Jayel Gibson, Dragon Queen

Dragon Queen

Jayel Gibson

Synergy, May 2007, $14.95

ISBN: 1933538465

In Aestretfordae, the Ancients grant great power to the three Guardians in training Yavie, Ryden and Nall. However, before their first official mission and in spite of these gifts, Nall is wounded by the deadly slitherwort poison; to save his life, Yavie gives him a blood oath.

The trio's opening project seems simple enough. They are each assigned to contact a different dragon flyte, who will in turn consign a quest to the visiting Guardian. Nall travels to the Ice and Accordant flytes; Yavie meets with the Wind and War dragon horde; Ryden, who hates dragons, visits the Sea flyte, but also cuts a side deal with a siren. After the Guardians complete the dangerous missions, war erupts when a kingdom under Yavie's watch attacks dragons. Sides are forming amidst the flytes, the kingdoms and the guardians with no one trusting their so-called allies or even a blood oath as betrayal is the norm amidst the Seven Kingdoms.

This is an interesting coming of age fantasy saga that focuses mostly on heroic Yavie although the other two guardians have their subplots told also just not as deeply as hers unfolds. Apparently THE WREKENING: An Ancient Mirrors' tale was released before DRAGON QUEST, but this novel's events occur earlier; thus the audience is better off reading this exciting story first. Though containing too much sidebar description, the brilliant use of On the Job Training to introduce the prime threesome make each of them seem genuine. Filled with political intrigue (especially interesting is the thought processes respectively of the Ancients and the flytes), military battles, and several surprising twists, Jayel Gibson provides an brilliant opening fantasy novel.

Harriet Klausner