Heart's Blood (1984)

Not bad adventure, coming of age novel, based around dragon-breeding and fighting. The plot gradually reveals a political backdrop and a great deal of intrigue. This works okay as a standalone novel, but would no doubt be better if I read the books either side. ( )

In this second book of the Pit Dragons trilogy (although now there are four, so I suppose it's not really), we find Jakken a successful dragon trainer, free from bond and moving swiftly upward in the world.

We also find that Austar IV is a politically complicated place, and a potentially dangerous one. This book gears up the political plots that carry through the rest of the volumes, and is, to me, the only one that manages it successful. It revolves around a group of rebels Akki has fallen in with and Jakken's desperation to save her, while still maintaining a firm foot in the Pit Dragon culture I loved in the first book.

There is still a strong thread of coming-of-age (Jakken flat out asks himself if he's a man yet - and what that means) and some wonderful notes of personal loyalty and personal responsibility. The ending is heart-breaking. Worth a read. ( )

The story continues in a very interesting tale. The author continues to weave a world with interesting dynamics and culture. I particularly love how she sees the dragons in the story - something that is both classic and easy to recognize and yet fresh and original in its own way through the details. The story becomes more even complex and things originally nor fully explained in the first book are hinted at or explained some in the second. An interesting series. I’m curious to read the next book. ( )

This book, like everything else Jane Yolen writes, is far more thought-provoking than I could hope to convey in a simple plot summary. I'll say only that, while the first book is nothing I haven't seen before, this one is quite original. One never gets the impression that Yolen put a lot of time into building the world of Austar IV- it just seems to exist naturally on the page. At times, it's a little too natural- she scorns infodumping to the point where I was sometimes left confused about the details of Jakkin's culture. ( )

This is the second book in the Pit Dragon trilogy set in a future world beyond Earth. In this novel the main character, master and ex-bonder Jakkin, leaves his dragon and her hatchlings to help his love interest Akki.

Generally a good way to spend an afternoon. I would recommend to anyone interested in this genre because the characters and the world the author created are well written, but it is mainly a young adult novel and that needs to be kept in mind when reading. ( )