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    Dragon Prince
    Dragon Prince
    Dragon Prince
    Audiobook21 hours

    Dragon Prince

    Written by Melanie Rawn

    Narrated by Christa Lewis

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In this unsettled world, the death of the ruler of the desert princedom becomes the catalyst for power games of magical treachery as rival factions-from the evil High Prince to the leader of the Sunrunners to the newly crowned Prince of the Desert-seek to alter the course of their world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 14, 2017
    ISBN9781541484733
    Dragon Prince
    Author

    Melanie Rawn

    MELANIE RAWN is the three-time Locus Award–nominated author of the bestselling Dragon Prince trilogy, the Dragon Star trilogy, and the Glass Thorns trilogy, including Touchstone, Elsewhens, and Thornlost. She graduated from Scripps College with a BA in history and has worked as a teacher and editor. Rawn lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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    Reviews for Dragon Prince

    4/5

    505 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Today I finished an amazing book. It was filled with honor and treachery, light and shadow; magic. Growing up in the shadow of a warrior prince, Rohan was scholarly and filled with ideals. Those ideals carried on through the book, showing how he could play the dim-witted prince in the beginning of the book. His Fire-bound love for Sioned is tested during this first part of the book as well because they barely acknowledge each other as per their agreement, although it is hard they manage to pull through with the desired out-come through trials that I'm not sure I would have made it through. The book continues on showing the struggles and triumphs of a prince who wishes to change the world with honor and laws instead of squabbling and war tearing through the land. High prince Roelstra, the main bad guy for this tale is a good opponent, pitting everyone against each other to get what he wants. His daughter, Ianthe, is not much better as they both rule with an iron fist of hatred to fuel them. Love proves the true winner though, and to me, that is all that matters. Oh! And we can't forget the lovely, deadly beauty of the dragons through this novel, for they play a very important role as well.
    • 5/5
      Excellent story and characters! You know it's a good book when you find yourself going through all ranges of emotions, along with the characters. That truly means the author has done their job, and made you feel for these people as if they were life long friends. Rohan is now one of my many idols.
    • 5/5
      So glad I rediscovered an old favorite in a new format
    • 3/5
      CONTAINS SPOILERSThough a bit predictable, this was an entertaining read. It was had to see "Rohan" as the name of a person rather than a place, but once I got passed that, it was fluid enough. My greatest grief with this book, and herein lies the spoiler, is Rohan's persistent claim that he raped one of the villains daughters, Ianthe, when it was, in fact, the other way around.Ianthe drugged and "seduced" him, making him believe that she was his wife, Sioned. This "seduction", my friends, is rape. When he came to and learned of the abuse Ianthe ordered for Sioned, he angrily forced himself on her. I still see this as part of her raping him. She crafted the entire situation, calculated his actions, she knew what he would do; he was drugged and she was in control. I cannot stress this point enough: SHE raped HIM. Yet the writing suggests otherwise since he was a little more coherent "the second time". The belief that women cannot rape men really needs to stop, and it needs to stop being passed off as "seduction".

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      These books are a treat- written by not a trained writer but a trained historian, they combine several unique threads. The basic setting is a early Medieval/Dark Age autocracy, where the central protagonist- Rohan- dreams of transitioning into what we would describe as a constitutional monarchy defined by the rule of law. He is the scion of generations of warlords and kingdom builders, interestingly heir to all of their ruthlessness and ambition, but with it turned toward building a stable tomorrow not dependent on the justice of the strongest ruler around.Rawn, given her background, has a firm grasp of society and different cultures; the one major gripe I had reading these is her continent, in terms of travel distance, is just too small. The population sizes are correct for 5th-7th century cities, towns, and warfare- but the distances involved are just not there.Roelstra, the main villain of the piece, is definitely informed by the villains of older literature or perhaps romance, but is a wonderful fit here- he is a sociopath and "native" psychologist; deftly manipulating those around him without their being aware he is doing so. The magic system is also different. Sunrunners have the ability to instinctively weave light- sunlight, moonlight, and (spoiler) even starlight- and send their consciousness down it, to both observe distant items and communicate with other Sunrunners mind-to-mind. Training in a religious community, they have historically been strictly a-political, bound to silence regarding their communiques- and one is the romantic interest of Prince Rohan.And in this world, there be dragons.While the world is believable, this is a character-driven story. If characters with believable depth aren't something you enjoy, preferring riveting action, perhaps not the book for you. For myself, highly enjoyed.
    • 1/5
      I really thought this was going somewhere. I was wrong.
    • 3/5
      A little slow in parts, but very good.
    • 4/5
      This book is reminiscent of Dune in certain aspects. For example, the way Andrade manipulates her sister and her brother in law, along with Rohan and Sioned chief among them, not to mention the Sunrunners' training and their oaths. It's genetic manipulation designed to bring about a faradhi prince, reminding one of the kwisatz hadarach. To compound matters, the main characters chiefly live in a desert and Rohan's followers develop an almost fanatical devotion (remind anyone of Paul Atreides?).

      Despite the similarities, the book can hold its own. The villains are bad, yes, but not so bad as to be completely unlikeable. Ianthe evokes pity as well as dislike, because she seems stuck in a hopeless situation. Roelstra is the true villain and he manipulates people with a masterful stroke, only to be undone by his own manipulation. It seems he and Rohan are pretty evenly matched throughout the novel and the suspense this provokes is great.

      Sioned is a powerful heroine, even if it is a little hard to pin down her character. She seems undefined, up until Ianthe's manipulation threatens to break her relationship with Rohan. At that point, her vague edges grow sharper and more defined. I still blame the dranath for her inability to conceive, but your mileage may vary.

      The only problem I can see with this series is its romance. I prefer romance to remain firmly in the background as an amusing side story at most. I don't like it brought into prominence and Rohan and Sioned's seemingly perfect alliance, along with Chay and Tobin, grew nauseating. That's why I welcomed Ianthe's potential destruction, along with Sioned eventually claiming Pol. This brought a well needed dose of reality into the book, rather than reading slightly like a romance novel.

      I'm curious about whether Sunrunners have ever turned completely dark. I know about the shadow-lost, who flew the sun's rays after the sun had sank and became comatose. However, I'm wondering if people like Sioned, who use their powers to achieve their own ends (like murdering that man during Rohan's race and wanting to kill Ianthe), have survived.

      It would also be great if, in the upcoming novels, dragons played more of a part. In this book, dragons were on the peripheral. They were described more often than observed, and Rohan's link to the dragons isn't explained very well. Then again, Rawn seems to do this often- she would rather describe something than tell us.

      All in all, though, despite its unevenness, a very enjoyable book and I look forward to the sequel. It's a shame Rawn lost her confidence and couldn't finish two trilogies after completing the Dragon Prince and Dragon Star ones. She could have been a great fantasy author in her own right.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this one. I rank it up there with Terry Brook's Shannara books.
    • 4/5
      An excellent fantasy read, filled with politics, tension, and violence. While not for the faint of heart, Dragon Prince nevertheless is a compelling work of fiction, set in a vivid fantasy world, and populated by scheming characters. One of the best fantasy novels I have read recently!
    • 3/5
      CONTAINS SPOILERSThough a bit predictable, this was an entertaining read. It was had to see "Rohan" as the name of a person rather than a place, but once I got passed that, it was fluid enough. My greatest grief with this book, and herein lies the spoiler, is Rohan's persistent claim that he raped one of the villains daughters, Ianthe, when it was, in fact, the other way around.Ianthe drugged and "seduced" him, making him believe that she was his wife, Sioned. This "seduction", my friends, is rape. When he came to and learned of the abuse Ianthe ordered for Sioned, he angrily forced himself on her. I still see this as part of her raping him. She crafted the entire situation, calculated his actions, she knew what he would do; he was drugged and she was in control. I cannot stress this point enough: SHE raped HIM. Yet the writing suggests otherwise since he was a little more coherent "the second time". The belief that women cannot rape men really needs to stop, and it needs to stop being passed off as "seduction".
    • 4/5
      Romantasy or Fantamance?Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn’s first novel, was ahead of the fantasy/romance genre curve in 1988. Rawn decorates an epic fantasy core story with romantic trappings, and it works, most of the time. The early medieval fantasy world of Dragon Prince comes to life in vibrant Sunrunner magical colors. The environments, especially the desert, are depicted in fine detail, capturing the reader with sensuous descriptions. The book has a few minor issues: recurring emotional imagery and a lack of depth to many of the secondary characters.The main characters are vividly drawn, but the spotlight on them is a bit tight. Everyone seems a little dim compared to Rohan and Sioned, and I suppose that is the novel’s romance side coming to the fore. The reader may get too much inside the head of the characters at some points. A lot of the narrative is filled with the internal monologue and deeply felt emotions of the characters. This tends to give the plot a stuttery feel as conflicts arise, characters ponder, then swoon or glower at each other, then ponder some more, then something else happens.The story is interesting, but not very complex. There is mostly one main thread of plot throughout, though there are many brief branches and callbacks. I think the story could have used a bit of pruning, especially since the general focus is so strong on the main characters. Any time a secondary character comes to the fore, it’s not very rewarding, as they tend to be more sketchy and predictable. The frequent callbacks and rehashing of characters’ feelings can be distracting, too. Although worded differently and often approached from different angles, some themes are visited repeatedly.Despite these issues, the plotting of the princes and the romance of the main characters is engaging enough to keep the pages turning. Dragon Prince is not for everyone, as it has far more romance and politics than action and adventure. Though few, the action sequences are lively and stimulating. I’m looking forward to checking out some of Melanie Rawn’s other books set in the Dragon Prince world, as I have a feeling that the later novels may be even better.
    • 3/5
      [WARNING: contains spoilers.]Well, there were some tough bits in there - it was hard to read. But the plot was gripping enough (and I cared enough about the characters) that I had to finish it.The sexual abuse and rape was the hardest going, and after that nasty section, the book rushed to a conclusion, glossing over the effects of this on the characters and the other after effects remarkably quickly. There was very little coverage of how they dealt with what had happened to them, and there were actions (some just mentioned in passing despite significance) by them that just didn't make much sense. And then it all suddenly just stopped with a happy ending (for the time being). This was surprising after the vast detail and development in the whole rest of the book (and it's a thick book). I was glad there was a happy ending, if you can call it that after all they went through, but it's execution was not totally satisfactory.Also, the dragons. They actually have almost nothing to do with the plot - they just happen to exist. Perhaps they come to more prominence in later books in the series. Which I am undecided as to whether I will read them or not, given some of the explicit and unpleasant content.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful series by a new author. Very enjoyable. 
    • 5/5
      I loved the grit and intrigue of this novel. Especially the freedom of life given to the characters and the sense of disrupted destiny that exists in real life.
    • 5/5
      After nearly twenty years of reading fantasy novels, this book remains one of my absolute favorites. Rawn excels at developing worlds and extended storylines. Her characters stay with you long after you've put the book down, and her style of writing jumps off the page. As far as I'm concerned, 'Dragon Prince' is a classic.
    • 3/5
      This book took me four days to read. Four. I normally read a book or so a day. And it's not even all that long: 500-some pages. I don't mind slow, atmospheric reads on occasion, but it's likely that my impatience with the slow pace accounts for a half star or so.Rohan was always a studious boy, and even those who knew him well were afraid what would happen when his father died and he became Prince. His aunt Andrade in particular, the head of the Sunrunners (magically talented people who can manipulate the rays of the sun & moon to various effects), plans to manipulate him, and starts by introducing him to a young Sunrunner woman, Sioned, with whom he falls in love.The story starts out with great promise--Rohan showing that his years spent in books were not wasted, as he schemes and plots to ensure peace and prosperity for his people, and the intensity of the feelings between himself and Sioned and the pitfalls of their path to being together. I loved the scheming and cleverness, and I loved that others had schemes that countered his.But then it falters. There's a story line about the dragons that's really shortchanged, and either 3 or 6 years (it wasn't particularly clear which) were just skipped, during which several key characters died in a devastating plague, with only a brief mention. It's the GSM, indeed.Then the story picks up again, with Rohan and Sioned's quest for a child, an excellent, twisted scheme-ful and emotionally intense section.If Dragon Prince had been a trilogy... If all three sections had been fleshed out, especially that middle section, and the first book ended with Sioned & Rohan conquering the odds to be together, the second with the full story of the plague and the importance of the dragons, and the third with the child plot and the final battles... I'd probably have given each one 5 stars. Maybe 4 for the middle one, which is weakest, unless it was punched up a lot.But as it was, the exciting stuff--the schemes, and the emotional intensity--got buried in repetition and wordiness, when they weren't completely skipped over.I said impatience accounted for a half star. Disappointment that it wasn't all I imagined it could have been accounted for another half star. I don't think I'll be looking for the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      The Dragon Prince is the story about a young prince who is unexpectedly thrown into the seat of power at a very young age. Throughout the story, Rohan struggles with balancing his ideals for peacefully ruling his desert kingdom and the unavoidable need to wage war against those who would threaten that peace. As much as it is about Rohan, it is equally about his wife, Sioned. She is a magic user, called a SunRunner, who's considerable powers are forbidden to be used to kill. However, as a princess, she must struggle with her own inner demons and the demands to use her powers against her oaths in order to aide and protect her husband.I found this to be an interesting novel written in a style that I'm not entirely used to reading. There is a healthy dose of action and war that I expect in a fantasy novel along with some political intrigue involving the new prince coming to power and working to institute his own ideals. Along with this, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the developing relationship between Rohan and Sioned. This adds a nice depth to the novel, although at times it gets dangerously close to treading into romance novel territory!! WinkI think that this is one of the rare fantasy novels that will appeal to male and female readers almost equally.