143. The Dragon's Pearl by Devin Jordan
The Dragon's Pearl by Devin Jordan
Pages: 341
Ages: 10+
Finished: Aug. 11, 2009
First Published: Jul. 7, 2009
Genre: YA, historical fantasy
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Reason for Reading: An historical fantasy featuring Marco Polo is an ideal theme to tickle my fancy. I received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.
Comments: 16yo Marco Polo's father, Niccolo, has been kidnapped on his last exploration and through a rather round about way Marco, along with his best friend Amelio (son of the family servant), journey to Constantinople, where they will start a rescue mission. Traveling across Asia, through the desert, into the Unknown Lands where Marco is being followed by the minions of a sorcerer who has harnessed so much evil power that he may no longer be human. These are then the early unrecorded adventures of Marco Polo.
This was a riveting read and caught me from the first chapter. Very well written, the language and dialogue flow naturally and I often enjoyed scenes simply because of the writing. Impressive for a first novel. Sometimes books create pictures in your mind as you read, and for me this was such a one. Best described as an Indiana Jones-type plot we have adventure after adventure all over the Asian continent, from small market towns to travel across the burning desert to the courts of Kublai Khan. Swordplay abounds wherever they are. Throw in the magical element of the East, sorcerers, the reverence of dragons, the elementals, and we have a plot that doesn't stop. I really enjoyed the mixture of historical content, the Asian aspects with the fantasy elements.
With the book being plot driven this does cause characterization to suffer. Most characters are not fully realized except for Marco, whom I felt had a well developed character. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the other characters but just wanted to know more about them and care for them more. While the book is wrapped up nicely and seems to be a stand-alone, there is a feel to it that this may be the first in a series. Amazon seems to think so, labeling it as "The Adventures of Marco Polo" but I can find no official information. Guess, we'll just have to wait and see! If another book does come out, will I read it? You betcha!
Follow me on Twitter!
Friend me on Facebook (say you read my blog)
Pages: 341
Ages: 10+
Finished: Aug. 11, 2009
First Published: Jul. 7, 2009
Genre: YA, historical fantasy
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Marco Polo glared at the menacing knight standing at the other end of his family's trophy room.
Reason for Reading: An historical fantasy featuring Marco Polo is an ideal theme to tickle my fancy. I received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.
Comments: 16yo Marco Polo's father, Niccolo, has been kidnapped on his last exploration and through a rather round about way Marco, along with his best friend Amelio (son of the family servant), journey to Constantinople, where they will start a rescue mission. Traveling across Asia, through the desert, into the Unknown Lands where Marco is being followed by the minions of a sorcerer who has harnessed so much evil power that he may no longer be human. These are then the early unrecorded adventures of Marco Polo.
This was a riveting read and caught me from the first chapter. Very well written, the language and dialogue flow naturally and I often enjoyed scenes simply because of the writing. Impressive for a first novel. Sometimes books create pictures in your mind as you read, and for me this was such a one. Best described as an Indiana Jones-type plot we have adventure after adventure all over the Asian continent, from small market towns to travel across the burning desert to the courts of Kublai Khan. Swordplay abounds wherever they are. Throw in the magical element of the East, sorcerers, the reverence of dragons, the elementals, and we have a plot that doesn't stop. I really enjoyed the mixture of historical content, the Asian aspects with the fantasy elements.
With the book being plot driven this does cause characterization to suffer. Most characters are not fully realized except for Marco, whom I felt had a well developed character. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the other characters but just wanted to know more about them and care for them more. While the book is wrapped up nicely and seems to be a stand-alone, there is a feel to it that this may be the first in a series. Amazon seems to think so, labeling it as "The Adventures of Marco Polo" but I can find no official information. Guess, we'll just have to wait and see! If another book does come out, will I read it? You betcha!
Follow me on Twitter!
Friend me on Facebook (say you read my blog)
Comments
Post a Comment