Dragonslayer's Return (Spearwielder's Tale) [Paperback]

R. A. Salvatore (Author)

Book Description

Series: Spearwielder's Tale | Publication Date: August 1, 1995

The threat of war looms over the realm of Faerie, as an evil king brutally supresses his subjects, and a powerful witch wages a campaign of destruction. The peaceful folk of Faerie summon Gary Leger, the heroic Dragonslayer, to return for his ultimate challenge--he must save the kingdom from the eternal curse of war.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R. A. Salvatore is the acclaimed author of the DemonWars trilogy---The Demon Awakens, The Demon Spirit, and The Demon Apostle---as well as Mortalis, Bastion of Darkness, Ascendance, and the New York Times bestseller Vector Prime, an entry in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children. Paul Boehmer appeared for two seasons at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, where he played Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Lucius in Titus Andronicus. He also appeared in The Constant Wife, played Banquo in Macbeth, and was Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors in the 2005 Summer Rep Season at the Globe. He has appeared in Sir Peter Halls's acclaimed Broadway production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, Off-Broadway in the New York premiere of Miss Evers' Boys, and Off-Off-Broadway in New Yorrick, New Yorrick and End of the Day. He has appeared regionally at the Pioneer Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, Huntington Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Theatre Works Palo Alto. His film and television appearances include The Good German, The Thomas Crown Affair, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. Paul is most proud of his award-winning unabridged recording of Moby Dick. He holds a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University and an MFA in acting from the Professional Theatre Training Program at the University of Delaware.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441002285
• ISBN-13: 978-0441002283
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

R.A. Salvatore has spent so many years winding himself into fantasy worlds that he's still trying to figure out how to unwind. He is the author of more than forty novels and more than a dozen New York Times best sellers, including The Two Swords, which debuted at or near the top of many best seller lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not The Best From Salvatore, August 4, 2000

By 

Brian Coats (Russellville, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonslayer's Return (Spearwielder's Tale) (Paperback)

This entire Series is a little juvenile. I read this book and the other tow in the trilogy (The Woods Out Back and The Dragons Dagger) and they were all good. This is an easy read which is part of the reason that I don't think that this is Salvatore's best work. I got the feeling that this might have been one of his earlier attempts before he found his real writing niche. I love all of Salvatore's boooks and am now about 4 books from reading them all. This Particular book and series has great characters. I liked the Leprechan especially. There was a lot of good comedy and there were several fights but these weren't as Dynamic as, say, the Dark Elf books by Salvatore. All in all though this book has a good story, be it predictable at times. I did enjoy this book because the basic premice of the books was good. Somewhat like the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay who is also a very good writer. This book and this series (Becuase you might as well read the whole series) are worth the time and this would be a good one to read to your kids at night. I hope this helps.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Dragonslayer Returns one last time. . ., April 29, 2003

By 

-- "--" (Gondor, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonslayer's Return (Spearwielder's Tale) (Paperback)

The final installment in R.A. Salvatore's Spearweilder series, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is, like its predecessors, a good read that sometimes flirts with greatness, but never really lives up to its potential. In fact, as a conclusion to a trilogy, it is somewhat disappointing, although without completely destroying the series.

Obviously Drizzt Do'Urden creator R.A. Salvatore is deeply connected to these books, and feels very strongly about the subject matter. Again we join Gary (named after Salvatore's own brother, presumably) from Real-earth, and his wife Diane (named after Salvatore's own wife), as they embark upon a journey to the realm of Faerie (a shallow version of Middle-earth, essentially) to destroy once and for all the wicked witch who terrorizes the land. What ensues are a lot of heavy-handed war sequences and some smaller battles that are overflowing with Salvatore's zesty action descriptions. Though action is certainly one of Salvatore's strengths, he often gets carried away, and this is particularly true in "The Dragonslayer's Return." The repetitive nature of these action setpieces leads, sooner or later, to boredom, and skimming ahead to read the inevitable outcome.

Most disappointing, though, is the series conclusion, which doesn't pack as much punch as you might wish (and bears an uncanny similarity to a certain sequence in the film, "Conan the Destroyer"). Salvatore seems almost rushed to deliver an ending as well, and deprives his readers of what could be a more emotional farewell between the residents of Real-earth and their Faerie pals. Like a Hollywood film, it seems that once the action is finished, the story races toward a finale, therefore depriving itself of slower, more character-driven moments. This is a great loss to the series - though not a completely crippling one, by any means.

Though Salvatore uses these books to get a bit preachy at times, his messages are generally worthy ones, and his themes mostly adhere to those embraced by his obvious mentor, J.R.R. Tolkien. The characters are vivid and colorful (though, strangely, Real-earth natives Gary and Diane are perhaps the least interesting), and the humor is generally right on the mark. Again, though, Salvatore tries in vain to balance light-hearted fun with the horrors of war and violence, and though the other two volumes in the series suffered similar difficulties, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is the biggest offender. It's a tough balancing act to be sure, and Salvatore, at least during this stage in his career, just wasn't up to the task.

All quibbles aside, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is, like its forebears, a fast read, and though it has its lulls, it's still a good sword `n sorcery novel, sure to retain the fans of the previous tomes. It just gets a bit too self-important sometimes, and never really makes the most of its winning premise. Still, I can't help but recommend it to the world's dreamers, who will almost surely find something to like here.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fitting End to a Great Trilogy, November 18, 2011

By 

tmastgrave - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragonslayer's Return (Spearwielder's Tale) (Paperback)

The final entry in The Spearweilder's Tale is The Dragon Slayer's Return. This book has all the charm of the previous two with a couple of new characters - including Gary's girlfriend, now his wife, who we briefly met in The Dragon's Dagger. I have to admit that this book is my favorite of the three (though I love them all) largely due to this new addition. I mean really, Gary's a great everyman and he deserves a sweet girl...who also happens to kick some tale herself. (hehehe...hey, I've got to amuse myself somehow right).

Overall: 9/10

The Dragon Slayer's Return brings The Spearweilder's Tale to a strong close, and leaves the reader simultaneously satisfied, and ready for more. While many authors will tell you that you can only end a book two ways - too early or too late - Salvatore manages to end this one right on time. It is a satisfying finish that is truly rare in literature of any kind. This book sees the return of the with Ceridwyn, which multiplies the heroes already dire problems with the evil king of Faerie. All in all, it is a great story that finishes the series with a surprising twist.

Writing: 8.5/10

Salvatore's writing is somewhat improved in The Dragon Slayer's Return. His use of sentence and paragraph structure, while never bad, is a little better, which makes the book an even more enjoyable read.

Characters: 10/10

Diane, Gary's wife, is a great new character who makes the entire book feel like it is both the first and last in the series. Her character brings a fresh perspective on everything, and allows Gary to take up Kelsey's role of teacher from the first book. Not only does her presence allow the already familiar character's to be more strongly developed, but she is a well built and fully realized character in her own right.

World: 6.5/10
The Dragon Slayer's Return moves fairly quickly, and so it returns to the quick and dirty explanations of the world that you saw in The Woods Out Back. Again, the humor and strong characters generally make up for this, but you world addicts out there will be disappointed by the lack of extended details and new information.

Plot: 9.5/10

Again, this book is wonderfully plotted, and Salvatore manages to make the cliche interesting, and in some places even surprising. I won't spoil the book for you, but there are some twists and turns that might surprise you.

Pacing: 9/10

Generally The Dragonslayer's Return moved a little fast for my taste. This isn't enough to make it a poor book, or even enough to downgrade it from excellent, but there are portions where you will feel rushed.

Commentary: 3.0/10

The majority of the commentary in this novel focuses on Gary's relationship with his wife - and it really is a great relationship. I hope you enjoy.

Conclusion:

The Dragonslayer's Return is a strong finish to an excellent series. If you haven't already purchased one or more of these books I suggest you get the entire series in one volume here. I think I actually have these books both in individual copies and in the collected volume.