Dragon's Keep

Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey, works for me on so many levels: it's a medieval fantasy written more like historical fiction than high fantasy, it has a sliver of magic and magical creatures - namely dragons - and the world and the characters are so believable.


Rosalind's fate was written in the stars, read by the famous magician, Merlin, over 600 years before she was born. A direct descendant of the Pendragon line, her ancestor, Evaine, was the younger sister of King Arthur and married an outlaw, was banished to Wilde Island and erased from family history, setting Rosalind's destiny in motion. Three things are said of the twenty-first Queen of Wilde Island:

"She shall redeem the name Pendragon. End war with the wave of her hand. And restore the glory of Wilde Island."

Rosalind has been groomed for this prophecy her entire life. Having never met the Prince, what if he did not get along with Rosalind? With the recent dragon attacks on Wilde Island, the military force is depleted, and may not be much help to England in the dragon war.

So, what's the little catch in this wonderful fairy tale? Well, of course, there is the matter of Rosalind's unusual ring finger. Instead of a finger it's a dragon's claw. Her mother keeps the deformity hidden behind golden gloves that Rosie is forced to wear at all times. The problem has become that this disguise won't work when Rosie is married. They MUST find a cure soon. A cure that is made harder to find due to the fact that the healers are never told what the exact problem is. Things are beginning to look bleak.

I would recommend this for teen readers who aren't sure whether they like fantasy. They should give this a try. I enjoyed Dragon's Keep as a wonderful new fantasy tale, another verison of a classic fairy tale.
Rosalind has been groomed for this prophecy her entire life. Having never met the Prince, what if he did not get along with Rosalind? With the recent dragon attacks on Wilde Island, the military force is depleted, and may not be much help to England in the dragon war.

The little catch in this wonderful fairy tale? Well, of course, there is the matter of Rosalind's unusual ring finger. Instead of a finger it's a dragon's claw. Her mother keeps the deformity hidden behind golden gloves that Rosie is forced to wear at all times. The problem has become that this disguise won't work when Rosie is married. They MUST find a cure soon. A cure that is made harder to find due to the fact that the healers are never told what the exact problem is. Things are beginning to look bleak.

I've stopped reading some of the new popular books because they have become carbon copies of existing work. Dragon's Keep does a very good job of sticking with the heroine's struggles and seeing her through to the end. The relationships between the characters is multi-leveled and very realistic. Part fairy tale, part mythology, part legend, all around fantastic! Read it! You'll be glad you did.