Janine Cross, Shadowed by Wings

Shadowed by Wings

Janine Cross

Roc, Aug 2006, $14.00

ISBN 0451460898

Seventeen years old Zarq believes it is her destiny as the Skykeeper's Daughter to become a dragonmaster. However, the Keepers of the Dragon Temple reject her request; insisting no woman has ever been or shall be a dragonmaster. She is warned to drop her pursuit or face dire consequences though she endures an abusive apprenticeship including rape and mutilation by the Dragonmaster of Clutch Re headed by Overlord Waikar Re Kratt.

While her peers treat her with contempt, Zarq searches for allegedly lost ancient documents that will prove a woman could be a Dragonmaster. If she succeeds in finding the document she would still face certain death of heresy or worse cold turkey withdrawal from dragon venom that's she is addicted to while they lock her away. Adding to her pressure is her late mother's dragon demands she search for her missing sister, Waivia, instead of completing an apprenticeship that will at the end still not achieve her dream of becoming one with the dragons.

This is not for everyone as Janine Cross is vividly descriptive with the trials and tribulations that assault the young heroine as she bucks the enforced order of the Taliban like Dragon Temple. Definitely not for a weak stomach with scenes of rape, genital and other bodily mutilations, and sexual slavery that make Zarq's dragon venom addiction, forced prostitution and even bestiality, seem mild. Well written, SHADOWED FOR WINGS is a violent XXX fantasy saga that provides a radically different look at a dragon based society than the heroic thread eaters of Pern.

Harriet Klausner