Trying a dragon/fantasy to see if I would like it, but just couldn't get into it. Gave it 110 pages, but not my cup of tea. Sorry Mrs. Hambly. ( )

Based on the synopsis, I thought this was going to be a cozy or farcical tale of a mage school dropout and a pig farmer fighting a dragon. Instead, it's more like the plot of the Hobbit with the characters and themes of Middlemarch. ( )

It has been many years since I last read this and I just wanted to check that I was right, and I was, this is an excellent read.
Jenny and John are not an old married couple but they sure do behave like it, and they have two children. Once upon a time John killed a dragon and now he's a living legend. More interested in keeping his people alive and learning more of the ways of people from the past than living up to the title of Dragonsbane, but when Gareth comes and begs that they defeat another dragon, and he invokes the King's name, the King being John's sovereign in some ways he has to come when he calls. So he responds and finds complicated politics and messy personalities that he has to deal with along with Jenny who has to deal with her own temptations and issues.
It's a story of love and aging and career versus family and I really enjoyed the read, more now that I'm older. ( )

As expected (it is a Hambly), a very rich, well-written tale, with a lot of desperation points and hard choices. It's all Jenny's viewpoint, I'd have been interested to see what John thought now and then. I like the choice she finally made - I'd been thinking about it much earlier, when she first met Zyene. Magic makes magic - but what's the point of it? The dragon is fascinating, a very alien thought process (we see more of his thoughts than John's...). Rich and grim - I have the rest of the series as well, but no way I could read them in quick succession. I'll take a break between each book - though I will read the whole series. ( )

Unexpected and lovely. An excellent and unusual heroine. ( )