Customer Reviews

The Dame (Saga of the First King)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this, the third book in the Saga of the First King series, we meet up with Bransen Garibond "The Highwayman" right after his defeat of Ancient Badden. Bransen dreams of returning to the land of his youth, but Honce is a changed land. The Lairds are locked in a life and death struggle, each one seeking to become king of the entire land. But, there are many players in this game, each with his or her own agenda, and some of them...too many of them want the Highwayman dead. There are great changes in store for the world, and great changes for those who liver within it!

First off, I must admit that I had put this book down halfway through, figuring I was done with it. The entire first half of the book is very slowing moving, providing little joy for the reader. After that, however, the story and the action start to really pick up. By the end of the book, I was really enjoying the story, and now I can't wait for the next book in the series.

That's right, I enjoyed this book, and am glad that I read it. I just wish that they could have done something to get the story moving earlier in the book. I wouldn't recommend skipping the first half of the book, but do try to read it quickly, so that you can get to the better second half as quickly as possible. If you do that, you will find this to be an interesting and enjoyable read!

I love Salvatore. Always have. I started reading this book and found myself BORED for the first third of the book. It felt a little empty. It wasn't till Bransen set back out on the road that it caught my interest. The first third spent far too much time with politics and game of throne type drivel. The supporting characters in this aren't carrying their own weight. Not like the misfits in the Silver Shard series etc. I'm looking forward to finishing the book now that it's turned back toward developing Bransen in a setting familiar to readers of Salvatore.

"The Dame" Bob Salvatore's third novel featuring the enigmatic Highwayman is great fun.

This one starts out right where "The Ancient" left off. The Highwayman and his group are pardoned and offered free passage thoughout Honce by Dame Gwydre (the only worthwhile royal in the novel). Bransen wants to return home with his wife and mother-in-law, but is unsure if the treacherous warring nobles will fully accept the writ of safe passage issued by the Dame. He returns home with his new friend Jameston Sequin in an attempt to insure the safety of his family, and this is where things begin to twist: Laird Delaval is assassinated by a group of mystic warriors whose abilities genesis could only be the Jhest warriors. The Highwayman learns of the killing (by being accused of the murder), but more intriguing to him is the chance to connect with his mother's people and to delve more deeply into the abilities that he has developed and possibly even to find a Jhest teacher that might free him from his dependence on the gemstones.

I love historical fiction, but one of the wonderful things about fantasy is that there are no boundaries. In the Highwayman adventures, Bob Salvatore combines Robin Hood, Zorro, magic and the Kung Fu fun of the Iron Monkey into a rousing good tale of good versus evil. This is not Tolstoy, destined to go down as great literature with deep meanings. This is Salvatore, which is another name for great, escapist fun and adventure. This book takes all my favorite genre's and combines them into a great yarn. As always I'm looking forward to the next chapter in the Highwayman's carreer. Until that comes out, I just might re-read the whole series.

Great Fun!

I've read all of Salvatore's books, and this one simply has nothing new to offer. It's a fairly innocuous story of the world going to hell in a hand basket because of vain rulers and misguided clergy...Salvatore has done this before in the entirety of the previous books about Honce. I don't find Bransen a very likable character, and that makes it really tough to empathize with him; if Salvatore wasn't so over-the-top with the vanity/clergy thing, it would be very easy to root against Bransen.

As the years have worn on, Salvatore has gotten much less creative and daring with his work, whereas an author like Raymond E. Feist has gotten MORE creative and daring. Did R.A. spend himself in his best works set in Menzoberranzan and/or that delved into Entreri's true nature? It appears so, unfortunately. At least his books can be read in less than a day...

In Honce, after beheading the evil Ancient Badden, Bransen Garibond and his five cohorts bring the dead head to Dame Gwydre of Vanguard as proof they did the deed. Bransen hopes the aristocrat lets him go home as all he wants is to spend time with his wife in Pryd Town.

However, instead of trekking home, Bransen is accused of assassinating King Delval and other seditious acts against the state. Although the charges are false and those who bring them smirk as they are aware of that, he is offered a choice between jail and another deadly quest. Outraged over the unfairness of being punished for the success of bringing the evil one's head and caught between fighting blocs, a volunteered Bransen, accompanied by scout Jameston Sequin begins another undesired mission with the added incentive of proving his innocence.

The sequel to THE ANCIENT is an entertaining fantasy as Bransen is once again forced on a quest he not only does not want to do, but is not his issue except the powers make it his. Thus he is not just a reluctant hero; he is an angry antihero. His escapades and that of his cronies are typical of the quest subgenre and his adventures fail to nudge the overarching theme forward; still readers who enjoy a fine quest fantasy will want to join Bransen and his teammates on their deadly mission.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed reading another novel by this author, but the ending left me very unsatisfied. I don't know whether it is the publishers or the authors that have adopted this cliffhanger style of novel, but there are recently far too many books written in this style. I'm convinced that its best to wait until a series of this type is finished, and at that point it is probably better to get the books from a local library rather than buying them and encouraging this style of writing unfinished books. I prefer to buy books by authors who know how to write a book that both stands alone and encourages the reader to look forward to a future book in the series.

I am a lukewarm Salvatore fan. My son is the real fan and he passes Salvatore's books to me. However, I myself would buy the next book in this series. Salvatore has invested several hundred pages to bring this character and story to the point that it might actually become more than just a read to pass time.

The circumstances in the first three books in this series offer sufficient motivation for the development of a truly memorable literary character which I hope springs forth. Salvatore needs to put considerable effort in putting together the pieces provided to make a satisfactory ending. The fourth book which is already titled "The Bear" has the potential of being the best of his books. It would be a shame if it turns out to be just some more fight scenes strung together. I certainly hope that he lives up to the potential.

The Dame is book #3 of a 4 book series. The series focuses on the story of Bransen Garibond (aka the Highwayman and the tile of book 1) and his role in the the crowning of the first king of Honce (the end of book 4). I recommend reading them in order for the full effect. However, there are enough flashbacks in the books for anyone to pick up what is going on in the story even if they've not had the pleasure of reading the previous books in the series.

Bransen, the main character, is a once cripple young man who overcomes his physical limitations with the help of magical gem stones and a special book penned by his father, who was murdered . Aside from the continued growth of Bransen's character (from jaded to selfless), book 3 focuses in particular on the emergence of Dame Gwydre as a major force/character in the plot of the series. Cormak the ex-monk still plays role story but it is not as pronounced as it was in book 2 (The Ancient). The ending of book 3 will leave you anxiously waiting to read book 4 (The Bear) and the conclusion to this great story.

Please note that books 2 and 3 are available as audio books and print, but books 1 and 4 are only available in print.

Positive: Great story, a good fleshed-out plot with no notable loose ends or inconsistencies. The mixture of martial arts and dungeon and dragons type lore is great. It's like Lord of the Rings met Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but better.

Negative: Some people may not like the great detail/length in which Salvatore describes the fight scenes. However, this in no way detracts from the great story.

Third book in the Saga of the First King. Fan of other series written by Salvatore. This series was written over a span of six years, and takes place in an environment outside the Forgotten Realms series. This book is a quick read and is full of characters that are engaging and likeable, if a little lacking of the depth I have come to expect from the Drizzt storyline. I would reccomend this book, and series, to anyone who has liked his other books. To people new to Salvatore I would recommend reading the Ice Wind Dale Trilogy first because it is the beginning of a much longer and fulfilling storyline.

Author needs to write faster so i can finish this series up !!
From start to finish you wont be able to put this one down if you read the rest of the series!!

Another grandslam for Salvatore !!