The Dragon Society (Obsidian Chronicles) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lawrence Watt-Evans (Author)

Book Description

Series: Obsidian Chronicles | Publication Date: March 14, 2003

One Man Must Stand Against the Dragon Menace!

It all began with 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. Years later he escaped, fueled by years of hatred for the dragons, bandits, and slavers that took away his youth—and a personal vow to exact retribution from those who have wronged him.
Arlian seeks out The Dragon Society, whose sworn purpose is to stand against the dragon menace. What he learns there is shocking: that he may well be the best hope humanity will ever have for defeating the dragons . . . permanently.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Having survived an encounter with a dragon, Arlian also known as Lord Obsidian qualifies as a member of the elite and dangerous Dragon Society, whose members enjoy the benefits of agelessness and increased vigor even as they grow less human with each passing year. When Arlian inherits the secret knowledge of a fellow Society member, he takes upon himself the challenge of waging a final war against dragonkind and against the other members of the Dragon Society. Veteran fantasist Watt-Evans's sequel to Dragon Weather combines swashbuckling fantasy with serious themes of self-sacrifice and personal courage in an adventure that belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“The Best Fantasy Novel of the Year!”—Science Fiction Chronicle

“[With] plenty of intrigue and magic, this book is sure to satisfy the author’s many fans, as well as lovers of epic fantasy in the tradition of L. E. Modesitt and Terry Goodkind.”--Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (March 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765340542
• ISBN-13: 978-0765340542
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,647 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good dragons, needs action, justification for genocide, March 5, 2002

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dragon Society (Hardcover)

Arlian, Lord Obsidion is a member of the Dragon Society, that group of essentially immortal humans blessed and cursed with the wound of the dragons' venom. Yet he has learned the secret of that blessing--they are given their long life to serve as the breeding ground for future generations of dragons. In seeking vengence for the dragons' destruction of his family and his own enslavement, Arlian has killed the man whose bargain kept the dragons from attacking humans. Now, all the deals are off.

Arlian is torn between his compulsion to destroy the dragons, and the certainty that this destruction will only come at the cost of thousands of human lives. Worse, the very group he most depends on for aid, the Dragon Society sworn to oppose dragons in all areas, is torn by the knowledge that he brings. If dragons are to be eradicated from the earth, that means that the Dragon Society must give up their own lives--or live to breed new dragons. Yet unless Arlian is successful, the dragons will resume the enslavement of the human race.

Author Lawrence Watt-Evans has created a compelling fantasy world. His dragons are cruel, yet also intelligent communicating beings who care deeply for their prospective children and who fear the genocide that Arlian threatens to bring upon them. THE DRAGON SOCIETY consists largely with Arlian's moral dilemna rather than with adventure although there are certainly moments of classic sword and sorcery.

I would have preferred to see less time spent on retelling of the back story from DRAGON WEATHER and more time spent on developing Arlian's character in this novel. His thirst for revenge seems watered down rather than burning with passion. Too, I found Arlian's unquestioned certainty that the only solution was complete genocide of all dragons disturbing. A man might make such a decision and even be right, but Arlian never questions his goals even as he learns that the dragons are not beasts as is commonly believed, but as intelligent as humans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sequel, October 8, 2004

By 

Jason S Robinson (Ft. Worth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragon Society (Obsidian Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

While not as compelling as the first book in the series I thought this was an excellent book. It continues right where Weather left off, Arlian's quest for vengence against the Dragons that made him a Dragonheart and that killed his family and town. He also settles his debt with the surviving members of the Dragon Society that he swore vengence on, just not in the way you would think.

Several new plot twists are introduced in this book and I think they fit in nicely and keep the series flowing well. There were no slow spots in the book that I saw and found it hard to put down. My only complaint I guess, was that Arlian would keep realizing something (an idea, a different viewpoint, a sloution, etc.) after it was plain to everyone else or the reader and sometimes he would not think of a consequence of his actions for a long time and be suprised when he does think of it or is faced with it. His indecisiveness did annoy me at times but not too much. Maybe he just isn't the brightest in the world....lol

Anyways, I can't wait to read the third book. Highly recommended.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mildly disappointing middle book in a promising trilogy, May 20, 2002

By 

Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dragon Society (Hardcover)

_The Dragon Society_ is Lawrence Watt-Evans' sequel to his 1999 novel _Dragon Weather_. It is the second novel in a trilogy, and it must be said that it is one of those middle books that exhibit classical "middle book" problems. To wit, the intriguing fantasy aspects have mostly already been introduced in book 1, and the rousing conclusion is reserved for book 3. So what is there to do in book 2? Our hero learns stuff, of course, and there are a number of important plot developments, and a fairly exciting concluding set piece. So it's still enjoyable -- but it's a middle book. And it doesn't stand alone -- _Dragon Weather_ could be read by itself, but _The Dragon Society_ cannot: it both depends on _Dragon Weather_ for background, and ends with the plot very clearly unresolved.

The first book introduced Arlian, a boy whose village is destroyed in the opening chapter by dragons. Miraculously (he thinks) he survives, even after swallowing the poisonous dragon venom, mixed with his dying grandfather's blood. Eventually he learns that he has become a "dragonheart" -- immune to most diseases, especially charismatic, and destined to live about a thousand years. He finds some fellow dragonhearts, and joins their society, but remains committed to vengeance against the dragons, and against those humans who have brutally mistreated he and some of his friends.

_The Dragon Society_ mainly concerns Arlian's efforts to persuade his fellow dragonhearts to join him in killing all the dragons. But his actions have roused the interest of the long-sleeping dragons, and they threaten to attack the cities of man if he makes any further moves against them. Also, the Dragon Society is by no means united behind him -- many find his actions dangerous, and indeed some feel that their interests lie with dragons instead of humans. And, too, a couple of humans who have learned the secret of the dragonhearts begin to covet a source of dragon venom so that they too might live a thousand years. And there is widespread skepticism about Arlian's ability to kill dragons, especially full grown ones. Finally, Arlian himself continues to debate his own motives, particularly his obsession with revenge.

The book is rather talky, both in explaining backstory, and in Arlian's examination of his internal feelings and motives. In general there is less action, and less sense of adventure, than in the first book -- definitely the novel could have done with some fleshing out of details. The closing sequence is pretty rousing, however, and the book does do a solid job of further explaining the place of dragons in this world, and of setting the stage for the closing volume. Watt-Evans is an engaging writer always, so it reads nicely enough. On the whole, it's a serviceable middle book, but it's only a middle book. I recommend most of Watt-Evans' books without reservation, and I feel that the story of Arlian will be a rewarding story when completely told -- but I do confess some disappointment with this book.