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Gigi Marceau-Clarke invests her reading of this engrossing fantasy with an other worldly charm and suspenseful pacing that makes for compelling listening.

The first in a planned epic trilogy, Mistress of Dragons pits dragons against humans for control of the world. According to the laws of the Parliament of Dragons, it is verboten for a dragon to kill a human being and dragons must refrain from any traffic in humanity's daily doings.

As we all know, there are always those who disobey laws. In this case, the evil dragon not only doesn't abide by law but entertains grandiose ideas of conquering the world.

Can his vicious plotting be curbed by a Mistress of Dragons who has had little experience in such matters?

Award winning author Margaret Weis (Dragonlance, Darksword and Death Gate) well knows her subject, and presents her imaginative tale filled to the brim with legerdemain and dark doings.

A treat for fantasy aficionados!

- Gail Cooke

Dragons rule much of the world though they do so secretly with human props serving as monarchs and much of the enslaved race unaware of their existence. Perhaps the only exception is the isolated mountainous matriarchal nation of Seth where the Mistress of Dragons rules. The current Mistress is near death and her chosen replacement Melisande waits her turn to rule the nation and keep its people safe from dragons, last spotted two decades ago. Melisande will do her duty, but prefers her current lifestyle in the amazonian monastery living with her lover.

However, King Edward of Idlswylde turns to Draconas for help with a dragon causing death and destruction. Draconas advises the monarch that his only hope reside among the amazons in Seth and he will personally go there. However, Draconas, a dragon in human garb, has his own agenda using Edward as a pawn so he can complete his mission as a member of the ruling Parliament of Dragons to find the law breaking renegade. When Melisande and Draconas meet, the world will never be the same.

MISTRESS OF DRAGONS is an exciting opening tale that demonstrates Margaret Weis' abilities to make a world governed mostly by dragons seem real. The story line is fast-paced, loaded with action, and filled with strong charcaters of both genders. Several twists add to the fun of a soaring sword and sorcery fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, they were quickly dashed. I don't know why Weis didn't team up with Hickman as is her wont. But, the lack of a second author dooms the effort. The book has an interesting premise, but is filled with inconsistencies, triteness, and plain ol' stupidity. If Hickman had been around, they could have bounced the material off each other and corrected most of the bad writing before it hit the shelves. As it is, it's practically un-stomachable. I put the book away about half way through it as not being worth the effort. But, I later picked it up and finished it in the hope it would get better. It didn't. It got worse. I was practically gagging by the end. Stay away from this book and its series.