Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Medieval Fantasy Novel!
Review: I really enjoyed this novel, and am stubbornly eager to read the sequels. Why do I think stubbornness is necessary? Because I loved _Jaran_, the first novel in an earlier series by Kate Elliott, but gradually lost interest in the subsequent novels in the series. Also because the reviews for the 2nd and 3rd novels in the Crown of Stars Series are far less enthuseastic than the reviews for _King's Dragon_. But I shall keep an open mind...Note of warning: Kate Elliott loves creating and killing off a large cast of side characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic
Review: It has been quite a while since I read a series and thought "damn, it's over!" at the end. The author has built a vast number of interesting characters but, despite the number, one is able to know and relate to each. Each of the characters has their own remarkable flaws and imperfections, and you actaully have opportunities to sympathize with each throughout the series (even the remarkably "evil" ones you think you would never agree with). Unlike the Robert Jordan WoT series which seems to go on and on and on without resolution, Elliot has squeezed a sweeping epic into a (mere) trilogy, and I found myself disappointed when I finished the last of the third book. Fortunately, there are enough open issues, unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts in the end that Elliot could forseeably write another series to "fill in the blanks". I, for one, sincerely hope to see more from this author in the very near future.
Rating: 
Summary: DUMB
Review: I purchased the book based on the rave reviews given by Amazon.com readers - big mistake! If you like two-dimensional characters with the depth of a puddle, this is the book for you. Elliot is frightfully unimaginative with her generous borrowing of our very own medieval customs, literature, and religion. The characters' actions and reactions are unbelievable and melodramatic. As for the plot...there are at least twenty with as many loose ends. While you do follow approximately 4 central characters, hundreds more are introduced for absolutely no purpose; some are even killed off and I'm not sure if I was supposed to care. Maybe the next book in the series helps explain half of the characters and plots introduced in the first, but I can't stomach it to find out. If it's a 5-star author you're looking for, check out Guy Gavriel Kay or Stephen R. Donaldson.
Rating:
Summary: This book is like literary cocaine- you can't get enough!
Review: It has been a long time since I have read a fantasy with such fathomless depths. The imagination and creativity put into it are reminiscent of JRR Tolkien although of course nothing is like HIS works. I found the eika to be fascinating as well as the Aoi peeps. Does anyone know how to pronounce that anyways?
Rating:
Summary: First 300 pages - very slow reading!
Review: A friend lent me this book and told me that the book was exciting, tremendous, thrilling and vivid, yet when I started reading it, I felt that Kate Elliot was dragging the story, not giving any progress, not letting the reader hold on to something. It was very frustrating reading the first 300 pages, I found myself skimming the first sentences in each paragraph. While it is perhaps a necessity of the subject matter, I felt all of the main characters were either excessively cruel or excessively weak. Some of her story lines were very confusing. Example: When St. Thecla appears to Alian and gives him the rose. I really don't grasp why Kate Elliott included this. Even though this wasn't my favourite book, I did appreciate the literary skill of Kate Elliott...
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: I love this book...my father bought it for me when it first came out, and when I read it, I had to read it again, and again. A great blend of two views. . .I lost the book, and am going to buy it again. You have to read this book--it's pure gold!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This is fantasy for the intelligent reader. The characters are real and the world is thick with historical allusion. It is not the sanitary and shallow world of a D&D game, but drama of the highest order in a real place. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I loved this book. Atleast check it out at the library if you don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I've ever read.
Review: This book was awasome! I picked it up at the library just because I was bord and though it had a nice cover. But when I got home and started reading, I couldn't put the book down! I liked it so much that I went out and bought my own copy and the sequal and recomended it to all of my friends. The book is very memorable. I'm now wating for the final book to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: This book was good from beginning to end. Great plots, great characters, a well crafted world. There is a significant amount of description, but not too much at once and no more than is necessary to let the reader know what is needed about what's going on. Though I had trouble following the myriad and convoluted relationships, there was never any doubt as to who was doing what. I had never heard of Kate Elliot before this and then the design of King's Dragon cover art put me off from the book for a while. But I'm eager to pick up the next book in this series and anything else I can find by the author.
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