Review: Strong plot, strong characters; strong novel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 21, 2012
I tremendously enjoyed the first novel by this Indie author, calledTreespeaker. So I was curious about The Mark of the Dragon Queen and I wasn't disappointed. Although less subtle than Treespeaker, The Mark of the Dragon Queen contains more action which makes it a fast-paced read. The writing is once again very tight and smooth, as well as well-edited.The story centers around the teenager Kira, who discovers her father's hidden past as he gets arrested for using magic. In a swift sequence of event, Kira's whole life is turned upside down.The intelligent Kira is hindered by her naivety and her stubbornness, but that same stubbornness also helps her. She's a well-balanced character and I enjoyed following her. Other characters, including Kira's father Ifor, his friend and doctor-magician Jan, and the young wizard-apprentice Arun show sufficient depth. The main antagonist, Apharis seemed shallow to me at first, but later on his characterization developed in such a way that I had to revise my view of him as just the standard evil just to be evil villain.The dragons, whose queen plays a pivotal part in the story, are underdeveloped however. They seemed pretty generic and their characterization fell a bit flat. This is my main criticism on this novel, and that is a pity for an otherwise very strong story.The worldbuilding is not very exotic, but interesting nonetheless. The novel's main strength is its plot though, which takes a fairly straight but swift path, and has some surprising bends and curves at the end. It kept me captivated and turning the pages.Although Kira's age seems to indicate that this novel is aimed at the YA-market, it didn't bother me at all (and I'm not very keen on YA novels). The plot and character development makes this a good read for adults, and the fact that the story contains no excessive violence and gore or strong language makes it suitable for most ages, and readers from all walks of life. The themes in the novel are universal, and timeless.Although I enjoyed the unique subtlety of Treespeaker more, this is another strong novel by Katie Stewart.