I have finished Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons.

I have finished Dragon Song, the third and final book of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons.

Dayie. Once foundling, slave, thief – whose theft of a dragon egg let her become so much more. Dragon Rider to the mighty Crimson Red Zarr, Savior of the South, friend of Torvald, plus a couple other titles. All due to her relentless optimism and commitment to do better against an equally relentless enemy and divisional politics of the Southern Kingdom.

A splendidly original Fantasy! Eminently readable, fast-paced and with characters who personalities leap off the pages. Thus tis with equal parts sorrow and pride that I say farewell to Dayie, Akeem, Nas, Chief Talal, Heydar, Prince J'ahalid, all the rest of Binshee and people of Dagfan, and Dragons Zarr, Aida, Nandor, Gren, and all the rest of the Wild Company and Training Hall. You fought for an won a lasting peace with words as much as magic and swords, making it the very best kind. Fly well and high, my friends!

Is this the last Ava Richardson book I will read? Not on your life.

Quote of the month

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability.” – H. P. Lovecraft

Avatar: Seven Havens - Behold Avatar Pavi

"Only the Avatar can master all four elements, and bring balance to the world." Behold not Avatar Korra but her successor and reincarnation Avatar Pavi in the much-changed world of Avatar: Seven Havens.

I have started Dragon Song, the third and final book of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons

I have started Dragon Song, the third and final book of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons.

There is none like Dayie in all the Southern Kingdom, for only she can save it with her blended song and magic. Dragons alone are not enough, not even with Torvald's aid, for the Sea Witch's malice runs deep as the roots of her Deadweed. So tis time for some detective work, for only by learning all the truths of her past can this castaway turned slave turned great Dragon Rider of mighty Zarr save her home and friends.

I have finished Dragon Magic, Book Two of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons

I have finished Dragon Magic, Book Two of Ava Richardson's Deadweed Dragons.

There is an intelligence behind this evil: this Deadweed that hunts the living like tentacles and the Water Wraiths that are a bubbling, drowning, malice. A power, a will, a person far from the South yet seeks to consume them all and has nearly succeeded. Akeem, his Wild Company, and even the Dagfan Training Hall Riders did well, yet it was Dayie and Zarr who turned to the trick. One has heard the phrase "fighting fire with fire", but fighting water with water is a new one on me. Yet the victory is a pyrrhic one, and it will take a witch to fight a witch. A Dragon Witch, to coin a phrase, for Akeem is right: there is none like Dayie in all the Southern Kingdom.

hoofbeats...

(The sound of distant thunder drawing ever nearer) clip clop clip clop clip clop clip clop...hoofbeats...

A little over two months and counting until Falling in a Sea of Stars, book #8 of Kristen Britain's Green Rider series comes out! By all the gods of Sacoridia, it will good to see Rider Swordmaster Sir Karigan G'ladheon, Dama Cearing Asai'riel a'Santanara, again!!

Clip clop clip clop clip clop clip clop...hoofbeats... 

20 years a proud RuneScape player!

20 years ago this week I began the game RuneScape, beginning, unbeknownst to me, a continuing age of my life. An MMO of deep (book-worthy) plots augmented by rich characters and the wondrous ever expanding world of Gielinor, I want to thank Jonah (Evilspirit44), and Sam and Henry for convincing me to play (which was no easy task, if I recall aright).

The game has changed much over the past two decades years in countless ways, with graphic improvements, vast thickening of plots, and a "new" combat system that drove away many close-minded players alongside several new skills and geographical locations. Yet even not Questlines that began before I started playing are at last coming to triumphant conclusion. I view the game - a continuing relic of my early childhood - as I would a dear book, making it an important part of my life. Indeed, it was critical Escapism during the COVID Pandemic.

A toast to Jagex and the game they created! A toast to another fabulous decade!