Review: Wonder if the "D" stands for "Dragon"...? :)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 3, 2011
Storyline: The Crimson Eyed Dragon by D.M. Trink, is a great mystery story for those who believe in the power of love and indulge a little in World of Warcraft.Jared is a typical teenager: he's ready to fight zombies, increase his warlock powers and work on getting his driver's license. And all while on his summer break. Whew! As if World of Warcraft games aren't enough, he is drawn into the mystery of a statue he finds in an antique shop. Who is Abigail? And what of the mysterious rubies?As Jared and his friends (and even the cute older sister of his best friend) try to unravel the mystery of a past love, they find themselves in the middle of a situation that could spell the end of their summer vacation - permanently!Grammar/Spelling: I noticed a smattering of punctuation and grammar issues though out the story. For example: Rural Ontario, Canada was a sprawling, thriving network of  communities outside the cities that specialized in agriculture and forestry and it was easy to get lost amid its' vastness. I don't believe that "its'" in this case should have the apostrophe. (I could be wrong - it COULD happen.) I think another read-through by a beta reader could correct these issues.Character Development: I don't know if it's because they're Canadian, but the teenagers in the book seemed very polite! I'm kidding. But, seriously, they were very sweet characters that reminded me of the type of characters found in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book. There doesn't really seem to be a need for too much character development given the nature of the story.Writing Style: The writing style was simplistic, straightforward and perfectly suited for younger readers. Ms. Trink peppers the story with quite a bit of World of Warcraft references and even though I don't play, I was able to follow (for the most part) what Jared was talking about. The Crimson Dragon is also full of dragon lore (I didn't know that some Japanese dragons could turn their breath into clouds and that sprayed fire and water.)I would like to note that the dialogue seemed a bit old fashioned. For example: "Oh my goodness!" shouted Griffin. "What are we waiting for--let's go!" It doesn't seem natural for a modern 15 or 16 year old boy to exclaim that.I know that this is a story aimed at the younger readers, but even so, I believe that a 15 year old would probably exclaim something more along the lines of: "Alright!" shouted Griffin. "What are we waiting for-let's go!"Continuity:  I noticed no issues with the continuity of the story.Overall Rating: 4-The Crimson Eyed Dragon by Ms. D.M. Trink was a great story with several twists and an intriguing mystery. I would highly recommend this book to younger readers with an interest in mysteries and dragons. (It doesn't hurt to have some World of Warcraft knowledge in your back pocket as well!)