Review by Booklist Review
Lauded adult fantasy author Salvatore ventures, with Lewis, into young-adult fiction with this standalone title. Draignochs are pests, and they've long been thought extinct thanks to King Umbert and his champions. But then magician's assistant Maggie not only sees one, she perhaps bonds with it through some mystical shared history. On the other side of the kingdom, an unknown knight named Griffin lives and fights for the king. Maggie and Griffin cross paths in the Walled City, center of the king's realm, as they fight for their lives in an exhibition for Umbert's favor. Maggie's connection with the captured draignoch accounts for the real displays of magic her employer has long sought. Can Maggie make her way out of the king's city before Griffin accuses her of being a charlatan? Salvatore has been writing dragon fantasy since the late 1980s and knows the beats; this near-epic might be a little hard to follow for casual readers, especially with its slow start. Hand this to your diehard dragon fans.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Monsters called draignochs terrorized the four lands until King Umbert nearly eradicated them. Now, the only draignochs most folks see are bred in captivity and killed for sport by men aspiring to be Umbert's champion. Winning the title last year lifted Griffin, 17, out of poverty, and he's determined to keep it, even if that means slaying the rare wild draignoch caught for this year's competition. When Maggie, also 17, encounters soldiers transporting the drugged beast, she touches it, awakening powers that later emerge while she's onstage with her guardian, traveling magician Xavier. Xavier believes the magic is his, as does spectator Prince Jori, who invites the two to perform before the tournament. Though Maggie fears that Xavier will be revealed as a fraud and executed, she signs on in hopes of finding the draignoch and obtaining answers. Salvatore (Starlight Enclave, for adults) and Lewis (Game of Shadows, for adults) make their YA debut with this uneven but enjoyable pre-Arthurian fantasy. Maggie's first-person narration alternates with third-person chapters from Griffin's perspective, romance blossoming despite their conflicting goals. Setup encumbers the start, but the book's second half is breathless, blood-soaked, and brutal. All characters are cued white. Ages 13--up. (Oct.)■
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Maggie is nothing more than a magician's assistant until the day she stumbles across a dragon and is drawn into its magic. King Umbert's soldiers have captured the creature and are taking it to the Walled City, where Sir Griffin, the King's champion, will face it in the final battle of this year's tournament. The King is desperate to find and control a source of magic that will fulfill prophecy; Maggie and her adoptive father soon learn that they had better succeed in demonstrating their magical ability, or it will be their last failure. Maggie, haunted by thoughts of the captive dragon, convinces Griffin to take her to its keep; there, more of her innate magical ability is revealed, along with flashes of the backstory that ties her to the creature. Time is running short…will she come into her full power in time to save herself, her romance with Griffin, and the dragon? The story is filled with action, violence, and romance, although the worldbuilding is sketchy; the Walled City would be an interesting construct if more time were spent on it, but as it is, the city and indeed the entire country could be any generic medieval fiefdom. Although the ending is rushed to make this into a stand-alone novel, avid readers of dragon-themed fantasy will enjoy the plot-driven adventure and may not care that the characters are fairly standard-issue types. VERDICT Buy where fantasy stories about dragons are popular. For those short on budget money, however, Cinda Williams Chima's "Shattered Realms" novels are a better purchase.--Elizabeth Friend, Wester M.S., TX
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two orphaned teens are drawn to each other in a prequel to the Arthurian cycle. A legend tells of a powerful magic yielder who will one day stand by a great king and ensure the kingdom's survival. When Maggie discovers she has powers and that they are connected to the moon and to the feared draignochs that plague the kingdom, she hides behind Xavier, her surrogate father and traveling performer, hoping to pass him off as the real magician. When they are brought to the forbidding Walled City to present their magic before infamous King Umbert, Maggie becomes entangled with Griffin, the king's champion draignoch slayer, who has conspicuous facial scars from his battles. As Maggie's and Griffin's lives collide, the kingdom's ultimate fate hangs in the balance. Fantasy veteran Salvatore and debut young adult author Lewis collaborate in this brisk fantasy featuring magic, politics, and dragons, with a heavy dose of sweet romance on the side. The narrative switches between first person (Maggie) and third person (Griffin), and their voices skew young despite both being 17 and in contrast to the story's overall heavy themes of violence (including a casually depicted sexual assault). Although the worldbuilding is superficially fleshed out and the ending rushed, the two main characters are well developed, and the story entertains. Main characters are assumed White; a slur for Roma people appears twice in the narrative. A fast-paced fantasy with elements of romance and violence. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
