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published 1988; paperback 1988, Daw Books
A perfect beginning to a great series, Dragon Prince never seems to sit long enough on my shelf to gather much dust. It keeps me coming back with its passionate portrayal of romantic love and hate, political intrigue, unique system of magic, well-drawn characters, and gorgeous descriptions.
Prince Rohan is the young, super-studly heir to the Desert kingdom. Though he has a reputation among his people for being shy and bookish, Rohan is biding his time until he inherits, developing his political acumen and honing his cunning to make his princedom secure from High Prince Roelstra, the powerful and manipulative overlord of the continent. Then two events unexpectedly rock Rohan’s life: his father Zehava’s untimely death at the claws of a dragon, and the arrival of Sioned, the Sunrunner woman who will be the love of Rohan’s life.
Also known as faradhi, Sunrunners have the ability to speak to each other over long distances by using light as a medium for telepathic communication. They can also raise Fire, conjure visions and illusions, and do many other things. Though faradhi are respected in the princedoms, they have been forbidden to intermarry with royalty, for fear of combining the two kinds of power. Sioned has known since she was sixteen that she was fated to marry Rohan after seeing his face in a vision. She is torn, however, between loyalty to Sunrunner traditions and the conflicting demands of her new role as princess to Rohan’s prince.
Furthermore, as they say, the course of true love never did run smooth. Though Rohan knows after first seeing Sioned that she’s the only one for him, he enlists her aid in a scheme to fool everyone into thinking otherwise. At the Rialla, a triennial gathering of all the continent’s princes and lords, Rohan must appear to be deciding which of High Prince Roelstra’s daughters he will marry. By pretending to be stupid and dangling a marriage in front of the High Prince, the young prince hopes to wring important concessions out of Roelstra. Rohan doesn’t realize, however, just how enraged Roelstra and his daughters will be when they find they’ve been double-crossed, and how long they are willing to wait for their revenge ...
The thing that’s most impressive about Dragon Prince, and indeed with all of Rawn’s dragon books, is her willingness to build up lovable, memorable characters and then put them through the nine circles of Hell. Though Prince Rohan is a total heartthrob with a visionary dream reminiscent of King Arthur, and Sioned is not only beautiful, but intelligent and strong-willed, with butt-kicking magical powers to boot, they aren’t going to come through their experiences unscathed. Often readers don’t have to worry about whether anything too bad is going to happen to a main character; Rawn has no compunction about killing off hers, or putting them through such emotional and physical torture that death would probably be preferable.
Where another book would close with a happy ending, Dragon Prince is only halfway finished, with the meatiest part yet to come. Rohan and Sioned must find out just how strong their love is, tested against the forces of treachery, revenge, and full-scale war. Theirs is definitely not your average romance, and Dragon Prince is definitely not your average book.
Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed March 7, 1999
ISBN 0-88677-450-0
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