Rating: 
Summary: Well done
Review: An enjoyable work which spans two continents and uses point of view effectively. Your sympathies may switch midway through the book, or better yet expand to include more than you thought.I found this book in the library over ten years ago and was amazed it was never reprinted. About time they reprinted it.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative fantasy tale
Review: Despite the generic fantasy title, this is an unusual and thoughtful fantasy story full of realistic characters and interesting cultures. Preiss and Reaves have a great sense of atmosphere and description; it's only too bad that this hasn't been made into a movie. Amsel is a Fandoran, a member of a hard-working, small-statured race in a fairly bleak land. He is also a loner, a dreamer, and a scientist who studies just about everything. But his life is thrown into turmoil when a boy is found dead, apparently having fallen from Amsel's hang-glider. The boy's father and the inhabitants of the town assume that Amsel is in league with the Simbalese, a wealthy people who look down on the Fandorans. Amsel ends up running for his life to Simbala, in the hopes that he can avert a war. But in Simbala, a similar death has taken place. It also jeopardizes the position of Hawkwind, a miner raised to royalty by the previous Monarch, and his Rayan lover Ceria. The bratty Princess Evirae, an arrogant royal with clawlike nails and really big hair, takes the opportunity to attack Hawkwind and try to gain the throne for herself. But as the Fandorans and Simbalese clash, a new foe comes from a frosty wasteland -- the colddrakes, nastier cousins to the dragons and led by a huge, intelligent colddrake called the Darkling. Recognizing that the colddrakes will destroy both sides, Amsel sets out to the legendary Glowing Caverns, to find the only thing that can stop the destruction. It's a fairly straightforward plot, but is made less simple by the character interactions. The Fandorans and Simbalese don't just clash with each other, but with people in their own ranks. Such characters as Jondalrun and Prince Kiorte make mistakes and misjudge people; while readers may not agree with their viewpoints, they will at least understand them. And the villains are thankfully three-dimensional: The Darkling is doing his best for his kind, in the hopes that they won't die out, while Princess Evirae is not so much evil as bratty, scheming and manipulative. When thwarted, she acts like a child. It also shows the dangers of ignorance and jumping to conclusions without proof, as both sides do with circumstantial evidence that leads them to war. And while almost every dragon idea has been exhausted, Preiss and Reaves manage to make them unusually original. The dragons in this are nearly extinct, but a wise, noble, and somewhat crabby race. The colddrakes are a separate but related species -- sort of like lions and tigers -- who are subservient to the wishes of the dragons. This concept is intriguingly fresh. The portrayals of the different cultures are also good: The simple down-to-earth lives of the Fandorans, the more elaborate and technological lives of the Simbalese, and the gypsy-like Rayans. Preiss and Reaves produce a lot of tiny differences between them, in memorable scenes such as the "voting" of the various Simbalese leaders, the aborted coronation, and a poignant glimpse of a long-dead dragon locked in a glacier. Young adults can read this; there is no profanity or graphic violence, and some hints of intimacy but nothing too obvious. The writing and descriptions are pretty spare; the dialogue is quite realistic, although sometimes it lapses a bit into the formal prose of most fantasy novels. My main problem is that often the book jumps around too much; several times in one chapter, the focus will shift between several different places. It makes it hard to follow. On a quality level, the paper is thick and smooth, very solid-feeling. The illustrations (which ibook has thankfully retained) are soft-edged pencil drawings that accurately portray people and things in the books. The dragon/colddrake pictures are especially good. For an unusual, well-characterized tale about dragons, nerdy little heroes, and epic battles, this is the book to get.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and engaging book !!!!
Review: Dragons are what attracted me to this book originally, and there are dragons in it, two different species to be exact, though I think they did need more time in the spotlight. I hope to see a sequal to this one because it would be a shame to waste such a large and interesting world, we also need to find out more about the dragon's past and their future as well.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book about Dragons, MORE THEN FIVE STARS!
Review: Dragonworld is one the select few books that has stuck with me in an extraordinary way. The writing was incredibly vivid and engrossing. And even though I was at first a bit skeptical about the book having illustrations, I found those illustrations helpful in setting the atmosphere. I am the kind of reader who gets bored relatively easily; but I had no problem remaining interested in this story because once it started, it kept going at a face pace without a moment to spare. I sympathized, empathized and generally *cared* about all of the characters and their relationships with each other. Not only was each character compellingly and realistically developed, they all seamlessly fit into the story with no superfluous or extraneous details. The story itself is not unlike any reality based situation people might encounter. The misinterpretation of a tragic event by different groups of people leads to an uncalled for and, therefore, even more tragic war. In Dragonworld, it is up to one good-natured man to help right the wrongs to restore peace and initiate understanding and communication. And what an adventure he experiences while trying! As improvements go, I noticed only two. Firstly, I found the title a bit misleading. A book entitled "Dragonworld" implies dragons. This book had its share of dragon involvement, but not nearly as much as I expected. Quite frankly, I wanted more dragons!! Since these dragons were at the heart of the story, they should have been featured more. Had they been featured more, I would whole-heartedly give Dragonworld five stars. Secondly, the marvelous illustrations were less than marvelously placed. It is inevitable that a page break will interrupt a sentence; but, on top of page breaks, more often than not, the illustrations were placed in the middle of those sentences too. It was very distracting to have a beautifully written sentence interrupted by an illustration. Overall, Dragonworld is a concise, powerful, riveting and convincing story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Be Prepared For a Wonderful Adventure
Review: Dragonworld is one the select few books that has stuck with me in an extraordinary way. The writing was incredibly vivid and engrossing. And even though I was at first a bit skeptical about the book having illustrations, I found those illustrations helpful in setting the atmosphere. I am the kind of reader who gets bored relatively easily; but I had no problem remaining interested in this story because once it started, it kept going at a face pace without a moment to spare. I sympathized, empathized and generally *cared* about all of the characters and their relationships with each other. Not only was each character compellingly and realistically developed, they all seamlessly fit into the story with no superfluous or extraneous details. The story itself is not unlike any reality based situation people might encounter. The misinterpretation of a tragic event by different groups of people leads to an uncalled for and, therefore, even more tragic war. In Dragonworld, it is up to one good-natured man to help right the wrongs to restore peace and initiate understanding and communication. And what an adventure he experiences while trying! As improvements go, I noticed only two. Firstly, I found the title a bit misleading. A book entitled "Dragonworld" implies dragons. This book had its share of dragon involvement, but not nearly as much as I expected. Quite frankly, I wanted more dragons!! Since these dragons were at the heart of the story, they should have been featured more. Had they been featured more, I would whole-heartedly give Dragonworld five stars. Secondly, the marvelous illustrations were less than marvelously placed. It is inevitable that a page break will interrupt a sentence; but, on top of page breaks, more often than not, the illustrations were placed in the middle of those sentences too. It was very distracting to have a beautifully written sentence interrupted by an illustration. Overall, Dragonworld is a concise, powerful, riveting and convincing story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I first read this novel about 15 years ago and always wondered why it was never reprinted. It is a well-told tale, enjoyable to read, and in a style reminiscent of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The characters interact well together and there is excellent depth to them. It is not predictable nor does it fit into the tight little cliched fantasy that is so prevalent today. If you want a solid fantasy read, this is the one for you.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Old-Style Fantasy
Review: I first read this novel about 15 years ago and always wondered why it was never reprinted. It is a well-told tale, enjoyable to read, and in a style reminiscent of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The characters interact well together and there is excellent depth to them. It is not predictable nor does it fit into the tight little cliched fantasy that is so prevalent today. If you want a solid fantasy read, this is the one for you.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly Wondrous, a Masterpeice!
Review: I found this book in my school library (in 7th grade? I can't remember) and just LOVED. It was the first true fantasy book of great size that I've read. Like the other reviewer, it was the illustraed version I read. The book invokes fantastic images of the wrold it's in. It's been almost 5 years since I've read it, and still I can call to mind some of the various events in it. A boy dies of a tragic accident. Blame is put on a country across the sea and their flying ships. A journey is made. Huge trees that contain whole homes. Mysterious jewels and a dragon they are connected too. Some evil plots by a woman with extremely long nails. And the coldrakes (well, not dragons anyways) that are lead by a half dragon/half coldrake (I think) that is the cause of much trouble. The book is superb, and if I could buy it from my old school's librarien I would. (The same person who bought the 1st editition Belgariad paperback that I read at that same Library.) You'll love it if you can find it! (and please remember that I can barely remember what happened in it!)
Rating:
Summary: A pure fantasy joy ride
Review: I have been an avid fantasy reader since Tolkein captured my attention with his masterpieces. This is one of the few I've read that can even hold a candle to his works. I have been browsing a used book store for quite sometime looking to fill my hungar for good fantasy novels. I found this book and immediately bought it and dove into the wonderous story. I didn't know how lucky I was to find this untill I discovered it was out of print. It is a true gem for any literary library. If you like dragons, magic, princesses and fantasy this book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the few books I've read 3 times...
Review: I picked this book up from my school library when I was a teenager and loved it. I then went on a search for this book so I could own it. The search took me over 2 years of sporadic looking, but I finally found it. Twenty-five years later I still have that copy and it is one I will keep and eventually share w/ my 3 sons.
The characterizations are crisp and multi-faceted. No one-dimensional ones like in The Wheel of Time series. The heroics are not grand gestures (but can be heartwrenchingly beautiful) and the heroes would not call themselves such. The characters are simply doing what is necessary to suceed.
The plot is reminiscent (to me, at least) of The Hobbit. It may seem a bit standard, but has some wonderful elegant moments. I loved Ansel's bravery and the dragons are marvellous. Why is this book not a movie?!
If you are a fan of Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey's Pern series or the works of Jack Vance, then this book is for you. Give it a try if you want to read fantasy as it is meant to be written.
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