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Greg's Reviews > Sunrunner's Fire
Sunrunner's Fire (Dragon Prince, #3)
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The third book in Rawn's first series, this one drags a bit at the start. The primary motivation of pretty much everyone in the Sunrunner world is having a son. Girls are great, we are told, provided they marry a prince and have a son, otherwise, they are not really necessary. I don't know if Rawn wrote or read romance novels, but this idea is so thick in her books it sure seems likely.
One one hand, it's kind of cool that every character is flawed in some way (we're supposed to love a murderer and a rapist, really). On the other hand, Pol and Andry, the two primary characters in this novel, are both annoying jerks. Both are as entitled as anyone I've ever read about, believing they should be prince or head sunrunner simply because that's what they want to be, so surely it is owed to them. Ultimately, Pol has no real claim to his throne any better than Roelstra's sons, beyond the fact that his dad killed Roelstra. I'm not sure how that in and of itself makes him a better person than they are, but he sure seems to think so, and the novel mirrors that belief.
It's never really explained why sorcerers are powerful or why anyone would be afraid of them--but they don't seem very scary or powerful. It'd be nice if some of the minor characters, like Hollis, Maarken, and the woman who studies dragons (Feylin, I think) stuck around longer, or if anyone, and I mean anyone, got some attention who wasn't a highborn. Rawn clearly does not care for anyone who isn't royal. They do not matter. Weird.
Meiglan is a frustrating character as well. Rawn's created lots of strong female characters in this series, all worth reading about, then has Andry fall in love with the most timid, naive, innocent vessel to grace the pages. Rawn makes it clear Pol loves her mostly because she's NOT a strong woman. Ugh. How are we supposed to root for Pol when he acts like that (granted, maybe we aren't supposed to).
Anyway, these novels are a nice diversion, but I had to slog through the first half, and the disdain for anyone not highborn is palpable and disturbing. My wife assures me that at least a lot more happens in the second trilogy. Let's hope so. Andry's primary motivation is to avoid a horrible prophesy (he's kind of like Anakin Skywalker that way) so maybe all that awfulness takes place.
One one hand, it's kind of cool that every character is flawed in some way (we're supposed to love a murderer and a rapist, really). On the other hand, Pol and Andry, the two primary characters in this novel, are both annoying jerks. Both are as entitled as anyone I've ever read about, believing they should be prince or head sunrunner simply because that's what they want to be, so surely it is owed to them. Ultimately, Pol has no real claim to his throne any better than Roelstra's sons, beyond the fact that his dad killed Roelstra. I'm not sure how that in and of itself makes him a better person than they are, but he sure seems to think so, and the novel mirrors that belief.
It's never really explained why sorcerers are powerful or why anyone would be afraid of them--but they don't seem very scary or powerful. It'd be nice if some of the minor characters, like Hollis, Maarken, and the woman who studies dragons (Feylin, I think) stuck around longer, or if anyone, and I mean anyone, got some attention who wasn't a highborn. Rawn clearly does not care for anyone who isn't royal. They do not matter. Weird.
Meiglan is a frustrating character as well. Rawn's created lots of strong female characters in this series, all worth reading about, then has Andry fall in love with the most timid, naive, innocent vessel to grace the pages. Rawn makes it clear Pol loves her mostly because she's NOT a strong woman. Ugh. How are we supposed to root for Pol when he acts like that (granted, maybe we aren't supposed to).
Anyway, these novels are a nice diversion, but I had to slog through the first half, and the disdain for anyone not highborn is palpable and disturbing. My wife assures me that at least a lot more happens in the second trilogy. Let's hope so. Andry's primary motivation is to avoid a horrible prophesy (he's kind of like Anakin Skywalker that way) so maybe all that awfulness takes place.
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