| Title | : | The Candlestone (Dragons in Our Midst, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0899571719 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780899571713 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published September 1, 2004 |
The Candlestone (Dragons in Our Midst, #2) Reviews
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Book 2 only got 4 from me because it had a bit too much pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo for my taste.
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After a crackling start, this series continues to bring excitement and adventure!
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(This is my third or fourth read.)
I reread book 1 last month, so again it was wonderful to return to these beloved characters! Billy battles his own darkness, Bonnie faces a deep fear, Walter steps up as a comrade in battle, Professor Hamilton reveals secrets, and Ashley's eyes are opened for the first time. Their journeys really begin to intertwine in this book as a centuries-old story comes to light.
My writer nerd side also noticed how Bryan Davis's craft improved even from the first book. Still a smidgen of head hopping in a few scenes, but overall there's something tighter about this novel. :)
The candlestone itself offered itself as a canvas for several vivid analogies. I won't spoil them here for those who haven't read it (seriously, if that's you--go read Dragons in Our Midst!!!), but it nearly enough to bring tears to my eyes. And I will never forget Billy lying on the cavern floor with Excalibur in his grip. "Truth is my sword. Faith is my shield."
I know this review is all over the place, but to conclude: coming back to this series after several years, it's even more evident to me what a powerful impact it has had on my own faith. Bonnie showed me how to sing in the midst of darkness, and Billy taught me to take up my own sword. Though confined to the realm of fiction, these heroes were mentors, friends, and somehow an echo of that "great cloud of witnesses" cheering me on my way. -
4.5 stars! Review to come!
*takes a deep breath*
Whoa.
It's taken me way longer than it should have for me to get this book from the library. But I'm so glad I persisted and finally got my hands on it! And yes, I'm totally going to be reading the rest of the series. And probably more of Bryan Davis's work.
First of all, this book definitely stands out amongst Christian speculative fiction. There's dragons. But it's also set in the modern world. And by the way, let's toss in Arthurian legends and a sword that zaps people into light and a stone that sucks them in and prophecy. Oh, and characters that are both dragon and human. All with a nice, strong Christian faith element. Sound crazy? Sound fun? Because yeah, it is.
I would say that I liked this book more than the first one. The first one lagged at some parts, but this one never did, and ended in a brilliant, old-fashioned showdown.
Let's talk characters, because I'd forgotten how much I liked them until this book.
Billy is not a particular favorite, necessarily, but I do understand him. I relate to how he felt, and understood the choices he made, and it was so neat to see his 'character arc'.
Bonnie was still beautiful Bonnie! I could use some the peace and calm she displayed. Oh, and her ability to write really great prose.
It's interesting to note that the physical characteristics that each of the two main characters have correlate to their natures. Minor spoilers:
But no great book is complete without great side characters. Walter more than fits that description. Loyal, full of fun, brave, and his jokes / teasing / sarcasm / whatever-you-call-it is so fun to read and makes me smile. It can be really easy to annoy me with characters like that, if the jokes and stuff are bad or cringe-y, but if they're well done, they instantly become a favorite character.
I have to admit though, Professor Hamilton just might be my favorite. I'm a sucker for mentor characters like him. And he has a british accent. Oh, might I also add that he throws a lot of wisdom out there. And I just like him, okay? He's so good.
Ashley was an interesting new character to add in, I am curious to see what she'll be up to. Her devotion to her (grand) father was admirable, though it did lead her down some wrong paths.
Dr. Connor? Yeah well, I guess he did turn out alright in the end. Only for
Oooooh and I hope we see more of Karen! Now, I don't usually 'ship' characters but I did find myself
Now, for the plot and faith elements. Like I said, this plot was better than the last book. It didn't lag so much. I was kept in suspense pretty much the entire way, which was both good and not good, lol.
The theme of the book, I would say, was about faith itself. Yes, about faith battling against fear. That faith is what it takes to win the battle. It was beautifully woven in throughout the story. I could definitely pull out a lot of favorite quotes right now if I wanted to. And I can't adequately convey it right now, soooo..... But it was beautiful, and strong, and the icing on the cake to this wonderful book.
The only problem I really had was that some parts of the dialogue, or just the way things were said, felt a little... forced? Artificial? But that wasn't enough to take away from the rest of the enjoyment.
Oh, and the showdown was awesome ;)
Anyhow, I think that's the end of this rambling review. Looking forward to the rest of the series! -
4.5⭐️ This book was so much fun to read! Adventure, unexpected twists and turns and such a unique storyline. So unique I could not stop reading it?! The faith elements flowed naturally and added to this refreshing take on the Arthurian lore and dragons! Great time!
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Me: I know this book is a return to the medieval and chivalry and King Arthur and swordplay and all that, but couldn't they just like. Carry a gun?
Mrs. Bannister: *patting her pocket* I gotchu girl.
***
I actually liked this book a lot more than Book 1 - maybe because it's heavy in sci-fi and I enjoy that genre more than pure fantasy. There was a greater connection with the characters, too. I feel like Clefspeare is a lot more developed in this book because in Book 1, we meet him for a solid like 50 pages before he disappears, so the most important character (sans Billy and Bonnie) is just... not there. But this time around I feel like I know him.
On another note, my one gripe with the writing style is how detailed it is - especially during fight scenes - because it slows down the reader in a scene which should otherwise move very quickly. I'm glad this book addresses some plot holes I noticed in Book 1 since now I know they were intentional. -
This book was wonderful! I loved the characters, and I was SO astonished to find that Bonnie and Billy are part dragon! I did not read the first book, as I was only able to find the 2nd in our church library, but it didn't make a difference to me!
I loved the fantasy, the teensy hints of a strong, almost-love relationship, and the characters. The whole story line was great!
Well done, and I look forward to reading your present and future books! -
No better than the last one, and quite possibly worse. I think if I read the words "manly embrace" or "robust" one more time, I may vomit.
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Love Bonnie.
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4.5 stars.
Okay. Give me a second to process. That was a LOT right there...
There was SO much packed into this book! I was super impressed with the author, and this book was definitely an improvement from the first in the series. I enjoyed the new characters, the expanded plot, the underground lab, how everything about the book flowed well. I loved all the little tie-ins. Davis did a masterful job of fulfilling the prophecies he wrote in ways I wasn't expecting, and I respect that. I think a lot of authors forget to make every little detail important, but Davis was not one of those authors. Every detail counted in some way or another, becoming important later on, or adding something to the plot. I thought Bonnie's character development was a masterpiece and I was right there with her the entire time. The plot twists made me laugh and cry and hyperventilate, and that is skill!
This being said, there were a couple of things I didn't like. For one thing, the character development of the other characters felt weak. Billy was inconsistent. There was very little explanation for WHY he was angry, even carrying over from the last book. There were moments where his anger felt misplaced and forced, and that annoyed me. Ashley was a great character, but it didn't seem like she had much growth. She had an arc, but it was shallow, and that also bothered me. I think she could have been stronger than she was, but it wasn't bad. It just wasn't great. Some of the other characters suffered from lack of development as well, but those didn't bother me nearly so much as Billy, considering he is the main character.
All of that character rant being said, however, there was one aspect of this book that in my opinion completely added up for the loss. This was something that most books fail at because it takes so much skill to accomplish this. However, in The Candlestone, at the end and the climax, I was sitting up late reading the book. The book went from being words on a page to being a world, a reality. For the last seven or eight chapters, I was part of the story. I was Bonnie. I was Billy. I could feel their emotions and see their world and hear the voices around them. I was completely drawn in, and I felt jarred when I jerked back to reality at 12 oclock midnight! This, I believe makes up for the lack of character development in a very special way that I was really impressed with.
I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who is fond of dragons, prophecies, and speculative fantasy. It was a wonderful sequel to the first book. -
If I were rating this based on my enjoyment or how well I thought it was written (all the way around - from plot to characters and prose) I’d give it two stars.
Its really not a great book. Its less overwritten than Raising Dragons. But there’s precious little character development. And there’s a fusion of relationships that seems unsubstantiated. And several of the characters (mostly the adults) seem largely unrealistic (especially Billy’s mom, oh and Bonnie - she was overtly naive). One large plot point was thoroughly obvious from the outset.
Here’s where the third star came from: if I was at 10 year old boy, I’d probably love this book. It’d seem adventurous and dangerous. The characters wouldn’t feel convenient and one dimensional, which would allow them to be noble or at the least to become noble. I would enjoy Billy and Walter’s banter. I’d like that Bully’s mim is so easily accommodating (if I even noticed she’s only in the story when she needs to be and disappears as conveniently). I’d like the dragons and the way the kids fight the adults and the way everything works itself out in the end.
So, I rated this book not as I read it today. But as if I were someone this book was intended for. Even then, its nowhere near 4 or 5 stars. But it’d probably be fun, even if it isn’t great. -
I really enjoyed this book as a sequel from story line perspective it has the action and adventure and all that fun stuff, but I also really this book for it's character development if that's what you want to call it and being able to see parallels and relatability to these characters and being like oh hey that's where I'm at in my spiritual life or hey this has so much more meaning when I'm able to read between the lines type thing. This is definitely an interesting book series to be reading as an adult. This series is really impactful and I'm super excited to see that this type of media exists that can be enjoyed by a wide audience. There are a lot of different perspectives and way to view this series which is always super cool to see.
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This book was a nice escape and a change from the heavier subjects I usually choose. I am always going to support and love a book that promotes the word of God and promotes good and respectful morales.
Overall, the plot of this book a was a bit slow at times but I always enjoyed the characters and the underlying themes that were present in the book. -
Mr Davis continues to weave a compelling story in book two of this series.
My heart absolutely breaks every time I read about Bonnie's relationship with her father and what could have been if he'd made different choices. -
I remember liking this one a lot. It's weird, yeah, but this series is just weird. You get used to it and don't even blink when the characters spend most of the book as insubstantial floaty lights in a gem. It's cool.
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Still pretty decent, will continue reading the series.
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A great continuation to an already fascinating series! There's so much to love about this series, especially how it ties in spiritual with fantasy. Can't wait to read the rest!
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My 11 year old is still enjoying this series, but I'm not sure I will continue.
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Catholic Book
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I really loved it! It's amazing! The suspence kept me out of my seat 'till the very end. I'd read it again hundred times!
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Great final scene
