Gee, bet you're surprised to see this...

Suffice it to say, I haven't read a Who book all the way through since 
March, and Lungbarrow.  I also haven't watched Who since February.  My 
fandom tends to cycle through phases, and for many months I simply got 
bored with Doctor Who.  My video purchases went from Survival, The Curse 
of Peladon and Enlightenment to Tenchi Muyo!, Urusei Yatsura, and Neon 
Genesis Evangelion.  I'm swinging back a bit, though, and hopefully the 
reviews will pick up again.

I've also been writing a shload of fanfiction lately, which tends to 
prevent you from reading.  I know it shouldn't, but it does.  (I don't 
have any Who fanfics, alas, although I am considering a Who/El Hazard 
crossover with the 6th Doctor and Peri.)

Anyway, I'm 1/4 of the way through The Dark Path, which has all of David 
McIntee's usual strengths and weaknesses in it, but is, so far, 100% 
better than Lords of the Storm.  I'm 1/3 of the way through The Dying 
Days, which I'm finding hard to get into, but that might just be my 
lack of enthusiasm for Who lately.  The Well-Mannered War has been 
started, but knowing my love for Gareth, it may take a while before I 
can struggle through it.  Oh No It Isn't! I've skimmed, and will reread 
again soon.  It's not Paul's best, but is far from the disappointment 
that Dave Owen called it.  And I'm halway through SVAS, which is fun 
but slightly downbeat.

Anyway, on to the book I actually finished today:

SPOILERS!!!
















Justin's books have always been favorites of mine.  Whether it's the 
theatricality, the twisty plots, or the excellent dialogue I'm not sure.  
But one thing I am sure of is that I liked Dragon's Wrath a lot.

PLOT:  The book, let's face it, is a game of three card monte.  Don't 
bother trying to stay one step ahead, because you won't.  Containing at 
least four dragons, several undercover Knights, a lovely android assassin, 
and several other charming bits.  Admittedly, the murder of the dull 
accountant was rather glossed over, but perhaps that's because he was a 
dull accountant.

BENNY:  It's a plot-based book, but Benny gets quite a few good lines.  
She's more in her angsty state here than her funny/drunk state, and it 
fits in well with the book as a whole.  And we get a few good one-liners, 
though not nearly as many as Oh No It Isn't! or Ship of Fools.

BRAXIATEL:  I rather like the idea of him becoming a semi-regular, 
because he can do all the little Doctory things without actually having 
the baggage that the Doctor carries.  He doesn't have to do what's right, 
or save the downtrodden, or avoid being cruel or cowardly.  He can just 
get on with being inscrutable and cool.

NICHOLAS:  All right, I *did* figure this one out right away, but I think 
Justin signposted it.  A nicely complex character, he does admittedly 
seem a tad underwritten, but that's as much due to the nature of his role 
than anything else.

THE VILLAINS:  Nusek's a schlub, and is written as such.  Was I the only 
one expecting him to look up to the sky at the end and cry out, "My 
Skystriker!  My glory!"?  And Mastrov's an interesting idea, but didn't 
come across as nasty as I'd hoped.

THE WRITING:  Classy, as always.  You always get a feeling of being 
educated when reading Justin's books.

OVERALL:  No 10 this time, as there were a few underwritten characters.  
But when you have a plot this complex, that's a minor quibble.  I wonder 
if we'll see more of the Knights in future Benny Books?

8/10.

Next:  I've no clue.  Probably the 9th volume of the Sailor Moon Manga, 
actually.  But that's posted to another group.  For Who, either SVAS or 
Beyond the Sun will be next.

Thanks for having me back.  Hope you haven't all forgotten me. :-)

--Sean Gaffney
--whose fanfics can be found by going to the HG page, then backtracking...