60. Heart’s Blood by Jane Yolen (Young adult fantasy) 338 p.

You know how I said that the prequel, Dragon’s Blood, had a plot that was a bit too straightforward for a young adult novel, and that the conflicts were resolved too easily? Well, not so in Heart’s Blood. If anything, any faults lie in the opposite direction, with a plot I found a little difficult to follow, because it introduced new antagonists without explaining them very well. To a certain extent, that was okay, because the protagonist doesn’t really know anything about them either, so the viewpoint character, at least, is as confused as the reader. The story could still have benefited from more fleshing-out, though.

Still a fun read, though somewhat more traumatic an experience than the first book. Jakkin, now a master and dragon trainer, hasn’t seen Akki for a year, and doesn’t even know where she is. He’s tried his best not to think of her, but that plan is shattered when he and Akki’s father are approached by a senator, Golden, who informs them that Akki is in danger and Jakkin may be the only one who can help. In order to save her, Jakkin will have to infiltrate a rebel group. Although he cares nothing for politics, Jakkin would do anything for Akki, so he soon finds himself embroiled in various intrigues.

Like I said, this was a decent read, but unless the third book is much better, I don’t think this will ever be one of my favourite series. I still loved the bits about the dragons, though. I also liked the subtle changes to the prologue from one book to the next. Dragon’s Blood begins with an excerpt from vol. 1 of the twenty-ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Galaxiana (AAAL - BASE), the article on Austar IV (the world where the story takes place), and at first I thought that Heart’s Blood began exactly the same way. Some was the same, but some of the facts given were new, and the excerpt turned out to be from vol. 1 of the thirtieth edition (Aaabornia - BASE). I thought that was a very nice touch, and an interesting hint of some of the events later in the novel.

The Pit Dragon Chronicles are entertaining enough, but not as good as they could be, given the quality of Yolen’s writing and world-building.

Pages read: 16,897

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, 888 Challenge, Jane Yolen, Pit Dragon Chronicles