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3.0 out of 5 stars
Good material, but there's just something missing here, Jul 10 2006
Irene Radford has written a number of dragon-related novels, but The Hidden Dragon, Book one of The Stargods series, is basically serving as my introduction to her work - so I can't compare this to her earlier Dragon Nimbus series entries. This particular novel is entertaining and features a couple of fascinating magical creatures, but several things marred my enjoyment of the story.
The three O'Hara brothers (Loki, Konner, and Kim) are running one final smuggling mission for their Mum when authorities descend upon their spaceship. In desperation, the Brothers make an uncoordinated hyperspace jump, winding up in the vicinity of an unclassified planet that appears green with vegetative life. In their own world, nature is largely a thing of the past, and the brothers know that their own private planet full of naturally grown food could net them a fortune in the domed, bio-controlled world they come from. They basically have no real choice about landing, as their narrow escape from authorities resulted in significant damage to their ship. Setting foot on the lush planet, the brothers find a world that had been partially terraformed at some point in the past. It is populated by a society of primitive men and women led by a bloodthirsty high priest, Hanassa, who demands blood sacrifices for the dragon god Simurgh. The head-strong brothers destroy the hateful altar of sacrifice, decry Hanassa's lust for blood and power, and soon split the population into opposing tribes. Hanassa sees many of his villagers leave to follow these new Stargods who arrived on a white dragon - including Hestiia, the young lady he covets for himself. None of this makes this evil fellow very happy.
This world is a magical place. The brothers confront the impossible when they meet up with a dragon and a flying cat that seem to communicate with one another. Stranded on the planet for at least several months, the brothers take it upon themselves to help their new followers survive and prosper - initially out of self-interest on their part. Of course, they form a bond with the people as time goes on - and they have to defend their villagers from the constant challenges of Hanassa and his stalwart magical powers. The brothers find magic of their own with which to meet the challenge, as their natural psi abilities are magnified greatly in this alien environment. The bulk of the story revolves around the brothers' conflicted emotions over their prior commitments to their distant mother and their new commitments to these primitive villagers who look upon them as gods.
Radford's plot is a little repetitive: the brothers are attacked by Hanassa's warriors, they seemingly kill the dangerous high priest, and then a short while later the whole thing just repeats itself. The brothers themselves also aren't fully-developed characters in my mind. I oftentimes had trouble distinguishing one from another, and there were many occasions when one said something I would have expected another one to say. Their motivations are also somewhat suspect - even though Radford goes on and on about the brothers' obligations to their Mum back home. They seemed to have the same conversation on a regular basis, and the moralizing that goes on every time they have Hanassa in their clutches but refuse to take a human life grows old (and foolish) after their first couple of violent encounters. There isn't much of a sense of closure as the novel ends, either, giving the reader the impression that this tiresome pattern is only going to be repeated anew in the next volume of the series. Additionally, the dragon plays less of a role here than you might reasonably expect, the flying cat all but disappears midway through the story, and none of the other characters (apart from Hestiia) are all that interesting. Radford's attempts to introduce humor into the story, especially in the brothers' dialogue, also don't come across all that effectively.
Reading this novel, I just felt as if some important dimension was missing. The story retained my interests, and I basically liked the characters, but I never felt connected with this world or its inhabitants. There is definitely enough material here for a successful series, but I think the author just needs to sit back and let the story tell itself.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
I have to agree with MitchDennis, Sep 2 2003
Although the imagery was colorful, the writing was weak. It grew so tiresome to read on about their struggles to almost kill their nemesis. Every time they could have finished the job, there were objections about how wrong it is to kill any living thing (even those bent on your own destruction). And the mentions of how the most civilized of us have eschewed meat as a source of food. Over and over again these themes were vocalized as major plot points and character values. I for one get sick of being bludgeoned with someone's personal opinions when I'm trying to read a book for fun. I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Fantasy lovers..., Aug 12 2002
This was the first of Irene Radford's books I had read. It kept me glued to the pages until I had finished the book. I enjoyed it enough to immediately purchase all 4 of the books in The Dragon Nimbus series.SIDE NOTE: For anyone who is looking for another good fantasy series, try the books by David Eddings. I recommend starting with the series The Belgariad (book 1 is entitled Pawn of Prophesy). The story is Tolkien-esq but with an easier-to-read style. I own 16 of his books, and they've all been read until the covers are falling off!
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