The promotional material had this to say of Dragon Queen:
“Yavie awakes from the slumber of death to a shattered world she does not recall to find herself betrayed by her lover, her siblings and even her father. In a desperate search for the truth, Yavie and her guardians embark on a quest more filled with peril than any that have come before, a quest that will test the depths of their loyalties and which paths they will choose.”
Sounds good, huh? I know I was sucked in.
But then I started reading the book. Would you believe I had to read two-thirds of the book before what was described above took place? That was annoyance #1.
This book would have been a great trilogy. The plots are there, but the story telling is still in a more outline like state. Almost like it is a treatment for a TV show than a novel.
Most of the time I found myself puzzled by the emotions I was told the characters were having. Everything was told — not shown. That was annoyance #2.
Then, whoever edited this book did not do a good job. Opening and closing quotes were not used when they were supposed to — leading to my thinking a new person was speaking when it was really just a continuation of the first person. And, they were used when they didn’t need to be. More confusion.
The book was printed and bound in China — maybe that’s why the quality wasn’t very high. But then again, I’d think the copy editor should have done his or her job before the book ever got to China.
Over all I was greatly disappointed in this book. It could have been so much more. If Ms. Gibson had only just fleshed out the characters and story, she could have had three (maybe even four) really good books. But, instead she has a really think outline that leaves the reader feeling frustrated at all the robust texture that could have been there.
RATING: 2 out of 5
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