Like a lot of people, I read Dragonsbane years ago and loved it. Dragonshadow, however, was terrible by all accounts. The first portion of the book was tedious. Sure, we need to see what has been going on with John Aversin and Jenny Waynest since Dragonsbane, but here we get pages of basically nothing but filler material - at least that is how it felt. Then when the story actually progresses, we get a long, drawn out journey by John that accomplishes nothing except gets him out of the way: i.e. "busy work." And the plot is simplistic in a terrible way. I literally got angry when it was revealed who the bad guys were, because I had guessed as much many chapters before and was hoping for some slight of hand by Ms. Hambly to surprise me. Alas, no luck. But I mean, it has to get better right.No, it doesn't. In fact, a bad book just gets worse. Torture, rape, and talk of pedophilia - it is all here. Sure we had that alluded to in earlier chapters during a different plot point, but now we delve into it over and over again. Page after page of it, getting worse every time the author describes it. Seriously, after the first scenes of orgies and torture, most readers will grasp the concept that these demons are bad dudes, that they are evil to the core, and that they can make even the strongest character do bad things. But Ms. Hambly obviously is just writing for shock effect, because she keeps serving up another and another big helping of hideous demonic killing or torture or rape without it actually moving the story along. By the end of the third or fourth such scene involving my previous favorite characters, I actually started to just skim what was written, desperately hoping that the story would move beyond this. But it never did. When I finally thought Ms. Hambly had resolved this plot issue, we just get flashbacks and dreams about torture, orgies, and rape, so we can rehash it all again. No matter how awful I thought this book was going at this point, I was determined to persevere until the end, hoping that somewhere I could find a silver lining or anything to grab hold of to actually like. And my reward for tortuing myself with this book until the final page: no resolution to anything and wishing I'd never read it in the first place.Now I've read that Ms. Hambly was having personal issues when she wrote this book, and perhaps that is why she absolutely tortured the main characters, John Aversin and Jenny Waynest. The depths to which she took this destruction was ridiculous however. As light and naive as Dragonsbane was, the characters were likeable, and you actually felt an emotional chord struck at Jen's final decision at the end of that book. All I felt when I finished this book was a desire to erase what Ms. Hambly wrote, which is bitterly disappointing since I've loved many of her other works.
An exciting, fast-paced adventure that exudes awe-inspiring, intricate talent by a great writer of fantasy fiction. Barbara Hambly is an accomplished author of the old-style fantasy genre, whose work I comfortably place alongside JRR Tolkien and Robin Hobb (/ Megan Lindholm). Her deftly woven, complex storylines project such enviable talent that is the mark of a truly singular author and master of their craft. I would highly recommend this book (and other books within the Darwath trilogy) to those who enjoy Anne McCaffrey and Christopher Paolini, or Robin Hobb’s the rain wild chronicles. Dragonshadow is the dramatic follow-up to Hambly’s classic novel, Dragonsbane, which is a literary alchemy of high order and accomplishment. I completely lost myself within this bewitching tale wherein fire-breathing beasts roam the skies and magic seeps through the earth like blood tricking down a vein. John Aversin is a studier of Dragons as well as a Dragon slayer, whose duty is to protect his homeland and those who dwell upon the earth. Everything changes however when he witnesses a Dragon being resurrected by a Wizard… a most bizarre occurrence. Journeying to where Morkeleb (the great Black Dragon) dwells, seeking answers, John must seek out the answers to save those whom he loves before it is too late. For if the Wizard’s are not stopped and Dark Magic threatens the delicate balance of the world, then all will fall into shadow and darkness! Intense, spinechilling and totally unputdownable I feel passionately that Barbara Hambly is a truly exceptional writer within this highly competitive, popular genre. The quest has a touch of Tolkien about it, with the ‘end of the world’ ethos and one individual’s journey to save the Earth from disaster. Similarly to writers like Janny Wurts, this is a novel which contains much depth and a lot of thought as it is plainly clear that Hambly’s world-building is carefully constructed. Realistic and entirely believable, I was transfixed by this dramatic adventure of epic proportions and readability. This classy, compelling tale is spectacularly impressive hence making reading most satisfying.
What do You think about Dragonshadow (2000)?
This one turned out to be a very good, very chilling fantasy novel that takes and twists everything you think you know about dragons and demons. Occurs four years after the events in Dragonsbane, and while it's not necessary to have read the previous novel, it does help. I should also warn that there is some very adult content in this one, and that if you are sensitive to violent scenes, including rape, you may want to avoid this one. For all that, it's still an excellent book, and probably one of Hambly's best. For the longer review, please go here:http://www.epinions.com/review/Barbar...
—Rebecca Huston
