The Mark of the Golden Dragon

First, let me say that I am a massive, massive fan of this series, and as long as Mr. Meyer keeps writing them, and Ms. Kellgren keeps performing them, I will keep listening.

That being said, this one could have been better. I finished listening to this last night, and find myself feeling a bit unsatisfied, and a bit disappointed in our heroine. Those who enjoyed the increased involvement and "piratization" of Mr. James Emerson Fletcher in Wake of the Lorelei Lee will be disappointed here. Jaimy hardly appears at all, due to certain circumstances which I won't elaborate on. Despite these circumstances, I don't understand why we could not still have gotten some narration from his point of view.

Also absent in this volume is Joseph Jared, who reappeared in rather dramatic fashion at the end of WotLL, so the Jacky/Jaimy/Jared love triangle conflict that fans may have expected never really materializes. Instead, another of Jacky's former paramours takes center stage in this book, and the bulk of the plot involves much gallivanting around London. I agree with Davey and Tink (those stallwart members of the Dread Brotherhood of the Dolphin) that Jacky should have been more focused on the Jaimy situation. Oh, how I longed to see Jacky and Jaimy having adventures together for once.

Complaints aside, this is still an enjoyable audiobook. Katy Kellgren continues to dazzle, and there is now a pretty nice setup for the next book, "Over the Hills and Far Away." I will choose to think of this as the transitional book needed to wrap up the "Transported for Life" storyline so that Jacky can get back to action in the next book. Just don't go into this expecting an epic adventure on the scale of Lorelei Lee, Bonny Light Horseman or Jolly Roger.

Like others, I have been a fan since the beginning; but enough is enough. It's time for this series to go away. Every successive book in this series becomes more and more like a bad romance novel. Repetitive and irritating. Even Ms. Kellgren, who's performances on these books has been second-to-none appears to have become bored with the material. This series like so many others, literary or otherwise, that have outstayed their welcome (i.e., the Saw movies, Stephanie Plum, M.A.S.H. & Friends), should have ended long before now. And why James Fletcher would continue to waste his ENTIRE life chasing after a character who one minute seems to be totally devoted to him and the next whore's it up with every guy who shows an interest in her is beyond me. Here's hoping that #10 will be the last book in this series (an even number is a good number to end on -- too bad it wasn't number four). I gave this an overall 3 stars only because of Katherine Kellgren, not for the idiotic story.

The story is fun (though less so than prior), adventurous (though more predictable and seeming repetitious than prior) and as usual fantastically brought to life by Katherine Kellgren. But it plodded along and I was looking forward to the end.

Yes, I am sure I would. I hope this was simply a low spot.

Just as good. This reader is AMAZINGLY GOOD!!

Probably not.

Write another great story please - or maybe it is time to hang up the flag.

Once again our Jacky & Jamie have parted ways and Jackie is once again thought to be dead and this sends Jamie over the edge, the edge of sanity that is, can Jacky find him in time to help him out of madness? Once again Jacky finds her way out of some close scrapes and once again Higgins and her good brothers from the dolphin find her in the middle of nowhere and rescue her.

I love this series but as you can see in my first paragraph there is a lot of “once agains” in this book and as much as I love Jacky and her story, it is starting to get a bit repetitive…Jacky & Jamie are together now they are apart Jacky gets a bind and comes up with an outrageous scheme that of course works and no matter where in the world she is she runs into people she knows. I must admit to wanting some kind of conclusion I’d hate to see this great series run into the ground and think it may be time for LA Meyer to wrap up the Jacky Faber Adventure. Plus this series won’t end really because this will become a go to series when I want to escape into Jacky’s world and I think I will listen to these audiobooks many times over.

These problems aside it is still an enjoyable series especially on audio narrated by the wonderful Katherine Kellgren who is and always will be the voice of Jacky Faber for me.

Oh but Mr. Meyer you got me with the ending now I want the next book immediately repeat yourself all you want sir just bring me more Jacky Now!!!

Oh just read this great series and decide for yourself I will be over here waiting for the next installment.

4 Stars

I waited for a long time for this book to be recorded. I am a big fan of the whole series, so I bought the book in print before listening to it. I was extremely disappointed by how thin and predictable the entire plotline and content were.

Katherine Kellgren remains one of the best character readers of all time. It is a shame the book reduces her effectiveness as a narrator.

The Mark of the Dragon is full of smoke and has no real fire coming out of its nostrels.LA Meyer is stuck in the doldrums along with Jackies ships....floating around looking for some wind to fill out his enthusiam for the plotlines.

Can't wait to see what happens to our girl, next...plan to go back and re-listen to all the books, when I finish the series, so far...

Jacky, since she is a good role model, in many ways for girls.

Fabulous...makes listening worthwhile...would not enjoy as much, reading the books, I think.

A good narrator.

No

No

Dissappointment

After listening to part 1 I had enough of K.Kellegren's shrill plastic cockney accent which diverted you from the story itself.

I took a bit of a break from this series because I was a tad afraid to pick it up based on the other reviews. Now that book 10 is out I decided to give it a try.

As others have said this is a transitional tale, Jacky has a few escapades abroad and then is back in London to clear her name. Once again surviving only due to her friends and relationships that she has built over the last few books.

Unlike the other reviewers, I enjoyed this book and thought it worth my time. The adventures back in London got a bit slow as she just seemed to enjoy playing around with her flirts, and nothing really ever happened. Then it ended on an odd note, so I look forward to starting book 10!

I love this series so much that I listen without my 10 and 13 year old boys sometimes which, is a good thing, as Jackie's 'romantic' interest this round is a courtesan turned female pirate. When my son asked me what Jackie meant when she talked about being 'petted a lot' I was thrown...The Asian angle is wonderful but as she grows up I like her less and less. It is still a great series but this is my least favorite.

Same old Jacky always getting into new troubles and adventures. I enjoy all the exotic locales and people.

This has been a great series. I would always get another book from L. A. Meyer, but I think you can only drag out unresolved issues for so long before they become cumbersome. It's about time for Jacky to give up on Jaimy or commit to him. It has now dragged on for nine books. Characters need to evolve over time and I think Jacky has become a little stagnant.

I enjoyed Ravi and all his laments about what he was going to come back as in the next life.

I think the scene where Davy is chastising Jacky for her behavior when they should be trying to help Jaimy. She initially becomes defensive and declares nobody is going to tell her how to live her life. That is spot on for her character, but I beleive the criticism may have hit home a little and given her something to think on.

To sum up I love the series but feel it's time for Jacky to do a little growing up and make some hard decisions about her life. To string Jaimy along for nine books is getting a little tiresome and what once was charming about her character now seems callous.