AustLit

Spellbinder II: Land of the Dragon Lord is something of a sequel to the earlier Spellbinder, also written by Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson. However, the only recurring characters are Spellbinder's antagonist Ashka and her offsider.

In this series, teenager Kathy Morgan is, like Paul in the original series, pulled into a different world: however, where Paul is pulled into an alternative Europe in which the Industrial Revolution never happened, Kathy is pulled into an alternative China (the land of the Dragon Lord), in which the empire is controlled by advanced technology. She finds enemies not only in the land of the Dragon Lord, but also in Ashka's world (the original world of the Spellbinders).

Spellbinder II was the last major collaboration (thus far) between Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson, who had previously collaborated on such important Australian science-fiction and fantasy children's television programs as The Girl from Tomorrow, The Girl from Tomorrow Part II, and Spellbinder.

After a prank at a school camp goes horribly wrong, Sydney schoolboy Paul finds himself transported into a parallel world where the Industrial Revolution never took place and where power is wielded by the Spellbinders, whose power suits allow them to manipulate and create static electricity. Though the Spellbinders are largely benevolent, Paul and Riana (the inhabitant of the Spellbinder world who aids Paul) manage to cross Ashka, an ambitious Spellbinder who craves absolute power.

The series is evenly split between Paul's experiences in Riana's world and Riana's confusion when she crosses over to Paul's world.

Spellbinder was another program to arise from the collaboration of Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson, who had previously worked together on The Girl from Tomorrow, The Girl from Tomorrow Part II, and Mission Top Secret.