Dun Lady's Jess

By Doranna Durgin

Book Overview

When hikers Dayna and Eric find a young woman naked, terrified, and speechless, they're sure she's the victim of foul play. But the truth is much more shocking: she isn't human at all. She's Dun Lady's Jess, a horse transformed into this new shape by the spell that brought her and her rider, to whom she is utterly devoted, into this world.

Posessed now of human intelligence but still a horse deep inside, Jess desperately searches this world for her master and rider, using her fiery equine spirit to take on human idiosyncracies - and human threats.

Dun Lady's Jess is a blend of adventure, magic, and romance that spans our world and its richly imagined fantasy counterpart. Horse become human, Jess is spirited and intelligent, seeing our world through a unique perspective. Pursued by evil, she must find a way not only to save her rider and both worlds, but also to keep who she has become.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889953988
• ISBN13: 9780889953987
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Red Deer Press
• Length: 295 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 16 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 11

Customer Reviews

Simply wonderful!

Apart from the Harry Potter books, I've read few fantasy novels. My one exception: the books of my friend Doranna Durgin. Of course, as she's been my friend for over 20 years, you can't expect me to be wholly objective in a review. So I'll just tell you what I like about her very first published book, Dun Lady's Jess, which has been reissued in a beautiful new edition by Canadian publisher Red Deer Press. Beautiful dun mare Lady, and her rider, Cary, are running for their lives when Cary invokes a spell that sends them hurtling to an alternate reality--a reality that does not include magic. Not only that, but Lady has been transformed into a human woman. She's found by Eric, a kind-hearted environmentalist, and his friend Dayna. They quickly realize that Lady is in a state of mental confusion. Wary about turning her into the authorities, they take her to Dayna's home to try to figure out what to do next. They meet up with their friends Jaime, who owns a horse training facility, and her brother Mark. And when Carey shows up--that's when the fun begins. This book has everything I look for in great storytelling: endearing friendships, action, adventure; suspense, thrills and fun. I'm not kidding when I say it'll make you laugh and cry. There's a reason this book won the Compton Crook Award, and it's hard to believe this could be someone's first book because Doranna got everything right. The characterization, the action, and most importantly, the mindset of Dun Lady's Jess--a horse changed by magic into a woman. Read it. You'll love it, too.

Unusual story, but very good

I don't think I have ever read a story like this one before--a rare thing in these days of multi volume fantasy series. Dun Lady's Jess is a simple story about a courier's horse. Jess and her rider are on a mission when they are attacked and accidentally transported to our world. Due to the nature of the spell used against them, Jess is turned into a woman while her rider is seperated from her and disorientated. Jess is found naked and alone by a couple out for the day. They rescue her, take her home, and finally realise they hve something very strange on their hands. Jess meanwhile is having trouble understanding that standing on her hind legs is now allowed (rearing is bad) and that she can talk just like her rider. All in all, a simple but intensely interesting read. Well worth your moneyu and time. Mark E. Cooper

A Horse and Her Man

Dun Lady's Jess (1994) is the first novel by Durgin and is unusually well written for a first work. It is also the first in a series about a horse who becomes a human. Her owner is Arlen of Anfeald, a senior wizard of Camolen, but her master is Carey, head rider of the Anfeald couriers. Arlen has discovered a spell for crossing over to other dimensions and needs help developing a checkspell to prevent unscrupulous exploitation of other continua. He sends Carey to Sherra, a member of the Wizards Council, with a full report on the new spell. Warning Carey that other wizards know of the new spell, Arlen provides a stone carrying the spell and orders Carey to use it if danger appears. Carey and Lady are ambushed and Carey is shot with an arrow, pulling Lady hard to the right. As they plunge over a cliff, Carey invokes the spellstone and they go elsewhere. Lady, transformed to a human, lands in a meadow in Ohio with her tack lying atop and around her. She is found by Eric and Dayna, who take her home with them. Since Jess is new to the human business, she is a strange, possibly crazy, woman. At first she seems to be mute -- after all, horses don't talk -- but soon learns how to make the funny sounds that she has heard all her life. She calls Dayna and Eric by name, and tells them her own, and then goes on a orgy of word learning. When Eric brings in the tack, Jess says the saddlebags belong to Carey. When she identifies herself as a horse, also belonging to Carey whom she has lost and wants to find, they take her to Jaime at the Dancing Equine Dressage Center, where Jess meets Mark, Jaime's brother. While Eric tries to find Carey by calling nearby hospitals, Jaime questions Jess and then puts her to work in the stables. A stranger shows up looking for a dun mare with black points and identifies himself as Derrick, living at the LK hotel. Jaime notices that the description would match Jess if she was a horse. Moreover, Jess displays an unusual ability in reading horse body language. Jaime is beginning to suspect the unthinkable. Jaime tells the others about Derrick at the LK hotel, where Dayna and Mark work. Using her passkey, Dayna finds Carey, drugged and helpless, in Derrick's room as well as a bow and quiver of arrows. She is almost caught by Derrick, but escapes and returns to The Dancing to tell of her discovery. They return to the hotel while Mark is on duty and rescue Carey. Then things start to get interesting. Eventually, Jess, Dayna, Eric, Jaime and Carey cross over to Camolen. They are accidentally accompanied by Ernie, a gunman hired by Derrick, and land in the middle of a siege. While the novel is fantasy, there are a few points that strain even that loose standard. The spell itself provides the ability to speak English, yet the rapidity with which Jess learns to speak and read is truly fantastic. However, Durgin provides an explanation at the very beginning: the intercontinual transients are connected to th

Really wonderful fantasy

I don't normally seek out books about horses, but this novel was really exceptional. I love fantasy, and the truly mystical occurences in this books just served to draw me in more completely. Doranna Durgin also introduced a few fantasy concepts concerning magic that I have never read before, and I was really impressed. If you love fantasy, horses, and really good books, by all means read this!

One of the best books in the world!!!

Has to be one of the best of the century!!! Science fiction has seen a new master, watch out Piers Anthony and Roger Zelanzy, Anne McAthrey may have trouble with this one....