Calling on Dragons

This is the worst book in the series so far. It's just so boring, and the pacing is even slower than the previous two. I was dying to finish it just to get it over with, not unlike the author, who wrote it just to get it over with too.

Wrede said: "Calling on Dragons is not merely a book I hadn't intended to write; it is the one book of the four that I actively didn't want to write. It was the last of the four... to be written."

So yeah, even the author wasn't feeling this one and it shows.

Don't let the summary fool you. The story is written from Moren's perspective, not Cimorene's. She comes in later. The story begins with Moren and her 10 cats. They encounter an enchanted rabbit named Killer. Moren discovers that there are Wizards once again in the enchanted forest, so her and Telemain report this to Cimorene and Mendanbar. They discover that the Sword of the Enchanted forest was stolen and then go on a quest to retrieve it. That's it in a nutshell.

However, very little happens. I don't understand why Wrede insists on describing everything in detail. I'll now list the pros and cons of the story:

Cons

1. Telemain bashing: I swear, any time the magician so much as breathed, he was being chastised for speaking too technically. It happens constantly to the point that it feels like they're bullying him for being different. It's not amusing or funny and got old quickly.

2. Slow pacing/Writing Style: Wrede tends to be slow in her pacing in general, and this book was worse than normal. We certainly didn't need so many details or scenes that dragged the story. Like Moren returning to her cottage before leaving with Cimorene and the others. Scenes like that just drag the story. You could have simply have made Moren go to her cottage and then started a new chapter with all of them together. That's it! So much unnecessary filler and fluff! But I guess the author needed to reach a certain word count.

3. One dimensional characters: Dude, we are now on the third book in the series. I wish we could have had moments of... emotion. Cimorene, Telemain, and Moren should be friends by now, but they almost give off a "coworkers" type of vibe. I also felt like Cimorene and Moren were too similar in personality. Instead of the characters growing emotionally, they don't. They're so flat and boring.

4. Cimorene is pregnant: Mendanbar, her husband and the father of that unborn child, was very upset that Cimorene went on this quest, and so was I. In my opinion, it showed that she was an unfit mother, as a mother's priority should always be the well-being of her child. It also showed a lack of respect for her husband. And hey, maybe she HAD to go, but he was so worried about her and the baby, but she didn't care or show any indication that she took his concerns seriously. I know this is a children's book, but that scene where they part rubbed me the wrong way. For me, it demonstrated Cimorene's vanity and pride for going against the status quo. In book one, as you know, she refused to do stereotypical "princess" things, which is fine with me as I'm a tomboy myself and don't conform to gender norms either. But after two adventures she's STILL acting like a rebellious princess rather than a motherly Queen, which, like it or not, she's now a pregnant Queen. Her lack of concern for her unborn child was what appalled me the most. And (spoiler alert) she didn't seem very motherly to me in the epilogue either.

5. No Mendanbar: he has to stay behind because he's magically connected to the forest or whatever and can't leave. I find his character to be a bit boring, but I missed him. He's a good man.

6. Ends in a cliffhanger. A STUPID cliffhanger.

7. Missed Opportunities: Wrede introduces the Fire Witches in this story. Basically, they're witches with red hair that command fire. Does the author use them? Kind of, but off-screen. There is literally a battle, but we don't see it. We're too busy following the snooze trio (Cimorene, Telemain and Moren) to enjoy seeing Kazul, Mendenbar, and the Fire Witches in battle. I wish Wrede would have pulled off a Tolkien thing and bounced between both groups.

8. The whole "The Wizards are the Bad Guys, so let's throw soapy water with lemon juice at them" gig is OLD. Move on!

9. Killer, the rabbit turned blue donkey with wings, served absolutely no purpose. All he did was complain about being hungry ALL the TIME until he finally ate some vines that set Cimorene free from the villain. He looked silly on the cover, and now I know my intuition was correct.

Pros

1. Audiobook has a diverse cast of narrators that make the story enjoyable to listen to for the most part. However, Killer becomes quite annoying after a short while.

2. Kazul: my favorite character in the series. I love my King of the Dragons. She's awesome.

So that's it. If it weren't for the audiobook, I likely would never have finished this story. It's only around 6 hours long, but it felt longer than listening to Dune (which is 21 hours). I don't even know if I want to read the last book.