Dragonsbane

By Barbara Hambly

A rich and breath-taking fantasy classic full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons – Dragonsbane is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s landmark epic quartet, The Winterlands.

When the Black Dragon seizes the capital of Bel, the young noble, Gareth, must journey into the decaying Northlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane – the only living man ever to slay a dragon. Upon arrival, Gareth also meets Jenny Waynest the half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons.

A bargain is struck: witch and dragonkiller agree to rid the city of its monster in return for the king’s aid in their wintry home which is beset by bandits. But when they reach court, nothing is as they expected.

For Gareth is no mere noble, and the king is in the thrall of a deeply evil power that seeks total control over the land. The kingdom crumbles. Perhaps the dragon that Jenny and John have been brought to slay is the least of their enemies…

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Dec 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780008374198

Barbara Hambly

Barbara Hambly was born in San Diego. Her interest in fantasy began with reading The Wizard of Oz at an early age and has continued ever since. She attended the University of California, Riverside, specialising in medieval history and then spent a year at the University at Bordeaux in Southern France as a teaching and research assistant. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews for Dragonsbane

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It has been many years since I last read this and I just wanted to check that I was right, and I was, this is an excellent read.Jenny and John are not an old married couple but they sure do behave like it, and they have two children. Once upon a time John killed a dragon and now he's a living legend. More interested in keeping his people alive and learning more of the ways of people from the past than living up to the title of Dragonsbane, but when Gareth comes and begs that they defeat another dragon, and he invokes the King's name, the King being John's sovereign in some ways he has to come when he calls. So he responds and finds complicated politics and messy personalities that he has to deal with along with Jenny who has to deal with her own temptations and issues.It's a story of love and aging and career versus family and I really enjoyed the read, more now that I'm older.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As expected (it is a Hambly), a very rich, well-written tale, with a lot of desperation points and hard choices. It's all Jenny's viewpoint, I'd have been interested to see what John thought now and then. I like the choice she finally made - I'd been thinking about it much earlier, when she first met Zyene. Magic makes magic - but what's the point of it? The dragon is fascinating, a very alien thought process (we see more of his thoughts than John's...). Rich and grim - I have the rest of the series as well, but no way I could read them in quick succession. I'll take a break between each book - though I will read the whole series.

[elenaj-147457 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unexpected and lovely. An excellent and unusual heroine.

[being_b-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hambly is such a beautiful writer. I love her dragons.

[judithproctor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent book with a strong female protagonist and her partner. Lord John Aversin is not your typical hero - he's pragmatic, down to earth and just as happy getting his boots muddy and talking about pigs.He and Jenny Waynest have a very practical approach when it comes to tackling a dragon. None of this charging in with a lance (to the disappointment of young Gareth who sees life though the songs of the bards). They understand the strength and danger of a dragon and work out very carefully how to improve their odds of survival.Jenny isn't a typical heroine either. She's no longer in the flush of youth, she has two sons and although she has magical abilities, they aren't strong. She has continual conflict deciding between her magic, which requires seclusion, and her family.Dragons in this book are as I want them to be. Powerful, dangerous, but beautiful and magical the same time.Jenny can fight one to save the people it would kill, but can also weep for the loss of something unique.Recommended.

[stige_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In many ways a fairly standard fantasy fare with silly kings, princes, evil dragons, greedy gnomes, dragonslayers and what have you, but made special by the main characters being mature adults. Not a coming of age story, but a being of age story.

The rest of the book becomes background as the main character is forced to chose between love and her dreams.

[librisissimo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

See review on Composite Book "Winterlands". 

[eowyna_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I bought this on Kindle, saw the cover, and know that I also bought it in paperback but never read it. More fool I. It is the tale of the quest to slay a dragon, and then it is so much more. The protagonist is a woman, Jenny Wannest, who is a mage woman with a lover, John Aversin, and two children. At the beginning, we learn that Jenny is pulled between her calling, her career as it were, and her family. But she's not a particularly powerful or great mage, and learning takes effort and concentration that is hard to reconcile with a family. Then a traveler, Gareth, comes seeking the only Dragonsbane left alive - that is, John. And, you see, the traveler's kingdom has a dragon that needs eliminating. Of course, she and John return with Gareth, and get entangled in the life of that kingdom while they try to fulfill that quest.The story unfolds in beautiful language and vivid mental pictures. Is the dragon really the bad guy here? There is a coming of age story, and an adult story of choices between different goals in life, as well as a taste of what the story might be from the dragon's point of view. I found the book compelling and not quite the same old fantasy.

[mothwing-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can't even say why, whether it's the magic, the world, the fact that the main character is a middle-aged witch who's trying to balance her life as a mother and her career in magic, the magic with its olfactory and msucial components, the fact that our manly hero is as much knight of the realm as pig farmer, the fact that our gallant prince valiant is a bookish short-sighted boy, the fact that our princess is tough and can handle herself in spite of her girlishness - I think it was everything.

I Finished it to my wife a few years ago, apparently it doesn't pass the test of time, but still, the characters have stayed with me.

[silentq_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A childhood book re-read that I'm going to keep. I read this right after "The Paladin" and it was remarkable how two fantasy books with a male/female lead pairing could be so different. In this one, an unassuming lord who once killed a dragon is sought out to come aid the capital city against a new dragon, and the witch who is also the mother of his children decides to come with him. The story is told from the witch's perspective, we get to see her struggling to balance her quest for power and knowledge against her love for a warrior and their children. Politics and treachery abound in the city, and the fight doesn't end with defeating the dragon. The main antagonist is convincingly insane, turned so far inside and twisted that you can just barely see how their actions make sense.

[ninelarks-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When a courtier comes riding into Jenny's path, flourishing his words and falling off his horse gallantly, she can't help but shake her head. Especially when she learns that he's there to convince Lord Aversin to slay a dragon for the kingdom. And as a witch and his lover, Jenny can't help but be dragged into this adventure.

Overall, a rather dull book. The characters read very world-weary and that translates into the book as well. Most of it is tromping through the wilderness to get to a place with a rather pragmatic and dismal tone. I'm all for practicality, but for some reason this book just reeks of it. Which makes it a little dull.
It's satirical in a toss-cold-water-on-you sort of way. It's the type of book that literally says hey, your Dragonbane is a hick and adventuring actually is cold and wet and icky. But there's no spark of humor or entertainment in this book at all. Just pragmatic Jenny with her little magic and down-to-earth John with his good intentions to help out his king and his lands.

I did appreciate a lot of aspects of the book. Gareth was both annoying and entertaining. I absolutely loved the ending and the idea that there is a spirit animal in every person. I loved Jenny's interaction with the dragon, and oh my gosh, that description of music and gold - that was just beautiful.

But... this book was just so practical and almost boring.

Two stars for a good concept. But at the same time, two stars for making it rather grey and dull. Recommended only for those who want to read about a down to earth kind of adventure.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very typical Hambly, and very good. A slightly differen take on dragons and dragon hunting. It actually reminds me of Dragonslayer, but its much better. As usual with Hambly's books, the characters are the true strength of the book. They are anything but shallow stereotypes, and really draw you in. Her take on dragons is refreshing also.

[maggieliz_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

magnificent and lush story set in a fantasy/medieval setting, which touches more on loyalty and honor than the fantastic

[coffeesucker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book - didn't need a sequel.

[bestine_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Life changing. Tried, but never could get into the rest of the series.

[toberead_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was kind of surprised at how much I liked this, left me wonderin why I'd never picked it up before. Wonderful characters, the whole person behind the ballad thing, the relationship between Aversin and Jenny. Also didn't know there were three more in the series. Thought it was a stand-alone