I love Talking to Dragons. Patricia C. Wrede says in her introduction that Talking to Dragons was one of those books that basically wrote itself without her really thinking about it. It feels that way to read. The story grabs you and pulls you along to the end. The whole thing is very good.
It's interesting to know more than the main character. Daystar knows absolutely nothing about his family history and very little about the Enchanted Forest. Whereas, having read the previous three books, we know much, much more. Morwen and Telemain, for instance. We know who they are and that they can be trusted, even is Telemain is messing around with a wizard staff for research reasons, probably. Then there's the whole castle thing and freeing Mendanbar... we know that's where Daystar and Shiara are ultimately headed, even if they have zero clue.
I really quite liked Shiara, Suz, and the young dragon. Shiara's right up my alley, as far as temperament goes. Love those fiesty characters. Suz reminds me a lot of The Worm from Jim Henson's Labyrinth. I don't quite imagine Suz having The Worm's voice, but it's close. The young dragon was a delight. It's nice to see a young dragon, as up 'til now, we've only seen adults. Plus, I think they lend an extra air of whimsy to the whole thing.
I think the most memorable random-happening outside of cameos was the princess and her knight. That seemed to go on a bit, but it was amusing. I was very much of the same mind as Shiara about the princess. Girl needed to grow a brain, that's for sure. Also actually gave a bit of added perspective on how Cimorene was expected to behave when she was a princess.
It seems like Antorell has really gone downhill in terms of intelligence in the 17-ish years since we last saw him. I mean, he wasn't too bright to begin with, but... yeah. Man's got some serious issues regarding his thinking process.
But yeah... Talking to Dragons is easily my favorite of the quartet after Dealing with Dragons. It's refreshing to have that sparkle back after the, uhm, slowness... drudgery... of Calling on Dragons. Definitely a fitting end to the series, even if it was written first.
Favorite Lines
"Being upset is no excuse," Mother said sternly. "If you're going to be rude, do it for a reason and get something from it." - Cimorene
"That," said Morwen, "was a sword. They are long, pointed, and very sharp. You're lucky it didn't take your head off."
A Slight Spoiler Comment
I just want to say that Morwen and Telemain planning on getting married all of a sudden is unecessary, in my opinion. I know that we're basically missing 17-ish years of their lives between Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons, but their relationship just wasn't skewing romantically, like, at all in Calling on Dragons.
I remembered that this was a thing and so I was looking for some kind of romance between them... but no. It's just not there. I'm personally going to head cannon it away. They are platonic friends forever in my mind.
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