January’s second book is “Dragons of the Valley”, by Donita K. Paul. I received the book a bit late, and was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t finish it in time for the review. Thankfully it was an engaging book, and I was pulled in enough to get all the reading done.
The book was fun to read. I was familiar with the characters from the previous book, and wondered what would happen to them. So it was nice to have another piece of their story. The characters and plot were interesting, and it was cool to learn about more of the other races in the world Donita has created. I really like the different creatures she comes up with!
I’ve found that the depth of Donita’s descriptions is a bit much for my taste, but only a little. I try to picture a scene while I read so I can experience it, as I’m sure most readers do. However with Donita’s books I’m pulled from the activity, and into still images of what she describes. I’ve discussed this with others who’ve read her books, and it seems like my opinion on this is uncommon. But this was only a minor problem, and I was able deal with it as I read on.
The only real complaint I have about this book has nothing to do with this novel itself, and more with its “packaging”. Nowhere does it mention that there is a previous book which ended only days (in this book’s world) before “Dragons of the Valley” picks up. Had I not read the previous book through the CSFF Blog Tour I wouldn’t have had a clue that “The Vanishing Sculptor” was a “prequel” to this book, and would have likely missed out on the rest of the tale. There’s no mention of a series, or that the other books she’s written have anything to do with this book or the world it’s written in. I’m now wondering if there are other books with the same locations or characters that are part of a greater story that encompasses “Dragons of the Valley”. Hopefully someone can leave a comment here and let us know, and I’m also hoping that future books can somehow state that they are related to these books.
I enjoyed the spiritual elements of this book. Truths are brought to life throughout the tale, and are proclaimed plainly as well. In this book, and in the previous one, the land of Chiril is waking up to the knowledge of the true God in their world, known as Wulder. I’m eager to read tales from the far away land Amara, where I’ve gotten the impression that the people have a greater understanding of Wulder, and where the miracle worker Fenworth and his librarian are from.
I would recommend this book to any fan of fantasy, and especially to fans of dragons. While dragons are not the focus of the story, they’re certainly a central part of the adventure.
Thank you Donita K. Paul for another fun adventure!
To pick up a copy of the book visit – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400073405
And visit Donita K. Paul’s website at – http://www.donitakpaul.com/ or blog at – http://dragonbloggin.blogspot.com/
Check out what the other members of the tour had to say:
Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Keanan Brand
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Amy Cruson
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Amber French
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Dave Wilson
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Writing for Christ! 
Pingback: CSFF Blog Tour – Dragons of the Valley, Day 1 « A Christian Worldview of Fiction
Interesting review, Cris. I’m not generally in favor of a lot of description either, but my personal opinion is that Mrs. Paul’s writing is right on par. Everyone to their own, though!
I have also complained about not having the books numbered. But marketing has a standard procedure and it does not include counting from 1-5 in the case of the Dragon Keeper Chronicles. The Vanishing Sculptor is being reissued this summer as Dragons of Chiril, so don’t get confused and buy VS and DOC.
Thank you for the review. I liked what you had to say. Well, except for the part about my descriptions. But I can handle it, along with my hasty endings and my anemic battle scenes.
Thanks for replying Donita! I’ll mention it everytime it happens… I love that the authors participate in the tours!
That’s strange that they won’t let the books be numbered. One solution I’ve seen to that is the Forgotten Realms books. They all have “Forgotten Realms” on the cover, so the reader automatically knows they’re all somehow related, even if the books are by other authors. I don’t know if that kind of thing would work for you and Waterbrook. Thanks for the heads up about the re-issue of VS as Dragons of Chiril!
Please keep the books coming!