Bantam, $6.50, ISBN 0-505-52375-2
Fantasy Romance, 2000 (Reissue)

Why is the paperback version of Dream Stone released two years after the release of the hardcover or its prequel The Chalice and the Blade? I have forgotten almost everything about The Chalice and the Blade, ugh. And even after rereading the previous book again, I’m still lost when it comes to this one.

In the previous book, I was introduced to Carn Merioneth, where beneath it lie labyrinths of “wyrmholes” that… uhm… I know what they are important for, I read it somewhere… let me check… oh, forget it. These holes do something.

This time around the story revolves around the faerie Llynya, who helped the heroine of the previous book, and Mychael ab Arawn, the twin brother of that woman. Mychael ab Arawn comes into the picture during the final few chapters of that previous book, and the story of DS takes off from there.

In The Chalice and the Blade – have I told you that you can’t read this one without reading that previous book first? – Llynya is supposed to protect a prince who fell into the wyrmholes. Now she intends to climb into one of these holes to rescue him. Mychael has just learned that two dragons that is supposed to repel evil (I think) have gone missing. Mychael has dragon blood and can summon dragons (or something) so off he goes down the wyrmholes with Llynya.

They find evil, faeries, elves, magic, and all the usual things you can expect to find in dark holes. Oh, and they fall in love too. I must admit the whole exciting stuff like dragons fighting and all are thrilling, but the author cheats by excluding the final battle altogether. What a waste of time!

And there are some quiet moments between Mychael and Llynya, but when I am about to sit back and enjoy, comes some stupid dragon or evil or monster to wreck mayhem. I have no idea what is going on most of the time, and at the end of the day, I still have no idea what I have just read.