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Loading... Redeeming the Lost (edition 2004)by Elizabeth Kerner
Work InformationRedeeming the Lost by Elizabeth Kerner
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Quick Review: I found the mechanics of telling the story more unusual than the plot in this tale of dragons and humans (Much) Longer Notes here: http://terriko.dreamwidth.org/53259.html For some reason, I liked Redeeming the Lost a lot more than the first two. There was a lot more action in this one, and I got into it more. The ending was brilliant. I would have been so mad if it hadn't ended the way it did, but it ended perfect. Three of my sisters have read this series and they all love it. I can't share their enthusiasm. The first two books just didn't catch my attention, then I read this book, and I perked up; in my opinion it was the best of the three, but still, not amazing I really liked the first book in this series but this one really wasn't impressive, it's as if she ran out of steam with the series and just kept writing in order to finish the series and answer a deadline. The continuous swapping of perspectives didn't help the story and maybe it would have been better if the author just took a third person perspective throughout the story. Laren Kanelar has to help fight the demon-master Berys with Varien and save their world and the dragons. A fair bit of angst and some characters having to face up to their power and the responsibility it brings. A disappointing climax but it does finish a good story. no reviews | add a review
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The prophecies are coming true and the ancient race of the Kantri-or true dragons-have come back to the world of Men. It was through the actions of Young Lanen Kaelar that the Kantri were reminded of the larger world. It was bravery (and a mad belief in the old tales) that caused the young woman to start a perilous journey to find the great dragons of legend. In doing so, she found not only the reality of the myth but her own true love. He was the great Dragon King, an immensely powerful creature out of time who ultimately chose life over death, a puny mortal form rather than the power of a kingship to be with this most extraordinary woman. As he is Dragon in Man's form, the being known as Varien has risked much to stay by Lanen's side. Their haven destroyed, the Kantri have chosen instead of seeking a new home to return to the land of their greatest defeat and to the fear of the people who rejected their aid so long ago. They bring ancient power and knowledge and the Kantri have come to see what the "littlings" have made of their world. And much of what they find distresses them. For humans have squandered much of their heritage, the small dragons that were left behind are little more than cattle...and there are those who do remember the ancient ways...and have allied themselves with the race of demons who long to destroy all the world. The Kantri are disturbed and look to Varien and Lanen help them redeem what has been lost so long ago and make the world right again. But Lanen is captured by the human demon-master Berys, who seeks to corrupt the ancient prophecy. He will try to use Lanen's new-found powers to gain control of the very fabric of the universe and in doing so, secure the demon forces of the otherworld and rule forever. It is up to her true love Varien and one of the most unlikely alliances ever seen to rescue Lanen. And if Varien fails, not only will Lanen's life and the fates of his beloved Kantri hang in the balance. For the stage is now set for a confrontation between the forces of light and darkness...and if the good fail, not only will the Kantri fail but the human world will be doomed as well... No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Redeeming the Lost is a hot mess of a book. Lanen remains mostly a spectator in her own story. Akhor continues to oscillate between extreme emotions, sometimes within the same paragraph or sentence. There's a lot of repetition from previous books as well as within this one - we are subjugated to the "I'm finally with with love of my life but I can't fly so my life is ruined" angsty argument on at least 3 more occasions, with no real resolution.
A lot of plot threads/ideas are introduced and either solved immediately or forgotten. Practically every healer in the land is taken over with a demon and told to sow chaos - murdering, stealing, etc. Think about what it would be like if every hospital was suddenly filled with Jasons and Freddys. Yeah. What we're shown are about 2 healers that say some mean things that get people upset briefly. Humans are suspicious of dragons...for about the length of a conversation. There's no public proof of Lanen's parentage, but when
The Aiala/Lesser Kindred have been awakened, and they can all unambiguously see the future. They mention this future sight once and it is never mentioned or used again. They do not join any of the major battles, and only Salera has any lines. They are treated as a separate subspecies of dragon with a separate culture, meaning they also don't help the dying Katri breed we met in the first book. Salera's biggest contribution to the plot was to ask another character to share their feelings in the most awkward way possible, then exit stage right. As much as I like dragons, the Aiala could have been cut with no real loss to the plot, and would significantly tighten up the book. Everything they did could have been done by the other two dragon groups.
Then we have the Aral/Vilkas/Will storyline. Will does nothing in the book except pine over Aral. Aral does a bit more, but the majority of time is spent pining over Vil. Vilkas wallows in self-admonishment. Its just angst all the way down. Again, we get a lot of repetitive conversations about the love triangle. The actual resolution at the end is grossly unsatisfying.
Let's get back to magic systems and the ending. The rules for healing are never really clarified. The rules for demon magic aren't really specified. None of them are. The whole ending is a series of deus ex machinas and random events. The Demonlord keeps saying how he's not really a demon...but this is never expanded on. Why did that matter? We never learn the limits of what can and cannot be done with healing powers, so when Vilkas and Berys face off, they are doing things we've never seen in previous books. Lanen stops Berys at one point using the 'voice of the lady,' which is never explained other than "yeah this totally happens but we've never discussed it until now, and no one knows what it means," and it never happens again. Akhor is
Ultimately, the ending ties up all the loose ends, but does so in a really unsatisfying way. ( )