Customer Reviews

Fortress Of Dragons

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This concludes the Fortress in The Eye of Time series (fortress of owls, fortress of eagles) but leaves you wanting more. I love the series. If you have ever played the epic Dungeons and Dragons you'll know that the begining adventures are the best, just scraping along to get that next meal or new armor; but as characters gain in rank they tend to get a bit boring as they get more and more powerful.
In this series the hero Tristan never loses that sense of newness. C.J. weaves a grand plot and makes the world and its betrayals and politics very believable and compelling. The series is one of the most re-readable; written with a fine touch for character developement. If they can do the Lord of the Rings series this is one that they should look at, it has all the fine hallmarks of an epic tale: heroism, love, magic, ghosts, religous turmoil and swordplay.
The series ends but could easily be revisted for serveral more volumes, (PLEASE CJ???).
CJ is a great writer and this is her best series. I strongly recommend it.

This is obviously a series where Cherryh has lost her motivation to complete. There are a number of plots aluded to, but never completed in the series, and judging by Cherryh's web site she has no intention of completing.

All in all, unless political debating, vague magical moments, and unfinished endings are your cup of tea, this is not a series for you.

I've been a fan of CJ Cherryh since the Thieves' World days, and I was curious about this series in particular. Fortress of Dragons was billed as the finale to the series, which involved intrigue, magic, envy, desire, battle, love, you name it -- all the good stuff. The hero, Tristen, is a true innocent, a Summoning and Shaping who has yet to experience a full year being alive (again) and who does not remember much at all of his past life. There are so many parts in this book where Cherryh builds you up, gets you all nervous and excited... and then lets you down with a really boring follow up. The end of the novel itself, which was supposed to wrap up the Fortress trilogy, is so vague and fails to answer so many questions you want to throw the book across the room. I was disappointed.

I have a most enjoyable one week plus reading the Fortress series. Fortress in the Eye of Time, the first book, was simply exquisite. Fortress of Eagle and Fortress of Owl were slow paced but the great characterization more than made up for it. I just love Tristen, who is one of the most lovable and appealing heroes I have come across in fantasies. Tristen's innocence, his joy in every revelation in nature and the world he is summoned to, his discovery of men and his growing love for his friends is beautifully written. I just have to know what happen to him next. Initially Fortress of Dragons seems a worthy addition to the series until I come to the last one hundred pages. I am just frustrated and disappointed. How could Fortress of Dragons be the final book of the series ? There are too many questions with unsatisfactory answers. What exactly is Tristen's purpose ? Who exactly is Tristen ? Lord of Shadows? The prophesized High King? An ancient magical being reincarnated? How could the writer gives such a vague ending to this wonderfully appealing character ? Also, what about Cefwyn's two sons ? Do they have roles to play in Tristen's life ? The last two pages of the book, so called spotlights, detailing a letter exchange between the two dear friends, Tristen and Cefwyn, just makes me scream for a sequel. I fervently hope Cherryh will continue with the series and do justice to Tristen and his friends. Cherryh, please don't destroy the series with such a vague ending.

i have a deep amount of respect for c.j. cherryh. she has the ability to set a mood that is practically unparalled. her ability to tell a story, however, is not up to the same level.

the storyline of this series is just not that good. it's extraordinarily repetitive. all tristen's time in the greyspace is essentially the same, with some subtle differences. the ending is massively disappointing. same old greyspace battle with tristen, and then a very basic "could have happened 1/3 of the way through the series" battle in the 'real world'. that was pretty much it for the ending. didn't even really sum things up, but that horse has been beaten to death, so i won't touch that much.

the last 2 books are just the same old settings, which were great at first, but you have to take things up a notch. i realize that certain authors, such as tolkein, you have to soak in - they don't have blazing storytelling - but cherryh takes it a little too far for my taste.

I found this conclusion book disappointing. It leaves too many questions unanswered. The story doesn't feel complete. Is Tristen the High King? It seems like he is. But in what capacity? And if so for how long? He looks to escape it but it doesn't look like he was meant to escape it. And if he is he will have to overcome alot of problems, especially to have Amefel. And if he is king will he marry and produce an Heir? Can He? And what about Cefwyn's TWO sons? This book could have been better or at least not the last in the series. There should have been one more to tie up all the loose ends from this one. I would like to see another book, maybe one set in the future, that tells what happens to the characters.

The best written fantasy series in ages. A dark hero, credible villains, magic with mysteries, and politics with purpose all seem to fit naturally in a weel-paced, exciting story.

This series is verry well written, However the last book leaves you wanting another. The conclution closes up the primary plot rather neatly, but leaves the characters hanging.

I believe this series is comparable to the lord of the rings series, that is, if the hobbit was 700 pages long. This follows the same path, a first book where the lesser enemy is defeated, then a trilogy following it where the full extent of evil is revealed.

A must read for anyone who likes fantisy, but start with the beginning of the series!

--Not that you couldn't start with this book, but the whole series is worth the read. As with many of her stories, this one is highly atmospheric, building detail upon lyrical detail, slowly and usually darkly, until it is the whole, rather than the elements, which makes itself preeminent and enjoyable. This is Tristan's story--Tristan, conjured into being by a sorcerer, who has a looming Past, Present and Future, that is totally unknown to him. He is born a blank slate, has not been in the world a full year, and yet needs to make his way amongst religious and armed strife, political intrigue, dark powers, complex human relationships and everything else contained in the wide world. Not only must he find his way, but he must contend with a Destiny: rumors that hint that he might be the fore-told High King. This, while his great friend is King Cefwyn, whom Tristan loves and desires to aid-- to keep Cefwyn's enemies at bay and keep him secure on the throne. In this book we see Tristan begin to come into his own, growing more sure of his way as his responsibilities and his powers increase--to the point of him changing the fate of kings and kingdoms and the welfare of the world itself.

--Not that you couldn't start with this book, but the whole series is worth the read. As with many of her stories, this one is highly atmospheric, building detail upon lyrical detail, slowly and usually darkly, until it is the whole, rather than the elements, which makes itself preeminent and enjoyable. This is Tristan's story--Tristan, conjured into being by a sorcerer, who has a looming Past, Present and Future, that is totally unknown to him. He is born a blank slate, has not been in the world a full year, and yet needs to make his way amongst religious and armed strife, political intrigue, dark powers, complex human relationships and everthing else contained in the wide world. Not only must he find his way, but he must contend with a Destiny: rumors that hint that he might be the fore-told High King. This, while his great friend is King Cefwyn, whom Tristan loves and desires to aid to keep Cefwyn's enemies at bay and keep him secure on the throne. In this book we see Tristan begin to come into his own, growing more sure of his way as his responsibilities and his powers increase--to the point of him changing the fate of kings and kingdoms and the welfare of the world itself.