DragonSpell is the first in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul. Though I read the book almost two years ago, I still remember much about it. The main character, Kale, a fourteen-year-old, orphaned, village slave discovers she has a talent for finding dragon eggs. This gift opens the door for her to enter into Paladin's service. She sets off for Vendela to enter the academy and train for Paladin, but before she arrives, her trip is interrupted by a quest. Kale and several new comrades are sent after a meech dragon egg that is sought by Paladin's enemy, the evil Risto.

There is much I loved about this book. I loved the settings--they were imaginative, and painted so that I could see where I was. I wanted to visit the world where Kale lived. I wanted to live under the trees, and travel in the tunnels. I remember being so impressed with Paul's imagination.

I also loved many of the characters. Almost two years later I can remember their names and how much I enjoyed them. Dar, was wonderful, as was Fenworth. The kimens were a delightful race and the small fainting dragon was as cute as any literary character has ever been. I can imagine kids wanting to take him home--I did.

I think the book has a couple of marks against it--I found it to be a bit too transparent in the allegory department. I don't mind preaching in books and I don't think this book was preachy--what I think is that Paul lost an opportunity with Paladin. Whereas we all know Aslan is the Christ figure we still see, when we look into his eyes, a magnificent lion. And we hear his mighty roar. He is a very real character and as we read we begin to see that there are likenesses to Christ but he is still Aslan, a character very much in his own right. Paladin, on the other hand, I do not have a grasp on. I loved Dar and Fenworth, but I did not love Paladin. I did not see him clearly, I don't think. I think I saw him as a cardboard stand-in for Christ. He did not feel full of vigor as Aslan did, and still does, in my mind.

The second mark against the book, I think, is that Kale lacked motivation. From the first, it was not clear why she wanted to train for Paladin--I suppose she wanted to be free of slavery--but why did she agree to go on the quest? I could not see any reason for it. I felt this lack of motivation followed Kale through the book. And the ending, I remember feeling, was poorly set-up. It felt rushed.

But mostly I found the book delightful. The writing itself is very strong--there were no technical issues that bothered me. More than that, the story world was well developed. The moonbeam cape with the cool pockets, the scenery, the wizard and the dragons and the kimens and the doneels--all in all, in this first volume Ms. Paul gives us a lovely fantasy world and I think kids should jump in with both feet.

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Copyright © 2006 Sally Apokedak