Rating: 
Summary: Too much religion, not enough good writing
Review: I made it most of the way through the second book of this series before I couldn't take any more. There is way too much emphasis on the religion of this fantasy land and not enough good storytelling.
Rating: 
Summary: A strong start to an outstanding series
Review: I picked up this book on a whim at the library, and ploughed through it and the next three of the series within two weeks. Elliott has developed an intricate, compelling storyline that rewards the attentive reader. Each chapter uncovers some new layer to the onion -- or suggests that one will be uncovered later. This is a story of sweeping scope, with more than seven distinct "main" protagonists, whose individual stories intertwine and separate, then intertwine again. Most of the main pro- and antagonists are fairly clearly good or evil, but there are several important characters hovering somewhere in the middle. This dynamic makes for an engaging plot that doesn't suffer from predictability.This first book is the slowest of the lot, so far. It does delve heavily into background and history, but it does so for a VERY good reason. Everything you learn in this book is important for the later books, and I found myself in book IV wishing I'd paid better attention back in book II to some chance story a minor character told in passing. The intrigues and hidden manipulations only comes to light slowly, as the protagonists themselves learn the truth. A story of this scope can't be done justice by being told quickly. As I see it, the books seem to fit the following pattern: book I is foundation, suggesting some greater plot is driving the action; book II shows there is more than one greater plot, and introduces several mysteries; book III slowly unravels a couple of mysteries, but mostly establishes a few new ones and moves the story closer to conclusion; book IV drives clearly toward the series climax and explains several of the mysteries, but leaves more than enough to make you wish book V had been published already. One note: This first book contains a central plotline of domestic violence and rape. Some readers may find this very disturbing, especially as there's no skipping over those sections without missing too much to continue.
Rating:
Summary: Just a warning: stay away.
Review: This book has many fatal flaws. One, and the largest, is Elliot's insistence on using names and history completely ripped off from the middle ages. Now bishops are biscops, the pope is the skopos, the fathers are fraters. In writing the history of the realm, she continues using this preposterous method. She refers to Virgilia's "Heleniad," like Virgil's Aeneid in our world. Or Augustina's "City of God," like Augustine's "City of God." She just takes all male rolls from the middle ages and, in a seeming feminist rage, reverses them. I have no problem with women having power, but this was so umimaginative as to be compared with Jordan's WOT.
Also, make sure you like religious dogma, because it comprises about 3/5 of the book. And it is again ripped off straight out of the Roman Catholic doctrine. I felt like she was trying to convert me to this religion instead of telling a story.
What story you ask? Well, if you look really hard, you'll find that there seemingly was none. Characters wander aimlessly and every uninteresting point of view must be described in detail. Yes, detail. Like Robert Jordan detail. Every blue sky, every tree, every house, every person, every molecule needs a description. Unimaginative also. She uses the same old convention: Every time someone is embarrassed they flush, every time they are surprised they pale. Over and over and over... I know what you are, Kate Elliot. You sat down some years ago and read Jordan. You then decided to emulate him, even though you have not an ounce of talent. It's fairly transparent that you have no experience writing; how could you get this far with this drivel? It's money, plain and simple. Don't waste your time. I can't believe I have to give it one star. That implies there was some worth in this novel, and there was not. The poor trees killed in making this book would rather have been toilet paper, for at least they would have been useful.
Try Martin's "Game of Thrones" if you are interested in real writing.
Rating:
Summary: A Tapestry
Review: The Crown of Stars series, by Kate Elliott, is the best series I have ever read. Ms. Elliott has hundreds of plotlines intricately woven within each other to create a beautiful tapestry in her books. Her writing style is wonderful, and her attention to detail is fabulous. The characters have depth, feelings and I can picture them as real people. This book can be classified as fantasy, but it truly could have happened. In the first book, King's Dragon, there are only two main characters. While they don't meet in this book, you are still drawn into their lives and pasts. The countries of Wendar and Varre seem like real places, and have plausible castes and rules. I envy Ms. Elliott her ability to draw one inside her books. I would highly recommend these books to anyone. (Note: There is quite a bit of violence and some themes that would be inappropriate for young children. Please make sure you are mature enough to handle this if you are to read.) Another side note: The poetry in these books is *wonderful*, but due to the fact it would have originally been spoken in Wendish, they do not rhyme and the rhythm is off. But the poetry is truly some of the best I have read.
Rating:
Summary: An utterly terrific read...
Review: I've read 'King's Dragon' from cover to cover a couple of times already! But have yet to get my hands on 'Prince of Dogs' or 'Burning Stone' (books are scarce where I am)... This is just a really terrific read... I've never tired of reading it again and again... I really, really love the characters as they are fleshed out wonderfully... the plot is engaging and the background history gives the world a real 3d feel... Recommended to anyone who likes a book with adventure and drama! And anyone who likes fantasy should *definately* give this one a shot!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent characters! Great series!
Review: I definitely enjoyed the "King's Dragon"/Crown of Stars series. The characters were complex and interesting, and the story unfolded slowly in the beginning and then built to a fast paced... not conclusion, but stopping place. The best thing about this book is that although it was full of the fantasy staples..sorcery, battles, elves, kings, etc. it did not overuse them. You definitely will enjoy spending time with these characters, and I know I look forward to reading more about them in the future. The only reason I rated this series a 4 (instead of 5) is because the later books (especially #4 "Child of Flame") can be a little hard to follow at times. The many plotlines/characters are woven in a very intricate tapestry. This can be very entertaining though, after reading some of the less thought provoking fantasy series out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic and slightly confusing
Review: I was looking for another sweeping, epic fantasy series to emerse myself in, and a friend suggested I try this series. I admit that the first half of the book was confusing and a bit much to take in because of the sheer numbers of characters, the somewhat confusing social aspects (heavily female-centric), and the revisionist history/religion. Once I got about half way through the book, though, I was hooked. I started to "get" who the different characters were, and I started to understand where all this was going. It's definitely a book to "set up" the story. I've since gone on to read several of the other books and this series, and I can without reservation say that things get much better as the series continues, and I plan to follow this one through to completion. So, if you pick this one up it's well worth the read, keep with it!
Rating: 
Summary: I don't like it
Review: I got to maybe a hundred pages in the book, but couldn't get any further. This is not a good book. There seems to be two main characters in the book but they never interact; at least in the first hundred or so pages. Also the characters are flimsy, without depth and there is no plot. The story just winds on and on. I didn't know what the hero and heroine was trying to do even after the first hundred pages. They just seem to go on and on with their lives. They have no goal except maybe to react to what's happening to them. I do not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Another world awaits you ....
Review: Another World awaits you in this mesmerizing saga of a land with many strange creatures and races, each striving to dominate their parts of their lands and maybe to take more. The characters you will encounter will inspire loyalty and loath and all other emotions between. Take a journey and visit the struggle for survival and conquest, love and hope, and causes lost as well as for the most important- survival of a race or races of sentient life forms. The time is coming for these answers and I cannot wait.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst fantasy novels I've ever read
Review: Words won't convey how much I hated this book. I read almost all fantasy fiction that is published in the US and this is the worst I've seen yet. Kate Elliott is a dreadful fantasy writer if this is an example of what she writes. In King's Dragon, the characters are badly developed and dull, every minute little detail of the world Elliott has created is 'explained' to the detriment of what little plot line there is, and to the confusion of the reader. And her attempts at poetry were laughable. I waded through the entire book, determined to see if it got any better. It didn't. Then, I returned the next 3 books in the series to the bookstore for novels by much better fantasy writers - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hicks, and Terry Pratchett. If you really want to read good fantasy epic fiction, try Terry Goodkind, Weis and Hicks, or George R. R. Martin, not this.
| 
