Moonbeam Children's Book Award double silver medalist
Fantasy Book Review Dragon Lords Rising is the third book in Lucinda Hare's Dragonsdome Chronicles, and three is, (as they say) the magic number. Picking up where Flight to Dragon Isle left off, we once again join the wonderfully named Quenelda and her troop (a battle dragon, a chubby dragon, a boy, a gnome and a dwarf) on her quest to rescue her father, Earl Rufus DeWinter. Don't worry if any of this sounds unfamiliar. Hare includes a handy who's who at the beginning of the book that means if this is your first time in Dragon Isle, you won't be lost. New and existing fans will love the places Dragon Lords Rising takes them. You'll be able to see your reflection in the floors of the Stone Citadel and wish you could slide down the theme-park-like tunnel that leads to the Ice Bears underground world. One of the best things about Hare's series (and this book) is that there's something for everyone in it. If you like magic, then take your pick. There's the dark and dangerous Maelstrom magic (complete with a full-length spell), or Quenelda's haphazard hit-and-miss magic (the complete opposite of the dangerous Maelstrom). For the fearless, there are plenty of scrapes and adventures to be had as the troop navigate battle-dragon Stormcracker on their quest. If you prefer tiaras over tunnels, then there's the oh-I-wish-it-were-real 'Foresight and Hindsight's Exclusive Emporium' (the one-stop-shop for Dragonsdome's upcoming royal wedding). Anyone who has read the first two books will be glad to know that time is still divided up into amazingly named segments (such as 'at the hour of the dozy hedgehog') and that characters still shout, 'Newt and Toad ' when surprised. This time round, though, the story is darker and there's a moment or two (I won't tell you which ones ) that'll bring a tear to your eye. I can tell you no more except strap yourself in when riding Stormcracker and keep Two Gulps Too Many away from those honey tablets... This Dragon Lords Rising book review was written by Liz Wride
Praise for The Dragon Whisperer and Flight to Dragon Isle.
One of the most captivating new books to be published for 8+ for some time . . . It made me laugh, cry and remember exactly what's so special about the time when you or your child live in hope of finding a dragon of your own (Amanda Craig The Sunday Times )
The one letdown of Hare's work, is that, in marketing it towards children, adults might see it as 'just another children's book' and pass it over. The back cover boasts a '9+' age rating and I urge anyone nine or over to snap this read up. Verdict? A battle-dragon of a book (Liz Wride, Fantasy Book Review)
What Harry Potter did for tales of wizardry, this book does for tales of dragons (Chicklish )
Recommended for Fans Of...: The Lord of the Rings. No, seriously. Also, fans of the Eragon series, the Harry Potter book, Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, Cornelia Funke's Igraine the Brave, Sherwood Smith's Wren to the Rescue series, Patricia Wrede's Dealing With Dragons series, and etc., ad infinitum. will find something here to love. (Finding Wonderland)
Lucinda was born in Edinburgh and spent her childhood in rural East Lothian, where she spent much of her time roaming the beaches and woods, watching deer, pheasants, geese and rabbits, and listening to the bark of the seals float down the Firth of Forth on the evening breeze. It was then that her lifelong passions for animals - from earwigs to elephants - history, reading and drawing began. She spent years daydreaming about the Roman legions, medieval knights and the American west. Rather than write about the dreams and stories in her head, she drew them purely from her imagination. She is hopeless at drawing anything real in front of her. When she was eleven she was introduced to The Lord of the Rings which combined her own passions for history, legend and fantasy. Still her favourite book, she was thrilled with Peter Jackson's recent Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. After reading history at university she went on to pursue a busy and diverse career in many different companies and organisations, ranging from the Argus Newspaper Group in Cape Town, to the Scottish Post Office, and Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt Universities. After marrying Paul in 1999, Lucinda was able to return to those childhood passions, and very soon their house in Lasswade filled up with ever more rescued animals (dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and ex-battery hens), books, and pastel and watercolour drawings and illustrations covered in dirty paw marks - the cats do always like to help out! This led to Paul's suggestion that she should try putting pen to paper - or rather, given Lucinda's chaotic writing style, get a laptop and start writing. The result was a rapid explosion of ideas and the start of The Dragonsdome Chronicles. It should be no surprise, then, that the characters at the heart of Dragon Lords Rising and the earlier books in the series - apart from sorcerers, gnomes and dwarfs - are in fact dragons; dragons with their own language and character, from the teasing Chasing the Stars to those with serious attitude like the battledragon Two Gulps & You're Gone. The dragons owe the inspiration for their names to Native American culture, and their characters draw on some of the family pets.
