Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly

When the Black Dragon seized the Deep of Ylferdun, young Gareth braved the far Winterlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane -- the only living man ever to slay a dragon. In return for the promise of the King to send help to the Winterlands, Aversin agreed to attempt the nearly impossible feat again.

With them, to guard them on the haunted trip south, went Jenny Waynest, a half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons.

But at the decadent Court, nothing was as expected. Rebellion threatened the land. Zyerne, a sorceress of seemingly unlimited power, held the King under an evil spell, and he refused to see them. Meantime, the dragon fed well on the knights who had challenged him.

In the end, Aversin, Jenny, and Gareth had to steal away at night to challenge Morkeleb, largest and wisest of dragons.

But that was only the beginning of the perils they must face.

I might just be reading this in the wrong mood but I could not retain anything this woman wrote. And there is no reason a less than 300 page book should be slow. If the book is short then you should at least have it action packed....

My favorite book. I read this in high school and couldn't remember much since, except the very beginning of the story: After Gareth talks about how heroic dragonsbanes are - riding into battle on horseback with a sword, charging down the dragon - John (an actual dragonsbane, and the only currently living one) explains this is the stupidest way to fight a dragon and will surely get you killed before you even reach it. The ballads had embellished dragon-slaying, and hearing the truth destroys Gareth's mental image of what a hero is. This premise is what brought me back to the book years later.

Jenny and John are both great, solid characters. Jenny is a solid woman protag who's unsatisfied with how pitiful her mageborne powers have always been, even after devoting her life to the study of magic. John is her nerdy, hilariously charming husband - thane of the Winterlands not because he wants to be, because he'd much rather be scouring old ruins searching for philosophy and history books. But he has to be thane, and people depend on him to be, and so he is. A genuine hero, not looking for the flashiest solution, but for the one that will actually work.

The personification of dragons is an interesting take, since it's done in a way that genuinely makes you feel that they think differently than us. Absolutely love the dragon, and the magic system. The journey and the other problems (beyond just a dragon attacking the kingdom) are all just as, if not more, enthralling.

This book is for adults, not so much for a “mature” content rating but more for being relatable. Jenny and John are around 40 and have kids. I don't think I really appreciated Jenny's problems the way I do now when I was in high school.

A lot of people don't like the sequels, but this book has a satisfying ending so you're perfectly fine just reading this one. (If you DO consider the sequels, read some reviews before deciding it's right for you. They are much different in tone.)