Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn

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Submitted by Jeff Curtis
(May 19, 2000)

I know that this book marks Lynn's return to Fantasy after many years away.  It also marked my return to reading Fantasy novels after many years of reading non-fiction and the occasional SF book.   I had not read any of her earlier works, so I did not pick up this book with any preconceived notions.  

I must say she is quite a good writer.  I whipped right through the book and enjoyed it quite thoroughly.  It's about a world where magic has become rare, and changelings are also a small minority.   Twin brothers are born, with one receiving the ability to change into a dragon, while the other does not have this power. 

I won't get into specific pieces of the plot, but some of the most interesting characters are the small group of changelings the story seems to revolve around.  There are some very abrupt changes to the story, as the focus changes from one group of characters to another, and some characters leave the story after you have really gotten to know and like them.

The story builds to a grand confrontation, and then cops out a bit on it's resolution.  After the penultimate event, the book continues on for another 60 pages or so.   This all seems very anti-climactic, but I suspect Lynn is building the bridge for transitioning into a sequel.  If not, then the last 30 pages which introduce some new bad guys could easily have been left out.  

However, these are minor quibbles.  On a five-star rating system, I would give the book a strong 4, and I look forward to reading the sequel, which I hear is coming soon.