The Ring of Allaire

by Susan Dexter

Book Overview

Master magician Blais was dead, murdered by the evil ice-lord Nimir. Now there was only Tristan, an ill-trained apprentice, to carry on the quest to rescue Allaire, a princess held in enchanted sleep in Nimir's frozen halls. Though a thousand master mages had already failed in the quest, Tristan must succeed -- or all of Calandra would be doomed by Nimir's greed. First Tristan would have to find the wonder-horse Valadan, who had vanished long ago...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345292731
• ISBN13: 9780345292735
• Release Date: September 1981
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Beginning of a Wonderful Trilogy!

With master magician Blais dead, murdered by the evil wizard Nimir, bumbling apprentice Tristan was all that was left to carry on Blais' last quest - to find and awaken the princess of Allaire and thus save all of Calandra, or to fail and doom the kingdom to eternal winter. Tristan felt ill equipped to rescue the princess, especially after hundreds of heroes and wizards, all better trained than he, had died in the attempt. But Tristan loved his master too much to do nothing less than his very best so he started with the basics that the others discounted. The first thing that Tristan had to recover was the legendary warhorse of Esdragon, Valadan, who had disappeared long ago. Then he had to persuade the Heir to the Throne, Polassar, that his was not a fool's errand, but a true chance at victory to save the kingdom. After he had gathered his companions, then Tristan had to find the location of the sleeping princess, somehow awaken her, find the tenth ring that was needed for the princess to use her powers, fight off jealous wizards, Nimir's Ice Hounds, and whatever other complications came along the way....The Ring of Allaire is in many ways a simple fantasy tale retold, but in other ways it is new, fresh and fun. There are also plenty of little surprises to keep the reader guessing, even though some things seem obvious to the reader before it is revealed in the book. But, Dexter's characters are delightful and so fun to get to know and to travel with. I love that Tristan tries really hard and sometimes succeeds and sometimes doesn't, but he always tries. He seems like such a normal person and it is refreshing for the nice, normal guy to get ahead for once, instead of the brave, dashing hero. A fast, fun read that kicks of a delightful trilogy - I highly recommend all of Dexter's books!

well worth a read

This book's a charming story. True, it uses nearly all the cliches of the genre (talking cat and horse, imprisoned princess, inexpert wizard's apprentice, etc.), yet Dexter crafts her characters with evident love and nuance that make the book extremely readable and a lot of fun. The relationships ring true as well. I heartily recommend it and the rest of the trilogy as a wonderful entrance or return to enchanting, lighthearted, elegant yet earnest adventure.

I loved this great book, it is now one of my favorites.

This is an exciting and adventurous book. I was able to figure out what would happen ahead of time on a few things, but the ending totally blew me away! It had everything from Dragonslaying to romance, and rescuing. This book deserves 5 stars, because it was written so well by Susan Dexter. I applaud her!!!

This one is just the beginning of a great trilogy!

This fun and original story starts out the traditional way, with a quest--the wizard apprentice and a big brawny warrior set out to rescue an enchanted princess. The ultimate evil has created a prophecy saying the princess needs three things to be rescued--a wizard, the true heir to the throne, and the immortal, warhorse, Valadan. For hundreds of years, wizards and heirs have set out on this fruitless quest, dying and draining the land of Caladan of all its wise leaders. When his master is killed, young, bumbling apprentice, Tristan, sets out to fulfill the quest, and he acquires the one thing that the others discounted--the fabulous lost warhorse. With Polassar, a conceited warrior of noble blood and Valadan, he sets out To rescue Allaire. But the quest is just the beginning and neither the quest nor the characters turn out to be just what they seemed to be. I can't say much more without giving the twist away. Oh, and one more thing for you animal lovers out there, Thomas, Tristan's familiar, is one of the most sarcastic cats you will ever come across. If cats aren't your style, there is Minstrel the brave canary, and of course, there is immortal Valadan, sired by the wind itself, the magical mysterious and wise warhorse.This is the start to one of those rare series where the books just get better and the final book, The Mountains of Channadran is one of my favorites.

Unclassically Original

Intelligent, humorous and beautiful. Allaire, the beautiful ruler-to-be, is sought by all. But once freed from her enchanted sleep the WinterWastes, the story by far doesn't end there! Tristan, the wizard's appentice that freed her after the death of his mentor, master, and foster-parent Blaise, is both main character and co-comedy relief. He, like the big burly Polassar who accompanies him on his... no, on THE Quest, vies for the stunningly beautiful Allaire,but she will have no part of him, save servant. She's not rude, just unnoticing. Elisena is the true surprise of the story. Her joined involvement with the group shows plainly how shallow the fair Allaire truely is. Elisena's healing knowledge and power makes her invaluble, yet her bloodline worries our Polassar. Is she(Elisena) indeed a changeling? Not to be trusted, though she has more than proven herself? Or merely another mortal, like themselves... another useful road servant for the trav! el-weary Allaire?