Rating: 
Summary: Good Start to the Series
Review: Kate Elliot has established a world loosely based on our own Middle Ages, especially in the religion aspect. The major difference with their religion is that it is a Lord and Lady based religion, and when God is referred to, it is used in plural form. In other words people would say "God are good" rather than "God is good." Another difference in Elliot's world is that male and female are considered equal, unlike the male dominated society of our Middle Ages.The story centers around the realm of Wendar, ruled by King Henry. In Wendar, religion plays a major part of everyday life and sorcery is illegal. Of course, since magic is an ability you're born with and need to learn to control, there will be people that learn the art of sorcery in secret. Liath and her father are good examples of this. Liath's father has been teaching her forbidden knowledge and they have a book they refer to as the "Book of Secrets". When Liath's father is killed, Hugh, the local Frater, takes her fathers books and takes Liath as his slave to pay off her father's debts. Liath is forced to endure Hugh's unwanted attentions and try to keep the Book of Secrets hidden from him, which he desires as much as he desires her. While Liath is suffering under Hugh's hand, in another part of the country, Alain, a young man in a foster family and promised to the church is trying to figure out who he is and what his future will be. He has been visited by the Lady of Battles, and he promises to serve her if his village is spared from the horde of Eika that is attacking the nearby monastery that Alain is sworn to. The Eika are human-like creatures that have come to wage war on those they refer to as "soft skins". Liath and Alain are the main focus of this tale, but Prince Sanglant bears a mention. Sanglant is the bastard son of King Henry, born of an Aoi woman. The Aoi are referred to as the Lost Ones as they no longer occupy the world of man. I believe they are supposed to be Elvish in nature. Sanglant is the Captain of the King's elite fighting force, the Dragons, and it is he that the book is named after. While the King is using his Dragons to try to protect Wendar from the Eika, his older half-sister Sabella is waging civil war trying to gain the throne that she believes was taken from her wrongfully. Elliot is off to a good start with this book. The second one is even better. This book establishes her world and the basis of the series. Some portions of the book are a little slow, and sections of stories about the various Saints and prayers are written out which seem to have little relevance to the story and I just skipped over them. She's made a good start creating the characters, but the second book gives them a little more depth than the first. My advice to potential readers is that if you read the first book and like it, to continue with the second, as it just gets better.
Rating: 
Summary: Did someone forget the storyline?
Review: I am an avid fantasy reader and was seeking a new series to sink my teeth into. I read online reviews of this book before I bought it and found them quite positive. After reading 400 pages of King's Dragon, I called it quits (something I rarely do). The author spent so much time on background info for the religious and political landscape of the story, that she completely forgot about progressing the storyline itself. I didn't care about the characters and I didn't care about the story. If you like complex, detail oriented fantasy, maybe this book is for you. If you read fantasy for a rich storyline that urges you to read on and on, try something else.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting world, wonderful story.
Review: King's Dragon is an engaging tale about two children on the verge of adulthood and how their actions come to affect a kingdom. The world is loosely based on medieval Europe, but it is a Europe seen through a cloudy and fantastic lens. While seeming like a cloudy version our own historic Europe, the world that Kate Elliot shares with us is one that is more magnanimous and kind than the really Europe ever was. Men and women sit as equals in government, in war, and even in the church. Children born out of wedlock are tolerated and at times even elevated above those born in sanctioned unions. In this story, King Henry rules over Wendar and Varre (Germany and France) and seeks to maintain his throne in spite of invaders from the north (instead of Vikings, these invaders are the monstrous Eika) and the rebellion of Sabella, his own sister. Against this backdrop, we are told the tale of two youths coming of age. One is Liath, a young girl whose father schools her in astronomy and magic, all the while moving them from town to town, one step ahead of some mysterious danger which stalks her. The other is Alain, a boy who doesn't know his parentage but is called into the service of his local lord and The Lady of Battles. I was impressed with this story on a number of levels. The most interesting thing to me was how Elliot set her story in a Europe that never was. The map is the same and the general setting is the same (names seem familiar, kingdoms seem placed appropriately, and the church is strong and pervasive), but she deftly weaves a tale of what could have been. I enjoyed looking at the names and trying to figure out their place in real world history. Another thing that I enjoyed about the story was the gender roles. Elliot's world has a woman as Skopos (kind of like the pope) and women as bishops throughout the land. In other arenas we see women leading armies and nations. It seems like she really worked to make her world less male=centric and perhaps could have used a lighter touch at times, but even still I enjoyed the finding out more about her world and characters and look forward to reading the next novel in the series. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves reading fantasy
Rating: 
Summary: It begins..
Review: The first installment in a marvelous series! Thank you Ms. Elliot for providing a new world for my imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks Many Things
Review: The first thing that struck me right from the prologue was the story's lack of focus of the point of view. I found it very annoying how the author rambled on and on, and gave no consideration to the point of view character. Characters do not notice all the little things she talks about, especially when the character has a serious mission. As well, in many cases things were mentioned that the point of view character could not possibly notice. For another, it was very irritating when ever the author used the phrases "as if" and "like" when describing something. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the book would be better without those phrases. Finally, there is an old saying in the writing world: "Show, don't tell". Well, there are too many instances where the author tells many things outright, where it should have been showed. After so many times, this becomes annoying.
Some writers have a sense of rhythm. They can write poetry and songs and include them in their novels. That is fine. However, Kate Elliot has no sense of rhythm. I cringed every time she included a song or a poem. They were blocky and were no means acceptable. They were more used as a device to dump data upon the reader, than for the sake of including poetry for the sake of poetry. Frankly, she is not one of those authors who can write lyrics or poems, and they should not have been included. It only took away from the author's credibility. Another thing the story lacked was plot. Simply put, it was unoriginal with no unique elements of intrigue to make it special. As well, her pacing does not work, and the amount of pages does not warrant the amount of action. I just found things dragging on and on, with hardly anything happening, and details being given to insignificant characters that have absolutely nothing to do with the story. It was like seeing a movie where the camera was not looking at the action. As well, in most stories there is something called a climax, where the excitement is at its highest. I kept waiting and waiting for this promised climax to happen. Guess what? It did no come. No climax here! It was flat all the way through. Another item is the characterization. From the different view points (e.g. Alian, Liath, Roevetta, and Sanglant) there was no difference in the writing. All the character's heads sounded the same. As well, I found it quite odd that Alian was not very nervous before his first battle, and Liath would have been more scarred from Hugh's tyranny. The characters were not fleshed out enough to make them more than two-dimensional. As well, the dialogue was quite unrealistic and uninteresting, and I found that it just did not sound like how people talk in real life. Then there were her plot twists. They were incredibly predictable, and somewhat obvious. There is nothing worse than a predictable twist, and no twist is better than that.
Finally, there was the actual historical context. As many other reviewers have mentioned that she does not alter things too much, I have to concur. The religion was too Christian, and left a stale taste in my mouth. For some reason the author felt it relevant to go on and on about all the holy stories about their people, and I did not really care about that. As well, the cultures were not unique enough to be special and to be remembered. It was too earth-historical, and although I have nothing against realism, this book lacked creativity. To conclude, this book lacked a point. It was simply pointless, and I feel that I have wated my time in reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Beatifully Written and Entertaining!
Review: In King's Dragon, Kate Elliott has created characters that people can relate to. Alain, foster son of Henry the merchant, finds himself pledged to the church since his fosterage, until his village is destroyed by a brutal race of lizard like warriors from across the sea. Now he must travel to a nobles holding, one who might or might not be his father. He must fight for a count who Alain thinks has been compelled by evil sorcery to fight alongside a claimant for the throne: Sabella. Liath, a young woman whos father's death has landed her in a situation of slavery to a young churchman named Hugh. Liath must unlock the secrets that her father locked up in her head when she was very young. Now, a king's Eagle, she delivers messages for the throne, while Hugh, still obsessed with her continues to try and gain secrets of sorcery from her that even she doesn't know. In Kate Elliots world, the land is at civil war. The church is based on Roman Catholosism and inheritance comes from the mother's side more often than not. Overall, its a very interesting and entertaining read. I recommend this book to fantasy fanatics like myself and to first time fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Start
Review: This is a great start to an amazing series. The characters are so well developed you can see them and know them. I have never been dragged into a world like this before, following and living the advantures along with Liath and Alain. Historical references are strong and complement the story well. A little slow in some parts but not enough to make me stop reading. You think this ones good? Wait till you get to get to volume 3 and 4, you'll be addicted!
Rating:
Summary: A great beginning
Review: This book did it's job, it had me immediately moving on to the next one. I enjoyed the world Kate Elliot developed and especially appreciated her respect for the religious instititions. There were some good religious people, some bad, and i liked the way she brought gender equity into her version of the medieval Catholic church. The characters were interesting and well-developed, especially Alain and Liath, the two leads. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
Rating:
Summary: Review for King's Dragon, by Kate Elliott
Review: I recently read this book, and it instantly captured my mind. Not only did the many interesting plots come together at the end, but each one could have been a book of its own. The characters were well thought out, all with their own unique personality that was never duplicated, and fit in wonderfully into the story. This was an exciting book, always unpredictable, and well written. An excellent book that I strongly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: King's Dragon
Review: Great Book! Can't wait to read the next one!
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