In Dragon Tempest, Tom's fair wife, Amanda, very pregnant with their first child, is kidnapped while Tom is away securing belongings for their new home. He returns to find Amanda, Mornie (her lady-in-waiting), and Mornie's two sons gone. Tom, Clem (Mornie's husband), and Retruance, his faithful companion, begin to search for them. Before long, though, the King arrives with a ransom note, instructing Tom and Clem to travel to Sharp Point. When they arrive, they find a magical unmanned ship which immediately sets sail as they step on board. With Retruance following just out of sight, they sail along. Before they arrive at their final destination, however, a storm destroys the ship, leaving them without a clue as to the location of the kidnapper or their spouses and children.

If you are a fan of Callander's other books, no doubt you'll enjoy this one as well. Dragon Tempest is classic Don Callander. The heroes are all clean-cut, well-mannered, and full of uncommonly good common sense. The bad guys are never really that bad, and the good guys are always willing to give them a chance to reform themselves. Dragon Tempest wanders into a gray area or two (when is kidnapping forgivable -- when it's for a good cause?) but on the whole, there is never anything objectionable in one of Callander's books. While I've enjoyed more than a couple of them, I find that after a while, their appeal starts to wear off. The stories become rather predictable because you know what's going to happen -- nothing ever really bad happens, no one is injured, no one dies, the hero always arrives in time save the day... I do think, however, that his books might be very appealing to younger readers or to parents who enjoy reading longer books to their children. Adult readers may certainly enjoy them as well, but fans of dark fantasy, evil sorcery, and bloody conflict are well advised to look elsewhere.