Stronghold

Dragon Star Series, Book 1

By: Melanie Rawn

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 24 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

With her widely acclaimed, best-selling fantasy trilogy, Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn opened an enchanted gateway to a spellbinding universe of Sunrunner's magic and sorcerous evil, of a ruler fighting to bring peace to a world of warring kingdoms, and of the dragons - deadly dangerous yet holding the secret to wealth beyond imagining.

Now, in Stronghold, the first novel of Melanie's Dragon Star trilogy, there is a devastating new challenge to the power of both the High Prince Rohan and Andry, Lord of the Sunrunners at Goddess Keep, as a mysterious and seemingly unstoppable invasion force swarms across their lands. For Andry it signals the start of a nightmare made real, the horrifying fulfillment of his long-ago visions of his homeland in flames, and he will draw upon even the forbidden sorcerer's magic in an attempt to destroy this enemy which is bent on the extermination of all Sunrunners.

Rohan and his son Pol will also fight the enemy with every weapon at their command - from their valiant warriors, to conjurations with sun, moons, and stars, to the terrifying presence of the dragons, to the unforgiving wrath of the Desert itself. Yet soon they begin to fear that this invasion may prove not only the end of their dream of an unbreakable peace but the beginning of the end of their entire world....

©1990 Melanie Rawn (P)2019 Tantor

Good books

I've been enjoying these books and the narration but I think this one was hard for me because it had so many characters especially with all the children and grandchildren that it was hard to keep track of who was who.

Just a little dry

Too many words describing nothing. Narrator was very good but the story just dragged on.

Ignorance is bliss

I really enjoyed the first three in this series but after this one I can't help but think I might have been better off not knowing what happened next.

At first I had a really hard time following what was going on because of the huge number of characters and the fact that many of the characters are namesakes of other characters.

I did finally get really into the story but it became clear that the plot armor many lovable characters once had was gone. I will continue you on with the series, despite my misgivings, if/when it becomes available on Audible.

Fantastic

I always have a hard time putting the book down, or pausing in this case.

Rawn is amazing

Rawn does it again with this beautifully descriptive book. I felt fully immersed in to this world full of dragons and magic

Even Better Than the Previous Books

With Stronghold, Melanie Rawn takes the characters she beautifully established in the first three novels and has them face off with a brutal new threat that fits with the established universe while also feeling fresh and new.

Though many of the enemies and threats that hindered Rohan, Sioned, Pol, and their family and friends have been dealt with, not everything is perfect on the Continent. There are still other rivalries, personal difficulties, and the natural complications of ruling for the characters to juggle. Those complications are exasperated by the invasion of the Vellant'im who are pursuing vengeance for wrongs done generations before. There are many payoffs to dynamics, both good and bad, set up in the last trilogy as some characters side with the invaders for their own ends while many have reason to remain loyal to Rohan, Sioned, and Pol due to decades of earned loyalty. In addition to that, even allies have different views from each other on how the invasion should be handled, deepening the conflict even further. The way Rawn blends together the established and new conflicts makes the story feel so real.

While the previous three novels put the main characters through heavy struggles and featured major character deaths, Stronghold felt even heavier. I can't tell if the tone is darker or if it's because I've read through decades of these characters' lives at this point, so everything that happens hits harder.

I wouldn't recommend starting the series from here even though Stronghold is technically the first novel in the Dragon Star trilogy, which is the sequel series of Dragon Prince. Each book builds off of the events and character arcs of the other. But the books leading up to this one are nearly as good.

Amazing

The first book in Melanie Rawn’s second Dragon Prince Series, The Dragon Token. So much action, and unexpected things happen! I love it.

Plodding storyline, monotone narration

I’ve read and like Melanie Rawn’s other books. This story was extremely slow in developing any plot. That could have been tolerated if the narration was good, but the monotone droning of the narration was the nail in the coffin for me. I couldn’t get past the first couple of hours, no way I would be able to listen to over 24 hours of this book. I’m disappointed but I guess it happens sometimes that we like an author but not every one of their stories will resonate with us.