Book Review: The Dragon Charmer

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Dragon Charmer     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jan Siegel
Class/Genre:   Fantasy   Dragons
Del Rey, Aug 2001, $24.00, 384 pp.

Over a decade has passed since the horror of PROSPERO’S CHILDREN occurred and all Fernanda Capel wants is to live a normal life. To that end, she buries her witchcraft gift and accepts a proposal of marriage from Marcus even as she admits to her best friend that she does not love him. Fern’s efforts to ignore her powers seem futile though she constantly tries because otherworldly omens continually intrude.

On the eve of her wedding, Fern falls into a coma and is rushed to a hospital. As she lies unconscious in bed, Fern’s soul lies trapped in purgatory. Though the odds are overwhelming against her success, if she can free her soul and reunite it with her body, Fern knows she must war with powerful evils to save the world and her best friend.

THE DRAGON CHARMER is a strong fantasy novel because the story line ties the supernatural with the mundane in such a clever way that the otherworldly elements seem everyday and a matter of fact. That element along with a fully developed, authentic feeling cast (in spite of some being not of this earthly plane) makes this a powerful novel that will please fans of Jan Siegel and send new readers searching for the previous tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner