Sea Dragon Heir.: Amazon.ca: Storm. Constantine: Books

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From Amazon.com

The ancient land of Caradore has been conquered by the Magravandian empire and its royal house of Palindrake bound by a potent oath to the invader. The Sea Dragon, Caradore's source of mystic power, has been driven from the world by the triumphant Fire Drake--or so everyone believes, until twins are born to the Palindrakes. Valraven and Pharinet, brother and sister, discover the Sea Dragon has only been hidden--and is dangerous not only to the conquerors but also to Caradore and the world.

Neil Gaiman has described Storm Constantine, author of Sea Dragon Heir, as a "myth-making Gothic queen." It's a perfect description for the provocative, imaginative, genre-blending author of the Grigori trilogy (Stalking Tender Prey, Scenting Hallowed Blood, and Stealing Sacred Fire), the three-novella collection Three Heralds of the Storm, and the gender-bending Wraeththu trilogy. With Sea Dragon Heir, Ms. Constantine turns to what appears at first glimpse to be traditional high fantasy--but the novel (the first of a new trilogy) proves as darkly romantic, stylish, sharp, and twisted as her fans expect, even as it extends the author's appeal to a new readership. --Cynthia Ward

From Library Journal

Bound by an ancient covenant that subjugated the Lords of the Sea Dragons to the Lord of the Fire Drakes, the land of Caradore waits for the return of its old magic and the reawakening of long dormant spirits. Twin heirs to the Palindrake line of sea mages, Pharinet and her brother Valraven carve out their destinies in the shadow of a past they cannot change and a future that holds only uncertainty and danger. Constantine's latest novel, the first in a projected trilogy, evokes an atmosphere of tragedy and dark sensuality. The author of Wraeththu extends her gothic appeal to classic adult fantasy in a tale suffused with magic and madness. For most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence
WHEN PHARINET WAS ONLY seven years old, she dreamed of the dragons. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
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Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Gothic fantasy ... not for me, thanks!, Nov 22 2008

By	Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Two hundred years ago, Cassilin, king of fire and son of the great Magravandian house of Malagash conquered Caradore and its guardian family, the Palindrakes. He took their land and crippled their heritage by demanding an oath of perpetual fealty from Valraven, the young heir to the throne. Valraven's mother bid him accept this humiliation willingly such that their association with the power of the Sea Dragons could be hidden until the time was right for its revival to aid them in reclaiming their land and their freedom.

Many generations have passed. Valraven, the current eldest son of the Caradorean family, accepts posting to the Magravandian military, part of his ancestor's oath, but his twin sister Pharinet struggles with the realization that the time is coming to reawaken the magic of their country's connection to the sea and the Sea Dragons.

What a shame! That Storm Constantine can write is beyond dispute. Her descriptive passages are moving and brilliant. Her dialogue is lucid, realistic and fast-paced. The magic or dream sequences are eerie, fascinating and compelling. But, in spite of all that, this novel is as fundamentally flawed as its characters. One and all, they are driven by emotions and traits that are either dark and ugly or weak and pathetic - greed, lust, ambition, hunger for power, ambivalence, amorality or moral turpitude, egocentricity, sycophancy and selfishness. Pharinet, for example, comes to realize that her incestuous love for her twin, Valraven, cannot be continued but at no time expresses even the slightest apology or twinge of regret. Even when these characters appear to display strength or courage or unity of purpose, it is not noble and seems to arise only out of their dark side.

The plot, such as it is, develops slowly but it is masked by deep, impenetrable, swirling layers of foggy mysticism, magic and fantastical writing that make the story line all but inscrutable. At no time does the story aspire to anything uplifting. Unrelenting darkness with no interludes of pleasure or lightness makes this novel depressingly difficult to continue. If this is Gothic fantasy, then I'll give the genre a pass. I'm certainly not inspired to continue with the trilogy or seek out anything else by the same author. I repeat - what a shame!

Paul Weiss

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2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stuff but no depth, Sep 22 2003

By	"yenezie" (ithaca, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea Dragon Heir (Paperback)

After reading the trilogy set, I can go back to this first book and safely say that Sea Dragon Heir is my least favorite of the three. I'm tired of being "told" what Valraven is rather being "shown." In fact a great many things are being told and hence the characters are barely flesh and bone and I didn't care about the melodramas going on in their lives. There are too many convenient plot devices that is contrived and tiresome. As for the bed-hopping scenes..... why? They don't seem to serve any other purpose other than to "oh lets be shocking, shocking(!)" and then left at that with no futher insights to the characters themselves. Once again it is the "telling" rather than the "showing" flaw of Constantine's writing that bores me to no end.

I will say that Constantine's writing style is lovely and rather poetic. Too bad she waste it trying to be the next Anne Rice or something.

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4.0 out of 5 stars I love this book to death, Jun 1 2003

By	B. Elaine Hoskin (None of your business) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sea Dragon Heir (Paperback)

The reason I didn't give this five stars is because it absolutely cannot be read as a book by itself. In order to understand the significance of all the events and characters, you need to read the trilogy. There is a reason certain characters die, disappear, or are mentioned without really doing anything at the time. Almost everybody and every event is vital to the setup of the third book.

I first read this book over summer break when I was bored out of my mind and decided to go to the library. I saw this on the shelf and immediately became interested. I absolutely couldn't put it down because I wanted to understand the characters and find out what happened. I was very unsatisfied with the ending of the book, but then I found out about the sequel. The ending was not an ending, but a setup for the next novel. It worked for me. I bought the other two books as soon as I found them.

The darkness and sexuality of Sea Dragon Heir is not for everyone and I can see where it would turn people away from this book. I loved the characters and the air of mystery shrouded about them. They were so... human. There isn't a Mary Sue or Marty Stew in sight in this story. I never once regretted buying this book.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Taking the standard and twisting it
The Magravandias series (starting with this book) is probably the easiest Storm book to get your hands on. Read more

Published on Feb 7 2003 by Wendy C. Darling

2.0 out of 5 stars So so... Mainly Disappointed
I just finished the first book in the series and have to say it was less then I expected. The fetish with the so-called "erotica" was silly, incest to homosexuality to adultery,... Read more

Published on Jan 7 2003 by Thomas Bond

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting start to the series
This is the first book in The Magravandias Chronicles. I thought it was pretty cool. I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the author's other work but it was a very interesting... Read more

Published on Dec 16 2002 by celes1

2.0 out of 5 stars A misplayed game of show-and-tell
I first stumbled across Storm Constantine through her Wraeththu series, and she's been on my A-list ever since. I like her brand of occultism. I like her brand of eroticism. Read more

Published on Sep 20 2002 by ronaron