Reviews

There is no denying that this series is well thought out and created. I never would have expected the direction that it has taken when I picked up a book about a woman, two kids and some real clay dragons. The series has exploded outward into a series of intertwined universes and plotlines. However this does make it hard to follow, especially as there are so many characters, lots of whom are the same but other universe versions of each other. It is especially difficult as I had such a large gap between reading the first five and the last two books in the series.
The ending was much as I guessed it might be;

Spoiler

the whole universe is reset to its original timeline with only a few minor changes. The last chapter is based around eighteen years later an interview with Angel who is a successful actor in the film of the whole series. David has been set up as an author who has written basically the Last Dragon Chronicles. It also gives you an idea about what has happened to the rest of the characters; Liz and Joseph Henry remained dead when the timeline reverted, Bergstrom is an adventurer/scientist, Arthur is a scientist (but viewed as a bit mad), Zanna has a line of natural health and beauty products. This chapter is very interesting but the interviewer is very annoying, constantly making fun of Angel and her family and hitting on Zanna (even though she’s married to David and Angel is her daughter).
It is unclear at the end whether the clay dragons are still real or whether in this timeline they are just Liz’s clay creations. There are a few other unanswered questions, such as the last minute revelation that Bergstrom has a scar in the shape of the dragon symbol for sometimes on his temple.

This series was a very interesting idea, if complicated at times.

sammymus's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

spinescens's review against another edition

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DNF at 50%
This kinda hurts, only because I was so close to completing the series. But realistically, if i give myself 2 months to finish a book by the end of the year and 3 months pass and I'm only 50% done... yeah there's probably a reason I'm never picking it up.
The first book is good, the second one is fine, and the rest of the series isn't worth your time. I think my biggest problem with this series is that it got too big too quickly. It's the end of book 2, and we're already saving the entire planet from this universe ending threat? What are the following 5 books supposed to be? Honestly books 3-7 blend together so much I couldn't even tell you what happens in each one. The first one is charming, but don't waste your time on all 7.

melomindy's review

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4.0

I think I would’ve liked it better if it just ended without the 18 years later bit.

mxlibrarian's review against another edition

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This book, and this series, was part of a goal in 2019 to go back and finish book series from my childhood/young adulthood that I had never finished, and wanted to get the complete story on.

Having read the first 4 books in the series any number of times, and then jumping into the last three and finishing them within a week was a little jarring, especially as it's within the last three books that such a dramatic shift of plot occurs. Reading through the last book especially, it reminded me a fair bit of [b:A Wrinkle in Time|18131|A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)|Madeleine L'Engle|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329061522l/18131._SX50_.jpg|948387], and the later books in that series, and maybe a touch of [a:Diana Wynne Jones|4260|Diana Wynne Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1193516584p2/4260.jpg]?

Regardless, reviewing the series as a whole, I enjoyed it, I'm certainly glad to have finally finished it, to know how it all ends, and to be able to donate the books with the hope that someone else will pick them up and enjoy them in the future.

slugsniffing's review

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1.0

I read this series back when I was 13 and fell in love with the first 3 books, but every book afterward got worse and worse. None of it made sense, the story was happening in about seven places at once, books would start in alternate realities with no warning - the whole thing just became more and more of a chore. I remember reading the penultimate book in which an eight year time jump happens for literally no reason other than to get that storyline up to date with the parallel reality's; I couldn't believe how lazy things had gotten. It felt like d'Lacey was making the storyline more and more complex to vex you into not noticing the shortcuts.

I got a chapter into this last book and returned it to the school library. I remember another kid asking me what I thought and I told him I loved the first few but the rest got less and less coherent. He nodded, and said "I couldn't even finish the last one." Kinda baffles me seeing so many glowing reviews of this one. The series just saddened me as it went on; there was so much life and potential in that first book, but it just felt like d'Lacey gave up by book four. That said, if people enjoyed it enough to rate this a 5, I might've been missing something.

haleymaxinee's review

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5.0

I was surprised to find myself actually enjoying this book. I didn't hear good things from someone else who had read it, but I guess we all have different opinions. A lot of different and confusing things were introduced in the previous book. Which did not stop D'Lacey from throwing more complex ideas at us in the last novel of this series. While it was a little hard to follow at times, everything comes together and makes sense at the end. The author did a fantastic job at concluding these wonderful and magical Last Dragon Chronicles.

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