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Jason is an excellent swordsman who grew up pretending to slay dragons with his older brother. There have long been rumors of dragons stealing people to another realm and enslaving them, but Jason did not believe the myths. Now, both his brothers are missing, and it turns out that dragons really exist. Jason journeys to find the portal to this mysterious realm in order to rescue his brothers and free the slaves. Meanwhile, a slave girl named Koren has long thought that the myths about a planet where humans are free was a myth. She dreams of freedom but because she is a Starlighter, a powerful visionary, the dragons will never set her free. Told in alternating chapters, Koren's and Jason's stories merge as both use their gifts to battle the dragons and liberate the captives. Both are strong characters who readers will root for from the very beginning. The first in a planned four-book series, there is just enough of a resolution to satisfy readers, yet leave them eager for book two. Grades 7-10. --Shauna Yusko
Review
Jason Masters has heard many stories about the Lost Ones, humans kidnapped by cruel dragons and forced to work as slaves in a parallel world called Starlight. All his life he has been training to slay dragons, even though he is not sure if they really exist. When Jason's brother sends a secret message revealing that he used a portal to cross over from Darksphere (their home) into Starlight, Jason embarks on a quest to locate the portal and help his brother rescue the Lost Ones. Meanwhile, a Lost One named Koren learns that she is a Starlighter, a storyteller prized for the ability to entrance dragons with her tales. She has dreamed all her life of escaping to Darksphere. Together Jason and Koren battle dragons and take a group of Lost Ones through the portal to freedom. Jason and Koren's stories are told in alternating chapters, weaving them together and setting the stage for the collaborative struggle at the conclusion of the novel. The conclusion wraps up the main storyline for the first installment of this new series; however, the novel contains a large cast of secondary characters, several of whom seem to disappear as the story progresses. Fans of other Christian fantasy series such as Donita K. Paul's the Dragon Keepers Chronicles (Waterbrook Press) will be eager to read this series. The religious message is subtle, so non-Christian fantasy fans may enjoy this novel as well. --VOYA, August, 2010
on Masters has heard many stories about the Lost Ones, humans kidnapped by cruel dragons and forced to work as slaves in a parallel world called Starlight. All his life he has been training to slay dragons, even though he is not sure if they really exist. When Jason's brother sends a secret message revealing that he used a portal to cross over from Darksphere (their home) into Starlight, Jason embarks on a quest to locate the portal and help his brother rescue the Lost Ones. Meanwhile, a Lost One named Koren learns that she is a Starlighter, a storyteller prized for the ability to entrance dragons with her tales. She has dreamed all her life of escaping to Darksphere. Together Jason and Koren battle dragons and take a group of Lost Ones through the portal to freedom. Jason and Koren's stories are told in alternating chapters, weaving them together and setting the stage for the collaborative struggle at the conclusion of the novel. The conclusion wraps up the main storyline for the first installment of this new series; however, the novel contains a large cast of secondary characters, several of whom seem to disappear as the story progresses. Fans of other Christian fantasy series such as Donita K. Paul's the Dragon Keepers Chronicles (Waterbrook Press) will be eager to read this series. The religious message is subtle, so non-Christian fantasy fans may enjoy this novel as well. --VOYA, August, 2010