Peter Last

THOUGHTS…

The best book in the DragonKeeper series so far, Dragonknight tells a tale of finding your purpose in life. The plot is engaging and, unlike the first two novels, the main character has real agency. He struggles with the correct course of action, and his decisions propel the story along its unique path. This combined with the far-flung settings and locales give this story a fun, jaunty feel, as it dives into new perils, friends, enemies, combat, and even magic. Some of these aspects are rushed or even clinical in nature (i.e boring), while others, like the inclusion of a magical illusion trap, are fantastic and exciting additions. The characters are generally outstanding including the addition of several new people with unique personalities and even one stand-out who was from a completely new race. Unfortunately, Kale, the protagonist from the first two novels, is nowhere to be found until the beginning of the third act. This feels like a cop out by the author so she does not have to deal with the intricacies of Bardon and Kale’s budding relationship and can instead gloss over them with “time passed” phrases. Speaking of Kale, her introduction to the novel signals the halting of building momentum. The story slowed to a crawl for several chapters as people…sit around and read books. Fortunately, this interlude gives way to the most rousing climax of the series. A plethora of characters, familiar and new, finally faced Pretender, the lurking evil behind every danger and scheme. The scene ties up the story nicely while still leaving it open to sequels. Certainly the best book in the series so far, it is hard to put down and left me wanting more.