Death of the Dragon (The Cormyr Saga) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ed Greenwood (Author), Troy Denning (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Cormyr Saga | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Azoun IV, in the twilight of his years, is still a shining hero to most of his subjects, and to all but the eldest, the only king they've ever known. He's led them capably out of dark doom before.

Yet Cormyr has never faced so many mighty and mysterious foes at once. Demonic ghazneths, ancient curses, weird trees of foul magic, goblins and their kin on the rise in the northern wilderlands, a blight upon the land, rebellious mutterings, dying war wizards...and a dragon the likes of which no living eyes on Faerun have ever seen.

The Purple Throne doesn't seem so unassailable now. It could well shatter under the weight of a gigantic dragon--or the secrets and follies of the last of the Obarskyrs.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786918632
• ISBN-13: 978-0786918638
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocrely done, Ed and Troy, July 3, 2001

By 

DCB4W (South Central NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of the Dragon (The Cormyr Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is the result of a collaboration between two authors, one an experienced, artful writer of fantasy fiction, and the other, Ed Greenwood. They seem to have divided the chore up by setting the novel's four characters in different areas within the realm of Cormyr, with Troy Denning handling the action with Talaslanta and Vangerdahast, and Ed Greenwod handling the war in the north featuring Alusair and Azoun. As a result, half of the novel is competently done. It is pretty easy to figure out which author did which section, because Denning's half completes the story he started in "Beyond the High Road" and is written in fairly engaging prose. Greenwood, on the other hand, writes as though English literature reached its apotheosis in the lesser works of Sir Walter Scott. Consequently, his sections are peppered with snappy dialogue such as the following: "Sir Messenger, rest your horse. We shall tarry here for a time, while the Princess Alusair essays an attack, planned yestereve, on those who harry us." Bad prose and worse dialogue were not a problem in the first book of this series, "Cormyr: A Novel," which was also a collaboration with Ed Greenwood. The first book had as a coauthor Jeff Grubb, one of Greenwood's fellow game designers at TSR/Wizards of the Coast. My theory-- and this is just a guess-- is that due to his greater prestige at TSR Grubb had either the confidence or the clout to tell Greenwood what to do with his dialogue. (I could make a few suggestions along that line myself.) The story is good, with only two plot holes, and Denning's half is easily worth reading. But if you want a combination of story and unleavened writing ability set in a world that looks suspiciously like Cormyr, read Simon R Green's "Blue Moon" series.

An additional note about the series. This is the third book in a trilogy. If you do choose to read this book (not an altogether bad idea-- I've read much, much worse books, like one of Greenwood's solo efforts, for example), I would suggest reading "Beyond the High Road" first, as it does set up much of the plot of "Death of the Dragon," and I rather suspect that someone who read the latter book without reading the former would find "Dragon" confusing. Additionally, volume 1, "Cormyr: A Novel" is genuinely quite good in its own right, beyond what it adds to the understanding of volumes 2 and 3. I'd advise picking that one up whether or not you have any plans to read the last two novels.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, June 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of the Dragon (The Cormyr Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

The most realistic look at war and rulership that can be found in any Forgotten Realms book. If you're looking for lighthearted fare where all the good guys live, look elsewhere.

If you're looking for an excellent story with characters you can care about, look here.

I've read entire stories where an author has failed to do what Greenwood and Denning manage to do in only a few sentences: Make an individual character, even a short lived one, come alive. And that makes their ends all the more tragic. The soldiers dying in the field aren't generic redshirted security officers being beamed down to die like fodder. They're good hearted, often humorous lads, who you hate to see go.

So good. One of the best FR books I've read. A must read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read the first two before reading this, August 20, 2001

By 

Heather Clarkson (MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of the Dragon (The Cormyr Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

read it, finished it, and.... received both emotions: sadness and contentment

pros: some snappy dialouge, plot twists, and some butt-kicking actions! cons: plot holes (Troy and Ed should REALLY work together, not write the tales and get together to see if they matched), plot for Vangerdahast's escape, lots of hack/slash/kill, and a sad ending.... (get your kleenex nearby folks)

orcs, ghazneths, dragon oh my!

grant you, I was indulged by the Rowan's difficulties, was saddened by Talaslanta's choice, and Vangerdahast's difficult choice (fiesty old guy, he's the only one I look forward in reading this book). I find... forgive me...Talaslanta quite boring (pining away for Rowan too much).... Alusair was the most interesting between the two princesses.

I would recommend for you to read the first two AGAIN!