The Dragon Hour
Grade : C+

I'm willing to suspend my belief in the laws of physics and the impossibility of time travel, as long as the story's told with panache and a dash of credibility. Add a mythical creature that's close enough to fact, and the story's even better. But gosh darn it, there had better be a hero I can admire, too. Connie Flynn's The Dragon Hour has a main character who left me squirming just a little too much, and my reading experience suffered because of it.

In 1672, the little Scottish fiefdom of Lochlorraine suffered a terrible disaster. The laird's brother, in a disastrous experiment with the laws of alchemy and physics, hurled the realm into a floating journey through time and space. Now, fifteen years later, Caryn Maclachlan, the regent of Lochlorraine, is stunned when she meets the latest group of "travelers," people from other times who enter the realm's protective bubble. Among them is a man who's the spitting image of Sir Lucas, the Dragon Slayer of legend. With his arrival, Lochlorraine will once and for all time be rid of Ormeskirk, the terrible beast that's plagued the land for years. Maybe now they can all return home. All Caryn has to do is convince their reluctant savior of his destiny.

Luke Slade is having a hard time adjusting to this new reality. The last thing he knew, he was trying to save his cousin Randy from getting tangled up with a bunch of low-life thugs in the midst of an armed robbery. But all of a sudden he finds himself, along with Randy and several of those thugs, transported to a strange time and place. How come the people who live here are treating Luke like some kind of hero? He knows he's the farthest thing from a hero imaginable. And why is this beautiful, intelligent woman trying to convince him he's supposed to kill a dragon?

There was a lot to like in this story. First, the time-travel element was cleverly laid out, although I had a little trouble picturing Lochlorraine as an enormous floating capsule. Caryn was extremely engaging, and I enjoyed the cast of secondary characters, including a villain who was much more complex and conflicted than one normally encounters in romance. As for the dragon - let's just say that Flynn brings a load of creativity and plausibility to the creature, and her explanation for what makes it breathe fire made me laugh. Either she watches a lot of South Park, or she's spent some time around ten-year-old boys.

No, my problem was with the hero. I've read more than my share of flawed heroes over the years, but I found Luke's past too uncomfortable to accept him as a man I could ever take to my heart. Lots of romance heroes have spent some time behind bars (and to Luke's credit, his is for something he didn't do) but it's what he's doing for a living when he's transported to Lochlorraine that I found so disturbing. I don't consider the proprietor of a chop shop to be hero material, regardless of the explanation. And where he got his school ring - let's just say it's less than honest and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Flynn's writing is very solid; the story flows well, and she has a terrific ear for dialogue. But it's difficult to get into a romance when the hero presents such a barrier to the reader. If Luke had been just a little less shady, I might have read with more enthusiasm. If you can get past that particular fence, you, more than I, may enjoy this tale of a fire-breathing beast and the woman who's determined to save her people.

Reviewed by Nora Armstrong
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : December 10, 1999

Publication Date: 2000

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