Friday, June 24, 2011

Dragons of Chiril -a review

The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul
Book #1 of the Chiril Chronicles

After having read all the books in the DragonKeeper Chronicles, and enjoying them, I thought it’d be interesting to read a book set in the same world but at a different time, place, and with different characters. I don’t make a habit of looking up authors whose stories I like to see what else they have released, so it’s nice that Ms. Paul re-released The Dragons of Chiril, so that people like me might become aware of the series.

Set in a distant continent from the tales of the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, The Dragons of Chiril follows the tale of Tipper, a young emerlindian. Spending most of her short life taking care of her large family estate in place of a father that has disappeared and a mother that is not quite there, Tipper had to resort to selling some of her father’s art pieces to keep the house afloat. Little did she know, her actions have had an effect on the stability of her world, and she must now go on a quest to reverse the effects her actions have had on her homeland, and save her father’s life, a man she had thought gone forever. Along for the ride is her sometimes guardian, sometimes friend, an over four-foot-tall parrot named Beccaroon, and five other unlikely wayfarers.

One sign of a good story is when the character is written in such a way that you find yourself both liking and being annoyed with her at times, just like you might with a real-life friend. Tipper was both likeable and annoying at times. The story itself was not predictable and a fun tale to follow. The sort of beginning to a chronicles that compels a person to want to continue reading.

One thing about Ms. Paul’s writings in the fantasy genre is that they are not as darkly dramatic as other fantasy stories, which can be either a plus or a negative, depending on what you are looking for. Even with characters that might have broken families or perilous quests to fulfill, she makes the tale amusing and light with just the right embument of seriousness to keep the airy tale tethered to the ground. I rather enjoy this manner of story telling, though I certainly would not want all of the fantasy tales I read to be like this. For Dragons of Chiril, it fits.

*I acquired this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers*

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