The Dragonstone

The Dragonstone (1996) Dennis McKiernan

This is a good book, but not my favorite Mithgar books. Unlike other books set in Mithgar, there are few appearances by characters from other books: Aravan is mentioned in passing, the great dragons make an appearance, and Vanidar accompanies Arin for awhile, but mostly the characters in this book appear only in these books. Which makes this an ideal Mithgar book with which to start into the series.

In The Dragonstone, Dara Arin has terrible visions of chaos and war centered on a green stone. As the war seemed to rage all over Mithgar, and involved even the dragons, she knew that this was a vision of the future she was seeing, not one of the past, thus she seeks the aid of mages to determine how she can turn keep this terrible vision from becoming true. In this quest she will be joined by those determined by prophecy, but no others, lest her quest fail.

Of particular interest to me, the debate that threaded through this book was of free will versus predestination. Do we have free will or is all we do predestined by God(s)?

One of the things I find frustrating is Dennis McKiernan’s need to give the book a happily ever after ending, with most everyone finding their true love. With the on going discussion of free will and predestination, it almost seems as if he has come down on the side of predestination, with those who fulfilled their tasks receiving the reward of true love. Which I suppose is okay, but I found it annoying, since I could see what was going to happen.

But despite the requisite happy ending, it is a good book, and I recommend it to anyone who is already reading the Mithgar series, or is interested in beginning the Mithgar books.
Rating: 7/10

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