Review: A "spellbinding" story of powerful magical forces in conflict
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2012
I'm a fan of author Maria Schneider's writing, and I've read most of her published works. I enjoyed the three books in the Sedona O'Hala series, but in my opinion, Ms. Schneider's calling is the fantasy genre. She showed an emerging talent for fantasy in two of her earlier books, "Tracking Magic" and "Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom," which were themed short story collections, then two full-length urban fantasies in the Moon Shadow series.Now we have Dragons of Wendal, where the author created a complex fantasy world where shape-shifters, gryphons, dwarves, humans, and mages rule the various kingdoms. The world has been in an uneasy peace for hundreds of years, but a cruel, ambitious mage was about to change all that, upsetting the fragile political balance that kept the various factions in check. With an intricate binding spell embedded in a sapphire ring, he hoped to force a marriage that would have given him ultimate power over the world. The burden of thwarting his plans fell on Zoe, a half-trained human mage who was out of her class, but gamely did her best. With a few simple spells and some magic crystals, she embarked on an epic journey that would take her to other lands and place her in mortal danger, leading to a suspenseful showdown where she and her friends must escape from a mountain that is collapsing on them.The story featured some of the best characters that the author has created. Zoe was a likable heroine, bravely going against heavy odds. Her troublesome cousin Lonnie was trying to help, although he kept showing up unexpectedly at the most inopportune times, but he did provide a bit of comic relief. Lindis, a shape-shifting dragon, was at the center of the conflict, as the ring's binding spell was meant for her. She knew that she had to break the spell, or a catastrophic war could break out. Zoe would have never made it without the help of Derrick, a powerful wolf-human shape-shifter, but Derrick had his own motives for being with Zoe. There was no shortage of bad guys, either. Camden and a co-conspirator were ruthless power-hungry zealots vying for control of the world. Would their uneasy alliance hold together, or would they turn on each other? Surprisingly, one of the most important characters was four-year-old Hewitt, a seer whose timely help was crucial.Dragons of Wendal tells a complete story, but it left promise of a sequel or series. If so, I'm looking forward to it.