Rating: 
Summary: none
Review: 'The Ring of Five Dragons', the first in 'The Pearl' series, Lustbader has created one of the most original and intriguing fantasies for the new millennium. Lustbader's characters are vibrant and alive; filled with mysterious creatures and dieties, alien invaders and prophets, multi-layered plots and non-stop action and intrigue in a multi-colored and brillantly realized world. Lustbader has reinvented adventure and myth, and redefined fantasy... Gary S. Potter Author/Poet
Rating: 
Summary: Only suitable for easily entertained pre-teens
Review: ...Suspension of disbelief is very difficult in Eric van Lustbader's novel "The Ring of Five Dragons". With very little setup, he flits from locatation to location, revealing the way out of each chapter ending cliffhanger with a entirely new and inconsistent secret twist. He doesn't bother to provide a rich background to his world, unless on the next page a character uses that information to his advantage. Prophecies are often used a plot element: but only after they have already come true. Where's the suspense, the anticipation of how they will come to be. Oh of course you are destined to kill so and so. You just did it! I am already wishing his heroes would die already, so I don't have to read about any more unlikely escapes due to newly found powers.Time seems to flow randomly, with some sections of the world spending months while only days have elapsed in others. All characters are either major, or cannon fodder, there is very little fading off into the background and moving events away from the story going on here....
Rating:
Summary: A decent read........
Review: A decent read, not exactly my usual type, but the mixture of fantasy with Eastern culture was entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: The Ring of Five Dragons
Review: A very different style from Lustbader and it took a few pages to get used to the new style but well worth the read, it quickly transports you to Lustbaders new world of Kundala. The charachters and plot are complex enough to be interesting with some unusuall twists in the plot leaving you guessing what will happen next, the ending is a bit abrubt and leaves you searching for more pages to turn too, can't wait for the next part.
Rating: 
Summary: Fab Sci-Fi
Review: After reading this book, I fell in love with it. I find it better than even Harry Potter. The plot is well thought out and doesn't bore you for a moment!
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Amazing, one of my favorite books of all time. Iam not big into fantasy but, this book is so compelling and interesting. I recommend to anyone that loves a great story. His second book- The Veil of a thousand Tears is just as good.
Rating:
Summary: Routttine, Hummmdrum, Borrring....
Review: At the outset, let me state that I am not a fan of the trend towards "multi-volume epics," for the simple fact that 99% of them either don't have enough story to support that treatment or the author isn't up to handling that format adequately. In some cases it's a bit of both, and that describes RING OF FIVE DRAGONS pretty well. Others have already mentioned the book's primary shortcomings: Uneven pacing, inconsistant characterizations, routine (and even recognizable) mythology, deus ex machina revelations, plot holes, and a disturbing fascination with inter-species sex. Let me assure you that all these objections are valid, in spades, and then some. In addition, this book contains several vivid descriptions of rapes, and particularly of a double rape and murder, and the disturbing way these scenes were handled added nothing to the plot (such as it is) and seemed entirely gratuitous. As I write this, the second book in this "epic" is available, but I won't be buying it. Nothing in the first book entertained me or made me care what happens to these characters, so I won't waste my money...or my time... on the second.
Rating:
Summary: Alice in Kundalaland
Review: Being a Lustbader fan (what's with the 'van' coming in and out of his name?), I looked forward to this new series. After the first few pages, I almost gave up and was going to donate the book to ther terminally bored. However, I persevered a little longer and became too involved to let go. I let go of the correct pronunciation of names and places (who cares) and just plowed on. I found a great deal of similarities to Alice in Wonderland, taken to new Freudian heights.Think Thigpen's smile. The story is compelling and the characters had wonderful Jungian overtones (Freud and Jung can co-exist). The story ended just as it should -- unresolved. I can't wait to see the next volume. Mr. van Lustbader certainly has a way with aliens.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it
Review: I enjoyed reading this book and will buy more in the series. It was a little fragmented or something I can't put my finger on to rate it a 5 star book.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it
Review: I enjoyed reading this book and will buy more in the series. It was a little fragmented or something I can't put my finger on to rate it a 5 star book.
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