Helpful Score: 3
âThe Book of Earthâ
Book 1 of the Dragon Quartet
By
Marjorie B. Kellogg
Erde, the daughter of a German noble is suddenly and terribly thrust into a world of magic and fear when she is accused of a crime she did not commit. After fleeing her father's wrath and the insane ravings of a power-hungry priest, Erde heads into the mountains only to be joined by a small, clumsy, surprisingly un-fantastic dragon named Earth.
Earth knows that he is called to a higher purpose, he just does not know exactly what. Content to put as much distance between her father and herself as possible Erde and Earth go on the run and are joined by an unexpected cast of characters including Hal, a knight past his prime with no lands to call his own, his mule who has an uncanny ability to choose the swiftest roads and âtalkâ to certain people, and an old she-goat who flatly refuses to allow Earth to eat her. The unlikely team must navigate their way through unknown obstacles and face many dangers to help Earth remember and seek out his higher purpose.
I had mixed feelings about âThe Book of Earthâ throughout the entire reading. âThe Book of Earthâ started out slow, then got better, then started dragging again, got really, really good, then dropped off in the middle of the climax, and eventually led to a strange and anti-climatic ending.
Now, that's not to say it wasn't entertaining. âThe book of Earthâ definitely had its moments that made it worth reading. Erde is an exceptionally likeable character despite the fact that she hardly speaks throughout the entire story. Hal, the displaced knight is also a great character despite the fact that he plays an overly father figure who becomes annoying at times, as fathers will I suppose. Earth, the dragon, is also likeable and has some very cute characteristics that make you want to hug him. He's insanely clumsy, purrs when he is petted, and lets his tongue hang out of the side of his mouth like a dog. He does however miss some of the endearing characteristics that fans of âInheritanceâ will have come to enjoy such as the ability to speak. This lack of features, while annoying do not really detract from the story however, and if anything adds to the mystery a little bit.
My biggest gripe is that at the end and highpoint of the climax Kellogg breaks stride and we end up with a long soliloquy that detracts from the main theme that she had going up until that point. It created a sense of surprise when the story finally came to a close and left me feeling kind of like: âThat's it? What the heck happened?â I also felt that Kellogg should have taken the leap into a fantasy world. Putting âThe Book of Earthâ in medieval Europe did not suit the story one bit. In fact, it became hard to remember that you were not engrossed in a fantasy world completely and it would have served her better to just create a new world that could have been more easily molded to her ideas and perhaps would have made the plot less tedious at times.
Overall "The book of Earth" left me with an extreme feeling ofâ¦indifference. I wasn't sad the book was over, wasn't glad I didn't have to read any more, I was completely devoid of feeling when I finally finished. I feel no desire or sense of urgency to complete the series, and highly doubt I will anytime in the near future anyway.
If you take your hand put it parallel to the ground in front of your face and wiggle it back and forth a couple of times while making a whining sound that goes along the lines of âehhhhâ¦â that would be a good summary of this book.
Two and ½ stars.
Book 1 of the Dragon Quartet
By
Marjorie B. Kellogg
Erde, the daughter of a German noble is suddenly and terribly thrust into a world of magic and fear when she is accused of a crime she did not commit. After fleeing her father's wrath and the insane ravings of a power-hungry priest, Erde heads into the mountains only to be joined by a small, clumsy, surprisingly un-fantastic dragon named Earth.
Earth knows that he is called to a higher purpose, he just does not know exactly what. Content to put as much distance between her father and herself as possible Erde and Earth go on the run and are joined by an unexpected cast of characters including Hal, a knight past his prime with no lands to call his own, his mule who has an uncanny ability to choose the swiftest roads and âtalkâ to certain people, and an old she-goat who flatly refuses to allow Earth to eat her. The unlikely team must navigate their way through unknown obstacles and face many dangers to help Earth remember and seek out his higher purpose.
I had mixed feelings about âThe Book of Earthâ throughout the entire reading. âThe Book of Earthâ started out slow, then got better, then started dragging again, got really, really good, then dropped off in the middle of the climax, and eventually led to a strange and anti-climatic ending.
Now, that's not to say it wasn't entertaining. âThe book of Earthâ definitely had its moments that made it worth reading. Erde is an exceptionally likeable character despite the fact that she hardly speaks throughout the entire story. Hal, the displaced knight is also a great character despite the fact that he plays an overly father figure who becomes annoying at times, as fathers will I suppose. Earth, the dragon, is also likeable and has some very cute characteristics that make you want to hug him. He's insanely clumsy, purrs when he is petted, and lets his tongue hang out of the side of his mouth like a dog. He does however miss some of the endearing characteristics that fans of âInheritanceâ will have come to enjoy such as the ability to speak. This lack of features, while annoying do not really detract from the story however, and if anything adds to the mystery a little bit.
My biggest gripe is that at the end and highpoint of the climax Kellogg breaks stride and we end up with a long soliloquy that detracts from the main theme that she had going up until that point. It created a sense of surprise when the story finally came to a close and left me feeling kind of like: âThat's it? What the heck happened?â I also felt that Kellogg should have taken the leap into a fantasy world. Putting âThe Book of Earthâ in medieval Europe did not suit the story one bit. In fact, it became hard to remember that you were not engrossed in a fantasy world completely and it would have served her better to just create a new world that could have been more easily molded to her ideas and perhaps would have made the plot less tedious at times.
Overall "The book of Earth" left me with an extreme feeling ofâ¦indifference. I wasn't sad the book was over, wasn't glad I didn't have to read any more, I was completely devoid of feeling when I finally finished. I feel no desire or sense of urgency to complete the series, and highly doubt I will anytime in the near future anyway.
If you take your hand put it parallel to the ground in front of your face and wiggle it back and forth a couple of times while making a whining sound that goes along the lines of âehhhhâ¦â that would be a good summary of this book.
Two and ½ stars.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first of four dragon-themed novels, one for each of the 'elements': earth, air fire and water.
It's an entertaining but unexceptional fantasy novel. Young Erde, heiress of a barony, is also heir to mystic dragon magic, but her powerful aunt died before she could pass on her knowledge. Erde is now prey for her insane and potentially abusive father, who is being frighteningly influenced by an Inquisitorial priest who is preaching against both witches and dragons, and is incidentally also behind a rebellion against the king.
Necessity demands that she run away - which she does, and she nearly immediately encounters a dragon, who bonds himself to her (in an Anne-McCaffrey-influenced manner). Unfortunately, the dragon, named Earth, although he knows there's a reason for him to be around, doesn't know much else. He seems to be lacking memory, and is very immature. Erde and Earth will just have to muddle along and figure things out. Luckily, they run into a royalist baron who is a big fan of dragons, who's willing to help them.
The novel's pro-feminist, pro-pagan stance is not something I disagree with, but it became a little predictable at times. Also, although the author went out of her way to very specifically set the story in Germany, giving everyone German names and specifying the city of Erfurt, nothing about the characters, their behavior, or the setting feels German it all - it's just a generic fantasy-medieval setting.
It's an entertaining but unexceptional fantasy novel. Young Erde, heiress of a barony, is also heir to mystic dragon magic, but her powerful aunt died before she could pass on her knowledge. Erde is now prey for her insane and potentially abusive father, who is being frighteningly influenced by an Inquisitorial priest who is preaching against both witches and dragons, and is incidentally also behind a rebellion against the king.
Necessity demands that she run away - which she does, and she nearly immediately encounters a dragon, who bonds himself to her (in an Anne-McCaffrey-influenced manner). Unfortunately, the dragon, named Earth, although he knows there's a reason for him to be around, doesn't know much else. He seems to be lacking memory, and is very immature. Erde and Earth will just have to muddle along and figure things out. Luckily, they run into a royalist baron who is a big fan of dragons, who's willing to help them.
The novel's pro-feminist, pro-pagan stance is not something I disagree with, but it became a little predictable at times. Also, although the author went out of her way to very specifically set the story in Germany, giving everyone German names and specifying the city of Erfurt, nothing about the characters, their behavior, or the setting feels German it all - it's just a generic fantasy-medieval setting.
