Dragon's Ring [Hardcover]

Fionn and Meb are two of the most enjoyable characters I have read about in recent years.

A dragon with a heart and a mage who is not suddenly all powerful after 'finding out the truth' are very different heroes.

Fionn has been working for a long time to destroy Tasmarin whilst Meb was dragged into this plane when Fionn destroyed the first of the towers holding Tasmarin in place.

They travel Tasmarin as Fionn plans the final destruction of Tasmarin and Dragon's Ring is a fascinating read. Meb is a very likeable character who changes from a young girl to a mature woman who is more then a match for Fionn. Fionn is a rogue who is honest about his intentions to destroy Tasmarin to all who ask but no one believes him.

Along the way they gather favours from the many races who live in Tasmarin and finally connect them all together as Fionn prepares to destroy Tasmarin.

Read Dragon's Ring to find out how good a story this is.

Hopefully this will be only the first in a series about Fionn and Meb.

Dave Freer always impresses me with his ability to find ways to twist common elements of SF/F and make them his own. I can't think of another author that could make a protagonist who is intent on bringing Armageddon a sympathetic, and entertaining character, certainly not with so few words spent in doing so. The story revolves around Fionn and Meb and we get to watch them learn a bit from each other as they go about getting Fionns plan to fall into place.

Excellent read with characters, setting, and dialogue each stunningly simple and their own strength.

Dragon's Ring (2009) is a standalone fantasy novel. It is set in Tasmarin, the place of dragons. That plane was constructed with pieces from here and there, so it is mostly water with many islands.

Dragons rule Tasmarin. Humans are just fodder for the dragons. Human wizards are troublesome, however, and the dragons have long ago wiped out those with magic genes. But another human magic user has appeared within Tasmarin.

In this novel, Fionn is a black dragon. He is a troublemaker and very good at it. None knows where he dwells, but all dragons know that he is trying to destroy Tasmarin. Although all dragon can shapeshift, Fionn is probably the only adult dragon using this ability.

Meb is the human magic worker. Her real name is Anghared, but her foster mother names her Meb after finding the infant on the seashore. However, Fionn calls her Scrap and she calls him Finn.

In this story, everything changes when Fionn fells the South-Eastern tower. It has been holding back the void, but paramatter now mixes with real matter and converts to energy. Anghared is torn from her mother's grasp and flung into the angry sea.

Seventeen years later, Meb spots raiders coming into the harbor and runs to warn the other villagers. She gets too close to the cliff edge and a large piece fells off, taking her with it. She hits the sea hard, but is rescued by a merrow. He takes her dress and most of her hair as his reward.

When Meb reaches Cliff Cove, she finds the huts and boats burning and the raiders searching the wreckage. After the raiders leave, Meb goes down to the ruins and finds only embers, ashes and a couple of bodies. The villagers have fled, but she does discover food, water, and some clothing.

The clothing is for a boy and her hair is now short, so she looks like a boy. She is ashamed of her pretense of boyhood, but she decides that it is worthwhile to protect her virtue. Not that she knows what her virtue really is.

Meb learns that the survivors have left for Tarport. After she reaches the town, Meb searches for food, drink and her fellow villagers. But she gets mugged instead. Then she tries to take a pouch from a drunken gleeman and is caught herself.

After Fionn grabs Meb, she wiggles loose only to fall into the canal. The villagefolk are fishers, but none know how to swim. So Fionn has to dive in the water to pull her out.

Meb becomes Fionn's apprentice. She thinks that he is teaching her the tricks of a jester and rogue. Yet he is really training her to be a planomancer.

Meb is worried that Finn will discover that she is a girl and dismiss her. Finn is worried that her wild magic will catch the attention of the dragons and other species that are looking for a human mage. He gives Meb a Dvergar-made necklace to focus and control her magic.

This tale has every species on Tasmarin looking for a human mage. Several groups have identified Meb as a human magic worker, but she is not aware of them or her magic. Unknown to her, Finn is working hard to protect her from the other mages.

This novel lacks proper copyediting. Apparently the publisher depended on spellcheckers instead of human eyeballs, for "were" and "where" are interchanged and "sliver" replaces "silver". Also, the South-Eastern tower is lost and then is seriously cracked; obviously one of the "South-Eastern" usages is a mistake.

This work is an introduction to Tasmarin and the eight peoples that dwell there. It has a list of characters at the front and tables in the back. The novel looks like the start of a series. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Freer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of various magics, dragon troublemakers, and bewildered heroines.

-Arthur W. Jordin

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