doubted it was intentional, because I don't expect gay relationships in random cheesy fantasy books, sadly enough. But then a few pages later, it turns out that I'd been right! An ESTABLISHED AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A PRIESTESS AND A WARRIOR-LADY. So much devotion and love, just placed right before me. Obviously, that was exciting!
I could've read all of this from their perspective. But then the pov-shift happened. Two men, a king and a dragon in human form. Both bland. King Edward was vaguely heroic, Draconas (trying to read this name with a straight face) was a blanket of mopey indifference. It wasn't that I *actively* disliked the journey of those two guys, not like I *actively* minded that this boy Edward was head over heels for Melisandre, one of the wonderful wlws (because Melisandre's pretty great). It wasn't that Edward was *actively* thinking about cheating on his wife because "woman pretty" was made to further the garbage plot. I had hopes that the two boring boys would contribute something fun when they joined with Melisandre, becoming an ensemble of different people taking down a mutual enemy, but that hope was crushed pretty much immediately.
I guess you could say my problems began when the author gave Edward and Melisandre a MUTUAL chemistry. It was pretty weird, and let me explain why: Sometimes there's this vibe coming off like the author firmly believes that anything aside from a relationship between a man and a woman cannot be "real romance", and you start to not trust them. That was this. That was the vibe I got. It was not like Melisandre shouldn't be allowed to explore her sexuality. She could be bi or pan (although I doubt the author had any of that in mind). The problem wasn't the fact that she was interested, but the way it was framed. Something that salvaged it a little bit was that Melisandre's interest in Edward at least cannot be blamed upon the author's execution of the "greedy trope" as Melisandre did think her beloved warrior Bellona hated her and wanted her dead and it was reasonable for her to believe their relationship was very, very over. So that counted for something.
But the worst part, the absolute grossest part, was that neither of them would have acted on their curious chemistry if they hadn't been MAGICALLY DRUGGED to do so.
I hoped - I FUCKING HOPED - that the mutual chemistry would develop into Edward accepting that Melisandre didn't love him and they'd become great friends, because that was kind of where the story was heading. They yearned a little but were steadfast in their beliefs that it wasn't fair to act upon their attraction, that they were two capable adults able to rein in their horniness. And yes, thus I hoped that they'd make up with Bellona eventually and fight the Evil-Dragon-Mistress-Whatever together. That would have been a very satisfying end. But women and men staying platonic friends? Apparently impossible.
The plot had to happen when dragons (??) thought "hmm we should breed these two it's for the greater good" (WHAT). If it had stopped at that, I might have been able to swallow it as a plot device and move on - Melisandre and Bellona reunite after all and all should be well - BUT FUCKING NO.
There had to be an EVIL dragon-in-human-form ambushing Melis and Edward riding the high of the sex-drug they'd unknowingly been fed, and said dragon rapes Melisandre (because he wants her Pure Fucking Magic Blood to be Bred into His Bloodline god I'm at a loss for words how UTTERLY offensive this is). It was presented as misery-porn and the graphic horror was written like it tried to justify the dragon as all Melisandre felt was pain and terror (because the sex drug was wearing off). I cannot stress enough how badly this was handled.
This left Melisandre horrified and scarred and hurt. Obviously. She would never be the same again. And then there were 9 months of painful pregnancy where Melis and Bellona live together but they'll never be like they once were because Melis is scarred for life - and then Melisandre dies in childbirth.
"Kill your gays", eh? Everyone applauds this perfectly unique twist, yay for shattered hopes! Yay for undying tropes!
At least she got to die traumatized and bleeding in her beloved's arms! (sarcasm.)
It's not that I expect everything to be unproblematic media. Obviously not. You could explore these topics and horrify your readers with the appaling actions of the villains. But this was, simply put, EXTREMELY poorly done.
The only character to die was Melis (gay/bi) while the king Edward survived being attacked by a dragon that intended to kill him? (THE FUCK? talk about a plot-shield) Let's not mention the added effect of rape in an already kind of rapey situation that wasn't respectfully written, just let's not.
I read for enjoyment. For inspiration and energy. I'm obviously not picky, either. But this garbage did a number on me. And I'm so, so tired.
No. I won't continue this series. I thought I'd found a hidden treasure but it turns out it was filled with stuff that I hate and I'm sick of and I just don't want. The writing is... I could say bad, but I will give some slack and call it "ok". It was clunky, sometimes, and places are described both too much and too little. The gay chemistry was well written.
I finished it because of the love I had for Melisandre and Bellona. There isn't much salvaging it for me now.
I repeat: It's garbage. Stay away.
November 7, 2011
Something is going on in the kingdom of Seth and the Parliament of Dragons want to know exactly what it is. So Walker (Dragon in human skin) Draconis is sent to investigate and what he finds is horrifying. Strong interesting characters and corruption. A Matriarchial society based on lies. A very fun story
April 16, 2023
Contrived, corny, + clumsy.
The dragon society feels like Weis modeled on Patricia Wrede’s humorous (& awesome) middle-grade romp Dealing With Dragons, then tried to make it ‘adult’ with some interspecies breeding & awkwardly non-relevant telepathic communication. I say awkwardly non-relevant because while the author explains at length how this telepathy works—& it’s not an inherently uninteresting concept—it doesn’t matter one damn bit to the reader because (of course) it’s translated into normal language for reading purposes, with only occasional augmentation re: the color of the images Draconas is seeing. So…why bother? Details like this can enhance a fictional world in the hands of a stronger author (example: Melanie Rawn’s Sunrunner books), but here it’s just an example of superficial clutter that tries to distract from flimsy characterization & the abundance of convoluted Cunning Plans scattered throughout.
Needless to say, I was not impressed. 😑 Despite such low-grade mediocrity I’ve suffered worse in the fantasy genre, so I can’t say it’s unreadable—even so, everything feels flimsy, juvenile, & cobbled together regardless of how many murders, rapes, & dragon-human offspring are wedged into the plot, & characters only do things because the author tells them to, as opposed to any natural growth or change. (And wtf are they trying to breed/force-feed dragon magic into humanity when the dragons hate humans so much & fear them growing more powerful? I can only point to my earlier comment ☝🏻 re: nonsensical Cunning Plans.)
As a sidenote, Draconas was an uber-annoying prick. I can get behind rude or gruff anti-heroes, but this guy was so arrogant & holier-than-thou that I wanted to squash his face in a toilet & press FLUSH. All he did was whine about how stupid humans are & how it’s a miracle they keep surviving & how every little emotion or show of loyalty, trust, or good-naturedness was just soooo typical of humanity’s dumbness & inability to learn. STFU.
2 stars.
NB: Nevermind the book—please enjoy that glorious ‘Classic 90s’ era cover. It’s another Youll gem & doesn’t deserve to grace such yawn-worthy content.
The dragon society feels like Weis modeled on Patricia Wrede’s humorous (& awesome) middle-grade romp Dealing With Dragons, then tried to make it ‘adult’ with some interspecies breeding & awkwardly non-relevant telepathic communication. I say awkwardly non-relevant because while the author explains at length how this telepathy works—& it’s not an inherently uninteresting concept—it doesn’t matter one damn bit to the reader because (of course) it’s translated into normal language for reading purposes, with only occasional augmentation re: the color of the images Draconas is seeing. So…why bother? Details like this can enhance a fictional world in the hands of a stronger author (example: Melanie Rawn’s Sunrunner books), but here it’s just an example of superficial clutter that tries to distract from flimsy characterization & the abundance of convoluted Cunning Plans scattered throughout.
Needless to say, I was not impressed. 😑 Despite such low-grade mediocrity I’ve suffered worse in the fantasy genre, so I can’t say it’s unreadable—even so, everything feels flimsy, juvenile, & cobbled together regardless of how many murders, rapes, & dragon-human offspring are wedged into the plot, & characters only do things because the author tells them to, as opposed to any natural growth or change. (And wtf are they trying to breed/force-feed dragon magic into humanity when the dragons hate humans so much & fear them growing more powerful? I can only point to my earlier comment ☝🏻 re: nonsensical Cunning Plans.)
As a sidenote, Draconas was an uber-annoying prick. I can get behind rude or gruff anti-heroes, but this guy was so arrogant & holier-than-thou that I wanted to squash his face in a toilet & press FLUSH. All he did was whine about how stupid humans are & how it’s a miracle they keep surviving & how every little emotion or show of loyalty, trust, or good-naturedness was just soooo typical of humanity’s dumbness & inability to learn. STFU.
2 stars.
NB: Nevermind the book—please enjoy that glorious ‘Classic 90s’ era cover. It’s another Youll gem & doesn’t deserve to grace such yawn-worthy content.
March 20, 2013
I picked it up on a whim, having enjoyed some of Weis' collaborations with Tracy Hickman. It seems that alone, her talent simply evaporates, and Tor is perfectly willing to publish bad lemony fanfiction. At best, it's good for making fun of with friends.
Maybe this kind of plot was enough when Dragonlance began in 1984, but the ensuing decades have seen the market flooded with real brilliance, along with these generic fantasy trilogies with dragons on the cover cranked out every month. Good writing, characters, and original twists could easily overcome that disadvantage, but instead we got cardboard cutouts and a plot that mostly exists to fill pages between sex scenes. Melisande is a self-absorbed twit utterly dependant on her lover. Draconas is an arrogant human/dragon prick who endlessly whines about the puny humans and isn't nearly as intelligent as he believes, and we know he believes it, because we're privy to his banal stream of consciousness throughout. (Except, conveniently, only when it would reveal some vital twist too early!) Plus when the King comes on the scene, we get a second angsty whiner with a superiority complex! Two for the price of one, now that's a deal.
The plot sucks in a way that would make a hentai game proud. Beginning in an apparently _all-lesbian_ convent that has an all-female military and almost zero contact with the outside world, except for monthly choosing a few noble men to mate with a few of the women. A huge deal is made of virgins, even though they take female lovers. For the most part, absolutely nothing happens in the convent, and it takes whole chapters of sex and slice of life to get that across. Then we get Draconas, and he goes to great lengths to make sure that we never have any damn clue what he's doing, where he's going, why he's doing it, or why we should care about his whiny emo ass. The entire first half of the book drifts in an interminable morass. Most of the underpinnings of the story are just plot devices and unimaginative or garbled clichés strung together, especially the dragon's history.
I don't think one creature in this book has a last name or nickname. You don't realize how unnatural it is until you hear someone called the exact same tongue-twisting name constantly.
But oh, the writing puts every other factor to shame. Weis appears to be channeling Robert Jordan in her ability to describe to death pointless details, drag out long and pointless conversations, and gloss over relevant details that might aid with actually understanding the stupid plot. Then our suspension of disbelief is badly challenged by her insistence on pastiching a story out of wildly improbable coincidences, continuity holes, plot devices, infodumps, and eye-rolling backstories. Foreshadowing is in overdose; I constructed a fairly accurate guess of the story arc within the first few chapters. Everyone talks as if they're brain-damaged, repeating themselves or forgetting what was just said.
It does start to get better after 200 pages, but remains intensely mediocre and it's impossible not to start skimming much of it.
Don't get it. I do not recommend except for the humor value inherent in really bad teen fiction. I've seen choose-your-own-adventure(tm) books written better.
Maybe this kind of plot was enough when Dragonlance began in 1984, but the ensuing decades have seen the market flooded with real brilliance, along with these generic fantasy trilogies with dragons on the cover cranked out every month. Good writing, characters, and original twists could easily overcome that disadvantage, but instead we got cardboard cutouts and a plot that mostly exists to fill pages between sex scenes. Melisande is a self-absorbed twit utterly dependant on her lover. Draconas is an arrogant human/dragon prick who endlessly whines about the puny humans and isn't nearly as intelligent as he believes, and we know he believes it, because we're privy to his banal stream of consciousness throughout. (Except, conveniently, only when it would reveal some vital twist too early!) Plus when the King comes on the scene, we get a second angsty whiner with a superiority complex! Two for the price of one, now that's a deal.
The plot sucks in a way that would make a hentai game proud. Beginning in an apparently _all-lesbian_ convent that has an all-female military and almost zero contact with the outside world, except for monthly choosing a few noble men to mate with a few of the women. A huge deal is made of virgins, even though they take female lovers. For the most part, absolutely nothing happens in the convent, and it takes whole chapters of sex and slice of life to get that across. Then we get Draconas, and he goes to great lengths to make sure that we never have any damn clue what he's doing, where he's going, why he's doing it, or why we should care about his whiny emo ass. The entire first half of the book drifts in an interminable morass. Most of the underpinnings of the story are just plot devices and unimaginative or garbled clichés strung together, especially the dragon's history.
I don't think one creature in this book has a last name or nickname. You don't realize how unnatural it is until you hear someone called the exact same tongue-twisting name constantly.
But oh, the writing puts every other factor to shame. Weis appears to be channeling Robert Jordan in her ability to describe to death pointless details, drag out long and pointless conversations, and gloss over relevant details that might aid with actually understanding the stupid plot. Then our suspension of disbelief is badly challenged by her insistence on pastiching a story out of wildly improbable coincidences, continuity holes, plot devices, infodumps, and eye-rolling backstories. Foreshadowing is in overdose; I constructed a fairly accurate guess of the story arc within the first few chapters. Everyone talks as if they're brain-damaged, repeating themselves or forgetting what was just said.
It does start to get better after 200 pages, but remains intensely mediocre and it's impossible not to start skimming much of it.
Don't get it. I do not recommend except for the humor value inherent in really bad teen fiction. I've seen choose-your-own-adventure(tm) books written better.
March 23, 2011
This is the first installment in the Dragonvald Trilogy, before I read this series; I read the reviews and wanted to draw my own conclusion off the book. First let me say this about the author, the writing is far better than some of the books, newspapers and other main stream media out today. I mean the plot is overall predictable, but the quality of the writing makes the book a worthy read. To make a long story as short the whole book is about the dragons interfering with the human world. Even with rules and laws in place to provided situations from occurring. The dragons always seem to manipulate the rules and cause chaos for mankind. As mention before the plot is very predictable, but it is played out to you wanting more. I do feel however that this book is not for everyone and you should do your research first before reading this book.
I also want to address some of the reviews that were talking about the relationship between the two women, however; I didn't see a problem with it the female’s relationship. Especially since there weren’t a lot of details about their sexual encounters, even the loving making and rape scenes were vaguely described. So, this brings up questions of why other reviews where focused on the female’s sexual relationships and not the overall story. It also lets you know that there are still a lot of ignorant people in this world that should never review a book, because their comprehension is way off focus :-) Sorry to be mean, but I feel like people love to throw people under the bus for no reason.
I also want to address some of the reviews that were talking about the relationship between the two women, however; I didn't see a problem with it the female’s relationship. Especially since there weren’t a lot of details about their sexual encounters, even the loving making and rape scenes were vaguely described. So, this brings up questions of why other reviews where focused on the female’s sexual relationships and not the overall story. It also lets you know that there are still a lot of ignorant people in this world that should never review a book, because their comprehension is way off focus :-) Sorry to be mean, but I feel like people love to throw people under the bus for no reason.
August 14, 2014
This book has a lot of the elements of stereotypical fantasy: dragons, magic, priestesses, warriors... but Margaret Weis does a good job of combining them in interesting, new ways. The plot seemed fresh. The end of the book didn't have a complete wrap-up of events, which normally bothers me, but you can tell that this book is merely a set-up for big events to come later in the series, and like a true Robert Jordan fan, I'm down to wait a little longer for the solution..
The only thing that worries me is that the characters weren't developed as well as they could have been, and it was a pretty easy read... hopefully with the next books, these concerns will be put to rest!
I'm excited to see what comes next.
The only thing that worries me is that the characters weren't developed as well as they could have been, and it was a pretty easy read... hopefully with the next books, these concerns will be put to rest!
I'm excited to see what comes next.
December 13, 2018
DNF @ 83%. CW for rape/sexual violence.
(This review is going to be a mess, just FYI.) I don't like giving one-star ratings, and I really did try to get through this one. But all a one-star rating means is that a book wasn't for me, and boy, this one REALLY wasn't.
How can I not like a book called Mistress of Dragons, right? Turns out it's not really about a female character at all. It's actually about a female dragon, who is evil, of course, and puts in place a system that teaches women dragon magic. And you know who has to stop her?
MEN. Draconas, a dragon trapped in a human body; and Edward, a king.
It's all very tiresome, and once I realized that was the direction this was going in, I spoiled myself about what happens at the end of this one and what happens in the next three, which only convinced me that I should put this down. It's so hard to find a matriarchal or even a women-heavy society in high fantasy, but even when I find them, they turn out to be secretly evil at worst or dysfunctional at best. Again, tiresome.
Beyond the plot, though, there were no strong characters to latch onto. The story begins with Melisandre, who is in line to become the next Mistress of Dragons. But once you realize that's all a lie, the story goes off the rails and Melisandre becomes a pawn instead of a fleshed-out character. The most egregious thing, though, is that at the beginning of the story, she's in a relationship with Belona, a warrior captain.
I borrowed this audiobook from the library because it looked like female-led fantasy, and I've heard really great things about the Dragonlance series, which is co-written by Margaret Weis. I'm actually surprised this was only written in 2003. I know that's still 15 years ago, but with content like this, the book seems stuck in the past. I might still give Dragonlance a chance, but this particular title was a disappointment.
(This review is going to be a mess, just FYI.) I don't like giving one-star ratings, and I really did try to get through this one. But all a one-star rating means is that a book wasn't for me, and boy, this one REALLY wasn't.
How can I not like a book called Mistress of Dragons, right? Turns out it's not really about a female character at all. It's actually about a female dragon, who is evil, of course, and puts in place a system that teaches women dragon magic. And you know who has to stop her?
MEN. Draconas, a dragon trapped in a human body; and Edward, a king.
It's all very tiresome, and once I realized that was the direction this was going in, I spoiled myself about what happens at the end of this one and what happens in the next three, which only convinced me that I should put this down. It's so hard to find a matriarchal or even a women-heavy society in high fantasy, but even when I find them, they turn out to be secretly evil at worst or dysfunctional at best. Again, tiresome.
Beyond the plot, though, there were no strong characters to latch onto. The story begins with Melisandre, who is in line to become the next Mistress of Dragons. But once you realize that's all a lie, the story goes off the rails and Melisandre becomes a pawn instead of a fleshed-out character. The most egregious thing, though, is that at the beginning of the story, she's in a relationship with Belona, a warrior captain.
I borrowed this audiobook from the library because it looked like female-led fantasy, and I've heard really great things about the Dragonlance series, which is co-written by Margaret Weis. I'm actually surprised this was only written in 2003. I know that's still 15 years ago, but with content like this, the book seems stuck in the past. I might still give Dragonlance a chance, but this particular title was a disappointment.
May 30, 2018
Weis opens her Dragonvarld trilogy with a fantasy world full of detail and deceit.
Melisande is a young and gifted priestess who lives on the mountainside overlooking the kingdom of Seth. Together with her sisters, those wielding magic and others wielding steel, they protect the kingdom from marauding dragons. Their leader and deity, the Mistress of Dragons, possesses all the knowledge and power needed to keep Seth safe—and soon Melisande will be her successor. Or so it seems. Meanwhile, Draconas, a dragon disguised as a human, is tasked by the Parliament of Dragons to investigate the misdoings of the tyrant-dragon Maritsara, who has broken the draconic law to never interfere with the dealings of men. This same law makes Dragonis’s task a difficult one, made all the harder by the fact a member of the Parliament may in fact be a spy for the deviant Maristara. Draconas enlists the help of the young and adventure-thirsty King Edward and together they march towards Seth, where the dragon is supposedly lurking. Mistress of Dragons can at times seem long winded, and certain points of the plot feeling confusion or irrational and other points repeated several times over. The world-building is where this novel shines. The culture of the cult of the Mistress of Dragons is particularly well-conceived. Weis takes moments within the narrative to explain certain aspects of dragon culture which not only expand the world in which the characters operate, but also help explain the reasoning of characters as they navigates through danger. Weis’s dragons communicate nonverbally and the author uses colour to express emotion, matching certain feelings with a myriad of colours. She does so in a way that feels natural for the characters and that never seems overdone or repetitive.
All in all, Weiss constructs a world that lives and breathes, with characters that are dynamic, if sometimes only just enough. Mistress of Dragons establishes an interesting beginning to The Dragonvarld Trilogy, ending with a twist that will make you want to immediately read the second in the series.
Melisande is a young and gifted priestess who lives on the mountainside overlooking the kingdom of Seth. Together with her sisters, those wielding magic and others wielding steel, they protect the kingdom from marauding dragons. Their leader and deity, the Mistress of Dragons, possesses all the knowledge and power needed to keep Seth safe—and soon Melisande will be her successor. Or so it seems. Meanwhile, Draconas, a dragon disguised as a human, is tasked by the Parliament of Dragons to investigate the misdoings of the tyrant-dragon Maritsara, who has broken the draconic law to never interfere with the dealings of men. This same law makes Dragonis’s task a difficult one, made all the harder by the fact a member of the Parliament may in fact be a spy for the deviant Maristara. Draconas enlists the help of the young and adventure-thirsty King Edward and together they march towards Seth, where the dragon is supposedly lurking. Mistress of Dragons can at times seem long winded, and certain points of the plot feeling confusion or irrational and other points repeated several times over. The world-building is where this novel shines. The culture of the cult of the Mistress of Dragons is particularly well-conceived. Weis takes moments within the narrative to explain certain aspects of dragon culture which not only expand the world in which the characters operate, but also help explain the reasoning of characters as they navigates through danger. Weis’s dragons communicate nonverbally and the author uses colour to express emotion, matching certain feelings with a myriad of colours. She does so in a way that feels natural for the characters and that never seems overdone or repetitive.
All in all, Weiss constructs a world that lives and breathes, with characters that are dynamic, if sometimes only just enough. Mistress of Dragons establishes an interesting beginning to The Dragonvarld Trilogy, ending with a twist that will make you want to immediately read the second in the series.
January 10, 2015
Here's a different take on dragons by Margaret Weis. Intricate and well thought out, "Mistress of Dragons", twists the relationships between dragons and humans in an intriguing way. I first read this in 2004 and evidently did not finish it if the book mark was any indication. One of my New Year's resolutions for 2015 is to finish reading or reread a number of books. This one was first on the list. I enjoyed it very much, especially with how Weis handled the dragons. She shows a world where humans and dragons live separate lives and yet are inextricably and symbiotically linked.
Now all I have to do is locate the second and third installments of this series. Then I will be happy.
Now all I have to do is locate the second and third installments of this series. Then I will be happy.
December 19, 2015
Leuk begin van een serie. Nu zitten er draken in en dan is het al gauw goed voor mij. Ik zal vast snel aan de volgende delen beginnen.
July 28, 2019
This book felt a little rushed or weak to me. Definitely not the same quality as Forging the Darksword. I enjoyed parts, but almost gave up several times. If you haven't read Weiss, start with Darksword, or a Weiss and Hickman collaboration like Dragons of Autumn Twilight or Dragon Wing. Those are all 4+ star series.
July 28, 2019
Did not finish at page 14. I knew that soon that this book was not for me. The world, the characters just didn't click for me though I get the impression it's very well thought of. Maybe I just have weird tastes. I think this book is for anyone who likes fantasy, not sci-fi. You won't know if you like it unless you at least give it a try.
January 16, 2020
I wanted to like Mistress of Dragons , but I finished the book feeling underwhelmed, let down, and slightly puzzled. Weis takes us to the land of Seth. Hundreds of years ago, the kingdom was ravaged by marauding dragons who all but decimated the population. However, a woman stepped forth who knew magic and was able to drive the dragons away. She was named--you guessed it--the Mistress of Dragons. She created an all-female monastery, set in a mountain, and populated by priestesses and warriors. Once a month, males from the surrounding area come to the monastery so that *awkward throat clear* the female population continues into the next generation. Male babies are given to families in the kingdom once old enough to be weaned from their mothers. Melisande is the high priestess at the monastery. We are introduced to her early, and she remains a main focus throughout the book. We also meet her warrior lover, Bellona.
Then we meet Draconus, who has a terribly original name for a dragon who is able to walk around in human form. He meets with the dragon council who has received troubling reports of illegal dragon activity. The dragons have also heard about the coven of priestesses in Seth who can use powerful dragon magic. Draconus is sent to investigate, but can't penetrate the protective barrier that the priestesses placed around the kingdom.
Finally, we have Edward iV of the House of Ramsgate-Upon-the-Aston. He has recently become king after his father died in a hunting accident. He's doing his best to rule the kingdom, but they have recently come under the attack of a dragon, and his knights seem unable to stop the pillaging. Draconus shows up in the guise of a dragon hunter, and invites the king on a holy pilgrimage to Seth. He tells the king that a Mistress of Dragons lives in Seth, and that she possesses the magic to drive away dragons. The king is hoping to persuade her to save his kingdom. Let the quest begin!
My two cents: The above story teaser sounds all well and good. Unfortunately, there are some serious flaws. First, the world building is lacking, and the story basically takes place in some vaguely medieval England with dragons added for flair. Second, the writing is formulaic with a YA feel to it. The prose never grabbed me, and the dialogue felt stilted at times. Third, the story-line was decent till about the half way point when Edward and Draconus reach Seth. Then the story veers into the downright weird with characters making choices that made no sense. Forth, there are a few scenes that other reviewers had *SERIOUS* issues with. Know going into this book that there is a rape scene, and that the ending is pretty disturbing.
Despite those flaws, there were a few redeeming qualities to the book that saved it from the Bad/horrible bottom tiers of my ranking system. Weis put depth into the secret behind the Mistress of Dragon's power. I won't say more to avoid spoiling, but this portion of the novel is truly original. I also really enjoyed the sections where Edward and Draconus are invading the dragon's den. I can see Weis's history of Dungeons and Dragons here, and this is an area where her descriptive story-telling really shines. Given a rating of 1.5 stars or "Below Average". Read only if you can tolerate the above caveats, and if you want a dragon themed adventure to check out from your local library.
Given a rating of 1.5 stars or "Below Average".
Then we meet Draconus, who has a terribly original name for a dragon who is able to walk around in human form. He meets with the dragon council who has received troubling reports of illegal dragon activity. The dragons have also heard about the coven of priestesses in Seth who can use powerful dragon magic. Draconus is sent to investigate, but can't penetrate the protective barrier that the priestesses placed around the kingdom.
Finally, we have Edward iV of the House of Ramsgate-Upon-the-Aston. He has recently become king after his father died in a hunting accident. He's doing his best to rule the kingdom, but they have recently come under the attack of a dragon, and his knights seem unable to stop the pillaging. Draconus shows up in the guise of a dragon hunter, and invites the king on a holy pilgrimage to Seth. He tells the king that a Mistress of Dragons lives in Seth, and that she possesses the magic to drive away dragons. The king is hoping to persuade her to save his kingdom. Let the quest begin!
My two cents: The above story teaser sounds all well and good. Unfortunately, there are some serious flaws. First, the world building is lacking, and the story basically takes place in some vaguely medieval England with dragons added for flair. Second, the writing is formulaic with a YA feel to it. The prose never grabbed me, and the dialogue felt stilted at times. Third, the story-line was decent till about the half way point when Edward and Draconus reach Seth. Then the story veers into the downright weird with characters making choices that made no sense. Forth, there are a few scenes that other reviewers had *SERIOUS* issues with. Know going into this book that there is a rape scene, and that the ending is pretty disturbing.
Despite those flaws, there were a few redeeming qualities to the book that saved it from the Bad/horrible bottom tiers of my ranking system. Weis put depth into the secret behind the Mistress of Dragon's power. I won't say more to avoid spoiling, but this portion of the novel is truly original. I also really enjoyed the sections where Edward and Draconus are invading the dragon's den. I can see Weis's history of Dungeons and Dragons here, and this is an area where her descriptive story-telling really shines. Given a rating of 1.5 stars or "Below Average". Read only if you can tolerate the above caveats, and if you want a dragon themed adventure to check out from your local library.
Given a rating of 1.5 stars or "Below Average".
September 27, 2011
Man, this was weird. I mean no offense to anyone who is into this genre of books but I read this book purely because of a challenge I set up with my friend and I. We each had to choose the most embarrassing looking book we could find, and the other had to read it, preferably in public. While I abandoned the latter clause fairly quickly, I did manage to read the entire book, and fairly quickly at that. So the weird thing is, for all of the awful writing and plot and character understanding that the author represents here, at some point something happened and I got invested in the damn thing. I actually wanted to know what happened, and on numerous occasions was actually shocked by what I was reading. The book never let me forget though even in the most engaging moments, that it is terribly conceived and written, and therefore I had to wonder if the things that I found interesting were indeed intentional or if I was reading too much into it. Did people find the twists as surprising as I? Whatever the case, I love that that happened. Nothing is better than going into an experience and thinking you're above it somehow, and then inadvertently getting wrapped up in it. A true, unexpected pleasure. The only thing I worry about now is the way rating this book will influence my recommendations.
February 27, 2021
Fantastic. If I could give half stars, I would give Mistress of Dragons four and a half stars. In the world of Dragonvarld, humans and dragons co-exist. The dragons have a code of honor to not harm humans, but the evil Maristara does not abide by this code. She has the ability to inhabit human bodies and control them. The fascinating characters include Melisande, the high priestess and second in command of the female religious sect in the land of Seth. The Mistress of Dragons herself, who is first in command- and is not what she seems. The male leads are noble King Edward, and Draconis, a dragon who actually looks like a human. The warriors are all female, and dragons can communicate with each other through telepathy.
The book has elements that might not be to everyone's taste, such as lesbianism, sexual violence and infidelity, but if that does not offend you I highly recommend Mistress of Dragons. I can't wait to read book two of the trilogy.
The book has elements that might not be to everyone's taste, such as lesbianism, sexual violence and infidelity, but if that does not offend you I highly recommend Mistress of Dragons. I can't wait to read book two of the trilogy.
March 9, 2019
Picked this up on a whim in a secondhand shop because I love dragons, and it totally surprised me! The plot is unpredictable and the whole thing is an emotional, fantastical roller coaster. I love the descriptive style (this is somehow the first book to explain to me that moleskin was never actually made out of moles.....) and I will continue with the series if the books are easy to get hold of! Highly recommend for any fantasy fans, it's really easy to read and fast-paced. The world building is slightly patchy but hints at much more development in later books :)
October 2, 2007
I love Margaret Weis as an author and a person(I met her at a convention, she is AWESOME) and this book is by far my favorite she has written to date. Its interesting because you can see that if written from another point of view, it would have been a rather typical fantasy novel, but through the character Draconas and several others, you can see more of what is going on and have an appreciation for it
January 23, 2019
I listened to the book and I have to say the narrator was amazing! The book its self was entertaining, the story line was easy to follow. The action was well written and engaging, the characters were personable. All over a great magic packed, dragon terrorized, butt kicking novel I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy.
May 23, 2020
Okay ... Spoilers because I can't.
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Look away
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I slept on this and now I'm even more angry? The writing is fineish, but the premise? Dumpster fire worthy. Why in the world did we create a loving lesbian relationship just to destroy it with forced/drugged sex/impregnation AND then dragon rape/impregnation. It's gross. Do not recommend.
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Look away
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I slept on this and now I'm even more angry? The writing is fineish, but the premise? Dumpster fire worthy. Why in the world did we create a loving lesbian relationship just to destroy it with forced/drugged sex/impregnation AND then dragon rape/impregnation. It's gross. Do not recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 7, 2012There was just too much questionable material in this book for me to finish it. Makes me sad because I own the trilogy and have wanted to read it for a while. I'm not okay with rape in books though so this is going to be a no-read book series for me.
October 19, 2014
More and more after I read Margaret Weis books I wonder why I bother. There are some bright moments, but overall feeling is that stories are not well composed and lack finishing touch. Still I have books at hand and will try to find rough diamond in each one of them :)
May 7, 2019
This book starts out well, but ends in a fiery disappointment explosion. I loved the lesbian priestesses and the dragons’ story line and then it took a turn for the dumps. TW: sexual violence, sexual drugging, forced pregnancy, and murder
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2020
I was entertained. This book is also one of the few in a string of bad reads that I managed to finish, which is why I give it three stars. I made no less than three attempts starting this book, which has kept it sitting on my currently reading shelf since the beginning of the year. Yesterday I had a headache, and unable to do much else, I grabbed this hoping I could finally plow through the miserable first chapter. To my relief I did, and was pleasantly surprised by the plot hooks Weis lays out once the world is established.
What I liked about the book:
1. The characters. The protagonists Draconas and Melisande were well done, and the antagonist Maristara was unique and one of the best features of the story. Droconas sparks interest with his whole being, and then his personality just adds intrigue. Melisande is easy to like and I found myself rooting for her all the way through the story. It was also nice to have the dragons as independent characters and not just creatures.
2. The mystery of the Mistress of Dragons. It was horrifying in a good way. It held my interest to the end even against some of the book’s worst moments.
3. The connection between Melisande and her warrior same sex lover, Bellona. They are given genuine care and I question all the readers put off by their page time together since its relationship based and not sex based. Their tie reminded me of the late David Gemmell’s Andromache and Kalliope from Lord of the Silver Bow.
What I thought could have been better:
1. The world building. I’m not cutting Weis any slack on this, she’s authored too many Fantasy books to produce a world this messed up. This world felt patched together. The implausibility of so many aspects prompted too many questions and lessened my overall enjoyment of the book.
2. The rape scene. I’m always a little stunned when every other scene involving sex is glossed over, but the violent rape scene is portrayed in graphic detail. What is the author and editors thought process with depicting a graphic rape? Why “protect the innocence of readers” from witnessing graphic consensual sex, but then dog pile details like a woman getting split apart as “hot seed” is poured into her. Not only is the scene unnecessary, it’s also poorly written. For readers sensitive to rape, just skip over this when it starts, you can easily spot it by a bad guy’s lusty eyes, and it ends around hot seed. Then you can decide if you missed anything by not reading that scene. Trust me, you won't.
3. The narrative. The first two chapters are a heavy dump of world building information, and its why I had such a hard time starting this book. Once I got into it, I still found myself questioning some of the internal dialog. Narrative exposition as internal dialog had a purpose when establishing the world, but its overused here. This kind of exposition bled into areas and scenes where it wasn’t needed, and I’m surprised so much of it survived line edits.
What I liked about the book:
1. The characters. The protagonists Draconas and Melisande were well done, and the antagonist Maristara was unique and one of the best features of the story. Droconas sparks interest with his whole being, and then his personality just adds intrigue. Melisande is easy to like and I found myself rooting for her all the way through the story. It was also nice to have the dragons as independent characters and not just creatures.
2. The mystery of the Mistress of Dragons. It was horrifying in a good way. It held my interest to the end even against some of the book’s worst moments.
3. The connection between Melisande and her warrior same sex lover, Bellona. They are given genuine care and I question all the readers put off by their page time together since its relationship based and not sex based. Their tie reminded me of the late David Gemmell’s Andromache and Kalliope from Lord of the Silver Bow.
What I thought could have been better:
1. The world building. I’m not cutting Weis any slack on this, she’s authored too many Fantasy books to produce a world this messed up. This world felt patched together. The implausibility of so many aspects prompted too many questions and lessened my overall enjoyment of the book.
2. The rape scene. I’m always a little stunned when every other scene involving sex is glossed over, but the violent rape scene is portrayed in graphic detail. What is the author and editors thought process with depicting a graphic rape? Why “protect the innocence of readers” from witnessing graphic consensual sex, but then dog pile details like a woman getting split apart as “hot seed” is poured into her. Not only is the scene unnecessary, it’s also poorly written. For readers sensitive to rape, just skip over this when it starts, you can easily spot it by a bad guy’s lusty eyes, and it ends around hot seed. Then you can decide if you missed anything by not reading that scene. Trust me, you won't.
3. The narrative. The first two chapters are a heavy dump of world building information, and its why I had such a hard time starting this book. Once I got into it, I still found myself questioning some of the internal dialog. Narrative exposition as internal dialog had a purpose when establishing the world, but its overused here. This kind of exposition bled into areas and scenes where it wasn’t needed, and I’m surprised so much of it survived line edits.
July 9, 2024
I listened to the audiobook several years ago, and there was a twist in the middle that stuck with me ever since. It was SO delightfully creepy. I finally decided to read the next book, and decided to reread the first one as well, partly to reread that specific scene but also to refresh myself on what the hell happened in the rest of the book because I did NOT remember.
First of all, this book is 3 or 4 stars in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but on a technical level it's a 2. Most of it is just fine, and just lazy at worst. The worldbuilding is mostly set dressing. The characters are mostly just functional for the plot. Dragons have There are kingdoms with good kings and romantic notions of chivalry, everyone is Catholic, and there's one mention of a "Middle East" despite this being a fantasy world with fantasy geography so I don't know what that's supposed to mean in this setting. None of it actually matters. All that matters are a few characters, some dragons, and the ways the dragons meddle with and manipulate the humans in an effort to either help them or help themselves. Their sense of morality is very different from humans. Even the main "good guy" dragon is kind of awful, and I don't like him, but it's the absolute mess the dragons make while trying to make things better that I find fun and compelling.
Warning for those it may concern: part of that manipulation includes SA of the main character, as well dubious consent with another character. The MC is lesbian (she could be bi I guess but the point is her true love is a woman, do not separate them!) but is given a magical dragon aphrodisiac along with a man. The way the dragons absolutely mess these characters up to further their own ends is horrible. Borderline body horror. It's this aspect of the book that I find so compelling. It's done with purpose and not for shock value. Nothing is described in harrowing detail, just enough to understand what it means for the characters. But when you do think about it, it's terrifying, and I think that's largely why it left such an impression on me.
So. There's no lush, carefully crafted world to enjoy here. It feels like some common tropes stapled together so the author could quickly build a novel around a cool story idea. A few lines made me furrow my brow. But the prose is good, tropes can be a useful shorthand to get you into a story quicker, and Melisande and Bellona are good characters with a great dynamic. I love the plot. Enough that somehow this became one of my favorite books. I'm very glad I reread it. What Maristara does to the Mistress still gives me chills!!
First of all, this book is 3 or 4 stars in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but on a technical level it's a 2. Most of it is just fine, and just lazy at worst. The worldbuilding is mostly set dressing. The characters are mostly just functional for the plot. Dragons have There are kingdoms with good kings and romantic notions of chivalry, everyone is Catholic, and there's one mention of a "Middle East" despite this being a fantasy world with fantasy geography so I don't know what that's supposed to mean in this setting. None of it actually matters. All that matters are a few characters, some dragons, and the ways the dragons meddle with and manipulate the humans in an effort to either help them or help themselves. Their sense of morality is very different from humans. Even the main "good guy" dragon is kind of awful, and I don't like him, but it's the absolute mess the dragons make while trying to make things better that I find fun and compelling.
Warning for those it may concern: part of that manipulation includes SA of the main character, as well dubious consent with another character. The MC is lesbian (she could be bi I guess but the point is her true love is a woman, do not separate them!) but is given a magical dragon aphrodisiac along with a man. The way the dragons absolutely mess these characters up to further their own ends is horrible. Borderline body horror. It's this aspect of the book that I find so compelling. It's done with purpose and not for shock value. Nothing is described in harrowing detail, just enough to understand what it means for the characters. But when you do think about it, it's terrifying, and I think that's largely why it left such an impression on me.
So. There's no lush, carefully crafted world to enjoy here. It feels like some common tropes stapled together so the author could quickly build a novel around a cool story idea. A few lines made me furrow my brow. But the prose is good, tropes can be a useful shorthand to get you into a story quicker, and Melisande and Bellona are good characters with a great dynamic. I love the plot. Enough that somehow this became one of my favorite books. I'm very glad I reread it. What Maristara does to the Mistress still gives me chills!!
December 26, 2025
CAUTION! SPOILERS AHEAD!
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TW: Drugged characters, rape, and forced pregnancy
Full disclosure-I have not finished this book. I have 67 pages left and I don't think I will be finishing it. If I do, I will update this review but... I will be very surprised if events within those 67 pages changes my mind on this.
First, I am all for the concept behind this story. A city of lesbian priestesses and warriors using dragon-magic to keep themselves safe? Love it. A dragon taking on a human form to observe the human race? Awesome. A king trying to relive his glory days by going on a "pilgrimage" to save his people from a red-herring? Okay, I can get behind it.
The execution is... okay. There is a lot of exposition-dumping sprinkled in every perspective. Speaking of perspectives, be ready to hop from one perspective to another within chapters. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but style-wise, it's not my favorite.
If that was it, I would have given this book 3-stars.
However, the events that made me not want to finish this... felt unnecessary and out of left field. This is when we get into the above mentioned trigger-warnings, so be aware moving forward.
First, two main characters are unknowingly drugged with an aphrodisiac and proceed to bone; even though BOTH characters would not have done so under sober circumstances. Shortly after their activities, the man is (seemingly) killed and the woman raped by one of the villain characters. All so the woman can become pregnant with a potential "savior" or "destroyer" of the land.
Mind you, this plan is not a prophecy. It was a last-minute scheme conjured by one of the main "protagonists" of the book because his first plan wasn't working.
This "plot" isn't brought into play until the last quarter of the book. For the other 3/4 of the book, it is all about "saving the Mistress of Dragons," setting up the lore, characters, and a tease at what the villain has planned.
In other words, the drugging, rape, and forced pregnancy feels like a first draft decision. And if this was supposed to be the big plot point all along, then there should have been references for the need of a specific type of savior--one that apparently can only be accomplished through drugging and rape, but who am I to dictate how a savior is made. This could have been done if the author had come up with her own religion system instead of just throwing in Christianity for... reasons?
---
TW: Drugged characters, rape, and forced pregnancy
Full disclosure-I have not finished this book. I have 67 pages left and I don't think I will be finishing it. If I do, I will update this review but... I will be very surprised if events within those 67 pages changes my mind on this.
First, I am all for the concept behind this story. A city of lesbian priestesses and warriors using dragon-magic to keep themselves safe? Love it. A dragon taking on a human form to observe the human race? Awesome. A king trying to relive his glory days by going on a "pilgrimage" to save his people from a red-herring? Okay, I can get behind it.
The execution is... okay. There is a lot of exposition-dumping sprinkled in every perspective. Speaking of perspectives, be ready to hop from one perspective to another within chapters. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but style-wise, it's not my favorite.
If that was it, I would have given this book 3-stars.
However, the events that made me not want to finish this... felt unnecessary and out of left field. This is when we get into the above mentioned trigger-warnings, so be aware moving forward.
First, two main characters are unknowingly drugged with an aphrodisiac and proceed to bone; even though BOTH characters would not have done so under sober circumstances. Shortly after their activities, the man is (seemingly) killed and the woman raped by one of the villain characters. All so the woman can become pregnant with a potential "savior" or "destroyer" of the land.
Mind you, this plan is not a prophecy. It was a last-minute scheme conjured by one of the main "protagonists" of the book because his first plan wasn't working.
This "plot" isn't brought into play until the last quarter of the book. For the other 3/4 of the book, it is all about "saving the Mistress of Dragons," setting up the lore, characters, and a tease at what the villain has planned.
In other words, the drugging, rape, and forced pregnancy feels like a first draft decision. And if this was supposed to be the big plot point all along, then there should have been references for the need of a specific type of savior--one that apparently can only be accomplished through drugging and rape, but who am I to dictate how a savior is made. This could have been done if the author had come up with her own religion system instead of just throwing in Christianity for... reasons?
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