Official Synopsis:
Return to the land of dragons and magic you discovered in DragonSpell and DragonQuest, in this finely crafted and memorable work of fantasy fiction with a core of eternal truth.
Trapped in an evil spell… can the knights of Paladin be rescued?
Before vowing his allegiance to Wulder as a knight, Bardon heads to the mountains for solitude. His life is suddenly complicated by a woman and her granddaughter, N’Rae, who are on a mission to rescue the woman’s son trapped in a chamber of sleep. When Bardon learns that more of Paladin’s knights are imprisoned within the chamber, he suspects one of them is Dragon Keeper Kale’ s missing father.
The band travels north, uncertain of their destination and encountering numerous perils. When they unlock the chamber, they discover a dozen knights. But the knights cannot be awakened, and the journal holding the secret to rousing them is in an unknown language. How can they find the help they need, and overcome even graver obstacles, to rescue the knights?
Book details:
Author: Paul, Donita K.
Date Published: June 20, 2006
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
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There can be as many wrong reasons to do the right thing as there are stars in the sky. There might even be more than one legitimate right reason. But there is never a right reason to do the wrong thing. Not ever.
Donita K. Paul, DragonKnight
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Review:
Squire Bardon, a young man with the chance at Knighthood in service to Paladin, is trying his best. Unfortunately, his best is continuously challenged by individuals who don’t have questing or fighting experience yet must go with him, the height-challenged (and somewhat mousey) protector of a young woman, true intentions hidden behind a friendly façade, dangerous monsters in places they shouldn’t be, and even …unplanned children acquisition? Bardon finds that he must rely on Wulder, trusting that He has a plan that hasn’t yet been revealed, because Wulder knows Bardon can’t do this on his own. So he’ll do his best, but he maintains the right to be a bit grumpy about it.
DragonKnight, third in the DragonKeeper Chronicles, mainly focuses through the perspective of Squire Bardon, and is set three years after DragonQuest. Donita K. Paul does very well in delivering the unique perspective of Bardon. Introduced in the previous book, Bardon is still the introverted, straight-lace, grumpy, rule-abiding young man we came to know and love. Readers see Bardon’s wrestle daily with feeling burdened, ill-equipped, unprepared, and too inexperienced to lead such a high-stakes mission. But also how he continues to press forward by leaning on the teachings of Wulder. To quote Bardon (quoting a principle), “Wulder gives His servants their needs according to His wisdom, not by the reasoning of man.”
Personally, I find Bardon a very relatable character. As an introvert whose always preferred reading over social gatherings, Bardon’s frequent exasperation and befuddlement, but begrudgingly growing appreciation for his companions almost felt like a personal experience. I think Bardon sums it up nicely, “People…are too complicated to be understood. Sir Dar thinks I have acquired social skills, Jue Seeno thinks I have a sense of humor. And I think there are too many people in the world. Way too many people.”
Donita Paul did a great job with subtle foreshadowing for the rest of the series. The variety of small details help guide the feeling foreboding as you read, the sense that something is building up, waiting to erupt. Monsters pop up in strange places because of unseen and hidden villians. Discovering that there are more places dragons have left where they once lived in harmony with people. The quiet and unspoken anxiety of Bardon when he sees the tiredness of Paladin, and doesn’t understand what could cause it. The revealing of a villain, once only spoken of, worse than all the others.
For some reason I have a hard time getting into this book, but once I’m past the first chapters, I’m sucked in! This may just be because of the tone shift cause by the difference in lead character. I do wish some characters got more “screen-time” or more opportunities for character growth, but let it slide as most were introduced fairly late in the book. However, I would have liked at least a few lines regarding what happened to some of the quest members during the epilogue! It felt like some early characters were dropped once familiar faces entered in. I like closure. And though the ending was definitely designed to fishhook readers into the next book, a little closure for (likely) non-reoccurring characters would be appreciated. Overall, I really enjoy this book. Bardon shows that even if we feel completely out of our depth, we can still keep moving forward and choose to do the right thing.
I will caution that there is a character death at the end of the book. But it is made clear multiple chapters it will happen. These books are not graphic and the natural death is “off-screen” and peaceful. Still sad though.
Places to purchase:
WaterBrook & Multnomah (publisher) – New: Paperback and eBook
Thriftbooks.com – Distributor for private sellers
Amazon.com – new, used, Kindle, & audiobook
Barnes&Noble – New: Paperback, eBook, audiobook, MP3, & CD
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