Published: Dec. 17, 2010
Words: 41028 (approximate)
Language: English

Short description

A great injustice was committed, bringing the crystal dragon into existence to exact revenge. The revenge has continued to down through the centuries, when will it be enough?

Extended description

Excerpt Inca Trail-
About five hundred people start the trek every day during the season, so at any time there are about two thousand people spread out over the 42 kilometers of trail. What’s amazing is that you can walk for an hour or so and never see a soul. Vicki and I were in one of those periods; just the two of us putting one foot in front of the other and trying to enjoy the breathtaking mountain scenery when a flash of light from behind a bush caught my eye. I took one of my walking sticks and tried moving the vegetation out of the way. I didn’t want to stick my hand in and find out I was petting a shiny snake, I’m kind of careful that way.

What I found was a figure that looked like it might be carved from jade. It was dark green, about two feet tall, and, as I soon discovered, pretty heavy. The shape was a pudgy man, wearing what appeared to be a gold and silver broad necklace. He had pierced ears but the earrings were missing and looked like he should be holding a swor... (Read more) Excerpt Inca Trail-
About five hundred people start the trek every day during the season, so at any time there are about two thousand people spread out over the 42 kilometers of trail. What’s amazing is that you can walk for an hour or so and never see a soul. Vicki and I were in one of those periods; just the two of us putting one foot in front of the other and trying to enjoy the breathtaking mountain scenery when a flash of light from behind a bush caught my eye. I took one of my walking sticks and tried moving the vegetation out of the way. I didn’t want to stick my hand in and find out I was petting a shiny snake, I’m kind of careful that way.

What I found was a figure that looked like it might be carved from jade. It was dark green, about two feet tall, and, as I soon discovered, pretty heavy. The shape was a pudgy man, wearing what appeared to be a gold and silver broad necklace. He had pierced ears but the earrings were missing and looked like he should be holding a sword or a spear in one hand and a bracelet or maybe a quipus in the other but I didn’t find anything else on the rock ledge. This was definitely a work of art from long ago. I noticed that the necklace was actually welded front and back to a golden plug that passed right through the figure’s chest.

“What do you think Vic?” I asked. “Looks like a relic to me.”

She came back down the trail from her resting spot in the shade and held out her hands.

“Careful, it’s heavy,” I warned.

She almost dropped it when I handed it to her but recovered nicely. “He needs to go on a diet,” she laughed.

“Either that or start walking the trail.” I suggested. “He looks like a soldier or body guard. What should we do with him?”

“Well you could lug him around for the rest of the trip and hope no one asks any questions when you try to leave the country or you could put him back,” was her logical accountant answer.

I pondered that response for a few seconds and said, “You’re right as usual. Give me our friend and I’ll put him back where he belongs.”

She handed me the statue and I placed him back on his ledge. Then the world went black. Actually black with flashing white streaks like you see in those movies where the spaceship jumps to light speed. I had the sensation of moving very quickly somewhere, I just didn’t know where. As quickly as it started it stopped and I found myself tumbling head over heels across the dirt floor of a large room lit by torches. I came to a rather ignominious stop with my back against a wall and my feet dangling in my face.

As I tried to right myself I became aware of two things. One, I still held my green friend clutched against my body and two, I was not alone. There were fifteen or twenty young girls, teenagers I would guess, rising from tables around the room and coming to stare at me. They were all ‘dressed’ the same. Wide necklaces like my statue wore, looking like they were made of gold and silver and some shiny stones, short skirts of the same pattern as the necklaces and sandals. For a minute I thought I might have been transported straight to some kind of heaven but then they started to scream.

It seemed to me like they might be calling to someone, or something and soon enough a woman strode into the room. Although her costume was the same as the girls, this was not girl. She was one of the most striking women I had ever seen. Vicki understands that other women can be beautiful, provided they’re beautiful over there, somewhere I’m not. I had almost righted myself and got to my feet by the time she strode across the room to confront me. She was about to say something when her eyes fell on the statue I was still holding. She looked at it, then at me, then back to the figure. Then she wheeled about, barked a command to the girls, and marched out of the room.
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Adult-content rating:

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Tags

vampire, scifi, adventure, fantasy, shapeshifter, dragon, grandmother, inca, scifi fantasy, fantasy action, crystal dragon, ancient gods

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Reviews

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Review by: GraceKrispy on July 01, 2011 :
This is five separate stories that centered around the same characters and general theme. The stories can stand alone, but are merged to form this book. Each of the stories included background information to help a reader understand the context of the situation. If the stories truly stand alone, that information is necessary to the reader. It was done in a way that matched the writing of the stories and didn't interrupt the flow. However, as the stories were all in one book, it became annoying to read reminders of events I had just experienced a few pages earlier. As a whole, I wasn't sure whether to think of this as a collection of related short stories (as it was originally created), or a novel created from the merging of several short stories (as it's now described). It felt like it was hanging in the space between the two concepts, almost like episodes of a TV show- related, but not completely fluid.

I thought the overall concept was interesting, but I felt it lacked in the execution. Many of the situations were preposterous, even for a fantasy novel. Some of the plot events felt abrupt and unexpected, and the writing style felt very "young" to me. As a result, I had trouble connecting to the characters and the events. In spite of that, I was still interested enough to want to know what was going to happen.

The writing style and plot events weren't my cup of tea for an adult novel, but that doesn't mean this book won't hold appeal for someone else. I feel like this book would be stronger if the rape scenes (I'm not sure why that seemed to be a recurring theme) were taken out and the remaining content adjusted to fit the level of the writing style. If that happened, this concept could be molded into a much stronger middle grade or young adult novel while keeping its general writing style.

2.5 stars- complete review @ MotherLode blog http://gracekrispy.com
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Ferdrayt Kopf on April 07, 2011 : (no rating)
“The Curse of the Crystal Dragon” is a collection of five short stories by Jonathan Seville. Each of the sections has a similar theme and shares the main characters, but the author has given backstory to each tale so that they can all stand alone as independent stories. Though the collection is a work of fantasy, it starts out sounding deceptively normal, with the protagonist, Thomas, offering to help an elderly woman get into a jeep. She is so impressed, she asks if he, a complete stranger, will give her grandchildren. This is just the beginning. As matters progress, people acting in increasingly strange ways. About a third of the way through the first of the series, the fantastic elements are so strong, one must draw on willing suspension of disbelief to continue, and this is even before the appearance of the supernatural (considering the title, it shouldn’t be a spoiler to say that dragons play a major role.). However, by that time, the author has drawn you so throughly into the characters’ lives, you’re quite willing to go along. I found myself continuing through the first part, unwilling to put it down until I found out what happened to the people involved

There is a lot of sexual innuendo, but no explicit erotica (unless you want to count one friendly squeeze.)

All and all, a good, light read.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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