Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Queen of Dragons-Shana Abe

Queen of Dragons
Shana Abe
Bantam, Dec 2007, $18.00
ISBN 9780553805284

The Drakon are a unique species who look human except they have the uncanny additional abilities to change into smoke or dragons. The English Drakon has believed they are the last of their people until they learn from correspondence that a tribe exists in the Carpathian Mountains.

In Darkfrith in York, the elated English alpha Drakon aristocrat Kimber Langford hopes that a "lost tribe" has surfaced. She sends trusted aids to Transylvania to meet with the Carpathian tribe led by alpha Princess Maricara. Her brother is the puppet ruler, but he serves as her front as he is non-alpha. However, Kimber is stunned to learn his agents are massacred by an unknown force. Maricara travels incognito by herself to York to warn Kimber that a secret organization is dedicated to the objective of Drakon genocide.

The third Drakon romantic fantasy (see THE DREAM THIEF and THE SMOKE THIEF) like the previous tales is fantastic entry that adds to the Abe mythos starting with the fascinating English egocentric belief that the Carpathian group is a found “lost tribe”. Kimber is a full blooded Drakon lord while the Princess heats is blood to a boiling once they meet. The courageous QUEEN OF DRAGONS actually owns the plot as she risks her life to warn her brother tribe of the dangers from an adversarial opponent who looks upon the Drakon as evil. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this strong entry, but those who read the previous Drakon entries already know this is one of the best sagas on the market today.

Harriet Klausner

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