Dragon's winter - Hardcover

Lynn, Elizabeth A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0441005020 ISBN 13: 9780441005024

Publisher: Ace Hardcover, 1998

Synopsis

The winner of two World Fantasy Awards presents her first novel in thirteen years, the story of Karadur Atani, a man born of a dragon king, who must free his land from his evil twin, a wizard who has stolen his birthright.

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Reviews

Utterly engrossing, Lynn's first novel in 13 years demonstrates the command of her genre that has earned her two World Fantasy Awards. Of the twin sons, Karadur and Tenjiro, born to the shapechanging Dragon King Kojiro Atani of Ippa, only one inherits the dragon nature. Tenjiro, bitterly envious of his brother's supernatural abilities, masters an evil lore long thought vanquished. He perverts the affection of Karadur's lover, the musician Azil, and steals the magic talisman that enables Karadur to take dragon form. Standouts among the sensitively drawn supporting figures who accompany Karadur on his avenging path are three shapechangers: Hawk, who's a woman warrior and bow-maker; Wolf, her martyred comrade; and Bear, as formidable an ally as he is ferocious a foe. Lynn's painstaking creations of Ippan life from castle to cottage and her deft, profoundly convincing characterizations match her skill at conveying the intricacies of hand-to-hand combat in a world where what matters most is a man or woman's bravery in leaving it. Like Lynn's Chronicles of Tornor (Watchtower, etc.), this is a fantasy that readers will cherish?and there's a promised sequel to look forward to, as well.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Lynn's first novel after a 13-year sabbatical from fiction writing is admirable, if not quite as magisterial as such previous efforts as The Northern Girl (1980). In a land where magic works and changelings are not uncommon, twin boys are born to a dragon king, but only one of them has the dragon blood. His brother steals the talisman that would allow Karadur Atani to turn dragon, then becomes enslaved to the spirit of a long dead and utterly evil sorcerer. That forces Karadur to march on his brother's stronghold, besiege it, and slay the brother and his sorcerous minions. The plot summary makes the novel sound more conventional than it is, and the end is something of an anticlimax. But Lynn has created a strong cast in the changelings Wolf (and his wife, Thea), Bear, and Hawk, as well as secondary human characters. She has built the world of the book from a hundred well-chosen if frequently subtle details, she maintains pace excellently, and her command of English has not diminished. Roland Green

Edition details

• Publisher: Ace Hardcover
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0441005020
• ISBN 13: 9780441005024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 341