The Dragon on the Border - Gordon R. Dickson Book Review

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Review Summaries

"In the third installment of the Dragon Knight series, Jim Eckert and his friends, Sir Brian and Master Archer Dafydd, journey to Northumbria to inform the de Mer family of the heroic death of Giles de Mer in France (book #2, The Dragon Knight). Before reaching the de Mer castle, Jim's group is attacked by the ghostly Hollow Men—dishonored spirits clothed in stolen armor. Jim, Brian, and Dafydd easily dispose of the ghosts, and arrive at the de Mer castle to find Giles alive and well, thanks to his silkie heritage. However, the group soon learn of an alliance between the rulers of Scotland and France: Scotland will bribe the Hollow Men to attack England, an invincible army (each Hollow Man returns to life two days after being slain, so long as one Hollow Man remains alive) spreading fear before them, after which Scottish and French forces will follow to conquer England. Jim, with the help of his friends, his magic, and the de Mer family—as well as that of a Scotsman and a cryptic Northumbrian wolf—embarks on a plan to prevent the invasion by wiping out the Hollow Men once and for all. To do this, he must use his recently attained magical powers to disguise himself as the Scottish ambassador and trick all of the Hollow Men in assembling in one place so that they can be eliminated. But to do this, Jim needs to convince the Northumbrian knights to work together with the enigmatic Little Men to build a fighting force large enough to taken on the Hollow Men. A long enmity has existed between the two groups for centuries, and the Little Men refuse to trust any human—until Dafydd reveals the secret of his royal lineage. "
Ursawolf, Resident Gordon R. Dickson Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - killer
Has magical powers? Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Terrain - Forests
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
A Wizard In A Feud - Rogue Wizard 9 by Christopher Stasheff
The One Kingdom - The Swans' War 1 by Sean Russell
A Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel
The Dragon and the Fair Maid of Kent by Gordon R. Dickson
Spirits White As Lightning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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