Rating: 
Summary: Clear and beautifully written
Review: I've owned all these books since they were first published and they are a series I have reread numerous times. I am currently rereading them in fact.
The characters are excellently crafted with depth and feeling. The really good characters have good and bad sides, they make mistakes and they THINK!
There are some sterotyped characters but they still are facinating and not so sterotyped that they are boring or iritating!
Melanie Rawn is a marvelous writer and before you read about how she hasn't crafted her world correctly let me point out it is HER world! It shouldn't matter to you if there are seige engines or other historicals issues that relate to our EARTH's history. For the simple reason that this is not Earth but Rawn's own creation and she can do or not do whatever the heck she wants with it's hitory and tecnology.
If you are the type to get fussy over that or you do not like romance in you fanatsy then these books are not for you. However, I would like to see you try the first book anyway just to see what you think!
Got for it, I think you'll like it! :-)
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best
Review: This is how fiction in general SHOULD be written. Dragon Prince should not just be in the sci-fi/fantasy genre but also in the Romance genre. Dragon Prince totally engrossed me and included me in its world. Magic, politics, and romance are the main themes in this book and it leaves you wanting more. Melanie Rawn writes her stories like the magic mirror in the book; it will suck you in and want to live in it. You MUST read this book, no MATTER WHAT!
Rating: 
Summary: Take the time
Review: Take the time to read this book and this series.. First I will say that the only reason that this acheived only a four is because Melanie places so much background history within her first books that you tend to get lost or just darn rite bogged down with so much info that you must go back and read it again to make sure you have everything and everyone in the correct place.After getting that down though you are in for a very enjoyable story with many.. many.. plot twists and mysteries.. At times you will wonder who are the bad guys and who are the good guys.. and still when you think you have it down you will think again.. Weither y ou be a novice or an expert in this genre this series is worth a look at.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to a Great Series
Review: I would have to say that this was the best book so far in both series (Prince and Star). It has much detail in it's story and plot which has unfolded greatly (so far I am little more then past the middle of Stronghold Star Book One). As far as I am concerned these books only get better and better.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book has everything that a good fantasy book should have. Action, romance, comedy, good guys, smart and evil guys, the whole nine yards. If you are looking for a good book to read, this is one you won't regret!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Better Fantasy Series
Review: I recommend this series to anyone who is looking for something meaty, rich, and engaging in the genre. While the dragon references in the titles may put many off, the novels are actually filled with political intrigue, romance, and full bodied characters. Settings are varied and interesting, and the storyline clips along surprisingly in novels of this size.
Read it! One of my favorite series. I go back to it often in between new releases.
Rating:
Summary: 3.5 STARS
Review: Had this been the very first epic fantasy that I had ever read, I would likely be telling you the following, if you had not already been inundated with it: "this kicks ass, buy this book, best I've ever read, etc". That's probably what someone would tell you - if it were the only fantasy that they'd ever read. However, this is not my case. As I glance from my monitor to my immediate left, I would estimate 200 fantasy novels stare back at me. I'm not a fantasy "beast" - I'm only 18, in college, etc. But my fair bit of experience qualifies me to point out a few things to a potential reader - because really, you don't want to trust someone for whom this was their first. "Dragon Prince" has a ton going for it. The characters act like real people might for the most part (unlike Terry Goodkind, where everything is meant to enrage or appall us), and the magic system of Sunrunners is about as original as it can be considering the voluminous amount of stuff that has preceded it. Political stuff is here too, and just at the right quantity and complication (though I do wish there were less passing mentions of unnecesarry and never-to-be-seen-again nobles and such. On the flip side, there is the occasional cheese-convo, for example Rohan trying to come to grips with his power in the last stages of the book, in a conversation with his brother Chay. Rohan's been the strongest personality up until this point, and then just starts whining about what he's going to do, he's not fit to rule, yadda yadda, and you can't help but roll your eyes at the contrivance of it all. Furthermore, I was a bit confused as to the size of the world. It really didn't seem to make intuitive sense. Battles in a "war" that involved nearly the entire world had mentions of soldiers in the "hundreds", never mention was ever made of a thousand people, for example. Rohan's battle against Roelstra at the end was about 600 on 900 respectively. Such figures irk me, because in a world where kingdoms are important and are ruled by lords, etc., and travel across this world takes quite a while, the popluation seems to be unrealistically low. Nitpicking perhaps, but these are points where reality and fantasy do have to be somewhat parallel, or so I would argue. All in all though - still an enjoyable read. It's not the best (though I have not proceeded to the next 5 books), that honor I would bestow upon Mr. Robert Jordan. Although his series is excrutiatingly long, you have to admit: you want to know how that puppy ends perhaps more than any ending to any story in any form ever. This series was fun, but let's say I could never find a copy of any subsequent book in the series. I would be disappointed for a few moments, but I get over it. The Wheel of Time in that situation - it would bother me for a long long time. For me, that is the mark of truly great and involving fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous series
Review: Melanie Rawn is an excellent charater writer. She makes you truly care for these people and her world is a facinating place full of color and life. I have red this series numerous imes and it never fails to enchant and enthrall me even though I already know what is going to happen.
She creates brillant and strong female characters without being too feminist. When I say that I mean they are strong, independant and smart without making the men out to be weak and stupid.
Just like one of my other favorite writers Anne McCaffery, M. Rawn has a world I could read about for the rest of my life..if only there were more books!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent start to an even better series...
Review: I read this book years ago, and only by accident discovered that it was one in a series. I have read a lot of the criticisms and can say that I see the point of many of the harshest. The romance is definitely based on lust, but I think that you can see it grows and becomes much more--although maybe you can't see that as much in this book. The good characters are definitely heading towards sainthood, although they become less so as the series progresses, and the bad characters are definitely very bad, with a few exceptions (Pandsala). So if those are your main critiques, then I would strongly urge you to read on. The line between "good" and "bad" people definitely becomes very very blurred. However, Melanie Rawn spends a lot of time developing the world and developing people (in the first of the dragon star series, she tells a short life story of a couple only to kill them off). Some people hate that, they feel it's too much fluff. If that's how you feel, then definitely the series is not for you. For me, I love it. I felt more sorrow at the wastes of war. I feel as if I watched some of these characters grow up and some ofthem, I just want to smack and ask what their parents would think of them! There is a lot of romance and beautiful peoplein these books, but so what? As someone else so aptly stated, "it's a fantasy!" The world is well-developed, the description of magic and riding the sunlight, etc. is beautiful (I sort of think it would be neat to see it as a movie) and most of all, the people are very hauntingly human. Issues dealing with power, manipulation, fanaticism, obsession, hatred, etc. are well dealt with in this book. I agree with other people that as frustrating as it is that she kills her main characters off, it makes the story more real and the suspense that much greater. The only reason I am giving it four stars instead of five is because the characters have a tad less depth than they did in the following books. It is still high on my list of favorites however.
Rating:
Summary: Beginning to a great story
Review: I was given a copy of this book in 7th grade, and I skeptically picked it up. I found it a little boring at first, but as I started reading more and understanding the characters, this remains my favorite series. Starting with this book, I own all 6 books in the 2 trilogies. I recomend this series to anyone who likes fantasy books, and has the patience to read the whole series. It's one that has even made me cry.
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