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Der Rubindrache
Wie alle Einwohner des chinesischen Kaiserreichs hat auch Rokshan, der Sohn eines reichen Kaufmanns, von den alten Legenden gehört, nach denen vor vielen Jahrhunderten bösartige geflügelte Drachen versuchten, die Herrschaft über die Welt an sich zu reißen. Um dies zu verhindern, wurden die Drachen vom Weisen Herrn der Welt in wunderschöne und gute Wesen verwandelt. Aber das Böse ist wieder erwacht und der Schatten-ohne-Namen will sich die gewaltige Macht der Drachen erneut zunutze machen. Nie hätte sich Rokshan träumen lassen, dass er in diesem Kampf der Mächte die Schlüsselrolle spielen wird. Denn nur Rokshan allein vermag mit dem Herrn der Drachen, mit dem mächtigen Rubindrachen Han Garid selbst zu kommunizieren. Aber ausgerechnet Rokshans Bruder wählt den Pfad des Bösen und wird zum tödlichen Verräter …
7 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Peter Ward
127 books12 followersPeter Ward is a British business and technology reporter whose reporting has taken him across the globe. Reporting from Dubai, he covered the energy sector in the Middle East before earning a degree in business journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His writing has appeared in Wired, The Atlantic, The Economist, GQ, BBC Science Focus, and Newsweek.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 27, 2015
I like to think I'm learning something in my historical fantasy. In Temeraire and Aubrey Maturin I'm learning all about the Napoleonic Wars, in Merchants and Heroes I learnt a lot about gayness and a little about Philip V of Macedon, in How to Train Your Dragon I learnt something about Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, in this book, despite the huge list of references at the back, I have learnt absolutely nothing.
Ok, the book starts off with an acrobat, he's from a nomadic circus troop, leaving for 2 years at a time, yet has the time to be best friends with what turns out to be the main character, attend the local school and get up to all sorts of mischief resulting in him knowing almost everyone in the town.
He introduces us to the main character, the son of a rich merchant, and then quickly fades away, never to be mentioned in any major capacity ever again.
They steal some fruit from a local vendor and then go off to listen to the local storyteller, who is basically the author, knowing names of people he's never met and disappearing mysteriously once his spiel is done.
The storyteller tells the merchant kid that he is the chosen one and like a good hero, he goes along with it, two days later he's wandering across the sahara desert, where he's accosted by warrior monks who immediately let him into their super secret cult before dying gracefully for his cause to a horde of White Walkers. But it's ok, he's then rescued by a literal god and dragged across the world, eventually being delivered into the arms of his missing uncle, warlord of the horse people.
The main character had no agency. Everything that has happened to him so far has been pushed on him, or he's been carried to it, presented to it in a ceremonial fashion, had to read some lines and then been carried, literally, on.
At this point we're about 200 pages in and the only dragon horse so far appeared for less than a page before prancing off back into the ether. But don't worry, it's coming!
So after being delivered unto his uncle, they go to the nearest horse-person city, a huge hub of trade despite these people having no contact with the outside world and killing outsiders on sight, and there he meets the Dragon Horse. A creature that, much like his donkey on the way up, is never unsaddled, never gets sore or lame or tired or hungry or needs brushing apart from as a recreational bonding activity. It never get startled and throws it's rider or does that thing where they suck in air so the saddle doesn't fit, and the tack never needs cleaning or checking, you just go out in the morning, jump on and away you go, much like an intelligent bike.
He sees this horse, he stares into it's eyes, and then has a literal orgasm as this beautiful animal, a swirl of rainbow emotions with deep golden eyes, a being that is capable of communicating on a greater level than humans will ever manage pushes her way into his mind and fills it with overwhelming joy.
They then shove it into a stable or a field or something and go to the breeding pens, where they talk about breeding for colour and temperament, each horse conveniently colour coded for purpose, and possibly for milk and meat.
I kinda put it down at that point and didn't go back, and don't get me started on the whole sub-plot of his kindly brother finding an evil idol and turning into a Disney villain, just go read Temeraire instead. It deals with all the same ideas a thousand times better, and maybe you'll learn something at the same time!
Ok, the book starts off with an acrobat, he's from a nomadic circus troop, leaving for 2 years at a time, yet has the time to be best friends with what turns out to be the main character, attend the local school and get up to all sorts of mischief resulting in him knowing almost everyone in the town.
He introduces us to the main character, the son of a rich merchant, and then quickly fades away, never to be mentioned in any major capacity ever again.
They steal some fruit from a local vendor and then go off to listen to the local storyteller, who is basically the author, knowing names of people he's never met and disappearing mysteriously once his spiel is done.
The storyteller tells the merchant kid that he is the chosen one and like a good hero, he goes along with it, two days later he's wandering across the sahara desert, where he's accosted by warrior monks who immediately let him into their super secret cult before dying gracefully for his cause to a horde of White Walkers. But it's ok, he's then rescued by a literal god and dragged across the world, eventually being delivered into the arms of his missing uncle, warlord of the horse people.
The main character had no agency. Everything that has happened to him so far has been pushed on him, or he's been carried to it, presented to it in a ceremonial fashion, had to read some lines and then been carried, literally, on.
At this point we're about 200 pages in and the only dragon horse so far appeared for less than a page before prancing off back into the ether. But don't worry, it's coming!
So after being delivered unto his uncle, they go to the nearest horse-person city, a huge hub of trade despite these people having no contact with the outside world and killing outsiders on sight, and there he meets the Dragon Horse. A creature that, much like his donkey on the way up, is never unsaddled, never gets sore or lame or tired or hungry or needs brushing apart from as a recreational bonding activity. It never get startled and throws it's rider or does that thing where they suck in air so the saddle doesn't fit, and the tack never needs cleaning or checking, you just go out in the morning, jump on and away you go, much like an intelligent bike.
He sees this horse, he stares into it's eyes, and then has a literal orgasm as this beautiful animal, a swirl of rainbow emotions with deep golden eyes, a being that is capable of communicating on a greater level than humans will ever manage pushes her way into his mind and fills it with overwhelming joy.
They then shove it into a stable or a field or something and go to the breeding pens, where they talk about breeding for colour and temperament, each horse conveniently colour coded for purpose, and possibly for milk and meat.
I kinda put it down at that point and didn't go back, and don't get me started on the whole sub-plot of his kindly brother finding an evil idol and turning into a Disney villain, just go read Temeraire instead. It deals with all the same ideas a thousand times better, and maybe you'll learn something at the same time!
July 4, 2016
"Dragon horse" is a wonderful mix of fantasy, adventure, suspense and Chinese mythology, and it is such a great novel! A little slow at the start as characters and settings are established, but after that it is a real page-turner which totally captivates the reader. Conflicts abound between good and evil, father and sons, gods and mortals, brother and brother as an ancient evil struggles to escape his eternal imprisonment. Rokshan is a terrific young hero who must follow his destiny and meet Stargazer, lord of the dragon horses, as together they try to stop the Shadow-without-a-name from taking over China. Can't wait for the sequel!
March 8, 2015
Sorry to say it, but this book didn't capture me at all. I didn't like the writing style and started being aggitated over it and didn't oay much attention to the story. A lit of "then happened this", "and then he did that" and sentences that could've easily be three seperate ones just don't sit well with me. Since it was the author's first book, I will try to give him another chance though.
June 15, 2017
Another one of those random books I bought during a book fair. It had the beginnings of an epic adventure... But that was it. No suspense (book gives snippets of spoilers here and there). Characters are weak and whiny and exist to It did not help that the writing-style was 'meh'. And the names! Sure, there were multiple languages in ancient China, but still:
- Main character is called Rokshan (ok). Best friend calls him Roksy (not ok).
- Rokshan's brother is An Lushan (ok). Everyone calls him An'an (not ok). Seriously. He's supposed to be the heir to a large business, cool older brother. Around 16? An'an should be a name one calls a little boy, not someone who Behold, An'an.
- There's a character named Jax. I can't take that name seriously, it conjures up an image of an emo/punk hybrid kid.
Borderline 1-2 stars. 2 only because the story was ok enough to make me finish reading it. There were a lot of unexplained things though... Too many characters fizzled out/disappeared, and because they were not in any way likeable, I have to say that I did not care much. There were a lot of visions involved that no one could understand until the event happened. WHAT'S THE POINT. All in all, I lost patience many times reading this book, but not enough to make me hate it.
An epic ('meh').
- Main character is called Rokshan (ok). Best friend calls him Roksy (not ok).
- Rokshan's brother is An Lushan (ok). Everyone calls him An'an (not ok). Seriously. He's supposed to be the heir to a large business, cool older brother. Around 16? An'an should be a name one calls a little boy, not someone who Behold, An'an.
- There's a character named Jax. I can't take that name seriously, it conjures up an image of an emo/punk hybrid kid.
Borderline 1-2 stars. 2 only because the story was ok enough to make me finish reading it. There were a lot of unexplained things though... Too many characters fizzled out/disappeared, and because they were not in any way likeable, I have to say that I did not care much. There were a lot of visions involved that no one could understand until the event happened. WHAT'S THE POINT. All in all, I lost patience many times reading this book, but not enough to make me hate it.
An epic ('meh').
August 30, 2020
I did enjoy this book because of the horses to dragons aspect of the story as well as the good versus evil part of it that is a part of most fantasy stories as well as having a chosen one as part of a prophecy but it was so slow and boring even the action parts of it weren't that exciting, it could have been more exciting if it had the chance to expand more on the story should have been a second book because the ending felt rushed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2024
A great idea, but not well executed.
The characters felt flat and I struggled to feel invested in their experiences; and the writing tended to be clunky. I'd often realise I'd managed to miss something, but couldn't be bothered going back to re-read sections. I persisted because I did want to know what would happen and I can see the potential in this story, but I don't think I'll feel the need to re-read this.
The characters felt flat and I struggled to feel invested in their experiences; and the writing tended to be clunky. I'd often realise I'd managed to miss something, but couldn't be bothered going back to re-read sections. I persisted because I did want to know what would happen and I can see the potential in this story, but I don't think I'll feel the need to re-read this.
January 24, 2020
This book is just okay. It talks of a typical setting of an ordinary boy in an epic journey to realize he was born for something he was born to be. Along the way, he met new friends and they all get along well to fulfil the prophecy.
November 6, 2017
Al final no me gusto. La historia era prometedora pero... como decirlo fue redundante en ciertas partes para mi innecesarias, y en otras uno se quedó con la duda.
January 28, 2020
Swash-buckling read. Loved the interwoven mythologies. Really enjoyed it as a fantasy read.
September 8, 2020
A great story but difficult to get through at times
May 16, 2022
Recuerdo haberlo disfrutado bastante.
October 12, 2017
1.I decided to read this book because of the picture at the front of the book. It really interested because I like books about dragons.
2. The character I found interesting is the storyteller shou lao.
I would describe this character as very intriguing.
A quotation that helps to show this is the first time he spoke "My greetings, people of maracanda; may kuan yin, goddess of mercy and protector of travellers, always watch over you."
This quotation made me feel so interested because everybody in the book always listened when he spoke.
Another quotation that highlights how this person interested me is " but perhaps I should begin with the story of how the fallen guardian spirit who became the keeper of gates of hell got his name."
This quotation intrigued me even more as a reader because of the words shou Lao used to speak.
3. Two memorable quotes from this book includes
"The legend lives on in the dragon horses of the kingdom of the wild horsemen. This much you all know" -shou Lao
This quotation is memorable because the audience he was talking to was spell bound.
"I have seen men break. You try to block their screams out your mind, but it's the poor horses that go mad with fear first.."-kan
This quotation is memorable because it made me feel sorry for kan having to deal with this.
If I could ask the author anything, I would ask him if he would consider making any more books because I would read them.
The thing I would change in the book is when the storyteller enters the book. I would put him at the start and narrate the whole book because I find him really intriguing.
2. The character I found interesting is the storyteller shou lao.
I would describe this character as very intriguing.
A quotation that helps to show this is the first time he spoke "My greetings, people of maracanda; may kuan yin, goddess of mercy and protector of travellers, always watch over you."
This quotation made me feel so interested because everybody in the book always listened when he spoke.
Another quotation that highlights how this person interested me is " but perhaps I should begin with the story of how the fallen guardian spirit who became the keeper of gates of hell got his name."
This quotation intrigued me even more as a reader because of the words shou Lao used to speak.
3. Two memorable quotes from this book includes
"The legend lives on in the dragon horses of the kingdom of the wild horsemen. This much you all know" -shou Lao
This quotation is memorable because the audience he was talking to was spell bound.
"I have seen men break. You try to block their screams out your mind, but it's the poor horses that go mad with fear first.."-kan
This quotation is memorable because it made me feel sorry for kan having to deal with this.
If I could ask the author anything, I would ask him if he would consider making any more books because I would read them.
The thing I would change in the book is when the storyteller enters the book. I would put him at the start and narrate the whole book because I find him really intriguing.
December 11, 2013
Para empezar el título original no tiene nada que ver con él que está en español... ya desde ahí no es una buena señal D:
No lo califico como mala o muy buena lectura, es entretenido en pocas partes, confuso en algunas otras y sin duda me quedo a deber. Ya sé que no debo tener expectativas buenas o malas en los libros, pero desde que lo compré me imagine que la historia sería maravillosa, todo pintaba para ser así y no lo fue ni por asomo. Como digo tampoco es que sea realmente malo, pero pasa de largo.
Rokshan no destaco a mi parecer por ser un personaje realmente digno de llevar la carga de una historia, pero como digo eso es mi punto de vista. Simplemente creo que le falto fuerza para poder sobresalir. En cuanto a los demás personajes, la verdad es que no tuve ningún favorito o ninguno que odiará por ser malo o rebelde.
Empieza bastante bien, con el interés que da por seguir leyendo y obviamente llegar al fondo de por qué Rokshan es importante y qué hay con los jinetes salvajes que son una leyenda entre la sociedad, ya que según la historia los jinetes existieron hace muchos años y como en todo lo bueno, nunca falta el malvado de la historia que decide cambiar las cosas y de ahí se desatan más historias y "leyendas" que se supone solo son eso. Pero por situaciones curiosas del destino los hermanos Rokshan y An Lushan tienen que salir a sus respectivas misiones que pueden cambiar el curso de la historia y sus decisiones los llevarán a ser héroes o villanos.
Entretiene lo necesario para terminar el libro, pero al menos a mi no me agrado mucho el final, creo que quedo un poco "vacío" las últimas dos partes tienen la emoción suficiente para seguir leyendo pero que no atrapa como para sufrir cuando lo terminas o quedarse con la curiosidad de qué seguirá.
Lo recomiendo si les gustan las historias de fantasía, China y algunas criaturas mitológicas que hay en la historia, entretiene lo suficiente pero no más.
No lo califico como mala o muy buena lectura, es entretenido en pocas partes, confuso en algunas otras y sin duda me quedo a deber. Ya sé que no debo tener expectativas buenas o malas en los libros, pero desde que lo compré me imagine que la historia sería maravillosa, todo pintaba para ser así y no lo fue ni por asomo. Como digo tampoco es que sea realmente malo, pero pasa de largo.
Rokshan no destaco a mi parecer por ser un personaje realmente digno de llevar la carga de una historia, pero como digo eso es mi punto de vista. Simplemente creo que le falto fuerza para poder sobresalir. En cuanto a los demás personajes, la verdad es que no tuve ningún favorito o ninguno que odiará por ser malo o rebelde.
Empieza bastante bien, con el interés que da por seguir leyendo y obviamente llegar al fondo de por qué Rokshan es importante y qué hay con los jinetes salvajes que son una leyenda entre la sociedad, ya que según la historia los jinetes existieron hace muchos años y como en todo lo bueno, nunca falta el malvado de la historia que decide cambiar las cosas y de ahí se desatan más historias y "leyendas" que se supone solo son eso. Pero por situaciones curiosas del destino los hermanos Rokshan y An Lushan tienen que salir a sus respectivas misiones que pueden cambiar el curso de la historia y sus decisiones los llevarán a ser héroes o villanos.
Entretiene lo necesario para terminar el libro, pero al menos a mi no me agrado mucho el final, creo que quedo un poco "vacío" las últimas dos partes tienen la emoción suficiente para seguir leyendo pero que no atrapa como para sufrir cuando lo terminas o quedarse con la curiosidad de qué seguirá.
Lo recomiendo si les gustan las historias de fantasía, China y algunas criaturas mitológicas que hay en la historia, entretiene lo suficiente pero no más.
May 13, 2011
A really good first novel. Maybe a little over thought. I guess a good indication of how complicated it is going to be is the need to include a map and a list of characters at the outset. I found myself constantly referring to the map which broke the rhythm of the story a bit - and the map was only partially completed so I spent ages looking for places that were not even identified. Irritating.
The story is about a breed of Chinese horses which are "descended" from dragons and which will revert to dragons if ever evil is released into the world. Of course we have a Harry Potter type of hero and a Draco Malfoy kind of misguided baddy and the evil is released but all is well in the end but there are some surprising losses along the way.
In common with a lot of novels I found the first 1/4 of the book dreadfully slow but when we had got past most of the obligatory trek and got towards the revelations the story really moved on a pace. We were treated to some wonderful descriptions and superb settings. A great imagination and a top draw story from half way through. I was particularly pleased that the ending was complete but not completely happy.
Hopefully Peter Ward will write another novel - not a sequel but something similar.
The story is about a breed of Chinese horses which are "descended" from dragons and which will revert to dragons if ever evil is released into the world. Of course we have a Harry Potter type of hero and a Draco Malfoy kind of misguided baddy and the evil is released but all is well in the end but there are some surprising losses along the way.
In common with a lot of novels I found the first 1/4 of the book dreadfully slow but when we had got past most of the obligatory trek and got towards the revelations the story really moved on a pace. We were treated to some wonderful descriptions and superb settings. A great imagination and a top draw story from half way through. I was particularly pleased that the ending was complete but not completely happy.
Hopefully Peter Ward will write another novel - not a sequel but something similar.
September 25, 2012
why i decided to read this book: i read this book because my grandma got it for me for my birthday and i felt that i had to read it.
this book fits the male main character category.
my favorite quote from this book is:
the horse of heaven has come
open the far gates.
raise up my body, o beloved,
i go to the mountain of k'unlun.
the horse of heave has come,
mediator for the dragon.
he travels to the gate of heaven
and looks on the terrace of jade
something new i learned from this book: i learnt that 'li' is how how the chinese measure distance. 1 li is about 1,500 feet.
a setting that was interesting is the valley of the horsemen. this is interesting because it is where the legendary horsemen train their dragon horses.
this book fits the male main character category.
my favorite quote from this book is:
the horse of heaven has come
open the far gates.
raise up my body, o beloved,
i go to the mountain of k'unlun.
the horse of heave has come,
mediator for the dragon.
he travels to the gate of heaven
and looks on the terrace of jade
something new i learned from this book: i learnt that 'li' is how how the chinese measure distance. 1 li is about 1,500 feet.
a setting that was interesting is the valley of the horsemen. this is interesting because it is where the legendary horsemen train their dragon horses.
November 12, 2014
the 2 sons of a merchan end up mixed with a batle of a banished god to turn back horses into dragons and conque the world, while a the same time the people guarding the horses are in fight with the chinese King, and also some trouble with some forest people, and also some secret rabbit clan. May sound complicated but its really quite easy to follow the two path moving toward the story climax.
It the usual her journey story, the chosen one who will rule the horse clan when he has never even seen a horse. Of course he masters an art that usually takes years to just learns in a few days.
And the ending bi of just over the top, but still fun to read, but not more.
It the usual her journey story, the chosen one who will rule the horse clan when he has never even seen a horse. Of course he masters an art that usually takes years to just learns in a few days.
And the ending bi of just over the top, but still fun to read, but not more.
January 6, 2011
The story itself was alright and the characters were plentiful but there was just this something that didn't capture my sense of excitement.
The adventures that the two brothers went on was well described but I felt like it went on for too long and the story seemed to lose itself somewhere in the middle.
But all in all, the ending was fairly well done and left the audience feeling satisfied.
The adventures that the two brothers went on was well described but I felt like it went on for too long and the story seemed to lose itself somewhere in the middle.
But all in all, the ending was fairly well done and left the audience feeling satisfied.
August 30, 2012
Nachdem ich so verwirrt war weil alle irgendwie den gleichen Namen hatten und ich nach 100 Seiten noch nicht wusste worum es überhaupt geht habe ich abgebrochen und werde es auch nicht mehr weiterlesen. Und das passiert mir sehr selten.
August 17, 2011
This is the first book I've read set in Ancient China. I'd like to see a sequel, there are so many unanswered questions.
June 9, 2013
Overly complicated yet predictable. Not a good combination. Rather boring.
April 17, 2015
i think it has a good story mostly because I love dragons.
January 4, 2016
sorry, It just wasn't my cup of tea...
April 5, 2017
I think the plot and setting had a lot of potential, and is the kind of genre I would usually enjoy immensely. Dragons, gods, magical beings and evil Shadow lord; what more can you ask for! What let me down was the characters. They seemed very two dimensional, and very predictable. It felt hard to relate to their emotions, and occasionally the conversations between the characters felt forced and stilted. It was difficult for me to connect and relate, to feel empathy for their situation and dilemmas. As a debut novel, I think it's pretty well executed, but perhaps more depth and emotion, as well as character development throughout, would improve the story.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews