The Dragon Heir

Warning: Here there be spoilers (semi-mild)!

I'm usually a calm reader when I read books. I might weep a little or laugh aloud on occasion, but I rarely wind up acting like I did when I finished The Dragon Heir. My chest was so constricted I could hardly breathe. I was grateful my parents didn't wake up because I was breathing so loudly. The last battle had me shaking like a leaf.

Cinda Chima's latest novel is a jewel rivaling the Dragonheart itself. From start to finish I treasured every last moment with some of my favorite characters in all fiction-dom, from their greatest highs to their worst lows.

The beginning made me sad, because I was worried about how much pressure was being put on Seph and what it led him to do. I also was sad because of Maddie's multiple predicaments. I really related to her on a lot of leves: I've been separated from the one I love, I struggle with college, I was persecuted in high school for being strange, artistic, a lot of things. I've also had many a Mr. Wrong harass me-though not about my property. On that note, I was surprised that Booker Mountain didn't have some sort of magical property to it which was why Brice really wanted it-it.

But for all my feeling bad for Maddie, her troubles kind of gave the book a grounding in reality that would have been lost had it all been about the Weir War-she had such real problems and worked through them. It not only reminds the reader that this is "our" world we're reading about, but it also makes the average person feel they can handle the hell life hands them because it she could, on top of the Weir pounding on her door every night. lol

On top of the wonderful characters, the pacing of the story throughout the middle was great, and it wasn't too difficult to follow the multiple points of view- Barber and Brice and The Roses and D'Orsay and "Auuggghhh!!!!" It was just so much to handle yet you pulled it off. I've never seen so many "dark sides" in a story. Haha. It was only fitting that they'd wind up half wiping themselves out FOR the people in the Sanctuary. I'll bet there's thousands of stories you could still write about the people who aren't happy with the way things were resolved.

I thought the ending was a little rushed-but that may have been my reading. It just seemed that Maddie and Jason got to the wall and BOOM! I was on the last page. However, I was delighted with the last line: "fear of dragons can't last forever." It leaves the story open to more, but for the time being it's over, though I'm hoping it's not really over!

Though it's hard to decide, overall I think I preferred The Wizard Heir the most; but that had a lot to do with the fact I never seem to like the "last" book the best. I also would have probably enjoyed The Dragon Heir better if I'd been able to just read it straight through like Wizard Heir-you know that physically painful "tearing your eyes from the page" feeling you get because everyone keeps interrupting you in the middle of a good book? I had that happen too many times this time around. I also like The Dragon Heir more than The Warrior Heir, because it just got so deep and rich with everything coming together. Overall I wasn't disappointed at all. I got an awesome rush from the book, and when it all comes down that what really makes a book worth a read or not, and it remains one of my favorite books.

The first thing I did upon finishing the Dragon Heir was go back and reread the first two books, because the revelations at the end of this wonderful novel cast everything before them in a new light, much as the story arch around The Three Brothers and Dumbledore recast the earlier Harry Potter books. I saw one reviewer refer to the ending as being deux ex machina, but that view fails to take into account that the events the reviewer mentioned, concerning Jason, Madison and Seph, were indeed machinations, not of the gods but of a character who manipulated everything that transpires in this book, and in much of the series as a whole. Closely tied up with that revelation is that, if we take into account all of the many and various forces pulling at Madison, her actions make plenty of sense. But that is only possible after the penultimate chapter.

I also think that Jason's fate was, instead of meaningless, the most perfect possible for him. When we were introduced to him in The Wizard Heir, all Jason could talk about was helping the Dragon, fighting with the Dragon, and that was his focus in this book as well. However, Chima plays a neat trick on Jason. In contrast to his relatively modest ambition, of helping the cause of the revolutionary character only nicknamed the Dragon, Jason's guile and bravery, which he possesses far more of than any special magical powers, make him the indispensable supporter and enabler of the real Dragon, and through this work, Jason's ambitions, which he states very specifically several times, are in fact realized.

Chima's prose in The Dragon Heir has risen a level from the first two books, very encouraging for an author who has just wrapped up her first series. While the first two books are written almost entirely from, respectively, Jack and Seph's perspectives, The Dragon Heir takes us inside more than a dozen characters, each of whom are immediately relatable, and distinct in voice, idea and idiom. Scene transitions, time shifts and character introductions, the technical aspects even the most talented writers struggle with, Chima has become extremely adept at. Not to mention that, because the writing creates an easy sense of realism, this is by far the funniest of the three books! My personal favorite scenes including Jack's mother's attempt at a heart to heart, most of the scenes involving the ghost warriors, and Madison trying work out her budget.

This is one of those books that makes you dread the moment you realize you have more pages on the left side than the right. I've rather thoroughly convinced myself there will be another Heir book, because I just can't bring myself to believe that this was our last visit to Trinity.

Fun read. Not as good as her seven realms series. Will likely read the sequel. The characters and plot all seem like they are not fully developed. The action is too succinct at times, leaving the reader confused. I still enjoyed it.

***spoilers included***

I must say I was fairly pleased with the entire trilogy up until about the last hundred pages of The Dragon Heir. At that point poor storytelling took over from an interesting world, compeling characters, and one of those "how on earth are they going to get out of this" situations. The challenge is to resolve those situations satisfactorially. Unfortunately Chima went with a deus ex machina ending that hinged on none of the main characters. Instead of climactic decisions revealing deep character, their problems are solved by an external force.
I will say that if there is a seqeul that addresses the character issues left hanging I will revise my opinions on this one - treating it as a short stopping point in the development of an otherwise strong series. Until then my thoughts on this series will be marred by things such as Jason's pointless death with no resolution to any of the issues he dealt with and Madison being forced into power without addressing any of the choices she must now make, Seph's drug use, and so on.

The Dragon Heir was a suberb ending to a magnificent trilogy. Cinda Williams Chima is an amazing writer does not recieve nearly enough recognition for this series. The heir triology is a one of a kind read. The world Chima creates will suck a person in and leave them breathless. The characters are well rounded and have deep meaningful personality. Even inch of the book is there for a reason to give the readers a loyal and complete finish to the series. Those expecting a climactic final battle will not be dissapointed. The reader will find themselves flipping page after page until they realize it's 4am and they should probably get some sleep. I would reccomend this book to any fantasy lover.

The final chapter in the Heir series is a fitting but bittersweet end to a series I truly enjoyed and treasure. In this story, the author completes the mystery surrounding the magical guilds, and builds on the main characters while once again adding new characters to the mix. Many questions are answered and surprising twists and turns unfold here and there to make this story one that is easy and enjoyable to read. I burned through it in two hours without a break. I recommend buying the entire series, as it is too good to not have in your home library. Bravo Cinda!

Once again, this book was better than the last, but I still cannot give it 5 stars. It goes back to my review of "The Warrior Heir." There is a big epic battle and the "muggles" are oblivious to the fact that people can do magic.

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!

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.

This book was a great read and everything came full circle. There were plot twists that made this book hard to put down and was full of action and suspense. Characters show thier true colors and everyone is involved in this final battle for Trinity. Every man/woman for themselves, both Wier and Anaweir alike are at war to save someone they care for. A great ending to a great series.

The book arrived as I finished the second book in the series, so I was able to continue the story without pause. This book, also grabbed me instantly and I could not put it down until I finished it. Too bad it was the end of a series. I enjoyed the characters created in the three stories and would like to know what happens to them.

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.

A continuation of the second book, we now are following both the story of Seph and Jason along with Maddie who is forced to move back home to watch her siblings. With her eyes now open to the wizard world, Maddie finds that there are a few wizards in her own community and the same people that have been causing trouble her whole life for her. As she finds her destiny, she now has the power to change the fate of everything.

The first book focused on Jack and his becoming a warrior. The second book focused on Seph- who was not in the first book, but related by blood to Jack being that he is his cousin. The third book focused mainly on Jason and Maddie: Jason being in the first book as the one to teach Seph and Maddie as Seph's love interest and Dragon Heir. It was nice to see a series written that did not focus on only one character as many times it gets overdone and you get sick of the character. This nicely gave new people to learn about that we slightly knew from other books and now get to see more in action. It could have helped to not have look at as many people and focused more on Jason and Maddie, but I liked the concept.

While I understand this is a young adult book, there seemed to be a complete lack of adults in this story. Saving their society is made up to a bunch of teenagers. I never figured out why Leander and Linda stayed away when the final battle was mounting. They had made it to the castle in England and overthrew it, but once they got what they wanted and knew the dragon stone was gone, why did they stay? They didn't seem to care about their own child back home in the US.

Once again, this book was better than the last, but I still cannot give it 5 stars. It goes back to my review of "The Warrior Heir." There is a big epic battle and the "muggles" are oblivious to the fact that people can do magic.

Minor Spoiler Alert!

I really liked this book, even though it wasn't as good as The Wizard Heir or The Warrior Heir. It was still great, and one of my favorite books. I don't agree with the reviewer who said that Chima was getting tired of the series and trying to hastily finish because a publisher was breathing down her neck. The first part wasn't as good as the middle and end, but still pretty good, and it gets a lot better in the end even though two major good characters die.