What do you think?
Rate this book
Dragonic Voyages #1
Dragons to Loose
Fantasy-adventure-romance for older teens to adults. For more, visit the official www.elucidationimages.com/kasab/kasab... Morrigan Aislyn had a personal philosophy that tended to work expect nothing, and you'll never be disappointed. But even with her transient ability to sense the future, events had begun transpiring in her home country of Byrd that she could never have expected, and that would leave her wishing she'd only just been disappointed. Morrigan's home village of Sparrownere is attacked and burned to the ground, and Morrigan wonders why anyone would bother-until she learns that, for reasons unknown, the leader of the attackers has come seeking her, and doesn't care if he slaughters a village or two to find her. Morrigan's quest for answers and justice can bring only new mysteries, heartbreak, and challenges, as dragons are loosed into the fray.
348 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2008
About the author
Katherine A. Smith
21 books4 followersI aim for the following in my stories:
--a grand adventure
--nonhuman characters
--female lead characters with agency
--a variety of healthy relationship types
--diversity of genders, ages, species, races, and abilities
--at least a nod to scientific accuracy whenever possible
--mixing in of other genres, including drama, thriller, mystery, horror, and romance
--something bizarre, something unusual, something surprising, something funny
I do not aim for the following:
--graphically described sex scenes or gore
--abuse in relationships presented as healthy, normal, or sexy
--killing off characters or doing horrible things to them just to upset the reader
I grew up in Northern California, learning to read early and starting to write stories around age 6. I was soon writing and illustrating my own stories as my favorite hobby. In my late 20s I started self-publishing my stories.
I believe that reading and writing a lot makes you a better author, and I want to keep pushing myself to write better and better stories. I'm also exploring new and different ways to publish and market my work.
I hope you enjoy some of my writing and share it with others. Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!
--a grand adventure
--nonhuman characters
--female lead characters with agency
--a variety of healthy relationship types
--diversity of genders, ages, species, races, and abilities
--at least a nod to scientific accuracy whenever possible
--mixing in of other genres, including drama, thriller, mystery, horror, and romance
--something bizarre, something unusual, something surprising, something funny
I do not aim for the following:
--graphically described sex scenes or gore
--abuse in relationships presented as healthy, normal, or sexy
--killing off characters or doing horrible things to them just to upset the reader
I grew up in Northern California, learning to read early and starting to write stories around age 6. I was soon writing and illustrating my own stories as my favorite hobby. In my late 20s I started self-publishing my stories.
I believe that reading and writing a lot makes you a better author, and I want to keep pushing myself to write better and better stories. I'm also exploring new and different ways to publish and market my work.
I hope you enjoy some of my writing and share it with others. Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2012
This book started out very promising for me. It tickled my inner feminist in all the right places, because it dealt with the issues such as women as warriors, women's strengths vs. men's, pretty much women vs. men anything, getting married, contraception, and children. Maybe it's not the type of things some people would like to read in their fantasy books, but these are the things I many times wished would be addressed in more books.
Not only that, but it felt different than many other books I've read, both by men and women authors. It dealt with things that many other books either completely leave out, or don't go into details about. Things like mandatory bathing after a sword practice, the names and personalities of the horses, and worrying about contraception. I admit that I can see how these types of things could bog down the story for some, but it worked for me because I could be right there with Morrin, thinking largely about the same things in my life.
Unfortunately, right about the middle, Dragons to Loose started to fall apart for me. I had some questions un-aswered and un-explained,and particularly one thing that happened had left me baffled for the rest of the book. I felt like if they only had done that ONE thing, all the problems that they had from now on could have been avoided.
Morrin felt inconsistent at times, starting out as somebody who is willing to cut losses , but ending up as someone who was not willing to act because of her unwillingness to kill or hurt someone (even if they deserved it). Her ethical and moral codes would kick in at some of the random times, where I was left scratching my head and wondering. Other characters were not as developed as I wished they could be, but that was probably because there were so many of them! I also got bored with the love talk, and the self pity party.
I loved the dragons here, but I had a big problem imagining them. Were they more human-like from all the talk about hands and hind legs that were human-like? They didn't seem that big either, at least not as big as I would imagine a dragon. I wish there were better descriptions of them. Finally, what was with all the double-naming? I kept getting confused and had a hard time keeping track of all the double-named people.
Overall, I think it was a pretty good book for those who don't mind reading about feminist issues. Of course, it was a pretty good fantasy novel too, with a great and original premise, except for that one oversight (can I call it a blatant plot hole? Or would it be not thinking through?), although I am not convinced I want to read the second book in the series.
3.5 stars
Not only that, but it felt different than many other books I've read, both by men and women authors. It dealt with things that many other books either completely leave out, or don't go into details about. Things like mandatory bathing after a sword practice, the names and personalities of the horses, and worrying about contraception. I admit that I can see how these types of things could bog down the story for some, but it worked for me because I could be right there with Morrin, thinking largely about the same things in my life.
Unfortunately, right about the middle, Dragons to Loose started to fall apart for me. I had some questions un-aswered and un-explained,and particularly one thing that happened had left me baffled for the rest of the book. I felt like if they only had done that ONE thing, all the problems that they had from now on could have been avoided.
Morrin felt inconsistent at times, starting out as somebody who is willing to cut losses , but ending up as someone who was not willing to act because of her unwillingness to kill or hurt someone (even if they deserved it). Her ethical and moral codes would kick in at some of the random times, where I was left scratching my head and wondering. Other characters were not as developed as I wished they could be, but that was probably because there were so many of them! I also got bored with the love talk, and the self pity party.
I loved the dragons here, but I had a big problem imagining them. Were they more human-like from all the talk about hands and hind legs that were human-like? They didn't seem that big either, at least not as big as I would imagine a dragon. I wish there were better descriptions of them. Finally, what was with all the double-naming? I kept getting confused and had a hard time keeping track of all the double-named people.
Overall, I think it was a pretty good book for those who don't mind reading about feminist issues. Of course, it was a pretty good fantasy novel too, with a great and original premise, except for that one oversight (can I call it a blatant plot hole? Or would it be not thinking through?), although I am not convinced I want to read the second book in the series.
3.5 stars
December 14, 2014
4.5 Star
Mostly fast paced action, that will keep your attention and hold it throughout. However their were a few areas that seemed to be drug out. Altogether this is well thought out with great character interaction, and a well thought out and developed plot.
I loved the heroine, Morrigan, along with the other refugee’s. I felt that more could have been said about Morrigan’s transformation into a dragon and how she felt during it. Also the transformation of Kyan to Dreogan’s body.
Mostly fast paced action, that will keep your attention and hold it throughout. However their were a few areas that seemed to be drug out. Altogether this is well thought out with great character interaction, and a well thought out and developed plot.
I loved the heroine, Morrigan, along with the other refugee’s. I felt that more could have been said about Morrigan’s transformation into a dragon and how she felt during it. Also the transformation of Kyan to Dreogan’s body.
November 14, 2014
This was a pretty good read. Different, too, which is always a plus in my book! The characters were fleshed out well in my opinion. Had no trouble picturing them in my mind. While I didn't inhale the book, it did keep me fairly interested. Some parts seemed to drag just a little but will still be looking into the next book in the series!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews