Dragon Quartet 03 Book Of Fire [Paperback]

This future time is one of great misery, as only a few habitable regions remain on the ecologically ravaged planet. The first two dragons' suspicions about their brother Fire prove accurate; putting the lie to any notion that all dragons are good and noble, Fire terrorizes the people as a god and keeps his dragon guide Paia in complete ignorance as the high priestess of his temple. Erde, N'Doch, Water, and Earth do not come alone to this world, however, as Erde feels compelled to bring Baron Kothen with them. Kothen's ties to Erde's enemies at home have been broken now, leaving him a broken man, yet Erde knows instinctively that this man she has dreamed about and come to love is a necessary component in the puzzle of the dragon quest. Each of the main characters grows tremendously, none more so than N'Doch, much to my pleasure (for I was never able to really connect with him in the previous novel). Kothen's transformation in the latter stages of the tale is most welcome indeed, N'Doch steps up to become the kind of leader I wanted him to be, and Erde herself continues to grow in boldness and authority - although, to my sadness, heartache seems to remain her constant companion.

This novel features a much more elaborate plot than what has come before in the series, and Kellogg managed to genuinely surprise me with a few twists in the latter stages of this book. Fire is a magnificent, albeit misguided, dragon, and his story is far from complete as of yet - there is little feeling of closure here, setting the stage for what I hope will be a real humdinger of a conclusion in the fourth and final Book of Air. Filled with wonderful characters who grow and mature before our very eyes, The Book of Fire is a thrilling, absorbing read that builds upon and transforms the story as we have known it up to this point. The Dragon Guide circle may be complete, but the essence of the dragon quest, the whereabouts of the mighty dragon Air, and the future role Fire will play in events are all quite up in the air - not to mention the futures of these wonderful human characters and the outcomes of several tragic events going on still in the times and places from which they came.

The author told me that she is submitting a draft of the Book of Air in March, 2003. The publisher expects the Book of Air to be out around November, 2003.

However, I have thoroughly enojoyed the series thus far, and I'm hoping that the fourth will have more background on the dragons, on Air's guide, and some more scenes in 913 Germany.