| Title | : | DragonFire (DragonKeeper Chronicles, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1400072514 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781400072514 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 346 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2007 |
| Awards | : | Clive Staples Award |
They face a deadly threat-and a challenging choice.
Kale's responsibility is to find, hatch, and train an army of dragons, and she tackles the daunting task-until she is shocked by a betrayal. As the Amaran countrymen seek escape, she must search for her husband, family, and friends while organizing an underground movement to weaken the enemy. But when the end draws near, Kale must choose between two dismal destinies.
Prepare to experience breathtaking adventure and mind-blowing fantasy as never before in this stunning addition to Donita K. Paul's popular Dragon Keepers fantasy series.
DragonFire (DragonKeeper Chronicles, #4) Reviews
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Almost done with my reread of the DragonKeeper Chronicles! I'm actually raising my rating on this one by a star — I can see why younger me disliked it, but I think that had more to do with younger me's immaturity and less to do with the actual quality of the book. Now that I'm a little more mature, a lot of the things that annoyed me make more sense, and I can recognize them as realistic problems that I also struggle with at times. (For example: if I, like Kale, were told "You're going to go on a dangerous quest with a virtual stranger, while your husband — whom you love, who strengthens your powers, who you have a literal mind-link with — goes off to fight equally dangerous battles somewhere else," I would probably also react poorly. Would I cry as much as Kale does? No. But I would probably throw or kick things, which she doesn't, so we're really about even.)
I think the other reason I disliked this book when I was younger is that it's considerably darker than the rest of the series. The other books all involve darkness and danger to some degree, but DragonFire is about a literal war and the heartbreak and tragedy it can wreak. That destruction is present from the very first page, and it never goes away. And the affects of that war hit our characters much more deeply than they do in previous books, taking away what they'd relied on before. -
What a ride!
This book picks up three years after the last novel and lots of things have happened since then. First of all, Bardon and Kale got married!! Woohoo!! Personally, I would've liked to see more of their romance, but since their romance isn't really the main point, I nonetheless enjoyed all of their interactions.
The pace also really picked up in this one! Kale and Bardon go on separate 'quests' although they cross at the end. Nearly every chapter switched between them, and both of their adventures were exhilarating and exciting. It was particularly exciting to see Kale using her powers. She has certainly developed it a lot, and it was really cool to find out what kind of wizard she was, and all the interesting things that she could do with her talent.
This novel had the most action (in my opinion) and the most sad parts...
There were enough twists and turns to keep me entertained the whole way, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet new characters and getting reacquainted with my old favourites!
Although this series would be more enjoyable for younger readers, there were some action scenes/ fighting that could disturb young readers. I think that the best age for these novels are teenagers.
I honestly couldn't stop reading, and I read both books 3 and 4 in one day.
Overall a fantastic addition to the series, and I can't WAIT to read the last novel! -
This was another amazing addition to the DragonKeeper Chronicles! Really enjoyed reading this book, couldn't hardly put it down.
First of all, can I just say that minor dragons are the cutest things ever! I haven't ran across the idea of miniature dragons in other fantasy books except for this series, and it's so cute, I adore it!
Secondly, loved seeing how the characters grow in this book, and the expansion on the world Amara. (Spoiler alert): seeing Kale and Bardon as a married couple was PERFECT.
Of course, all of the fave characters were there, (except for Fenworth, I miss him <3). Really fun to see how they've grown up / changed over time.
Also, the SARCASM AND WIT is top-notch, definitely one of my favorite parts of the book / the whole series.
Only complaint I have is that the ending felt a little rushed, but that's all. Excited to read the next and final book, not so happy it's the final book XD -
Three years have passed since the final chapters in DragonKnight. Sir Bardon, an o'rant and emerlindian knight in Paladin's service, has married Kale Allerion, a wizard and Dragon Keeper. When the novel starts, they are standing in the remains of a village destroyed by fire dragons, flying weapons of warfare. Bardon has his hands full as he tries to prevent Kale from entering the partially destroyed inn. But Kale feels the pull of her DragonKeeper talent towards the crumbling building. After Bardon forces her to think through a plan, she enters the decrepit structure. Accompanying her is Ardeo, a white and grey minor dragon that glows in the dark and Pat, a chubby brown minor dragon whose talent is repairing things. They make their way to the inn's basement, Ardeo lighting the way and Pat slowing Kale's headlong rush into the rickety remains.
But greater danger lies outside. When Kale exists the unstable building, Bardon is gone. Dibl, another one of the DragonKeeper's minor charges, informs Kale via mindspeaking about a small group of bisonbecks that entered the inn's yard while she was inside. By the time she locates her husband the fight is almost done. Bardon has downed two of the bisonbecks and the minor dragons with him have blinded another one with the caustic spit. She flattens one of the two remaining fighters and Bardon knocks out the last bisonbeck. Kale uses a vine to immobilize the only conscious prisoner and Bardon begins to interrogate him. The bisonbeck, a soldier in Crim Cropper's army, gives Bardon some useful information, but not much. The husband and wife duo head on their way, determined to carry out their original task—finding Regidor and his wife, Gilda, rare meech dragons. Gilda is dying from an evil spell and Bardon and Kale think they've found the cure. But will they reach their meech friends in time? And what has happened to the outside world while they've lived in isolation in the bogs? From the devastation left by the fire dragons, they suspect war will soon come to Arama. A war whose outcome will determine if their homeland lives free under Paladin and Wulder, or falls to Pretender and his forces.
DragonFire is the fourth book in the DragonKeeper Chronicles and continues the high standards set in the previous three books. Award winning author Donita K. Paul has built a complex storyworld for this series, populated with dragons, wizards, kimens, bisonbecks, emerlindians, mordakleeps and knights, just to name a few. All the characters, from the most powerful wizard to the tinest dragon, have personalities that crackle and snap across the pages. So much so that I really missed some of my favorite characters from the earlier books-a librarian named Librettowit and the wizard Fenworth. He's a hoot!
Summer 2008 brings the series to a close with DragonLight, the final book in the DragonKeeper Chronicles. While I'm sorry to see this series end, I'm looking forward to visiting Arama and its inhabitants once again. -
DragonFire was a very interesting book, and a worthy continuation of the Dragon Keeper chronicles. I very much enjoyed reading it, and it was actually the Dragon Keeper book I read the fastest, reading it in about three days. And it made me still want to read the last book, which is always a good thing.
Writing: 4/5
Ms. Paul's writing is much the same as always, not exactly the best in physical descriptions, but quite sufficient to get the mental movie going in my head. The writing does really get me to feel the emotions of the characters, even if it doesn't give me a good picture of what they look like. Now, when Kale and Bardon are together in the last two books, the point of view character does change quite a bit. It does get somewhat confusing in the mindspeaking, as the POV character does not have his or her dialogue in quotes and the other person does. Several times I had to stop to figure out who was who, though it didn't usually take long to do so.
Setting 5/5
I love Amara. It is definitely one of the fantasy worlds I would want to visit if it was real. As always, the worldbuilding continues in this book, giving deeper insight into the world, that is still consistent with previously established facts. This book (at least I think it was this one, I read the last two back to back) explains better the development of the low races. I was a little unsure about the idea that Pretender had created the low races, that being the common conception of their origins, but the full explanation doesn't give me pause at all. I suppose to explain it would be a spoiler, though not a major one.
Plot: 4/5
The plot of DragonFire was definitely more interesting than that of DragonSpell. Kale and Bardon are given different tasks, Kale to find the dragons with her father and to enlist their help, Bardon to go fight. Like Kale, I didn't want for them to be separated, but it was necessary to the story. There were many ups and downs, especially when Bardon got sick, and when Kale and her father, Sir Kemry, faced Burner Stox. The climax was better than the ones in the other books, though not quite as climactic as I would like. The ending was sweet, though, and I loved it. Now, there are quite a few kisses between Bardon and Kale, but it never is very descriptive (it usually says something like, "He kissed his wife,") and they are married, so it would be odder if they never did.
Character Development: 5/5
I love Kale and Bardon. I was pleased to see that they were married in this book, that the author allowed them to move forward in their lives and not be teenagers throughout all their adventures. Something else that recently occurred to me about these characters is that Bardon is a character in his own right. Sure, he came into the story to eventually marry Kale, but he's not Mr. Perfect. He has flaws, but at the same time is chivalrous and a gentleman. I love for there to be gentlemen. There are so few nowadays. I alternately loved and hated Sir Kemry and often wished with Kale that Bardon was there instead. Sir Kemry just didn't know how to be a father, and had more confidence in Kale's ability to protect herself than she did, but he did aggravate me when he aggravated Kale. Honestly, I had the same feeling about most of the characters that Kale did, which I guess means it was well done.
Fantasy lovers everywhere will enjoy DragonFire, and I highly recommend it. -
Again Donita K Paul amazes me with her masterpiece! I thoroughly enjoyed this book along with the others! The characters and events kept moving, and just like everything Donita K Paul writes it seemed hopeless! Donita made me think (again) that all was lost, 'how will they ever get out of this one!?'!!!!!! I would suggest this series to any young reader who loves learning about the God's character and loves a good fantasy/adventure book! ;)
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On re-reading in 2020: Upping my rating from 2 stars to 3. Writing this review now while I remember.
Cons
- The preachy bits are definitely more heavy-handed in this one compared to the last three.
- The climax is, once again, a short showdown in which the villain gloats and our heroes look like losing before Fantasy-Jesus magically turns up to save the day.
- Speaking of which, the villains are absolute caricatures. Take one amoral power-hungry woman, one mad scientist, and one... literal Fantasy-Satan? okay... and there you go.
- There are inexplicable moments where adult characters react like hysterical teenagers, although at least by now (book 4) our heroine gets called out on it.
- The POV is still strangely limited, so we end up in situations where, despite seeing through our viewpoint character's eyes and ears, we only hear their half of a direct conversation with a dragon.
- More inexplicability: the wizards seem to understand science (e.g. light refraction, oxygen density, visualising elements rearranging when they work, etc), but this has no effect on a Standard Medieval Fantasy world. At all. Ditto teleporting and others feats of magic which, you know, should have flow-on effects. Surely they'd use the gateways for easy trading, if nothing else?
Pros
- The pacing here was vastly better than the last three. I actually felt some sense of building tension over the course of the book.
- Benefits of two different viewpoint characters in two different places: twice the tension! twice the plot to complicate! Twice the resolutions to, um, resolve!
- I can't fault the character developments. It's always tricky, deciding how to handle the maturing of characters in a series, and here there's a three-year time gap (and a marriage!) between books to deal with. I think Paul struck a good balance. Our main characters are more settled than they were, they've matured, but they also undoubtedly have issues they need to work through.
- The writing flows pretty well. Despite its faults, this book is a light, easy read.
Other
- In the three years since the last book, Bardon has gone from Squire to full Knight rank. Meanwhile, Bends is somehow still a Leetu? Like she's been since the start of book one? Mmmkay then.
- I fail to see how encasing an enemy in a web/cocoon that wipes their memories over a few days (?!) is somehow more humane than just outright killing them. Christian Fantasy Morality is... an interesting beastie.
- There's something I like to call "American Southern" Standard Medieval Fantasy, and this is it. There are too many regional language usages scattered throughout to make it anything else. "Spit" as a past tense verb. "Off of." "You all." It's not overt, but it's there.
- I can't believe it took me three books to figure out that Cam Ayronn, Wizard of Lakes, is named for... Lake Cameron. -
This is technically the fourth book in the Dragonkeeper series, but it is the second I have read. Much like the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, there is an undercurrent of spiritual idealogy in the stories. And, as with Narnia, you don't have to be a religious person to enjoy them. The religious underpinnings are not so overt as to take over the story. They are there, but Paul does not beat you over the head with them.
In this part of the story, DragonKeeper Kale Allerion is married to Sir Barton, and they have been living in the Bog, working to clean it up of various unsavory creatures. They happen on the cure for Gilda, one of the intelligent dragons. They leave the bog to find Gilda. They find her, and enact the cure, but also find the land being ravaged by the battle between two evil wizards. The people are somewhat indifferent, just hoping the war doesn't affect them too much. Kale is charged with hatching and training an army of dragons, a quest she is aided in by her father, also a DragonKeeper. Bardon is sent on his own quest.
The story moves along fairly quickly, with few passages that bog down the story. The world is fully developed by this fourth book. The cast of characters is fairly large, and it is sometimes hard to keep all of the different races (there are seven higher and seven lower races here), but the glossary at the end of the book and the character list help there. Paul does not shy away from conflict or unpleasant imagery, but nothing is exceptionally graphic. There are religious undertones to the story, but at its core, it is a story of the conflict between good and evil, and that is a familiar theme to readers of fantasy, religious or not.
I found it an enjoyable, easy book to read. -
DragonFire begins three years after the events in DragonKnight. Bardon and Kale have married and Kale, having received her part, is loath to leave her husband though he is going on his own quest. The author does not indicate what Kale's parents thought, though her father went with her and her mother went with Bardon.
Kale and her father are both Dragon Keepers. In their quest, dragons are their friends and their goal is to release dragons from their captivity under Burner Stox.
Bardon and his party have heard that quiss are about to attack a certain part of the shoreline. Their job is to stop the quiss and protect any other citizens that are threatened by enemy forces. There are surprising allies and horrendous enemies. At least one high race is particularly threatened. Bardon succumbs to a sickness that leaves him unable to function normally, and is captured for a short time. ....
Paladin is weakening. His health is said to be directly related to the people's regard for Wulder.
The author successfully created tension in each chapter and then switched between the two parties, and then just between Kale and Bardon as the book reached its conclusion. I guess I just didn't feel this story like I had previous ones - I think it is because the chapters were short, so most of the book seemed very choppy, jumping from one party to the other. -
All is not well in Amara. Three years have past since the events of DragonKnight, and things have changed. Evil forces are terrorizing the land, and Paladin is in poor health. Kale and Bardon are both in their 20's and now married (this isn't a spoiler as it's immediately known in the first chapter).
I'm not sure what's happening, but somehow I feel myself drifting farther away from the storyline in this series, especially here with DragonFire. To me it seemed that some of the events in this book were things that had already happened in the other books, just presented differently. At times I had to force myself to keep going. The "main" (although not exclusive) target audience of a younger age range was more obvious to me here than with the other books....the encounters our heroes had with the villains seemed anticlimactic and too easy. I also was disappointed to find Kale and Bardon already married, I had hoped to see some of their courtship.
I would have detailed the storyline here a bit more than I did, but I honestly can't get real detailed about the plot as I'm really not sure of everything that happened. I read the whole book, but I just wasn't able to connect with the story. Maybe it's just me, I'm not sure. It definitely seems I'm in the minority as my review of 3 stars is currently the lowest rating the book has.
There's one more book in the series, DragonLight, and I'm going to read it as I already have it (I purchased the whole series at once) and I want to finish the series. I'm really hoping I can re-connect with the storyline and characters in the final book. -
Review added in spring 2012.
Rarely do I come back and add a review the second time I read a book. I never (that I can remember) think less of a book after reading it the second time.
3.5
Well, this one I did. The first time through, everything was new and exciting and stressful and tense. This time, it didn't feel that way at all. Donita K Paul is still a good writer and has plenty of danger and conflicts, but not enough about each conflict. She skims over everything with half or a third as many words as she could use. Yes, this means no boring description passages. It also means the height of battle scenes take a couple paragraphs.
When the whole book has been leading up to a certain battle between Cropper and Pretender and Paladin and all these other conflicts about to happen at that time, I expect more about the actual meeting. I expect more about that actual battle. Instead, we get a rather narrow view of a very small part of the area where the battle took place. A lot of things go wrong, but they seem resolved too easily. Kale's illness (or Paladin's, or Bardon's)could have dragged longer (her stay with the ropmas as boring and more lengthy). The horror of bisonbecks hunting kimens could have taken up more room. The death of some dragons, who die while Kale is with them, is glossed over quickly.
Yes, fast pace, but too fast. If that's possible. Still, I'm a fast reader, and I've found that my reading desires have changed this past year to prefer more detail, especially about the main conflict parts. -
I couldn't put this book down until I had finished it. Especially in the parts where there is a lot going on and close to the end of the book.
There are two funny parts in this book I want to share. I'll try to be vague on one so as to not to ruin it for every one. The first one is Gilda, who is Regidor's wife (They are both Meech Dragons), at one part is enjoying dinner with all the character's at Paladin's castle. During at which time the Bisonbecks come and attack all of them, every one is ready to jump up and start fighting the guys. Gilda continues to stay in her chair eating, and occasionally when one of the Bisonbecks get to close she throws her food on them; one was unfortunate enough to get a bowl of hot soup thrown at his head. Gilda isn't one to be actively in the fight, with her time mostly spent in a bottle.
The second part. The dragon in this part is extremely dense, but has a huge heart as the book describes him. There is a battle between 2 good characters and 1 bad character, and during the fight; one of the dragons walked up behind the bad character (more like sneaking and tiptoeing; if a dragon can tiptoe), and grabs the character by the head in his mouth to hold them there. Well the character hurts the dragon and by instinct the he bit down and cut the character's head off by accident. I thought it funny cause it was an accident, but it helped out a lot. LOL -
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, on a mission to rescue the woman’s son trapped in a chamber of sleep. Bardon learns that more of Paladin’s knights are imprisoned–and suspects one of them is Dragon Keeper Kale’s missing father.
The secret is in their hands–and hearts.
The band travels north, uncertain of their destination and encountering numerous perils. When they unlock the chamber, they discover a dozen knights–who cannot be awakened. 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?
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. -
In the 4th installment of the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, Kale and Bardon must battle once again to save their country, their people, and for their's (and their people's) faith in Wulder. There are a lot of battles, a lot of loss, but through it all comes the story of hope.
I must say that this was the hardest book to read. There are several characters that are lost to death, and even at one moment where I just needed to put the book down to cry. But the theme of hope in the most hopeless situation, that healing can come even when you are at your most broken and the darkness is surrounding you still rings through. It also takes on a deeper thought about how our own faith in God can effect our leaders and our own country. Without faith and hope, we have nothing to keep us from falling into death (spiritually, mentally, and emotionally).
Highly recommend! -
A great illustration of how God forgives and is always there to help when we need him the most. I loved the way she showed us how both Bardon and Kale were fighting and learning along the way. It of course could be hard sometimes to remember what had happened when going back and forth between the two but it helped us to see what was happening at the same time. I especially liked the last half of the book once they both got into dangerous situations and were fighting the enemy. They learned to rely on others instead of just each other. I did hate the fact that nothing was said of the three new characters from the last book. It almost seemed that they had just disappeared or were never there. I hope that the last book at least lets us know what happened to all the characters that have been introduced throughout the series.
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This is the fourth book of the series.
Kale and Bardon are married! Amara is at war between Paladin's and Pretender's forces. Pretender's leaders, Crim Cropper and Burner Stox are also fighting so there are three evil forces tearing Amara apart. Kale and Bardon have been sequestered in The Bogs, oblivious to the plight of the rest of the country. They have been busy trying to find a cure to save Gilda, and when they do, they leave on a quest to find Gilda and Regidor that puts them right in the middle of the war.
There are lots of unexpected events in this book. At times I felt irritated with Kale's immaturity, but I was glad to see that she worked through it. There were plenty of joyful, happy moments, and many moments of great sadness.
I am sad that there is only one book left! :( -
I have to admit when I put my first small review I had my doubts, but after finally finishing the book, I have to say I am actually pleased. The book kept you turning the page. You wanted to see what happen to both Bardon and Kale. You felt sorrow and love. There were plenty of emotions and adventures throughout the book that kept making you want more.
True, there us a strong allegory with the book as with the whole series, but that didn't push the story away.
I was skeptical since allegory stories to religion are not my favorite, but this book so far in the series was probably my favorite. -
Three years of strife have passed since Kale and Bardon freed Paladins knights. Now, fiery dragons scorch their beautiful countryside as an evil husband-and-wife wizard duo battle one another for supremacy.
The people of Amara just want to be left alone, hoping the conflict with disappear. But Paladin is dying, and Bardon and Kale,now married, must accept fateful assignments if their land is to survive.
Will their efforts turn the tide against their adversaries? They face a deadly threat, and a challenging choice. -
There was a gap between the last book and this one which the author didn't really bring together and I would like to have read more about what happened but she didn't share that. The book was again a very good one and had the main character up front as well as the 'second' main character. And it was a very strong suspenseful ending. The spirituality of her books seem to grow with each one which I have enjoyed. This has been a good series in fact I would say one of the best series I have read. I'm just starting on the fifth one now.
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I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to see Kale work with her father and get to understand him better. Even if that meant that she had to leave her husband for another mission.
It was great to see some characters that you have loved from the first book grown up and doing what they are called to do and help with dealing with the 2 evil wizards.
The characters are amazing. I love the story and the plot and everything that happens in this book. It builds up to an amazing ending that was just awesome.
It is such an amazing book and I loved how this book ended. -
[REVIEW TO COME AT A LATER DATE UPON A FULL SERIES RE-READ.]
I will add as an additional side note however, for those of you who noticed that I added this to my shelf of DNF'd books, I didn't DNF this one due to lack of interest. I had originally read it some time ago by borrowing it from the library, and circumstances led to me not being able to finish it. Since I have bought a copy of my own since, I am very eager to eventually get through this one (and buy and read the fifth and final book of the series as well.) -
DragonFire was an interesting sequel to the first three books of the DragonKeeper Cronicles. I can’t say it was quite as good as book 3, but I still loved following all the familiar characters. What made this book fun and different from the ones before is that Kale and Bardon are now married in the story. I loved reading about the two of them. Donita K. Paul has written their relationship splendidly. So definitely worth reading to continue the adventure.
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Darker than previous books
This was a lot darker than the previous books but still ended well. I really enjoy the interplay of faith and fantasy. It helps me appreciate my relationship with Christ that much more. -
Part of the excellent Christian allegory by Mrs. Paul.
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Excellent!
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I love this series!
