Dragon Venom (Obsidian Chronicles) [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Lawrence Watt-Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2003

After many years of peace in the Lands of Men, there came Dragon Weather: a wave of incredible heat, oppressive humidity, dark angry clouds . . . and dragons. Dragons with no remorse, no sympathy, no use for humans; dragons who destroyed an entire village and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except the young boy Arlian. Orphaned and alone, Arlian was captured by looters and sold as a mining slave. He finally escaped, fueled by years of hatred and a personal vow to bring justice to all who had wronged him.

After killing those who enslaved him, Arlian sought out The Dragon Society, whose sworn purpose was to stand against the dragon menace. It was there, among his peers, that Arlian discovered he is humanity's best hope for defeating the dragons . . . permanently.

Now, Arlian seeks his final vengeance: death to all of dragonkind. But as he begins to destroy the evil beasts, wild magic seeps into the Lands of Men, sowing chaos and destruction in its wake. Will Arlian's all-consuming quest for justice consume humanity as well? The answer may lie within his ancient foe's most lethal weapon: Dragon Venom

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Watt-Evans’s stirring conclusion to his high fantasy Obsidian Chronicles (after Dragon Weather and The Dragon Society), the series’ rather remote and self-righteous protagonist, Arlian, returns to the walled city of Manfort after 14 years of slaying evil dragons to find the duke of Manfort contending with unruly subjects and disruptions caused by wild magic. Since the duke blames these problems on dragon slaying, Arlian suffers near disgrace and has to defend his work from criticism, not that the duke’s displeasure bothers our thick-skinned hero much. No longer allowed to kill dragons, Arlian decides to nose out why the wild magic has spilled into the Lands of Man and stumbles on a more intriguing line of study-dragon venom. Why, and how, does dragon venom turn humans into dragonhearts, and what connection is there between humans, dragons and the long-lost Gods of Man? Watt-Evans tends to overexplain and his dragons lack any redeeming graces, but the swashbuckling story line builds to a twist ending sure to leave the author’s fans smiling.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Watt-Evans concludes his formidably complex and intelligent trilogy about Arlian the dragon-slayer (Dragon Weather [2000], The Dragon Society [2001], and this book) with Arlian wreaking the last of his vengeance on dragonkind. Having discovered the secrets of the Dragon Society and of obsidian as a lethal weapon against dragons, Arlian is prepared to eradicate the entire despised breed. As he pursues that consummation, however, wild magic is unleashed on the world, and the question arises of whether his actions have something to do with the crisis. Is he doing more harm than good? Does dragon venom hold the key to the balance between men and magic? This book is as rich in incident and idea as its predecessors, but if you are looking for easy reading or sauntering into Watt-Evans' three-volume roadshow for the bang-up ending, it won't be obliging. Instead, it is challenging enough to raise some questions about the ethics of some classic devices of high fantasy within the context of a very good high fantasy: this one. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• ISBN-10: 0765302799
• ASIN: B0009S5ANK
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been writing fantasy for thirty years... no, my fantasy's been published for thirty years. I've been writing it since I was eight. It's what I always wanted to do for a living, and I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to manage that. I try to write fantasy with an element of common sense to it -- not so much mythic archetypes as sensible people.

Other than my job, my life's pretty ordinary -- a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, a wife, two grown kids, and an overweight cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow., October 21, 2003

By 

Leon "Leon" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Venom (Obsidian Chronicles, Bk. 3) (Hardcover)

LWE delivers, big time. I was curious as to how he'd wrap up this series, and LWE catches me off guard with a suprising little twist. Lots of morality issues here, but the most important aspect in this series, namely, the quality, was stellar. Obsidian is a great character--easily one of LWE's best (although Gar from Lords of DUS was quite good), and Obsidian does not disappoint this book either. Bravo.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pace built until I could not put it down, September 24, 2003

By 

sfreader (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Venom (Obsidian Chronicles, Bk. 3) (Hardcover)

Dragon Venom is the third and final volume of the story which Lawrence Watt-Evans began with Dragon Weather and The Dragon Society. Although it begins a trifle slowly for my taste, the pace picks up until the last third is a page turner that I could not put down.

I complained that Arlian relied far too much on luck and allowed events to move him in the earlier work, but the older (and wiser) Arlian in Dragon Venom takes control of his life and the life of human society.

The solutions to the problems besieging the Lands of Man are complex and Arlians journey (literal and figurative) to find those answers is enthralling. Arlian and many of the others are three dimensional characters that don't always do what we might wish, but are true to themselves and the story.

This story could easily be read and enjoyed without reading the preceding novels, but you will want to read the earlier 2/3s and savor the whole story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great finish to the series, December 13, 2004

By 

ostawookiee "ostawookiee" (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dragon Venom (Obsidian Chronicles, Bk. 3) (Hardcover)

Watt-Evans could have gone the route of Robert Jordan and dragged this story out over several books, dropping small plot advancements every so often. Instead, he runs with it. The world as you've known it in the first two books becomes much more complex, and many things that previously had to be taken on word are explained. Plot progresses at a rapid pace through most of the book, with surprises coming often, keeping it a page-turner.

This has been one of my favorite fantasy series, alongside Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy and Melanie Rawn's Dragon Star/Prince trilogies.