This is another book introduced to me by my mother. She told me about the first of the Tales of the Dragon's Bard, Eventide, and I borrowed it, then bought it. It was a very worthwhile book. In Eventide Tracy & Laura create a book centered around a town, not just a cast of characters. You hear the stories of many of the towns occupants, their past troubles and their future hopes. You come to learn why it is considered lucky to dance with a dwarf during the spring festival and the secret of the gossip fairy. Not to mention the origins of the haunted manor house. While the action tends to revolve around a particular character's quest you come to learn about so many more people. And through it all Edvard, the Dragon's Bard (and his trusty assistant Abel), ensure the important narrative flourishes take place. For Edvard is no ordinary bard, but his task is to gather the stories of the people so that he can return to the cave of the dragon and regale him into not destroying these wonderful people. It is a hard task, but someone must do it. So it is with Blackshore, which I also borrowed from my mother. Edvard and Abel are headed for the chief den of pirates who are known for their cutthroat ways.
Plot: Percival Taylor has fled his home town of Eventide and with the help of a gypsy fortune teller has arrived at Blackshore to "see the world AND make it mine." However, he has done this right after the mother of Vestia Walters, the girl that everyone knows he is supposed to marry, has hired the Dragon's Bard to insure that the nuptials take place. Vestia does not take rejection well and arrives in Blackshore herself to express her discontent with Percival. At the same time Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock has been reading too many romance novels involving pirates carrying off the governor's daughter and is afraid that it will never happen to her as she is the governor's daughter. However when she visits the docks and is "defended" by Percival from pirates trying to keep him off their ship, she knows that destiny has finally seen fit to grace her with the coveted forbidden love. She runs home to pack and wait for her imminent abduction. So now we have our ill-fated love triangle, but what about the rest of the town? What agreement do the merefolk who guide the ships and the centaurs who unload the ships have? Where did Professor Knick-Knack get all of his wealth and what else is he looking for? And what is shipwright Adrian Wright waiting for and why are his eyes full of pain? And is Percival ever going be allowed on a boat?
Personal Favorites: The stories are all endearing and the characters intriguing. This book was a little more bonded than Eventide - that is to say that the stories fit into each other better. It was more of a liner story with flashbacks than the wide scope of Eventide. I like the way they both are and mention it just to note the variety. Some of the stories were a little sadder, or at least started out that way. The town of Blackshore and its residents have seen more hardship than those of Eventide. Edvard, the Dragon's Bard, was still a blast to follow and the interactions between Percival, Vestia and Tuppence were all very delightful. Percival's triumph was masterful and I almost cheered aloud for him. I did laugh aloud during it, but not in any way to disparage Percival. The ending was particularly touching as it tied the first two books together again. As I mentioned the book has some real emotional lows, but that does mean that you can end with emotional highs. Tracy & Laura do just that. Like the first, this book is uplifting in the best ways.
Considerations: Tracy & Laura are doing something old with the Dragon's Bard stories. They are releasing them in serial format to readers to subscribe to them. Upon the completion of a city, a hardbound copy of the book is sent to each subscriber. The price may seem a little more than the usual book, but the stories are well worth it. Now, both Eventide and Blackshore have been picked up by other publishers (Blackshore has been re-titled Swept up by the Sea and was redone as a young adult standalone novel) and you can find them both in the broader market. Bare in mind though that the book quality is not the same (Tracy's & Laura's is way better) and as I mentioned already Blackshore is not quite the same book at Swept up by the Sea. I'll have to see what some of the changes are, but having read other Tracy & Laura Hickman books, I'm sure that I'd still recommend it.
The book was just over 300 pages long. And I enjoyed it all the way through. I just wish it had lasted longer than three days. That's what a long bus commute will do for you. That is why I've been posting so many of these book reviews.
Plot: Percival Taylor has fled his home town of Eventide and with the help of a gypsy fortune teller has arrived at Blackshore to "see the world AND make it mine." However, he has done this right after the mother of Vestia Walters, the girl that everyone knows he is supposed to marry, has hired the Dragon's Bard to insure that the nuptials take place. Vestia does not take rejection well and arrives in Blackshore herself to express her discontent with Percival. At the same time Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock has been reading too many romance novels involving pirates carrying off the governor's daughter and is afraid that it will never happen to her as she is the governor's daughter. However when she visits the docks and is "defended" by Percival from pirates trying to keep him off their ship, she knows that destiny has finally seen fit to grace her with the coveted forbidden love. She runs home to pack and wait for her imminent abduction. So now we have our ill-fated love triangle, but what about the rest of the town? What agreement do the merefolk who guide the ships and the centaurs who unload the ships have? Where did Professor Knick-Knack get all of his wealth and what else is he looking for? And what is shipwright Adrian Wright waiting for and why are his eyes full of pain? And is Percival ever going be allowed on a boat?Personal Favorites: The stories are all endearing and the characters intriguing. This book was a little more bonded than Eventide - that is to say that the stories fit into each other better. It was more of a liner story with flashbacks than the wide scope of Eventide. I like the way they both are and mention it just to note the variety. Some of the stories were a little sadder, or at least started out that way. The town of Blackshore and its residents have seen more hardship than those of Eventide. Edvard, the Dragon's Bard, was still a blast to follow and the interactions between Percival, Vestia and Tuppence were all very delightful. Percival's triumph was masterful and I almost cheered aloud for him. I did laugh aloud during it, but not in any way to disparage Percival. The ending was particularly touching as it tied the first two books together again. As I mentioned the book has some real emotional lows, but that does mean that you can end with emotional highs. Tracy & Laura do just that. Like the first, this book is uplifting in the best ways.
Considerations: Tracy & Laura are doing something old with the Dragon's Bard stories. They are releasing them in serial format to readers to subscribe to them. Upon the completion of a city, a hardbound copy of the book is sent to each subscriber. The price may seem a little more than the usual book, but the stories are well worth it. Now, both Eventide and Blackshore have been picked up by other publishers (Blackshore has been re-titled Swept up by the Sea and was redone as a young adult standalone novel) and you can find them both in the broader market. Bare in mind though that the book quality is not the same (Tracy's & Laura's is way better) and as I mentioned already Blackshore is not quite the same book at Swept up by the Sea. I'll have to see what some of the changes are, but having read other Tracy & Laura Hickman books, I'm sure that I'd still recommend it.The book was just over 300 pages long. And I enjoyed it all the way through. I just wish it had lasted longer than three days. That's what a long bus commute will do for you. That is why I've been posting so many of these book reviews.
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