Rating: 
Summary: Emotional turmoil
Review: It's been several weeks since I read this book. I have been trying to find words to describe my reaction. "Dragonsbane" is one of my favorite books, and Hambly one of my favorite authors. I truly respect what she has done with "Dragonshadow" and "Knight of the Demon Queen". This is a gritty, hard world where there are a thousand ways to die, and no one thinks of magic as soft, friendly, or fun. If you are looking for an escapist fantasy world, don't look in this series. It will make YOUR daily grind look like a trip to an amusement park. At the end of "Dragonshadow", our heroes have achieved their goals at great personal loss. This book continues just where the previous ended, down to the sleep deprivation and deep grief. As a case study in how families deal with grevious events, it is interesting. As an observation of how Jenny and John deal with these terrible events, it is heart-wrenching. I don't think I would have survived if John wasn't bent on raising the spirits of all those about him... including the Demon Queen. But that ending is very hard to take. In fact, my mind is still rejecting it. There's a voice deep inside me saying "But wait! She'll explain it in the sequel! Things will be all better then!" I will not go into more detail in order to avoid spoilers. I would encourage those who like Hambly and loved "Dragonsbane" to put this book on a shelf for a while and see if a sequel is forthcoming. However, I suspect it is not. Anyone want to start a support group for readers of this book?
Rating: 
Summary: Does not compare to Dragonsbane in any way
Review: It's one thing to give characters obstacles to face. It's another to torture them ad infinitum and then end the book without letting the readers have some sense of closure. Barbara Hambly's style and talent shine through now and then (I like the part about little Maggie wanting to be a spider when she grew up) but the rest of the book was very disappointing. Get rid of the demons already and bring back Morkeleb (as something other than a conveyance).
Rating: 
Summary: great Story
Review: The book was great till the end.It left you hanging on a cliff till the next book comes out.
Rating:
Summary: What will become of our heroes? Who cares?
Review: The first book in this series is a well-worn friend; "Dragonshadow" I returned to the store I purchased it from, disgruntled, but at least it was able to stand on its own as a novel. This boring bit of trash I left in the store, irritated that I'd wasted three hours of my life on it. It's basically character movement, getting them to where they need to be for the NEXT book, heaping further indignities on the main characters while using others (Gareth, Trey and Polycarp leap to mind) as throwaways (and using the magnificent Morkeleb the Black as a taxi, for the Lady's sake!). Hambly leaves them, with the cliffhanger, in a place where they cannot escape without violating the integrity of the situation as it stands. I NEVER thought I'd be writing this -- certainly Ms. Hambly may do as she pleases with her characters -- but I don't give a damn about what happens to anyone in this book, and I won't be bothered to look around for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Is the problem the ending -- or the middle?
Review: There is a rhythm to science fiction/fantasy, and especially to Ms. Hambly's works. In a word, three is supposed to be the charm. As you turn page after page, the excitement builds because you are finally going to get a resolution of plots and subplots. I did not realize until the very final paragraph that this third book in the Dragonsbane series would not be the end. Like others whose reviews I have read here, my reaction ranged from disappointment to downright anger. But although it is easy to point to the ending as the problem with the experience of reading this book, I think that's just what sticks in your mind. The fact is that there have been other of Ms. Hambly's books -- notably any of the Darwath Trilogy or Windrose Chronicles -- which I never wanted to end. This was not such a book. There were times, particularly during the cyberpunk portion of the book, where I continued slogging along ONLY for the promise of resolution. I do not expect sunshine and roses in my fantasy reading -- God knows that The Mists of Avalon has a definite dark side -- but like some other reviewers, I had the sense that there was an almost sadistic strain to the way this book tortures the two main characters. One can only hope that the tone and mood of the book does not reflect something equally dark going on in the author's life; in the past, even in the midst of hardships, fears and difficulties, there has been a life affirming warmth and strength to her characters (think of Joanna trapped in the crystal, or Antryg in the silent tower). I have read, and will contine to read, anything Barbara Hambly sets down on paper. I just hope I feel better about it in the future than I did when suffering along with Jenny and John here.
Rating:
Summary: Warning...
Review: This book is really, really dark. And, as the editorial review notes, it ends in the middle of the story, with the main characters in a really bad spot. Still, it's a great story. And fortunately the conclusion of the series ("Dragonstar") has just been released. Might as well save yourself some agony and get both at the same time.
Rating: 
Summary: Knight of the Demon Queen
Review: This is among my favorite fantasy novels. Ever. It does what I want speculative fiction to do: walk over edges. Yes, the characters are tortured. Yes, a happy ending is not (in this volume of the series) apparent. But this is not a nihilist book: always, in the background, we know that love and loyalty have importance to Hambly's universe. And the grit, the horror, provides a wonderful anecdote to all that Pollyannaish pap that's out there on the shelves. In addition, Hambly's background as a historian gives her the skills to write wonderfully grounded, believeable fiction. Her worlds work, from ecology to economy. Don't miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: No Dragons
Review: This was a big disappointment. There are some series that need more books and never get written and then there are the series that the author should have left alone before they ruined the world. This is that kind. All the magic from the first book is was sucked out of the series by the second book leaving this one to be a rambling mediocre story of a quest involving demons. It had potential but the quest basically goes nowhere. Far, far too much time is spent in the strange 'modern' world and the book ends with out ending. If you liked Dragonsbane, do yourself a favor and don't read this one. It's not worth the time or the money.
Rating: 
Summary: More of the same
Review: Those who were disappointed by the exceedingly sombre tone of this book's predecessor, Dragonshadow, will find this book more of the same. The ending, a cliffhanger, is disappointing; I would advise waiting on this until the next one is out, and then reading them both. Hambly has handled breaks between books with more grace: the touch of hope at the end of The Silent Tower, where Joanna betrays Antryg believing him to be something other than he was, but then redeeming herself by guessing the right password to the computer, or the transitions between The Time of the Dark, or in the Rainbow Abyss, where Rhion leaps into the Void but at least the reader knows that he survives. This is just a grim little cliffhanger of an ending. Wait for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Half better than none?
Review: Warning! This is obviously a 600 page book that someone cut in half to generate sales and take advantage of Ms. Hambly's fans, of which I have been one for many years now. That said, it is still well worth reading. She has strayed quite a lot from the first book in the series, but John (our hero) is still recognizable and engaging.. Jenny isn't. If at all possible, borrow it from the library (I did) or wait a couple years until the SF Book Club comes out with a 'double' containing this book and its' inevitable sequel. Unless money is a minor concern for you (must be nice), in which case you should go ahead and buy it.. :-)
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