Secret of the Dragon

Dragonships of Vindras #2

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

New gods are challenging the old high god, Torval, for rulership of the world. The only way to stop these brash interlopers lies with the five Bones of the Vektia Dragons--the five primal dragons hidden away by the dragon goddess, Vindrash, during the creation of the world. Without these dragons, one of the new gods, Aelon, cannot seize power. The only hope of the Vindrasi lies in finding the dragon bones before the followers of Aelon can use them to destroy the old gods. But the Vindrasi gods have a traitor in their midst… In the land of mortals, Raegar, a Vindraisi turned Aelon warrior-priest, searches for the spirit bones. The gods have a champion of their own--Skylan Ivorson, sea-raider and high chief of the Vindrasi clans, and sworn enemy to Raegar. But Skylan is a prisoner on his own ship. The ship's dragon, Kahg, has vanished and some believe he is dead. Skylan and his people are taken as captives to Sinaria, where they must fight in a game known as the Para Dix. The fates of men and gods and are dragons are rushing headlong to destruction. Skylan can stop the calamity, but only if he discovers the secret of the dragon.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragonlance, Fiction, Dragons, High Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2010

About the author

Margaret 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.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, maybe even an improvement over the previous volume. I'll keep reading, see where all this questing is headed.

Though to tell the truth, I think Aylaen's tolerance of Treia's constant treachery is stretching all credulity.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I wasn't that big a fan of the first book of this series, Bones of the Dragon. A large part of that was due to just how completely unlikeable the main character Skylan is. Secret of the Dragon is, in my opinion, miles better because of the transformation Skylan undergoes. In fact, it's so much better that, in retrospect, it makes me look much more favorably on Bones of the Dragon. The things Skylan and his warriors go through make up a sort of modern Spartacus adventure, and it's a fun read. The storyline with the new character Chloe is a sort of cliche, but it's handled well enough to make it enjoyable and even touching anyway. The last hundred pages or so are so thrilling I could barely make myself put the book down. Whereas after reading Bones of the Dragon, I was considering abandoning this planned six-volume story before it got started, after reading Secret of the Dragon I find I can't wait for the next installment.

[Ben Lund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a decent book in it's own right, still I can't shake the feeling that I should have been reading this when I was 14. The authors are a great gateway for teens into the bloated fantasy genre. My only complaint is how NICE the good guys are. There are certain characters who continually thwart the protaganist and mess things up, but the main characters continually forgive them for one reason or another. This book contained 3 separate times, where I yelled, in my head, "Just kill them already."

[Amanda Galves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's my love of Raistlin, Tanis, Haplo and Fizban/Zifnab. But this feels.... copied. Obviously, I know it's not. But this series feels like the bastard child of Paladine and Freya. I love Weiss and Hickman. They both instilled me with the loyalty of Cameron, the wonder of Tas, the love of Fizban, and the honor of Sturm. They've taught me that intelligence must be balanced with humility through Raist. It was very hard getting through the first book, as arrogance was the way of the main character. I genuinely disliked Skylan. Even knowing he's the hero. I couldn't stand the obnoxious brat. I mean really. Who gets pissed off when a woman doesn't return ones ardor? Rapists. that's who. In this book.... It was an easier read. Mostly because Skylan finally grew up and stopped being such a... narcissistic sociopath. As always with the tales of these 2 literary geniuses, one must remember that each character needs room... And time... to grow.

[Rhonda Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, like its prequel, is full of action and adventure with well-drawn characters . I like that the battle scenes are not over done. I think you might be able to understand what's going on if you hadn't read the first book, but you'll miss the extent to which Skyland has grown as a person if you haven't read Bones of the Dragon. (Possible spoiler coming next, but maybe not) The novel ends with the heroes in the middle of danger, so you have to read the third book (Rage of the Dragon) to find out what happens to them.

[KayDee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am really sad to say I got bored with this book! I love the world making and enjoyed seeing the strength and weakness of The Sinaria. I enjoyed reading Skylan and Aylaen’s growth, their eyes are opening up to new possibilities!!

However, the book crawls through the information. It’s slow pace has me falling asleep and the treachery between characters is poor. Treia and Raegar are two character I am constantly rolling my eyes at.

I did enjoy reading how horrible Aelon is...he makes Troval look like a saint!

[Victor Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. I love playing the Lord of the Rings soundtrack while I read it. I just get lost. I recently sold a roof to one of Tracy and Margaret’s collaborators, Richard gain. Not essential, but I had to share; anyway, this series is very cool. I wish there were more world-building concerning Sinaria and the empress. And Zahakis, and well, I eat more lol Id watch an animated series in a heartbeat

[Jonas Salonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow. This was even better than the first one! The characters develop really well and the plot is actually great. The story progresses nicely and I can't wait to start the third book.

Again, this is not high literature but really nicely written fantasy between the realism of Abercrombie and the teen fantasy of the original Dragon Lance books.

Recommended!

[Chet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues the strong character growth of the main protagonist (Skylan). You really want to root for him. I quite liked the Roman-inspired country where this book takes place though the Para Dix game construct was a bit boring and frankly could have been skipped. Looking forward to how the series concludes.

[Derek Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this story continues it only gets better. Very heartfelt moments - great leaps of growth with true turmoil as the catalyst. I cried a few times for sure, and was overjoyed a few times as well. It's totally got me pulled in and I will be continuing this series.

[Hämy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tykkäsin tästä edeltäjäänsä enemmän.
Tokikaan toisessa osassa ei tarvitse kuvailua yhtä paljon kuin ykkösessä, ja se varmasti vaikuttaa kerronnan etenemiseen...

[Roos Depla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek getuigt van een levendige verbeelding en eindigt met een ware clifhanger

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

great stuff

[Malinda Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thankful Skylan FINALLY pulled his head out of his arse...took long enough.

[Andrew Bylicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid high fantasy experience from the master world builders, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

[Peter E. Frangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

And here is Book Two in the Dragonships of Vindras series by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. I've sort of been wondering how well this series is doing for them. The authors have been awfully silent about it and any news as to when to expect a third book has been kept behind closed doors. I know they each have other books and projects they are working on, but I still can't help being a bit curious...mhh....

I also want to mention that I tear into this book quite a bit, but still gave it a 3 out of 5 stars...so please don't think that I have a low-level of respect for this novel or for the talent of the authors. That wouldn't be the truth and I'm simply trying to be honest with my criticism.

Anyway, let's get to the dirty. Secret of the Dragon. More Dragon's, more Ogres and more annoying characters than in the last book even. Do I mean this in a bad way? Well...not completely. You see, in the first volume Bones of the Dragon, the only character that actually kept you sane when you were reading was Skylan's best friend, Garn. Everybody else was just...just too one-dimensional. Well, let's just say that Garn was not a major character in this most recent volume and so all that is left to us are the characters we didn't really like in the first place. This makes starting the book a bit of a challenge. Do I really want to read an entire book about selfish, obnoxious and immature Skylan Iverson without his friend Garn, the only person that brought any sense into these people's minds? It's a toss-up, because either Skylan will change - because he has no choice - or he'll completely fail and so will the book because he doesn't change at all.

I stuck with it. Don't ask me how I conjured the strength to, but I did stick with it. And I am glad to report that, yes, the authors were actually able to accomplish something about these characters that I had thought were completely lost. Honestly, I believed that they had created characters that were absolutely non-salvageable from page one of book one. I hate sounding harsh, but I do this to emphasize the fact that somehow, through either pure talent or very good planning, they were capable of taking a character like Skylan and actually make you think, "Alright, I might care about this guy," by the end of the second book. That, my friends, is saying something even if there isn't much more to say.

Here are a couple more flaws (in my opinion) before I get to the strong points:

1. I hate the villains. I know, that's what you're supposed to think, right? Well, I think that depends on why you hate them. Think of all your favorite villains...you love the fact that you hate what they do. You think of them and even though you want them to lose, you really think that they are pretty awesome. The Joker. Maleficent. Khan. Darth Vader, etc...These villains, in this book, are just there to fill in the space. They're what I call the 'Page Flippers', the ones that have no other purpose than to be despised and introduce the next challenge. You're happy to get rid of them so you don't need to read about them anymore. Sorry if I'm offending anybody, but that all I have to say about it.

2. The story is a bit clishe...or at least it's a bit too popular lately. Can a story about slaves and Gladiators trying to escape or overpower their captors become a bit too predictable? Anyone? Wait, let me think.... How many stories have gladiators in them? Lots. How many stories have dragons in them? Lots, right? Does combining the two make it more exciting, or original? (You reluctantly say...) No. It doesn't.

Some of the good:

1. As I mentioned before, the character's have been salvaged. If you disliked the first book because of the characters alone, you will be greatly surprised by this one. If you liked the characters in the first book, then you will love them now. I categorize myself with the first group, and I need to be honest and fair when I say that the authors did a terrific job at turning the ugly into the good. Props on that.

2. It's well written. It's not poetic and nothing is described to the point that you see it exactly the way the author sees it, but it works very well. It leaves lots to your imagination while still leading you along the path of the story. I like that. I like that a lot, actually. I feel like I'm given freedom to walk the world they have created and left to my own musings. Of course, the main details are given, but most of what surrounds those are for you to fill in the blanks, and that is pretty cool.

Conclusion:

I miss The Deathgate Cycle, but there's nothing I can do about that. Trying to find a hint of that in these books, however, was a mistake. Don't try to quench that hunger for Haplo and his dog through Skylan. It'll never happen. Taken separately though, the Dragonships of Vindras are already showing a lot more promise than when only the first book was out. So, if you're a fan of Margaret Weis or Tracy Hickman, give it a go. You've never read their work before, follow my suggestion from an earlier review and read The Deathgate Cycle instead.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is of bit of an improvement over the first. There is less time wasting with the world building and the main character matures into something likeable. But there are still points that drag it down. Aylaen is unbelievably stupid as she always trusts her sister who is clearly acting like a selfish bitch. And the map at the beginning is near useless. Almost all of the places marked on it do not appear in the book. Even the capital of the Empire of Oran is not on it and that is the main setting of the story!

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that Weis and Hickman have always been the gold standard to which I compare all fantasy books I read. Afterall, these are the writers that got me to read in the first place. I have followed them for years. I have taken Tracy's Writing Seminars and have become very well acquinted with his art of story development. I also have the priveldge of calling him friend, which I am aware does bias my review a little. He is a master of world building and a "craftsman" of story. He is a Story Keeper unparalleled in imagination. Margaret as the Wordsmith has an eloquence of language and skill with writing that is beautiful and gripping. The two together in my opinion are the McCartney and Lenon of modern fantasy!

I have found their writing to have matured greatly as time has gone by. This is an advantage as well as a weakness. Compare Tanis (from Dragonlance) to Skylan for example. While are very different characters, they have many similarities. Tanis is a head-strong youth (for a half-elf) full of grand ideals and sense of guilt, but we see through his eyes as he is growing up. Skylan is very similar, being young, making mistakes, with hidden talents that slowly uncover. But our view of the characters is very different. With Tanis, it feels as if we are learning with him, Skylan on the other hand, we see as a foolhardy youth who just does not get it. In other words, Tanis is viewed as if he is a peer, Skylan is viewed as if you are older than him looking down. You can see the age of the writers has changed how they look at their characters. In some ways this has brought a great deal of depth and meaning to their character driven stories, in other ways, as much as I love seeing the characters grow, I miss being able to grow with them rather than cheering them on from the finish line.

I must confess I was waiting throughout the first book for Skylan to just grow up. It left me, as it did other reviewers questioning whether this series was going to be worth it or not. This book changes this character. It seems failure and slavery has given him a piece of humility that the reader has been hoping for. Not only for this character but for Aylean as well, whom I suspect will be playing an ever increasing role as the series progresses. The story while following a war between gods is decided by the choices of the characters that follow them more than it is driven by any external force on them. This is what I have come to enjoy about this series. The fact that it is vikings vs greeks is meaningless to me so long as I can build friendships with the characters along the way. I will definitely be continuing this series.

[Liam Kumher · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Complete spoiler, done for school-

The main character is Skylan, son of the Torgun chief, which is a clan of the Vindrasi people. After sailing out to go to war three dragon ships are sent off course in a storm sent by the gods. Skylan's ship makes land at the Dragon Isles, where a god makes his lies the truth and causes him to choose to save either the life of the woman he loves or his best friend. After their initial ordeal they are caught off guard and enslaved to be taken back to the capitol of their captors where they are forced to fight in an arena for the enjoyment of the masses. A creature from the world of the fae hunts down Skylan in the arena. After the Torgun fight off the creature they become heroes. A traitorous sister of one of them tries to have them all killed for her benefit. The assassination attempt is foiled and the Torgun warriors prepare to escape, meanwhile Skylan saves the life of their captor as he grieves for the loss of his sickly daughter. To repay his debt he agrees to help them save a lost friends soul and escape, after stopping the traitor and retrieving one of the Vektan dragon bones that can summon a dragon of creation that can't be controlled. All the while ogres are about to invade and complicate the situation.

People who would enjoy this are people who like fantasy incorporated into a historically realistic setting of our history, as well as those who enjoy great character development. This book uses factions based on those from our history, such as vikings and romans, while including their own ideas and additions. The authors do an exceptionally well job of working mythological and religious things into physical encounters that affect the story while not being its main focus. As you read through the books the characters realistically change based on what they experience, many dynamic characters.

I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the characters advance with the plot that takes place in a world with a twist to seamlessly fit magic into the world. It has satisfying character development that easily shows how they have changed over time, though some characters are stubborn and change little because of it. There are also moments that seem to take your breath away or forces you to slow down and just think on what just happened. Some of these sad and others happy or unexpected things that really make this book shine.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I hadn't read the previous book, I doubt I would have made it through the first third of this one. It starts off very slow, sort of tying off the plot from the first book, and then trying to set up for its own plot. So, that's a lot of plot management, not a lot of things actually happening or even some meaningful character development. Once it does get started, it's still less than impressive. (It sounds like I hated the book, but I'm just working my way through the process). There are a few tropes/plot devices that I utterly loathe and slave-gladiator is very, very high up on that list. However.

Finally, there is some character development towards the middle and going through the end, and it is actually rather satisfying. Even new and minor characters get some moments, and that is something I am very much in favor of. True, some of the moments border on the cliche, but the execution was good enough that it didn't matter to me. Yes, I think I almost cried at a certain part. If I can say nothing else about Weis and Hickman, it's that they make compelling characters, and that's what made this book so much better than it seemed at the start. While I was reading, I made a plot comparison between this book and The Scar, and that is a form of praise from me.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman always seem to deliver fantastic fantasy fiction novels. This is the second book in a series of six books (4 are forthcoming). It continues from book one where Skylan, now considered a traitor, and his Vindrasi crew have been captured by Raegar, an Aelon warrior-priest. They have been told and are beginning to believe that their Gods have left them and they are alone. They will be taken back to Sinaria as slaves. Here some will be trained to fight in the game of Para Dix. There are others in this nation that want to see them dead. Throughout this book friends become enemies and enemies become friends. Always keeping you guessing what will happen around the next bend. Truly, a great continuation in the Dragonship series and I can't wait to read the next four.

[Math le maudit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suite de Les Os Du Dragon, ce second tome est du même niveau : honnête.

La très bonne idée de ce deuxième volet, c'est de commencer sur une scène permettant aux deux auteures de résumer les événements du tome 1 sans que ce soit roboratif, en présentant les choses par la voix d'un skald qui narre les aventures des héros du roman de nombreuses années plus tard.

Grâce à ce premier chapitre très bien troussé, on se remet aisément en tête l'épisode précédent. On entre ensuite de plein pied dans le récit qui emmène nos vaillants barbares / vikings à la rencontre d'un peuple à mi-chemin entre l'Islam médiéval et l'empire romain.

Un second volume sans temps-morts, qui s'achève sur un cliffhanger digne des feuilletonistes du XIXe siècle.

[Brian Hagedorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While certainly better than their Starshield novels, it's still just as forgettable and silly. There were continuity issues throughout this particular novel, most notably with time. What one character says will happen "tomorrow" actually doesn't happen for a number of days. This created a lot of confusion to the overall timeline of the plot. The book also doesn't leave a lot to the imagination, almost spoon-feeding the audience like a poorly written movie. You pretty much knew what the characters were going to do and say, and you certainly wanted them act more realistically. This is certainly not one of their better writing or series, so I'm really not surprised that the series has been cancelled.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of an improvement over the first book, Secret of the Dragon continues the tale of a group of Viking-like warriors caught up in the wars between their Gods and newer upstart Gods. The book feels like a Weis and Hickman book, but lacks a certain spark found in their better tales.

Perhaps part of the problem is that virtually none of the characters start off even remotely likable or sympathetic, with very stereotyped and flat personalities. However, by the end of this second book a few of them finally start to show a small bit of personal growth that lends one to think that they'll actually flesh out into something more by the time the series ends.

[John Hubenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than the first in the series, and it felt like the level of crassness was brought down a notch, although I do get it that with a story drawing from features of norse mythology, there is the expectation of a certain caliber of "manliness". What set this story apart for me were the tender feelings expressed between parent and child from characters which were new to the series in this book, much in the spirit to some degree as in Secret Garden.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tässä kirjassa Skylan joukkioineen on joutunut orjaksi Sinariaan. Minusta tämä kirja oli parempi kuin edellinen osa, mutta hiukan outoa on se, että Skylanista on tässä kirjassa on tullut yhtäkkiä valtavan järkevä ja harkitseva. Olisin odottanut, että muutos tapahtuu vähitellen, mutta loppujen lopuksi se on yhtäkkinen muuttuminen. Huonona puolena on myös se, että kirja päättyi niin jännittävään kohtaan, eikä seuraava osa ole vielä ilmestynyt.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book about as much as I liked the first one. I'm still not real thrilled with Skylan, the main character, but he is "maturing" in this book versus the first book. The only character that gets my attention is Wulfe. If it wasn't for him, I think I'd just give up on the books completely.

[Bryan Dial]

great fallow up from the first book of the series. introduction to new characters was a bit hard at first dew to lack of description of each, gradually each character gained a face that was customary to wies and hickmans style. it ended on a bit of a sudden note however. i think it could have at least included another chapter to tie things off.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weis and Hickman have a flare for creating unique worlds. This series is no exception. The only flaw is that I find the villain to be too much of a caricature of a fanatic, bumbling around in self delusions. Otherwise this book was a big step forward from the previous one of the series.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great second volume and I cannot wait for the next. This time we find our viking-esque characters being made slaves in an area comparable to rome. They fight not in a gladiatorial arena, but something comparable to a game of chess.