Got at a library book sale. To share.

Sensing that something has gone horribly wrong, Erde, the daughter of a powerful Lord, flees her father's castle to find the dragon called Earth and its mage, the only beings that can save her world from swiftly spreading madness.

This book rode to the end of the Otherworldly Book box.

This book was entertaining, but there wasn't much that stood out to me. The plot of having a threatened royal girl run away, disguised as a boy, and discover her magical talents was probably more unique in 1995 when this book was written, but it feels a bit unimpressive to a modern reader. The setting is supposed to be 900's Germany, but mostly it feels like a generic fantasy land. I didn't get much of a historical vibe, and actually kept forgetting that this was supposed to be a real location, getting jarred with a reminder when Christianity or a specific location was mentioned.

The characters are mostly your typical fantasy gang, with the exception of the varied women of Deep Moor (who were probably my favorite characters) and our main villain (name withheld to prevent spoilers!), a priest who is taking advantage of local famine to start a witch-hunt and gain personal power and prestige.

This was a fine casual read, but I finished it having developed very little opinion or feeling much of a reaction to the book. Honestly, if I hadn't received the rest of the series, I probably wouldn't have bothered going on to the next one.

One of the starting volumes in the Otherworldly (Shrinking) Bookbox

Removed from "Otherworldly" bookbox.