The Seadragon's Daughter

by Alan F. Troop

Book Overview

Peter DelaSangre now enjoys a peaceful existence with his family on a private island retreat just off the coast of Miami. Then he receives an unexpected visitor named Lorrel, a member of a sea-dwelling dragon race who will force Peter to face his bloodline's secret past-revelations that may separate Peter from his family forever.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451460073
• ISBN13: 9780451460073
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Roc
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Very well done

This series just keeps getting better. The twists and turns in this one left me wanting even more. The characters are rich and sympathetic. Troop does an excellent job of making them feel very real. Very entertaining and well written!

A most revealing third entry in the Delasangre series

One cannot help but draw comparisons between Alan F. Troop and Anne Rice (well, early Anne Rice, anyway) because, in a sense, Troop has done for dragons what Rice did for vampires - recreating them in a rich, original, truly fascinating fashion. The Seadragon's Daughter is the third entry in the Dragon Delasangre series, and it greatly adds to the history and mythology that Troop is developing for the creatures who refer to themselves as People of the Blood. Now we discover that there are actually four very different species of dragons in the world, and they don't always play well together. All Peter Delasangre, a successful Miami businessman in his human changeling form, wants is to spend as much time as possible with his new wife (who was not an easy catch, as anyone who read Dragon Moon will know) and children, enjoy the luxuries and seclusion of his private island estate, stretch his wings in true dragon fashion, and - every now and again - enjoy the succulent pleasures of human flesh. A rare steak is tasty, but nothing beats the taste of live human-kabob. As usual, though, life just isn't that simple for Peter. A string of missing boaters and islanders in the areas has brought a lot of unwanted attention to his island paradise, as rumors on the mainland begin to point a finger of suspicion at the wealthy Delasangre. Peter's innocent - he's always careful about preying on solitary victims far away from his island - but that doesn't keep prying eyes away. Peter has bigger problems on the horizon, though. A mysterious young female begins appearing on the island; not only will the seemingly innocent Lorrel place quit a strain on the Delasangres' marriage, she threatens to take Peter away from his family forever. He's as surprised as anyone to discover that Lorrel is a member of the Pelks, a sea-dwelling race of dragons thought to be extinct. The race is indeed dwindling, though - and faces extinction if it can't infuse its society with some fresh dragon blood. That's where Peter comes in, as he's poisoned and transported to the sea-dwelling dragons' underworld kingdom (where he will learn some surprising things about the history of his family and of his entire race). Without the antidote to the poison, it looks like he will never see home again. Then Peter learns that his wife and children are in danger - and that changes everything. There will be blood in the water before this drama ends, as no Delasangre gives up without one heck of a fight. Despite the moral ambiguity (from a human perspective) of the People of the Blood, Peter Delasangre's story is in many ways a very human one. Sure, he takes great delight in eating people, but Peter Delasangre is every bit of a family man who will do anything to defend those he loves - even if it means sacrificing his own life in the process. Alan F. Troop seems to improve with every novel, and the introduction of no less than three new dragon races adds a surprising amount of depth to

Fantasy dolphins

In many ways, the book lives up to its amazing predecessors, The Dragon Delasangre and Dragon Moon. Troop writes about dolphins, however, as if he heard the word somewhere but never got any details. Dolphins are not nearly so effective with their teeth as Troop portrays them. In packs they can kill large sharks, but they do it by ramming the fish senseless. If they could easily attack with their teeth, they wouldn't do it that way. On each fighting pass, a dolphin has just ONE chance to use his teeth, and he has no other weapons -- unless you count his ability to stun small fish with his sonar. Peter, with his powerful hind legs, sharp claws, and far more maneuverable neck, jaws, and teeth, could easily tear apart a dolphin twice his own weight, and there wouldn't be any such. Pit the dragon against a killer whale, yes, but a dolphin? I don't think so. The book really left me wondering where all the DANGEROUS fish were hiding; sharks and barracudas, for instance. In fact, the story makes more sense if all the dolphins were replaced by sharks -- except that sharks aren't intelligent enough. I often wondered, too, how a dragon eats a human in mid-air without choking on the clothing!

He does it again!

If you have read the first 2 novels in the series (Dragon Delasangre and Dragon Moon) you will have come to love and hate Henri Delasangre. Knowing I would get my hands on a great story, I feared the expected turn-off to the main characters as had happened in the first two novels. It was that, "you hate it so much you have to read it" kind of feeling. But an all new cast is presented in this novel bringing with them a fresh start and a new story; and the possibility for many new and exciting stories to come. Alan F. Troop is a good writer. His novels are filled with excitement and action. It is the quick and easy-reading entertainment that draws me to the Delasangre books, not the love of the characters...which can be somewhat refreshing, I think. Take a break from those heavy tear-jerkers, and the books that leave you speechless and dumbfounded. Give these books a chance, they are very fun!

fantastic island fantasy

Dragons are mankind's oldest enemies and it is lucky for the human race that few of these powerful beings remain alive. They live much of the time in human form but they have no love for humanity who they look upon as fodder. Peter DelaSangres, his wife Chloe and their two children live on their own private island Caya DelaSangre where they are able to behave as dragons do. The waters around the island and the Gulf are now heavily patrolled by the Coast Guard because over two dozen people have recently disappeared from fifteen boats. They think a serial killer is stalking the seas. Peter is kidnapped by the female Pelk Lorrel a dragon who lives in the sea. Lorrel poisoned Peter and he has to take an antidote every three days thus trapping him in the home of the Pelks. Lorrel and the other female Pelks are able to seduce Peter through their singing and force him to mate with Lorrel, giving her a child. When the fighting arm of the Pelks get ready to attack Chloe out of fear that she will kill them, Peter escapes but without finding the antidote he has less than a week to live. The Pelks are reminiscent of sirens, which lured sailors to their doom; as a race they are more amoral then the dragons of the air, what mankind thinks of as the traditional dragon. Both groups have magical powers and it is the most cunning who will win the upcoming war. The romance of Peter and Chloe, although not human in nature, is still beautiful to behold. Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff will love this fantastic island fantasy. Harriet Klausner