Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Book Review #78: The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham

The Dragon's Path
by Daniel Abraham

Genre: Fantasy
Ages: 15 and up
I received an e-book of this from NetGalley for review.

Amazon Description:
Summer is the season of war in the Free Cities.

Marcus wants to get out before the fighting starts. His hero days are behind him and simple caravan duty is better than getting pressed into service by the local gentry. Even a small war can get you killed. But a captain needs men to lead -- and his have been summarily arrested and recruited for their swords.

Cithrin has a job to do -- move the wealth of a nation across a war zone. An orphan raised by the bank, she is their last hope of keeping the bank's wealth out of the hands of the invaders. But she's just a girl and knows little of caravans, war, and danger. She knows money and she knows secrets, but will that be enough to save her in the coming months?

Geder, the only son of a noble house is more interested in philosophy than swordplay. He is a poor excuse for a soldier and little more than a pawn in these games of war. But not even he knows what he will become of the fires of battle. Hero or villain? Small men have achieved greater things and Geder is no small man.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. What should have been a small summer spat between gentlemen is spiraling out of control. Dark forces are at work, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path -- the path of war.

My Review:
This book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't live up to it. The plot was scattered and the characters were annoying. The story kept jumping around from person to person until I really didn't care anymore. Cithrin, who seemed like she is supposed to be the main character, starts out ok but then deteriorates from a naive and clever young girl into a power-hungry woman who ignores her friends and uses her body to help her business. Blech.

The only character I really liked was Marcus with his dry humor and firm sense of honor. There were a few other people who had potential, but they were never developed. Dawson was an odd one; I was never quite sure what to think of him but his wife was all right and his son was one of the few people I may have come to like if only he had actually spent much time in the story. Geder, the pathetic semi-villain, was completely disappointing.

At the beginning I thought this was going to be an interesting read, but oh well. When the sequel comes out, I may glance at it and give a thought to reading it, but I doubt it.
Content Ratings: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:
I give it an 8.10 for a couple of f-words.

Sexuality:
I rate it a 6.10 for a vague scene, an almost scene and references.

Violence:
I give this a 7.10 for murder, battle, a massacre and fights.

                                      Lieder Madchen

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