Dragonswood

by Janet Lee Carey

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

This review is also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

Source: ARC

Review: Dragonswood is a strongly crafted novel that will appeal to fantasy fans who love a good classic quest and imaginative worlds populated with magical species. Carey deftly creates three distinct races in Dragonswood—humans, fairies, and dragons—giving each a rich history and defining characteristics. Then, just as quickly, she demonstrates all are ultimately people with similar hearts, if different perspectives.

Carey’s world is in fact a mix of the real and the fantastic. It is set on an island close to England, where the descendants of King Arthur reign and have built one of the world’s final refuges for the disappearing dragon and fairy races. This setting is unclear at first, making the frequent references to the Christian God and saints bewildering when mixed so casually with talk of magic, but eventually enough clues are dropped that the reader can settle comfortably into this uniquely imagined world.

Tess is an intriguing protagonist, a mix of strength and vulnerability. She has a brave and loyal heart, yet has suffered years of abuse from her father. She distrusts men. Sometimes she stands tall, and sometimes she flees. Her reactions, however, are altogether human and a lot of readers will be able to relate. She teaches her audience what it means to be brave in the face of fear.

The dialogue is a bit awkward, the standard attempt at “fantasy” speech where people refuse to use contractions and often employ the present tense. At times, the dialogue contributes to demonstrating Tess’s fear, as she sounds inordinately subservient. This is somewhat logical, due to the characterization mentioned above, but there are places where it truly seems unintentional—the dialogue makes her sound more awkward in a given situation than the author might want her to.

The pace is generally pleasant. Carey weaves action, description, romance, and exploration beautifully together to craft a tale that truly has it all. The climactic scene would have benefited from being a little longer, as some characters really should have been more hesitant to believe the incredible and not simply accepted everything that was told to them. Nothing more was out of place, however.

Overall, a fantastic read I recommend to fans of the genre.