Barbara S. (barbsis) - , reviewed on 8/26/2011 + 1076 more book reviews

Part one is very sad. Erde's father, Baron Josef is convinced by an evil priest, Guillemo Gotti, that Erde has had sexual congress and kills her best friend as punishment. When Baron Josef suddenly makes inappropriate advances to his 14 year old daughter, Erde realizes that it is no longer safe to stay at Tor Alte. Brother Gotti's is totally bat-shit crazy and is roaming the countryside on his own personal witch hunt. Unfortunately, Erde is caught in his crosshairs and flees into the woods where she comes face to face with a dragon named Earth. When Erde (coincidentally pronounced Earth) comes across Heinrich Peder von Engle (Hal) she learns many things that she should have been taught but her grandmother died before she could impart all her knowledge of dragons and dragon quests. The main thing she learns is that she is a Dragon Guide. Now she must figure out exactly what that means for her and for Earth. Earth is a very young dragon and he cannot remember why he was awakened or where he is bound. So they are running blind in hopes that Earth will remember before Brother Guillemo finds them.

I really felt for Erde. She's a naive 14 and out on her own in a scary world where females have no rights. Luckily she's found Earth who serves as her protector and confidant which is interesting since she lost her voice and communicates via telepathy. When Hal joins them on their quest, Erde finally has a male protector who knows some of what is going on and who has had previous dealings with Brother Guillemo.

Even though most of the story is a quest to nowhere for no particular reason except strange prophetic dreams, the story was fascinating and kept me turning pages. The prose is wonderful and the characters (Erde, Hal, Earth, Mule) are entertaining with great personalities and very real problems. I wanted to know where they were going and why. I loved the dragon, the "smart" mule and even the she-goat who "tells" Earth not to eat her (too funny). A wonderfully realized story in a world (Germany I think) that is both brutal and beautiful. I cannot wait to get my hands on [book:The Book of Water|219424] and find out who finds Water and how their quest interacts with Earth and Erde's.

On a side note: the book is classified as young adult and even though the main character is only 14, there isn't any of the usual teenage angst and b.s. I think it's because Erde is on her own for most of the story and she is voiceless. It's hard to complain when noone can hear you.

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