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Winterlands #1-2
Winterlands
A combination of the first two books in the Winterlands series.
DRAGONSBANE
An idealistic young prince convinces an aging warrior and a struggling witch to help him kill the dragon that is terrorizing his kingdom
As a vicious dragon stalks the Southlands, Crown Prince Gareth ventures to the forbidding North in search of the only man who can kill it. He is Lord Aversin, the Dragonsbane, whose dragon-slaying days have won him renown across the land. But when Gareth finds Lord Aversin, he discovers the mighty hero is squat and bespectacled, the ruler of a mud-village who admits that he killed the dragon not with a lance, but with ignoble poison. Still, he’ll have to do.
Gareth and Aversin set off in company with Jenny Waynest, a witch with great ambitions but disappointingly puny powers—a ragtag crew destined to become legendary, or die in the attempt.
DRAGONSHADOW
Lord John Aversin--with the help of his mageborn wife, Jenny Waynest-- has fought and defeated two dragons, earning the title of Dragonsbane. But there are creatures more terrifying than dragons. Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic--and the souls--of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. And now they've stolen John and Jenny's mageborn son, twelve-year-old Ian.
In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. But the demons have allies, too: a vast army poised to plunge the Realm into civil war. In the coming struggle, Morkeleb will sacrifice what he values most. Jenny will question everything she trusts and believes in. And John will embark on a perilous quest for the only things capable of defeating such powerful demons--even more powerful demons . . .
DRAGONSBANE
An idealistic young prince convinces an aging warrior and a struggling witch to help him kill the dragon that is terrorizing his kingdom
As a vicious dragon stalks the Southlands, Crown Prince Gareth ventures to the forbidding North in search of the only man who can kill it. He is Lord Aversin, the Dragonsbane, whose dragon-slaying days have won him renown across the land. But when Gareth finds Lord Aversin, he discovers the mighty hero is squat and bespectacled, the ruler of a mud-village who admits that he killed the dragon not with a lance, but with ignoble poison. Still, he’ll have to do.
Gareth and Aversin set off in company with Jenny Waynest, a witch with great ambitions but disappointingly puny powers—a ragtag crew destined to become legendary, or die in the attempt.
DRAGONSHADOW
Lord John Aversin--with the help of his mageborn wife, Jenny Waynest-- has fought and defeated two dragons, earning the title of Dragonsbane. But there are creatures more terrifying than dragons. Demonspawn from a dark dimension have learned to drink the magic--and the souls--of mages and dragons alike, turning their victims into empty vessels. And now they've stolen John and Jenny's mageborn son, twelve-year-old Ian.
In desperation, John seeks the help of the eldest and strongest dragon: Morkeleb the Black. But the demons have allies, too: a vast army poised to plunge the Realm into civil war. In the coming struggle, Morkeleb will sacrifice what he values most. Jenny will question everything she trusts and believes in. And John will embark on a perilous quest for the only things capable of defeating such powerful demons--even more powerful demons . . .
513 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Hambly
204 books1,580 followersaka Barbara Hamilton
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 14, 2020
Review of Book#1, Dragonsbane https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review of Book#2 Dragonshadow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review of Book#2 Dragonshadow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 2, 2018
Rereading the two novels in this edition of the Winterlands series confirmed the excellence of Drangonsbane and the let down that Dragonshadow produced.
March 21, 2014
Winterlands is a special collection for the Science Fiction Book Club of two separate, but related, books: Dragonsbane and Dragonshadow. I think that Dragonsbane is pretty amazing, either 4.5 or a full 5 stars worth of great writing. Dragonshadow I do not like near as much, probably because of how dark things got. I'm not sure if the author decided that she didn't like these characters anymore and wanted to destroy them as much as possible without actually doing so, or if she wrote herself into a corner and wasn't able to get the characters out of it except by the skin of their teeth, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I give Dragonshadow 2.5 or 3 stars. There are other books in what has now become a series, but I think I'm gonna give it a pass after the way Dragonshadow ended. Dragonsbane is still great, though.
July 24, 2015
The witch, Jenny(short, not really pleasant to look upon, and not the most powerful) makes do with what she's got! The hero, John ( Lord of a small community in the snowy North country, and Dragonslayer) Has his own problems and, certainly, doesn't want to go slaying any more dragons!
A young dandy named Gareth arrives with word from the King that he needs Johns services to, you guessed it, kill a dragon for him.
Seeing the end to some of his Lordly problems, if he does this, John, Jenny. Gareth and a band of others go to see the king.
The story continues with many more witches, dragons, and other folks getting involved. Good folks, bad folks, the whole lot.
I enjoyed reading this book.
A young dandy named Gareth arrives with word from the King that he needs Johns services to, you guessed it, kill a dragon for him.
Seeing the end to some of his Lordly problems, if he does this, John, Jenny. Gareth and a band of others go to see the king.
The story continues with many more witches, dragons, and other folks getting involved. Good folks, bad folks, the whole lot.
I enjoyed reading this book.
January 15, 2014
I just couldn't with this book. The writing style was not appalling, yet the story would not wrap it's claws around me. I found it very unappealing. Although I tried to wait it out to page 100 in reality I couldn't get past page 23.
March 21, 2008
A high adventure tale of dragon fighting.
November 23, 2024
First book, excellent and beautiful and a fun time. Second book, boring, weird, perverted, tragedy shitshow
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews