The Dragon of Despair

Firekeeper Saga #3

by Jane Lindskold

Raised by smart, language-using wolves, far from humans, then brought back to the court of Hawk Haven, young Firekeeper had to learn to cope with human society. Fortunately, for one raised amidst intelligent pack animals, the intrigues of humans are neither complex nor wholly unfamiliar.

Now Melina Shield, the beautiful, unscrupulous, and thoroughly discredited sorceress whose power-hungry intrigues have already made so much trouble for Firekeeper, has once more used her power to cloud men's minds, and has induced the ruler of New Kelvin to marry her. This is bad news on a lot of fronts.

It's particularly bad news for Firekeeper. Melina hasn't abandoned her schemes to gain power through the use of forbidden ancient sorcery. And the leaders of the royal beasts who watch over this world have given Firekeeper--and her intelligent wolf companion Blind Seer--the responsibility for stopping her.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Magic, Wolves, Adult, Dragons

768 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Jane Lindskold is the author of more than twenty published novels, including the eight volume Firekeeper Saga (beginning with Through Wolf’s Eyes), Child of a Rainless Year (a contemporary fantasy set in Las Vegas, New Mexico), and The Buried Pyramid (an archeological adventure fantasy set in 1880's Egypt).

Lindskold is also the author of the “Breaking the Wall” series, which begins with Thirteen Orphans, then continues in Nine Gates and Five Odd Honors. Her most recent series begins with Artemis Awakening, released in May of 2014. Lindskold has also had published over sixty short stories and numerous works of non-fiction, including a critical biography of Roger Zelazny, and articles on Yeats and Synge.

She has collaborated with several other SF/F writers, including Roger Zelazny, for whom, at his request, she posthumously finished his novels Donnerjack and Lord Demon. She has also collaborated with David Weber, writing several novellas and two YA novels set in his popular ”Honorverse.” She wrote the short story “Servant of Death” with Fred Saberhagen.

Charles de Lint, reviewing Changer, praised "Lindskold's ability to tell a fast-paced, contemporary story that still carries the weight and style of old mythological story cycles."[1] Terri Windling called Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls "a complex, utterly original work of speculative fiction." DeLint has also stated that “Jane Lindskold is one of those hidden treasures of American letters; a true gem of a writer who simply gets better with each book.”

Lindskold was born in 1962 at the Columbia Hospital for Women, the first of four siblings and grew up in Washington, D.C. and Chesapeake Bay. Lindskold's father was head of the Land and Natural Resources Division, Western Division of the United States Justice Department and her mother was also an attorney. She studied at Fordham, where she received a Ph. D. in English, concentrating on Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern British Literature; she successfully defended her Ph.D. on her 26th birthday.

Lindskold lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband, archaeologist Jim Moore.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series!! It's so very good! This third installment really is more of the conclusion to the events in the second book. In fact, I am really curious now to see what direction the remaining books in the series will go considering where this one ends. I do hope that more of the mystery of Firekeeper's past will be answered. I really am having a truly great time reading these books! Lindskold's characters are wonderful, lifelike creations!

[Jag · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, but DoD is far too similar to the previous book. When you read it right after Wolf's Head, Wolf's heart a lot of the situtations are just far too similar. Though it's not a bad book, I'd suggest waiting a month or so before reading it if you've just read the previous book.

[ambyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a highpoint for the series. This retreads too much territory from book two while being worse-paced; too much of the plot consists of the protagonists going in circles killing time until the antagonist is ready to strike. Also, I simply don't buy the reasons for Citrine being brought alone.

I'll probably read the next one, but I hope it's willing to go somewhere new.

[Georgann · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a long book! I love our characters, but man! That took forever to read.

[Dallass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh. This series gives me the warm fuzzies each time I finish reading a new book. I adore Firekeeper and Blind Seer. Their relationship is extraordinary, and I just want to learn more about the Royal Beasts. Side note: I think Firekeeper’s memory of her family might be coming back to her 🥳

In The Dragon of Despair all your favourites are back, with Derian, Edlin, Doc, Elise and Grateful Peace accompanying Firekeeper and Blind Seer on their newest quest as they race to stop the sneaky bitch herself, Melina - who has abandoned her hopes at gaining the throne in their own little part of the world and married the ruler of a neighbouring kingdom- before she can gain more power. And no, the title isn’t being flippant - there is an actual dragon!

The story itself is (mostly) fast paced, and sucks you in very quickly. However it does suffer from what I like to call large fantasy book syndrome, which means it does waffle on a points and can change POVs way to often for me at times. Still when I reached the final scene, I felt sad that I was saying goodbye to these characters again.

Now I need to did through my bookcases to find the next book 😄

4 stars 🌟

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought to myself, there is really no way this series can keep up with itself. The first and second books were just fabulous. But, I was happily surprised that "The Dragon of Despair" kept up with the expectations I have come to have for this series. I swear I thought by now this series would have been ruined by some goo goo eyes sword romance as many fantasies tend to. But the intrigue the plots and the easy way the characters interact with each other remained. So really if you enjoyed the first two Books "Through Wolf's Eyes", and "Wolf's Head Wolf's Heart", you will really like this third installment.

[Caitlin Gonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel a little weird starting the first blog about this series with the third book. However, I started this series over a year ago, and I just keep finding other books more interesting. This isn't a bad series, it's actually quite good, but I just lose interest with long dialogues and less action.

The third book starts with Firekeeper and Derian returning to Bardenville to place grave markers where Prince Barden and his community lost their lives. The two discover that a new expedition has been undertaken and the plan is to re-build. Firekeeper's wolf family and the rest of the Royal Beasts feel threatened and violated. How does Firekeeper manage to stop a human-animal war while also staying true to her family?

On the other side of Firekeeper's family are the humans. They know her as Lady Blysse, and when she asks King Tedric for aide with New Bardenville, he proposes a bargain. If she will return to New Kelvin and pursue Melina Shield, then he will handle New Bardenville. Feeling that she has no choice, Firekeeper along with Derian, Lady Elise, Wendee, Edlin, Sir Jared, Grateful Peace, and nine year old Citrine Shield will cross the border to discover what sorcery Lady Melina is conducting.

The beginning did pull me in because I was interested in seeing the interaction between Derian and Firekeeper's wolf family. However, before that could happen the two face the New Bardenville and I was antsy. I honestly thought that the confrontation would be more action. That it would provide more "badassery" from Firekeeper. Unfortunately, it was talk, talk, and more talk. The series seems to follow around political discussions more so than violent actions. It's a medieval timeline with more information/relationship dumping. This made the book slow down over time, then it picks back up towards the end.

The evil one, Melina, is again our antagonist in this book. She has made herself close to The Healed One, the ruler of New Kelvin. However, there are some in the New Kelvinese government who doubt her sincerity. Melina is the perfect Lady Villain. She is poise, manners, etiquette, abusive, conniving, and a witch. I saw on other reviews that readers wanted to see her more fleshed out. I don't think you can really flesh out someone who's greatest desire is simply more magic/power. I think Jane Lindskold created a great villainess.

I did take a star off because the character I wished to see fleshed out was Firekeeper. In all three books, she doesn't seem to develop much. Her education with her human family doesn't seem to grow and expand. I also would think she would be able to speak better after being in their company. However, she still seems underdeveloped. Lady Elise even mentions that she is still around a year and a half in human years. But when the reader sees into Firekeeper;s thoughts and her dialogue with Blind Seer, then we see that she is actually more of a teenager/young adult. She still makes mistakes. I just wish she was more compatible with her human family.

Overall I rate this 4 out of 5 stars. Stay tuned for the 4th novel next month.

https://caitlinmariegonya.blogspot.co...

[James]

Raised by smart, language-using wolves, far from humans, then brought back to the court of Hawk Haven, young Firekeeper had to learn to cope with human society. Fortunately, for one raised amidst intelligent pack animals, the intrigues of humans are neither complex nor wholly unfamiliar.Now Melina Shield, the beautiful, unscrupulous, and thoroughly discredited sorceress whose power-hungry intrigues have already made so much trouble for Firekeeper, has once more used her power to cloud men's minds, and has induced the ruler of New Kelvin to marry her. This is bad news on a lot of fronts.It's particularly bad news for Firekeeper. Melina hasn't abandoned her schemes to gain power through the use of forbidden ancient sorcery. And the leaders of the royal beasts who watch over this world have given Firekeeper--and her intelligent wolf companion Blind Seer--the responsibility for stopping her.

[Maria Sharpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like the ending was very rushed. there was a lot of the protagonists just sitting on their hands until all of a sudden they decided to just go stop the villain. no build-up or anything. the way the main villain died was also a disappointment since she was portrayed as a calculating magic user. the author could have taken any number of ways to make her demise more exciting but just didn't. didnt do much with the dragon when it was freed. barely touched on the political mess that would have ensued with leaving citrine in new kelvin (nevermind taking her along in the first place) when asked how toriovico was completely mind controlled they gave a weak excuse and just moved on. by far, the weakest book in the whole series.

[lostinabookbrb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is going strong with The Dragon of Despair. It continues the adventures of Firekeeper and the gang returning to Dragon's Breath. While the first two novels could be read as stand alones, this novel is (in my mind) best read when you know the background information. I continue to enjoy the character development especially that of Citrine. Also the continuation of the series plot versus the singular book plot is well done.

The single star off is that I kinda wish more time was spent fleshing Melina out a little more. However, this is a rather packed book so I could understand if less time was spent on Melina's perspective of things for that reason.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series, but I have read this book twice and it is the hardest one for me to recall overall out of the entire series. There were some great moments and characters, but it didn't stick with me at all the first time when I read it. I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars- I'm kind of torn on this one.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was good, in a way. I enjoyed the story, but it just... drags. She spends a little too much time on building up to the issue, when it really just gets hard to read/boring because there is too much uneeded segues.

[LinHigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strang cultures ,furry friends, loyal companions.

The action is non-stop. The wonder of how the heck there going to get out of the fix their in is great. And if the surprises are wonderful.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to be pleased with the growth of the characters in this series. If you like fantasy wolves and the idea of someone who can communicate with them, give this series a try.

[Cori Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyed this third book, one of my favorites from the series.

[Lindsey Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that this was a very long read has nothing to do with the quality of the book, because as with the first two volumes, this is a solid, engaging fantasy. Lindskold's world is not an unusual one, although New Kelvinese society becomes more intriguing on further inspection and the Royal Beasts continue to provide interesting wrinkles and an evolving multi-book conflict. Rather, the pleasure is in the characters and their adventures.

The book begins with one plot and continues with another (which isn't as disjointed as it sounds, but the first plot is obviously intended to set up for book four). Firekeeper, raised by Royal Beasts but now a member of Hawk Haven noble society - almost - must deal with the conflict between the animal kin who raised her and Hawk Haven settlers moving onto their turf. The ambivalence that Firekeeper feels throughout these interactions is compelling, and as ever, Lindskold's animal societies are well-rounded. I particularly appreciate the fact that she pays attention to the social aspects of wolves, often drawing parallels between their manueverings and those of human society. This kind of subtlety I find is lacking sometimes even in werewolf stories, where the participants are in theory even more human.

The second plot picks up with the mental illness of young Citrine, abandoned by her sorcerous mother Melina but still in her thrall. A handpicked group heads into New Kelvin to bring about a confrontation between the two and hopefully free Citrine from her mother's domination. Again, Citrine's evolution is compelling here. It's dysfunction well portrayed. Lindskold gets deep inside her devotion, and it's a mildly creepy place to be.

Unfortunately, I think the weight of the previous two volumes got in the way of this one: the book is slow off the mark, taking a long time to get past some minor info-dumping (not too bad, but certainly not as well done as in previous volumes) and a lot of characters meeting other characters and talking to each other. It's good dialogue, but there's a lot of it. The middle sections of the story progress steadily, laying groundwork for the future without feeling unfinished.

Then, later on, it gets uneven again. Now, in fairness, I was having some issues making myself read (not a reflection on the book, just an expression of my headspace) at the time, so perhaps how I was reading the book exacerbated it, but it seemed like large chunks of in-story time passed with nothing happening, which - while it was quick to read; Lindskold doesn't waste time in filler - felt disjointed and strange. It was hard to credit the characters would just sit there. I really wanted to know a bit more about what was going on that got glossed. That is a tribute to how fun they are to follow, though!

As we approach the end, some plot points aren't properly foreshadowed. This isn't a huge deal - it's not deus ex machina, just details - but it's one of my pet peeves.

On the other hand (paw!), Firekeeper's dreams build nicely throughout, culminating in an explanation of their true nature that is very satisfying. Early in the book, I had issues with the fact that Firekeeper's evolution as a human - deftly handled in the first two books, neither slow nor fast - seemed to have stagnated. This isn't unrealistic, of course - people hit plateaus - but it was frustrating not to see her progress further in her understanding of the human world around her. However, by the end of the book, I would have to say that I feel this objection was met. Firekeeper may not have come out and realized the moral of the story, but I as a reader felt its impact.

This one gets four stars as a continuation, but I might only give it 3.5 stars as a standalone book. It's still very readable that way (which is quite a feat, given how much happened in those books!), but the flaws become more objectionable. If you've not read them, pick up Through Wolf's Eyes and Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart first.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firekeeper and her wolf companion must keep a neighboring queen from unleashing forbidden magic.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the third in a series of fantasy novels. The books are connected, but the plots are self-contained (i.e., this is not one continuous story spread out over several books). Firekeeper, one of the two principal protagonists, is a feral child raised by wolves and recently reintroduced into human society. The other main character, Derian Carter, is Firekeeper's first and best friends in the human world. The plot is, at its root, fairly routine fantasy: a group of adventurous types must go on a mission into not-completely-friendly territory to prevent a terrible magical thing from happening. But I'm not going to describe the plot any farther than that here, because that's not what's interesting about these books and why I read past the first one.
The interesting thing about this book (and the previous two) is the mix of adventure and political intrigue. In a lot of ways, this book is kind of like a "beginner's" (referrring to the reader) political intrigue novel. Because of Firekeeper's background, she sort of acts as an interpreter for the reader. Since she was raised by pack animals, she actually has a surprisingly good grasp of social and political hierarchies and people's places within them. However, since she was not raised among humans, she also has an outsider's viewpoint and doesn't always understand the particulars of how human society and hierarchies work at first. This is in fact, the most clever aspect of the book.
Otherwise, The Dragon of Despair and its two predecessors (Through Wolf's Eyes and Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart) are reasonably good, but not great. The plots and characters, while not completely hackneyed, are also not wildly original. If you've read a decent amount of fantasy, this will all be familiar ground. The writing itself is also good not great - it does its job well, but that's it. These books are reasonably good, diverting reads - nothing more, nothing less.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point, I am somewhat regretting having picked up free copies of the first five books in this series. Having done so, I feel compelled to read them all. Unfortunately, I am not any more enthused by this series than I was at the beginning, perhaps less so. For whatever reason, the characters and plots have never particularly interested in me.

My complaints here are similar to my complaints for the two previous books in the series. First of all, for an epic fantasy series, there is remarkably little action. Second of all, in addition to there being a dearth of action, romance lacks almost entirely as well. Without either of these, getting any real excitement going is tough. Not that there cannot be good books without these things, however, I do not think the writing and plotting are good enough to carry the reader without them in this case.

Speaking of romance, I am now three books into a six book series and there has been absolutely no romance, except for one mutual affection (upon which no action has been taken beyond talk), one unrequited crush, and some action for Melina, the bad guy. What the heck? This pretty much disproves one stereotype, the one that women are always more interested in romance than men. The Wheel of Time series has tons of romance in it, whereas, this one, penned by a woman, focuses instead on politics.

Two (maybe three, since, at that point, I might as well complete the series, books to go. I sure hope they get more interesting soon!

[Taylor Alcantar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this book series and plan on finishing it but this book was a test to my patience. Everything happened at a snails pace and left with, of course, so many cliffhangers.

Firekeeper returns to her wolf family who are angered by a new group of humans encroaching on their territory. Firekeeper goes to the king who offers a trade, he will have the humans removed if she goes back to New Kelvin to help Citrine confront her mother, the only way they believe she will be able to move on from the ordeals her mother put her through. Maybe the reason why I didn't like this book as much as the others is because that just seems nonsensical, lets send this traumatized girl back to the women who caused all her problems?

Anyway it was still solid and I liked the evolution of Edlin's character who I think is very interesting. There was plenty of good writing and dialogue it was just hard to get to it with 750+ pages!

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great addition to a new series with an fantasy world where some animals are more than they seem. Some of the animals, in particular a pack of wolves, saved a baby from a burning village and with help from an unidentified source, inducted her into their pack. Now humans have come in search of the village and its inhabitants, which leads the protagonist to leave behind her forest home to learn the strange language and customs of these two-leggers.

Driven by politics almost exclusively, this dryness is easily offset by the protagonist's trials and travels while learning to speak/read/dress and otherwise act human while making new friends and enemies in the process.

Sadly, the series seems to peter out toward the middle of book 3, which I barely finished.

[Cayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

the 3rd book in a series about a young girl who was raised by Royal (intelligent) Wolves. This book takes place mostly in the country of New Kelvin (a neighboring country to the one the main characters are from and the setting of the first two books). Going to a new country refreshed the books for me since I enjoyed their previous adventure in New Kelvin. These aren’t your typical “girl raised by wolves’ books. A nice and complex story that would be good read in the series or even as a standalone novel. At 500+ pages, not a book for everyone.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love how this book ended. It left off with Firekeeper and Blind Seer leaving to return to the pack, which leads me to believe that we won't be seeing too much of the Hawk Haven characters. In that case, I appreciate the tying up of loose ends here even more. And with the plan Sir Jared has that he told Elise about, it seems their romance may work out after all. Maybe. Hopefully. I do hope it does. I find myself cheering for those two a lot.

[Viridian5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot’s involving and the book reads fast. There’s action, intrigue, and character development. I’m definitely going on to the next one, The Buried Pyramid. Yet this series is atypical by my usual standards of enjoying a book because usually there’s at least one character I come to really love. Three books through, that still hasn’t happened here. Most of them are interesting enough, yet I haven’t become attached. I’m reading purely for plotting.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting plot and better character development. Sadly, I haven't seem much development in Lindskol's writing, but that's not entirely surprising. You follow lots of different characters, and it just might be too many; the timeline starts to get overlapped, especially during the climax and so many different things are happening at once. It starts to get a bit confusing. But that's a minor detail. Overall, though, I enjoyed it.

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A continuation of the series, but somewhat disappointing. Only minor characters are furthered and the main ones are holding relatively fast. Firekeeper is fearing a war between Men and Beasts, but diplomacy averts it in this book. Worth it if you enjoy spending time in the world, but seems to be in a holding pattern for the overall story arc.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, I actually have no idea how this book was, because it was impossible for me to get past the first 50 pages. I'm a fast reader and usually don't like stopping in the middle, but it was boring and yet confusing at the same time. It probably didn't help that I didn't read the previous books in the series, but seriously. It should have a more interesting start.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melina has used her power to marry the ruler of New Kelvin and is planning further treachery. Firekeeper is sent with her friends to stop Melina, and reunite her with her youngest daughter in hopes of helping Citrine recover after her ordeal with the pirates. Wisdom of animals (Firekeeper's wolf lore) and humans (I really enjoy Grateful Peace's character) rise to the top.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane, you must have had a very hard childhood. The picture of a child under the thrall of her mother and how she escaped and then was enthralled again, is spell binding. You have given me an insight into the children I work with who've been hurt by their parents emotionally. What a terrible, beautiful book.

Thank you.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trilogy was long and the books were large. Not large nor long enough in my opinion. We need more Firekeeper. Beautifully written with a justified, vengeful ending to their stories, I was not disappointed with any part of this sequel and really really wish Mrs. Lindskold would give us more.

Edit: I just realized the series is indeed not over. Here I go to buy books.