Draykon

The story follows two characters: the pathologically shy jeweller Llandry, and the powerful High Summoner Evastrany Glostrum. Though the two come from different worlds – Eva from a country kept in perpetual darkness by sorcerers, and Llandry from another which never sees anything other than daylight by similar means. Through a chance discovery of Llandry’s, their paths and adventures get interwoven, largely without their knowledge, and the story progresses with alternating chapters showing how each of their worlds are slowly ripped apart by the ripples created by Llandry’s remarkable but accidental find.

I was quite pleased with this book; English’s craftmanship is largely brilliant, and the story contained enough twists to keep show more me as a reader guessing without making me feel like I was being deliberately led astray by the narration. It is not a supremely long work, which fits well with English’s rather economical (yet vivid!) writing style. There were a few typographical errors - I counted two or possibly three (the third could have been a word I was just not familiar with), all of them in the latter half of the book – but those are easily forgivable as they were relatively minor and I’ve seen worse in work published by bigger names. The only thing I actually found jarring about the book was the shift of viewpoint characters when the reader first met Eva – it was sudden and unexpected and made me uncertain where things were headed – but once I got used to it that wasn’t a major deterrent.

In short, this was a work I enjoyed, would readily recommend, and would love to own a hard copy of.

http://jeerstocheers.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/draykon-a-journey-to-a-wondrous-re... show less

The deeper I dive into self-published Fantasy books, the more I find to love. Draykon is no exception to this! Charlotte E. English has successfully managed to mesh a sweeping fantasy world together with vibrant characters, and a very compelling mystery. As a reader I was treated to a story that immersed me so wholly, that I couldn't put it down! Once you're in, there is no coming back.

Draykon tells the story of two very different characters, in alternating chapters. Overprotected by her parents for reasons unknown to the reader, Llandry feels trapped. I honestly didn't feel much for her. Her character was unsociable towards others most times, and I didn't get to know her as well as I would have liked. On the other side of the coin is show more Lady Evastany Glostrum, who is a strong willed and kindhearted woman. Despite her position as High Summoner, Eva is one of the most practical and down to earth characters you'll ever meet. I adored her. I'd have followed Eva happily for books and books of adventures. In fact I liked her so much, I feel the need to mention that I felt as though Llandry's chapters were somewhat unimportant to the overall story. Just my opinion I know, you be the judge.

The reader follows these two women through the story, and it is so very easy to get lost in the huge and sweeping universe that English builds for her reader. Whole worlds exist inside the pages of this book. Realms of light, realms of dark, and those in between. Awe inspiring, and often terrifying, new beasts are presented for the reader's enjoyment. About half way through the story I felt so small inside of the world of Draykon that I almost wished I had a map. Okay, I did wish I had a map. Perhaps there will be one in the next book? This is high fantasy at it's finest. You aren't just getting a story here, but a whole new world along with it.

The mystery aspect is also incorporated into the overall story amazingly well. As I was navigating the vibrant lands of Draykon, so too was I helping Llandry and Eva uncover the mystery of the "istore" gem. I'll admit that I was about two steps behind them the majority of the book. Although English allows the reader to come along on the journey, she doesn't make it easy to figure out where it is headed, and I loved that. Such a sense of adventure! The ending, well I wouldn't have been able to see that coming if I was clairvoyant. I'm still not a hundred percent sure how I feel about it, but that is a spoiler in the making so I'll stop there. Suffice it to say that I'm eager to get to the next in this series so I can uncover what happens next!

I know this is a longer review so, if you are still with me, I applaud you! It's tough to sum up such a well-written story, with such vivid characters and worlds, in only a few short paragraphs. I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not Draykon is for you. I can tell you that it's a great place to get lost in! Happy travelling my friends. show less

Draykon is the first of a new fantasy series by Charlotte English. It takes place in a world in which alternate worlds, full of fabulous beasts and untold dangers, are accessible through gates. The “middle” world where the main characters live, is split into lands of perpetual day and perpetual night. This novel is as much a fantasy novel set in a unique and fascinating world as it is a rousing adventure and mystery. All the characters are interesting and rich and the reader becomes involved in their stories. Although the story alternated between the points of view of Llandry and Eva, this wasn't distracting and didn't take away from the building suspense. The story ended on a cliff hanger and leaves the reader anxious for the next show more instalment. Recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy with a bit of a mystery element. No material inappropriate for YA readers. show less

It took me a few tries to get started on this book. At first I didn't find the writing style that engaging but as I read further I began to be drawn into the remarkably complex set of worlds within Draykon. Stories told from multiple viewpoints can be frustrating to follow at times but I didn't find this with Charlotte English's book. Her characters were engaging and the plot lines fit together interestingly. My only complaint is that she finished the book with a cliffhanger! Now I have to wait for the second book in the series to be written.

I won this book from a member librarything giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit, I had no idea what to expect from this book. What I got was surprising, and delightfully so. This book has two main protagonists, Llandry and Eva, and the story in alternating chapters follows each character and their journey. Llandry has discovered a new stone, istore, which everyone is clamouring for. But Eva as well as some supporting characters start to realize there is something sinister about these stones when they are stolen and people are attacked. But this is just the beginning of a fantasy wrought journey for both characters.

I would like to first admit that I thought I was going to give this book five stars because of the book's show more immense strengths. English has developed a fascinating world with different characters and creatures and magical powers. I was sucked in very quickly. Her writing is beautiful and I could really picture each scene that she colorfully describes. I loved the character of Eva, a very strong, resourceful woman, who is the "upper class" in this book, but defies her stereotype and puts herself in danger to save the world she loves. We are introduced to a host of other mysteries; most particularly about the stone; the mystery did not let me down.

The reason I was not able to give this book full five stars was for several reasons: My first issue is a small one (and wouldn't have tipped the scale). I don't think the use of the word "istore" was probably the best idea, because that gives me the image of an Apple computer store instead of a beautiful stone. This can be easily changed. The second issue, much bigger to me, is the ending. The epilogue is not an epilogue (it gives the reader the sense that we will jump into the future and resolve all of the mysteries that have been presented to us, at least in a way that will really close the book satisfactorily), it is timed right after the action in the previous chapter. And the ending was very disappointing because it wasn't an ending-- it just seemed like the end of another chapter. Indeed, when you read the snippet for the next book, again, it's as if we are just getting the next chapter in the book. I get the sense that this was a very large book just cut up in three (or more) pieces. I was disappointed because otherwise this is a real gem of a book.

I think even with these issues, this is a must read for any fantasy lover and English has a huge potential to be a big name author one day! show less

Received this book as part of the Member Giveaway program.
The author manages to set down a very strange fantasy world consisting of three tiers. The way this is done is very convincing but also, at times, very confusing. So many new concepts and terms are introduced at such a rapid pace that it is hard to keep track of all of them making the read not any easier.
The story plot is gripping and divided over two main persons (women) who both have a male 'second'. The one thing I really did not like about this book is that it is (as seems normal in fantasy) only the first in a series of three. That in itself is no problem, but why is it so hard to finish a part of a tale instead of leaving half the plot open. I do understand that this sells show more more books, but if the story is good enough one would want to know how if goes from the end anyway. This is more of a marketing ploy in my opinion that a usefull way of writing. show less

What initially attracted me to this book was its absolutely gorgeous cover, reasonably interesting-sounding description, and decent reviews. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me, and I ended up spending maybe two months slogging through it.

I wasn't a huge fan of English's writing. It was a little too flowery for my tastes and featured a massive overuse of adverbs. I became very tired of the words “rather” and “quite.” It felt like one or the other of them was used on every single page.

I also became very tired of all the fantasy names – this, from someone who cut her teeth on fantasy. There were weird, almost Lewis Carroll-like names for everything, and I wasn't always sure they were necessary. I didn't need constant show more reminders that Draykon was set in a fantasy world. “Nivvens” could easily have been called “horses.” The same goes for many of the other things that had real-world equivalents. In some cases, the fantasy names were a little confusing. I couldn't read “whurthag” without imagining a warthog, although I'm pretty sure whurthags had more in common with big cats or other large predators.

I could have put up with English's writing, however, if either the story or characters had grabbed me. That didn't happen. I liked Eva well enough, but I actively disliked Llandry. Whereas Eva was older (maybe in her forties?), competent, and usually had a good head on her shoulders (except for a few blips involving Tren), Llandry was young (20) and appeared to suffer from To Stupid To Live Syndrome. Yes, I know, she had crippling social anxiety and parents that were maybe  a little too overprotective. Even so, I didn't think that completely excused her behavior. Even after she found out people were being killed for having istore, she kept a little piece of it around. She followed after Devary like a puppy, despite the fact that any idiot could see she'd only slow him down. I couldn't understand why he wasn't more angry with her when he learned she'd been following him. I mean, he was on a secret mission to deliver the last known piece of istore to someone who might be able to find out more about it. Llandry was well-known as the discoverer of istore. Having Llandry around was practically like having a giant neon sign saying “you'll probably find some istore here!”

I couldn't decide whether English was trying to set up a future romantic subplot between Llandry and Devary or not. On the one hand, Llandry seemed to have a crush on Devary, even though I don't think she realized it. On the other hand, Devary's behavior towards Llandry felt more like that of an indulgent family member than a potential love interest – not surprising, since he was an old friend of Llandry's mother. At any rate, there was absolutely zero chemistry between Devary and Llandry, and I do hope that was intentional.

Draykon's story didn't grab me any more than its characters did. I think it could have, if maybe 100 pages had been edited out. The occasional interesting event would happen, and then there'd be pages and pages that didn't seem to accomplish much of anything. It felt like most of the book happened in the last 60 or so pages.

The story became a little more interesting to me near the end, and part of me wants to know what happens next in the series. However, I'm not nearly hooked enough to buy and slog through the next book, if it's as much of a drag to get through as this one was.

Extras:

The book includes a color map of the seven realms and a glossary.

(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less