About two years ago I started reading the Dragon Quartet. The series comes in two volumes, which comprise of a total of four books. So far I have read The Book of Earth and The Book of Water. The first volume was a captivating story that spanned across thousands of years and centered around two characters, the Dragon Guides, and their Dragons. The Dragons represent the four elements, and their guides are named for them. It's not obvious, since their names are in different languages, but they do make sure this is known. In the first two books, they realize that someone is wreaking havoc in their times. Erde, the girl, is from Germany in 913 and has been experiencing unusually long and cold winters. N'Doch, who represents water, lives in Africa in 2013 where there is widespread drought and heat. N'Doch is Erde's opposite, but the two seem to have a complicated relationship. It is determined that Fire must be causing it. The Dragons cannot contact him, or Air.
The Book of Fire is about Paia. Unlike the first two Dragon guides, she has spent more time with her dragon, but knows even less, since the other two had grandparents who taught them dragon lore. Paia is treated like a prisoner, never going out since her parents were killed and Fire, who calls himself The God, took over. Paia serves as his priestess. The heat that N'Doch faced has gotten worse and spread, so that most people almost never leave their houses during the day.
This is an excellent book, although probably not one that should be read on its own, since the first two books build on the premise and characters. The plot is complex. I almost went back and read the first two books, but remembered a lot of the details as I got further into it. The book has some themes that I'm not sure are intentional, or are meant to be taken the way that I did. For example, I noticed a environmental/balance between humans and nature message. At one time, Erde asks "What did humans do to upset God so much?" and another character replies, "Humans brought it on themselves." I feel like there was some kind of message about God and religion, but I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps these books are meant to be interpreted many different ways.
These are some of the most unique fantasy books I have read, and if you are looking to take on a literature challege, (these books are long, and took me awhile to get through them) I'd recommend them wholeheartedly.
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