The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

Title: The Last Dragonslayer
Author: Jasper Fforde
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes the first in the Chronicles of Kazam series.
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Harcourt Publishing Company
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
In the good old days, magic was indispensable—it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. 

But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians—but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam—and for Jennifer. 

Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.

Feelings:
I have read a few of the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde but this book was very different from them. I really liked the Thursday Next books and this is not to say that I didn't enjoy The Last Dragonslayer but it is definitely a young adult book, Fforde's first young adult novel. I enjoy young adult so this was not a negative for me. However, this is not like Fforde's other books so do not go in expecting it to be.

There are many strange and odd things included that I feel are unique to Fforde's writing. A Quarkbeast for instance.

The Quarkbeast yawned, revealing several rows of razor-sharp fangs. Despite his placid nature, the beast's ferocious appearance almost guaranteed that no one ever completely shrugged off the possibility that he might try to take a chunk out of them when they weren't looking. If the Quarkbeast was aware of this, it didn't show. Indeed, he might have been so unaware that he wondered why people always ran away screaming. (p. 5-6)

The Quarkbeast is just one element of the odd and unique that Fforde has created in here. I think the biggest difference between this and his other books is the fact that this is a much easier read that his other stories. It is written in a way that is easy to access. Again not a bad thing but this does make this less of an intellectual, make you think, kind of book and more of a sit down and enjoy the ride book.

Jeniffer Strange is an interesting and likeable character to follow. She is unique in many ways, including having a Quarkbeast as a pet. Kazam where she is in charge, in the absence of the head wizard, is both old and falling apart and full of magic.

The Last Dragonslayer is a book worth reading for those that have liked Fforde's other novels this may not be what you are expecting but it is an enjoyable read.

Railsea by China Miéville

Title: Railsea

Author: China Miéville
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Series: No
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Del Rey Books

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

From China Miéville comes a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick that confirms his status as "the most original and talented voice to appear in several years." (Science Fiction Chronicle)

Feelings: 
This is not a book for everyone but for those that like to think and be challenged by the way language is used this is a good book for you. This was classified as Young Adult by some places and not by others. This is not an easy book to read and I would think that much of what makes it interesting would be lost on younger readers. My feeling is that because the book is told from a young boy's perspective it is categorized as such. There are some young adults that would be able to understand all the  intricacies of this book but I think it is more appropriate for an adult audience.

At a fair on Streggeye, a show of restored findings. Hooked  up to chuggering generators, a whining thing like a needy animal prince issuing stupid orders: a fax machine. An ancient screen on which enthusiastic badly drawn figures hit each other: a vijogame. (p.156)

Miéville plays with language in this story in a way that makes the reader at times feel like they are being told a story but so all knowing being and at times as though they are with the characters on the railsea living through the struggles they face. Because of the use of language in here this is not a book for everyone, there will be people that will love it, and those that will hate it. I can't say that being a fan of Fantasy/Science Fiction is going to make you a fan of this book. Nor can I say that like the intricacy of language play will help you like this book. If you do decide to pick of this book, which I would suggest you do, you need to give it at least until page 30 where much of the world the book takes place in is described. I would however suggest reading at least to Part II before you say it isn't for you.

People have wanted to narrate since first we banged rocks together & wondered about fire. There'll be tellings as long as there are any of us here, until the stars disappear one by one like turned-out lights. (p. 106)

This is an exert from a short chapter that is more about something outside of the story than within the story or a comment on the actual telling of the story. The book is full of short chapters that are both thought provoking and remove the reader from the story, these will annoy some readers but I found them intriguing.

The use of "&" rather than the writing out of "and" will take some getting used to but the explanation which doesn't come until page 163 is worth reading and had it come any sooner would not have had the same impact that it does coming later in the story.

I do not want to say to much about the plot of the story as saying more than is in the summary will give away to much and the discovery is worth the read. This is one of the best books that I have read in a long while. I highly recommend it.

City of Dragons by Robin Hobb

Title: City of Dragons

Author: Robin Hobb
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes. Volume Three of the Rain Wilds Chronicles

Copyright: 2012

Publisher: Harper Voyager an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads.
Once, dragons ruled the Rain Wilds, tended by privileged human servants known as Elderlings. But a series of cataclysmic eruptions nearly drove these magnificent creatures to extinction. Born weak and deformed, the last of their kind had one hope for survival: to return to their ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanied by a disparate crew of untested young keepers, the dragons embarked on a harsh journey into the unknown along the toxic Rain Wild River. Battling starvation, a hostile climate, and treacherous enemies, dragons and humans began to forge magical connections, bonds that have wrought astonishing transformations for them all. And though Kelsingra is finally near, their odyssey has only begun.

Because of the swollen waters of the Rain Wild River, the lost city can be reached only by flight—a test of endurance and skill beyond the stunted dragons’ strength. Venturing across the swift-running river in tiny boats, the dragon scholar Alise and a handful of keepers discover a world far different from anything they have ever known or imagined. Immense, ornate structures of black stone veined with silver and lifelike stone statues line the silent, eerily empty streets. Yet what are the whispers they hear, the shadows of voices and bursts of light that flutter and are gone? And why do they feel as if eyes are watching them?

The dragons must plumb the depths of their ancestral memories to help them take flight and unlock the secrets buried in Kelsingra. But enemies driven by greed and dark desires are approaching. Time is running out, not only for the dragons but for their human keepers as well.

Feelings:

I enjoyed reading this book very much but I have to say it wasn't so much a complete book by itself. It feels like it is something that happens between stories and it is well written but compared to the first two books not much happens in it.

This is not to say I think you shouldn't read it. I think it is a good continuation of the story it was just shorter than her other books and there wasn't as much action. Maybe there are beginning to be an over load of characters that the story follows as well. We now have narrative from the point of view of: Thymara, Sintrara (Thymara's dragon), Tintaglia (dragon that helped in the hatching of the serpents), Alise Kincarron Finbok, Hest Finbok, Sedric Meldar, Leftrin, Malta Khuprus (Tintaglia's Elderling), Selden Vestrit (Tintaglia's Elderling), and the Duke of Chalced. This is nine characters that the story follows we have added five since the last book. I didn't even count the letters that are written between keepers or this list would have been much longer. I think that this isn't a bad thing it just makes it feel like not all that much happens because we don't spend that long with any one character.

This book addresses some of the sexual tensions but not in that much detail. I have to admit I was kind of glad it happened because I was getting tired waiting around for something to happen.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed the rest of the series and who have the fourth book available to them to start once they finish this one. Hobb's lack of endings is hard to deal with and this one while slightly better than previous ones isn't an exception. I enjoyed reading the series so far and am looking forward to the last book.

Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb

Title: Dragon Haven

Author: Robin Hobb 
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes. Volume Two of The Rain Wilds Chronicles 
Copyright:  2010

Publisher: Eos trademark of HarperCollins Publishers

Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary:  from Good Reads.

Fifteen dragons have set off on a dangerous trek up the Rain Wild River, in hopes of rediscovering their lost haven, the ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanying them are a disparate group of rejects from Rain Wild society, including strong and defiant young Thymara; wealthy dragon scholar and Trader's wife Alise; and her companion, the urbane Sedric. These human keepers yearn also to create a new home where they can decide their own fate. But is Kelsingra real or merely a fragment of a glorified past buried deep in the dragons' shared memories?

As they forge ever-deeper into uncharted wilderness, starvation, flashfloods, and predators imperil them all. But as dragons and humans alike soon learn, the most savage threats come from within their own company . . . 

Feelings: 
I enjoyed reading this book and thought it did a really good job continuing the story. The first book didn't really have an ending as most books would even in a series  but it felt more like the end of a chapter. This book did the same thing.

In this book as in the other book there were letters between the Keepers of Birds Detozi and Erek written on messages sent between the cities of Bringtown and Trehaug. At first I found them almost an annoyance but I really enjoyed them in this book. They are a second story in the story of getting the dragons to Kelsingra.

The development of characters in this made the keepers and the dragons into individual characters that seemed fuller than in the first book. Most of the keepers of the dragons began changing from proximity to the dragons as well as the dragons shaping them to become Elderlings. This creates tensions both among the keepers and the dragons. Do the dragons remember what to do? Do the keepers want to become Elderlings? The connects between the keepers and the dragons has grown stronger but both will be changed as a result.

Dangers environmental and within must be face if the journey is to be successful.

I really enjoyed reading this book and will be reading the next in the series. I expected Robin Hobb to be more of a pop them out as fast as possible at the detriment to the story kind of fantasy writer but these have been really enjoyable to read and the characters and story are well developed. I would recommend this series to those that enjoy fantasy with strong women characters.

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

Title: Dragon Keeper
Author: Robin Hobb
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Volume One of The Rain Wilds Chronicles 
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: EOS an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Rating: 4 to 5


Summary:  from Good Reads.
Enter the spellbinding world of dragons . . . and those who tend them

One of the most gifted fantasy authors writing today, "New York Times" bestselling author Robin Hobb has dazzled readers with brilliantly imaginative, emotionally resonant, and compulsively readable tales set in far-flung realms not unlike our own. In this enthralling new novel, she returns to the territory of her beloved Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies with a story of dragons and humans, return and rebirth, and the search for meaning, belonging, and home.

For years, the Trader cities valiantly battled their enemies, the Chalcedeans. But they could not have staved off invasion without the powerful dragon Tintaglia. In return, the Traders promised to help her serpents migrate up the Rain Wild River after a long exile at sea--to find a safe haven and, Tintaglia hopes, to restore her species. But too much time has passed, and the newly hatched dragons are damaged and weak, and many die. The few who survive cannot use their wings; earthbound, they are powerless to hunt and vulnerable to human predators willing to kill them for the fabled healing powers of dragon flesh.

But Tintaglia has vanished and the Traders are weary of the labor and expense of tending useless dragons. The Trader leadership fears that if it stops providing for the young dragons, the hungry and neglected creatures will rampage--or die along the river's acidic muddy banks. To avert catastrophe, the dragons decree a move even farther up the treacherous river to Kelsingra, their ancient, mythical homeland whose mysterious location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories.

To ensure their safe passage, the Traders recruit a disparate group of young people to care for the damaged creatures and escort them to their new home. Among them is Thymara, an unschooled forest girl of sixteen, and Alise, a wealthy Trader's wife trapped in a loveless marriage, who attaches herself to the expedition as a dragon expert. The two women share a deep kinship with the dragons: Thymara can instinctively communicate with them, and Alise, captivated by their beauty and majesty, has devoted her life to studying them.

Embarking on an arduous journey that holds no promise of return, the band of humans and dragons must make their way along the toxic and inhospitable Rain Wild River--an extraordinary odyssey that will teach them lessons about themselves and one another, as they experience hardships, betrayals, and joys beyond their wildest dreams.

Feelings:
Someone suggested I read one of Robin Hobb's books. I can't remember who at the moment just that when I went to look her up I almost wrote her off as another generic writer of Fantasy. I think the suggestion was for a different series but the library didn't have that so I thought I would give Dragon Keeper a try and see if I liked it. I did. I enjoyed the characters in the book and the dragons have their own personality as well.

When I first started it and there was a Cast of Characters at the beginning I wondered what I was getting into and if I should stop there. I don't really think it was needed but it was nice occasionally to look back at to remind myself of who someone was. Not every character is included nor all the characters include major characters.

The dragon below Thymara was still tearing sticky strips of wizardwood from her case and devouring them. A gray swathe of it stuck to her muzzle. She pawed at it with the small claws on her stubby front leg. To Thymara, she looked like a baby with porridge smeared on its cheeks and hair. (p.31)

This is the first real introduction to the new dragons around which the story will take place and one of our main human characters, Thymara. The dragons while they should be dangerous are not described as such and this is just the beginning of the troubles the Rain Wilders must undergo to care for them. Thymara is not a normal human and because she is more touched by the Rain Wilds at birth than others she is an outcast to everyone except her father.

Her father had black nails. ... Sometimes it seemed such a small difference to her, that her father had been born with black nails on his hands and feet and that she had been born with claws, like a lizard. Such a small difference on which to base a life-or-death decision. (p. 39)

Captain Leftrin is the owner and captain of the liveship Tarman. The Tarman, a barge, is one of the fastest and oldest wizardwood ships. Because of this it is not hurt by the acid waters of Rain Wild River when other ships are.

Alise a Bingtown woman who has given herself up on marriage and decided to become a scholar on Dragons and Elderlings. When Alise is married it is unexpected and she is upset by her new husbands lack of interest in her and his unwillingness to let her go to study the Dragons.

"Dear husband, do you infer that I am not 'well-bred'? For I would agree with you. Some women of my acquaintance would think me absolutely 'unbred' were I to share the details of our private life with them." .... "You would not do that." ... "It would be easiest not to do that if I were away from my usual companions. If, for instance, I went off on a journey to the Rain Winds, to observe the dragons." (p.185)

For most of the book Alise is timid but she does learn grow as the story progresses. All of the characters do to some extent.  This is not a complex book. The setting takes a little getting used to as do all of the different character stories. However, it is all intertwined and done well.

My one complaint is that he book doesn't really have an ending. Be warned if you decide to pick up this book and read it the ending is more like the end of the chapter than the end of the book. Maybe that is why it is considered volumes.