The Dragon Heir Review

 

Madison Moss can feel the beating heart of the opal, too.  The desire for it surges through her, drawing her to it.  But Maddie has other things besides the Dragonheart on her mind.  She has a secret.  Ever since absorbing the magical blow that was meant to kill Seph, she's been leaking dark powers.  Although Maddie herself is immune to magic, what would her friends think if they knew what kind of evil lay within her?  Trinity's enemies are as enthusiastic about her powers as she is frightened.  They think they can use her to get to the Dragonheart -- and they'll use anyone Maddie cares about to make her steal the stone for them.

 

Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through what was once a sanctuary for the gifted.  With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for -- and what will they sacrifice?  Every man is for himself in this thrilling conclusion to the Heir trilogy.

User Submitted The Dragon Heir Reviews

November 19, 2008
brings Cinda Williams Chima's series to a gripping yet bittersweet conclusion
Autumn has descended upon the college community of Trinity, Ohio, bringing with it optimism for many of its residents. For Seph McCauley, Madison Moss and Jason Haley, the incident at Second Sister continues to weigh heavily on their minds. Still recovering from the nearly fatal attack, Seph has been learning to protect himself while helping to monitor Trinity (aka the sanctuary) --- a responsibility that even the most seasoned wizard would have trouble accomplishing. At the same time, he tries to understand why his relationship with Madison has become strained.

Meanwhile, Jason seeks to prove he is a worthy ally (and opponent) by tracking down Claude D'Orsay and preventing the Covenant --- a document meant to keep the balance of power in check --- from being misused, throwing the already problematic wizarding hierarchy into chaos.

When Jason returns from his search in Britain, Seph, Madison, Nick Snowbeard, Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson are all fascinated by a large opal called the Dragonheart, which is among the treasure he acquired at Raven's Ghyll. The ancient stone's effect is strongest of all on Madison, who feels a powerful connection to it. This alarms Madison since all her life she has tried to avoid anything involving magic --- and with good reason.

Madison is from Coalton County, an Appalachian mining community that is a far cry from thriving Trinity. The Moss family has always been considered outsiders, living on Booker Mountain, a beloved and disliked place for her. When Madison was young, her grandmother Min, a fortune teller, told her to stay away from magic, a rule that she promised to keep. However, this didn't stop the cruel schoolyard taunts and an old-fashioned superstition from labeling Madison as a witch from an early age.

At first, living in Trinity is a welcomed respite from the small-town gossip and overwhelming family responsibilities. Here, Madison hopes to start the next chapter in her life, including pursuing her passion for art. However, her relationship with Seph, the incident at Second Sister and recent developments have made her wonder if the superstition wasn't completely unfounded.

As the rest of the group is dealing with various problems, personal or otherwise, Madison suddenly goes back home, prompting concern and speculation. Seph is determined to find out the truth behind Madison's departure and sends Jason to investigate. However, there are added complications, as Anaweir and Anawizard prepare for an epic battle that will have more far-reaching effects than anyone ever could have imagined.

Relationships are tested, strange alliances are made (and broken) and startling secrets are revealed, as THE DRAGON HEIR brings Cinda Williams Chima's series to a gripping yet bittersweet conclusion that will leave readers wanting to revisit the previous two installments, THE WARRIOR HEIR and THE WIZARD HEIR.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle

November 5, 2008
the dragon heir
this book was awesome. i was wondering how chima was going to incorporate the past two books to make this one, and once again it was exceptional. It was hard to put down. a must read

October 22, 2008
almost great
wonderful reading and the it fizzles into a half written ending for all the characters and was only 2 pages long

October 18, 2008
Unfortunate end -- Major Spoilers Included!
What an unfortunate end to this trilogy! I wasn't someone who would say any of the books knocked it out of the park, but I certainly didn't expect this. Especially since The Wizard Heir (despite major plot flaws) was better than The Warrior Heir. I had hopes that the story telling was on the upswing.

The Dragon Heir starts out fine, but very soon we have a story of a bunch of moody kids and the adults who dump a ridiculous amount of responsibility on to those kids. The plot points in the story were hard to believe and demanded too much irrational behavior from the principles to make them come about.

SPOILERS
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My biggest complaint is the handling of Jason. Not his ultimate fate, but that it meant nothing in the end. There was no true resolution to the character. He was still on the outs with Alicia and his end came through vengeance. Sure he was saving someone's life, but how convenient that he was able to off the guy he'd wanted to get throughout the whole story? It also seemed the nature of his attack caused his own demise and not some noble sacrifice or fateful event, and that is an insult to a very good character.

Jason was given some of the biggest personal issues to deal with. Frankly, his emotions are probably more accessible to the reader than any of the other characters in the story. Envy, frustration, grief, the need to avenge a loved one. And yet, he resolves nothing and disappears from the world with a couple lines from the other characters that come off pretty much as 'poor guy.' And who cares, really? Looking at the other reviews, many don't even mention him. His death had no impact. Every death of a main character should have an impact on the story. Without that the loss of life is gratuitous.

Madison's choices throughout were beyond stupid. I'm not sure how any of her friends could ever trust her again, and yet somehow they do -- in a heartbeat.

Seph is a drug abuser who is suddenly ... cured? ... soothed? ... something else altogether? by Lady Aiden. And then that particular, disturbing story line is forgotten.

Jack is worried about his urge to kill. And that is ... dropped entirely by the end. I guess he's come to grips with and learned to love his inner killer tendencies.

We see nothing of the Hastings and Linda reunion with their son. Their assault on the Ghyll castle was what prompted the assault on Trinity. As major characters throughout the trilogy, their thoughts and feelings on what they missed and on what could have happened are very important and deserve more than a line or two.

The arc of the story and the structure itself are a major disappointment. The Dragonheart stone exists, but only as a distant catalyst for bad behavior, until the last few pages. Madison's transformation comes so close to the end it's basically part of an epilogue. We have no idea what she can do. We have no idea what her abilities are. It's a classic deus ex machina, even though the Dragonheart has been talked about since the beginning of the series and has existed in real form from the start of this book. The entire event of its use is confusing, abbreviated, and never explained.
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SPOILER END

The end of the story felt as if Chima was tired of writing and just wanted to get it over with. Perhaps a publisher was breathing down her neck, and if so, that's too bad. But the story was tanking long before the last chapters.

This book may be a good example of the dangers of deadlines and series installments that are expected to come too quickly on top of each other. Shortcuts are taken, bad plots are engaged rather than rejected, characterizations are uneven.

I apologize for inserting so many spoilers, but the specifics are a big part of what earned this book a one star review.

October 13, 2008
Dissapointing
I was so looking forward to this last installment...what a letdown!

I adored the first two books, but this one, WTF? Seemed like she just "phoned it in" for lack of a better pharse.

Too much going on with secondary characters, I could give a rat's poopie about Madison, Jason and Warren...enough already! One more trip to Coalton and I was getting car sick.

Leander and Linda...AWOL! Two characters really needed!

The battle at Trinity, evacuate the town? That's where she lost me...too unbelieable, even for a fanatasy.

What a bummer way to end a super series!

October 6, 2008
good ending
This is a great book the two brfore this one were better but i still liked it.

September 21, 2008
The Final Installment
I have read several magical fiction books including the Harry Potter series and out of all of them I believe this book blows them all away. I read the Warrior Heir in the 7th grade and read the Wizard Heir the moment it came out. Since then i have been anticipating the release of the final instalment to the series and finished it within a week. i strongly recomend this book for teenage readers and adult readers alike.

September 17, 2008
Dragon Heir
This was an awesome book in the "Heir" series. You can definitely read this book without reading the first two, but the series is best when read in sequential order. ENJOY!

September 14, 2008
I love this series
This is an amazing book. The first two in the series are also amazing books. You get caught up in this completely different world. It's about wizards, seers, enchanters, sorcerrers, and warriors. The wizards are at war against each other because there are certain wizards who want to take over the wizard world and make all of the other magical people beneath them. but there is a certain group of wizards who are trying to stop this from happening. It's a great book. I suggest you read it.

September 7, 2008
The world needs more books like this!!!
I absolutely loved this series and this book! I think all of Cinda Chima's books are wonderful, but I enjoyed this final chapter in the series the best. I could not put it down! There was an amazing climactic buildup and a phenomenal ending with lots of action and adventure. Fantastic read, and I cannot wait for The Demon King.


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