The Dragon's Egg by Resa NelsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
ebook
Published November 13th 2012 by Mundania Press LLC
Source: Author for honest reviewChallenges: What An Animal challenge, Ebook challenge, A-Z Title challenge
Synopsis:
'In the fourth and final book of the Dragonslayer series, Mandulane's army is poised to attack the Northlands in the name of a powerful god, but in truth Mandulane is using the act of spreading this new faith as a way to disguise his own personal greed and hunger for power. Astrid has succeeded in warning her beloved country of imminent danger, and the Northlanders scramble to set up a clever defense, never realizing a spy in their midst is poised to take critical information directly to Mandulane. After sacrificing herself in order to set her brother Drageen free for the sake of protecting the Northlands, Astrid finds herself controlled by the stone of light. Although it forces her path of destiny, Astrid learns she must make one final choice about who she wants to be. Most important of all, her new sweetheart Trep encounters a dragon that entrusts him with the care of a dragon's egg. Trep embraces a dangerous journey and accepts the duty of protecting the unhatched dragon, knowing that its safety could impact the fate of the entire world.'
My Thoughts:
I always feel a little bit deflated when I come to finish the last book in a series and the feeling I got when I came to the end of The Dragon's Egg was no exception.
I just get so involved and engrossed in the characters lives when reading a series and when things get wrapped up and I know there will be no more I am always a little sad.
This fourth and final instalment in the Dragonslayer Series deals with Astrid's struggle to realise her destiny and save her country from Mandulane's rule.
There are a lot of interesting and unexpected developments in this book which all help to round out and finish the story in a smooth but kind of bittersweet manner.
I have to admit that I was left quite surprised by a couple of aspects that I really wasn't expecting, but won't give away what so as not to spoil the story. When I finally finished it at first I was left thinking "Really, that wasn't what I would have thought would happen", but then as I thought about it a bit longer afterwards it all really did make sense and made me realise that not every book always have to have a perfectly happy ending to be a good story.
If you have read the first three books in this series I highly recommend reading this one so you get the complete picture.
The Bittersweet Experience of Writing the
Final Book in a Series
by Resa Nelson
Writing my series (the
Dragonslayer series) gave me an entirely new appreciation for authors who write
good series – for example, I now see J.K. Rowling as a genius. But it means I’ve now had the experience of
writing the last book in a series and saying goodbye to its characters.
When I wrote Book 1,
I first assumed it would be a standalone novel.
But when I got into the depths of the book, I realized the world and the
story were big enough to support more novels.
So one book turned into a four-book series.
Writing the second
and third books in the series went pretty smoothly. Every time I write a book, I began with a
skeletal outline. I flesh out the
outline for the first 100 pages, write those 100 pages, and then flesh out the
outline for the next 100 pages and so on.
I always know where I’m going and why – I just never know exactly how
I’m going to get there or who I’ll meet along the way.
Something peculiar
happened when I felt ready to write the last book in the series. Normally, I’m very organized and
efficient. I write three mornings each
week, usually for about an hour. This is
my time to let words pour onto the paper, and I typically write a chapter each
day, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Working this way, it takes me nine months to write a novel. But this is my secret: my “real” writing time is when I go for a
two-mile walk every day. It’s when I’m
walking that I think through what’s going to happen in each chapter. By the time I sit down at my computer, the
words come spilling out so fast that it’s hard for me to keep up.
But when I started to
write the last book in the Dragonslayer series, the words didn’t come spilling
out. Instead, I dawdled, which is
extremely unusual for me. I made excuses
not to turn on my computer but to do something else instead – again, extremely
unusual. I never do things like
that. Most of the time I’m chomping at
the bit. This went on for a good two or
three months, and not a lot was happening with Book 4.
Finally, I sat down
and asked myself what was happening.
After thinking long and hard, I realized I didn’t want the series to end
because I enjoyed it so much. Whenever I
finish writing any book and I have to say goodbye to my characters, it feels
like I’m watching a bus full of everyone I care about drive off a cliff. I typically spend about half a day in tears
after finishing a novel.
I realized that I
dreaded finishing the series because I thought it would be much, much worse
than anything I’d experienced before.
So I took myself by
the hand and said, “Your characters aren’t going anywhere. If you want to spend time with them, all you
have to do is read your own books!”
That helped. So I gathered my courage and wrote the final
book. But something really unexpected
happened. I felt so excited when I wrote
the final chapters that I kept cheering for my characters. For me, the ending of the series is very
satisfying and exciting. Ironically,
when I wrote the last sentence of the final book, I was still cheering. Instead of spending half a day in tears, I
spent the day jumping up and down and smiling.
I dreaded ending the series, but it turned out to be a really great
experience … and I’m looking forward to doing it again with the next series I
write!
Resa's standalone novel, Our Lady of the Absolute,
is a fantasy/mystery/thriller about a modern-day society based on ancient
Egypt. Midwest Book Review gave this book a 5-star review, calling it "a
riveting fantasy, very highly recommended."
She has been selling fiction
professionally since 1988. She is a longtime member of SFWA (Science Fiction
and Fantasy Writers of America) and is a graduate of the Clarion SF
Workshop. Resa was also the TV/Movie
Columnist for Realms of
Fantasy magazine for 13 years and was a contributor to SCI FI magazine. She has
sold over 200 articles to magazines in the United States and the United
Kingdom.
Resa lives in Massachusetts.
Resa Nelson’s Links:
Resa’s
website: http://www.resanelson.com
Free “mini” ebook of Dragonslayer short
stories: http://www.resanelson.com/files
GoodReads
giveaway: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/39467-the-dragon-s-egg
Twitter:
@ResaNelson
Email:
ContactResa@aol.com
Ebooks ($4.99 each) are available directly
from Mundania Press at: http://mundania.com/author.php?author=Resa+Nelson
(get a 10% discount at checkout with the coupon code MP10)
Paperbacks are available from Mundania
Press, Amazon, and Barnes&Noble:
http://mundania.com/author.php?author=Resa+Nelson
(get a 10% discount at checkout with the coupon code MP10)
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