Sunday, August 22, 2010

Master of Dragons (and the Dragonvarld Trilogy) by Margaret Weis (2007)

Master of Dragons, the final book in the Dragonvarld Trilogy by Margaret Weis, is a whole lot better than The Dragon's Son, the second book. Not that this means anything. The second book was positively wretched. The First book was OK and that is just about what the third is: "OK". Not good, but not really bad. It kept me reading, which is a success; I even enjoyed some of the characters, who managed to make themselves so obnoxious in the middle of the trilogy. But I didn't feel like I gained anything from it. If there was anything sub-textual in the Dragonvarld Trilogy it is a libertarian message on the evils of government and the splendor of anarchy.

It is not a truly memorable book, but it is distinctly fantasy and thusly enjoyable as such things go. The magic which the dragons use is fun, I will admit, and I enjoyed the descriptions of their communication. But the dragon society doesn't make complete sense, and that is where the story would fall apart if it hadn't been sewn together with a very apparent seem. It does not have the intricate weave that great fantasy (and literature in general) exhibits. The best character, the dragon Draconas (what a name!) falters in this final installment, but he is the only rational voice through most of the saga. Which creates a high level of frustration.

The ending is acceptable, though utterly predictable and somewhat disappointing. But what else would happen? Weis pays much more attention to creating games than books.

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