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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lawhead "Lite" - not deep, but enjoyable.,
This review is from: In the Hall of the Dragon King/The Warlords of Nin/The Sword and the Flame (The Dragon King Trilogy 1-3) (Paperback)
If you are expecting something like Lawhead's profound and satisfying "Pendragon Cycle" when reading the "Dragon King" trilogy, prepare to be disappointed. This is the Lawhead "Lite" version, because it lacks the depth of description, character and emotion present in many of Lawhead's other works. Undoubtedly, this is more entertainment than the literary fiction of those offerings. But it would be unfair to criticize Lawhead too harshly for this, because this series was born in the infancy of his career as a writer. Readers familiar with the more polished and developed Lawhead as evident in his later work would do the man an injustice by measuring his first work by the incredibly high standard of his more mature efforts. As a series geared towards the level of teens rather than adults, and where the reader is not under the false expectation that it contains the majesty and depth of the "Pendragon Cycle", this is still a great read.This first volume in the series! "In the Hall of the Dragon King" introduces us to young Quentin, who undertakes an important mission to rescue the Dragon King Eskevar from the traitorous Prince Jaspin and the evil necromancer Nimrood. The king can be rescued from the corrupt wizard only after Quentin and his friends make a perilous journey to the dreaded Karsh, the desolate home of Nimrood. In volume two of the series "The Warlords of Nin" Quentin has matured into a young adult, and must defend the royal castle and the kingdom over against the deadly Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Victory is only possible when Quentin is armed with the enchanted sword Zhaligheer, but first Quentin must make a dangerous journey to search for a rare and fabled substance needed to make the sword. In "The Sword and the Flame", the third title in the series, the adult Quentin has assumed the throne and is busy building a temple dedicated to the Most High. But the evil necromancer Nimrood re!turns and collaborates with the defenders of the old gods against Quentin. The flame of the sword goes out, and the faith of the king and the hopes of the kingdom appear to be extinguished with it. The strength of the series is the constant battle between good and evil, the powers of light and darkness. Quentin and his companions fight for freedom, justice and righteousness. Lawhead plainly intends this conflict to portray spiritual warfare. Quentin's enemies find their support in the pagan religions who worship the old gods, and employ the powers of sorcery, the occult and the dark arts. In contrast, victory of Quentin's kingdom is possible only with the help of the Most High God. The Christian symbolism is clearly evident: the conflict between the powers of good and evil is a picture of the great spiritual battle of the ages between God and Satan. Readers familiar with the battle images of Ephesians 6 will find the connections obvious. Quentin in particular plays a M!essianic role, by achieving deliverance as the Priest King, fulfilling prophecy in a manner much like Jesus Christ. Yet in contrast to these Messianic overtones of Quentin's role in an epic struggle, Lawhead also humanizes Quentin to the point where he is like us, a soldier in the battle rather than the Deliverer. Lawhead makes profound observations about personal faith, by showing that in the battle Quentin must learn to trust in the Most High. The Most High will be faithful in preserving the Kingdom, but his soldiers must be faithful in trusting and obeying him. It is this depth of spiritual vision that makes Lawhead's prose all the more compelling and enjoyable. It is in the first place a story filled with medieval vistas and conflict - courageous knights in shining armour, flashing swords, evil wizards, deadly battles, heroic quests, and ancient chivalry. But especially the central place of the Most High God makes Lawhead's "Dragon King" trilogy so powerful and who!lesome - a picture of spiritual warfare, kings and kingdoms, prophets, dreams and visions, and above all faith in the Most High. It's not as deep and profound as his "Pendragon Cycle", but Lawhead "Lite" is still a very enjoyable read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A guide to the story of the Dragon King trilogy.,
This review is from: In the Hall of the Dragon King/The Warlords of Nin/The Sword and the Flame (The Dragon King Trilogy 1-3) (Paperback)
This first volume in the series "In the Hall of the Dragon King" introduces us to young Quentin, an assistant in the temple of Ariel, who forsakes aspirations of priesthood in order to undertake an important mission for the Dragon King Eskevar. This leads to a quest to save Eskevar from the hands of his evil brother Prince Jaspin, who harbours selfish ambitions to take over the crown. Quentin and his great war horse Balder are joined in this quest by the religious hermit Durwin, the renowned outlaw Theido, the prison warder Trenn, the good Queen Alinea, the mysterious nomad Toli, and the brave knight Ronsard. But Jaspin proves to be a mere pawn in the hands of the evil necromancer Nimrood, and it is from the clutches of this corrupt wizard that the King must be rescued. Quentin and company face perils of many kinds, including the dreaded Harriers, and a long journey through the lands of Mensandor and Elsendor to the dreaded Karsh, the desolate home of Nimrood. In volume two of the series "The Warlords of Nin" Quentin has matured into a young adult and made his home in Dekra, far away from his beloved Bria. Along with his companion and friend Toli, Quentin heads back to the royal castle at Askelon at the urgent summons of King Eskevar, who detects an impending danger that threatens the empire. All the signs, including the bizarre and ever-brightening Wolf Star, point to a perilous time. The danger proves to be a serious one indeed: Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Quentin and Toli escape from the clutches of one of the warlords along with the defector Myrmior, who turns out to be a most helpful ally. Myrmior's cunning and clever strategy does a great deal to slow the advance of the army of Nin threatening to overwhelm Askelon. But in the end, victory depends on the fulfilment of an archaic prophecy about a Priest King, who will bring deliverance armed with a mysterious sword known as the "Zhaligheer" or "Shining One". It seems the Quentin is the fabled Priest King, and in obedience to the prophecy, he undertakes a mission to the lost mines of Ariga, along with the armorer Inchkeith, to search for the rare and fabled lanthanil needed to make the sword. Will he accomplish his mission on time? Is he the one of whom the prophecy speaks? In "The Sword and the Flame", the third title in the series, Quentin has assumed the throne, with Bria his queen. The kingdom firmly established, he is busy building the King's Temple, a temple dedicated to the Most High. And he is armed with the enchanted sword, whose flame symbolized the support of the Most High. But enemies old and new are fiercely opposed to Quentin's overturn of the old gods. The evil necromancer Nimrood returns to collaborate with the defenders of the old gods - the priests at the temple of Ariel, who see the construction of the King's Temple as a sign of the inevitable destruction of their own High Temple. Suddenly, the peace of Quentin's kingdom becomes overshadowed by darkness. His son is kidnapped, a close friend killed. Quentin must face open hostility from his enemies, even treachery from his own supporters. But worst of all the flame of the sword goes out, and the hopes for the kingdom appear to be extinguished along with it. The ensuing struggle makes this book the most emotional and introspective of the series, as it focuses on Quentin's loneliness, his deep, dark and total despair, which nearly extinguishes his faith. Lawhead treats this subject with raw and gripping emotion, precisely the ability later developed and fine-tuned that made the "Pendragon Cycle" so powerful. Perhaps even more compelling than the glory of a kingdom, is the tragedy of a fallen king, who is so distraught that he rejects the Most High and tumbles into the depths of despair. In the end, the tide turns when Quentin renews his faith. The climax is particularly powerful, with unforgettable scenes reminiscent of the confrontation on Mount Carmel between Elijah the prophet of the Most High and the prophets of Baal. Each story can be read independently, since each volume introduces a new conflict which is resolved by the conclusion of the book. But the tales of the Dragon King trilogy are so exciting, that once you have read one, you'll want to read them all!
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the Hall of the Dragon King,
By
This review is from: In the Hall of the Dragon King/The Warlords of Nin/The Sword and the Flame (The Dragon King Trilogy 1-3) (Paperback)
If you have ever read Stephen R. Lawhead, you will know that he is a great author with an epic imagination. This shines though in many of his books and "In the Hall of teh Dragon King" is no exception. It is a great epic about the coming of a boy that feels an urge yet doesn't know that it was destiny beaconing him forward. I can't wait to get the rest of the sereies though I have only one reason why I gave it a 4 stars and not 5. It went too fast. Though close to 400 pages....I felt that the plot was a bit rushed.
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