The Mark of the Golden Dragon
Author: L.A. Meyer
Series: Bloody Jack (#9)
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
How Received: bought
Read my review of Bloody Jack here.
SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't read the first 8 books.
Jacky Faber, soldier, sailor, spy, and sometime pirate, condemned for life to the English prison colony in Australia for high crimes against the Crown, has once again wriggled out of the grasp of British authorities. Back on her flagship, the Lorelei Lee, she happily heads back to England in the company of dear friends and her beloved Jaimy Fletcher.
However, due to a typhoon, an earthquake, tidal waves, pirates, and her own impetuous nature, Jacky is cast into a world of danger that extends from the South China Sea to the equally treacherous waters of politics in London's smoky dens of intrigue, deception, and betrayal.
Can she save herself from recapture and a final trip to the gallows? Can she also save her own dear Jaimy from the madness that seems to be overtaking his tortured mind? Devious Chinese businessmen, willowy Eurasian maidens, fierce Gurkhas, loyal friends, and wildly romantic highwaymen are all involved in this tale of love, courage, and redemption.
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
Originally, I wasn't planning on writing a review for The Mark Of The Golden Dragon, because all of my reviews tend to go something like this:
I love this series. Read it. Jacky is a phenomenal character and the story is hilarious.
To an extent, it still rings true. Jacky Faber is, without a doubt, one of the best and undoubtedly my favorite character that I have ever encountered. This book made no exception to that rule. Despite all her actions, she still has this innocence of mind about her, and I loved that she's beginning to become aware of her flaws and (hopefully) will work on correcting or monitoring some of them.
And as usual, the story was absolutely fantastic. The new characters introduced were well thought out and fun to read about - especially the relationship that develops between Higgins and Lord Byron. (Yes, THAT Lord Byron.)
But something kept throwing me off about this book, and I couldn't place my finger on it until after I was reviewing the story in my head.
And that something was a certain James Emerson Fletcher.
Jaimy is one of my favorite characters throughout this series, partly because of his loyalty to Jacky. He loves her. But even without his loyalty to her, he is a strong character on his own. He does what he has to and does what no other man seems to be able to do - love Jacky unconditionally even when she's off gallivanting the seven seas. I understand that the two are intertwined in a way that few couples can be; that's why I love them.
But why, oh why, did Jaimy have to go insane?! It seems like a cop-out of a plot to keep driving the two of them away from each other. It's taking the easy way out. Why would Jaimy, of all people, believe Jacky to be dead when everybody else seems to think she may pop up again? Why would he go insane while avenging her? Why would he magically fall for a girl named Bess while he was going insane!?
The entire area with Jaimy just seemed like a way to keep the two apart. And I know part of it is that they have to be apart for the story to end - I don't know how many more books I can expect, but I have a strange suspicion that Jacky will have hanged at the end of them, and be okay with that, despite the fact that I (and everybody else) want her to have a Happily Ever After with Jaimy. (There's too much blatant foreshadowing for me not to think otherwise. Or maybe she'll marry Jaimy and have dozens of kids and be buried in that land plot after all. Who knows.)
But out of all the things to do - have him pressed back into service for the military; have him run off to America to live on his own; don't drive him insane! It was so very out of character.
I still loved the book, as I love all Bloody Jack books - I can't help but love Jacky Faber. Hopefully Meyer will clean up his act with the next book and get Jaimy's character back to normal.
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 9/10. Hilarious and entertaining as always, but the great character development for Jacky was overshadowed by the hideous character development for Jaimy.
Cover Comments: I love these covers. They always have a different scene from each book on the front; they're perfect.
Has anybody else read this one yet?