Customer Reviews

Firedrake (Dragonrealm)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read all of the Dragonrealm series which consists of The Shrouded Realm, Dragon Tome, Firedrake, Ice Dragon, Children of the Drake, Shadow Steed, Wolfhelm, The Crystal Dragon, and The Dragon Crown. Each of these are spectacular fantasy books, and Firedrake is by far the best work of the bunch. There are many well developed characters, and several good storylines going on at once which all come together for an outstanding climactic end. Most definitely one of my favorite books. Much better than any other Fantasy stuff that I've read including AD&D.

Before you start reading this, make sure you have enough time to just read right through, you will definitely not want to put it down. I believe this is the first book in the series, and it is truly a great story. The only complaint I have is that it sorta starts in the middle of a long saga. So you will hear about events previous to this book and you'll wonder about the characters and say, gee, I'd like to read more about what happened before this book. My best analogy is like Star Wars, and eventually, you'll go around to the beginning again. Very fast moving plot, great characters, some parts I found a little difficult to believe (has to do with character interaction, yes its a fantasy book etc). Otherwise no complaints and no regrets about reading it.

I've read other reviews for this book and I can't quite say I agree with the 4 and 5 star grades.

I love Knaak's books, Huma being one of my favorites, but this book bothered me because it FELT like his first book....which it was.
The characters are full of potential and I would have loved to see them actually fleshed out more than they were. The book moves extremely fast and covers major events quickly then races to the next big event. No time is spent getting to know these personalities and that is a shame. Events and relationships just feel rushed.

Just compare the relationship building between Huma and the silver dragon to Cabe and Gwen and you'll see my point.

Outside of those complaints I loved the setting, the monsters, the fantastical nature of the Dragonrealm. It feels like a guilty pleasure if you are a tried and true fantasy fan and love your dragons and elves.

I loved Knaak's Legend of Huma for the Dragonlance setting. It is how I first got to know him. Some of his other writing is hit or miss for me, but I loved this book. It is a quick read, but a great start to a very interesting world of sword and sorcery. If you like his Dragonlance work, you will certainly love this.

Lets face it I am not a big fan of fantasy books but this one I found to be a pleaser to read. I loved the way the Dragons where not portrayed as stupid animals but as cunning if not evil for the most part rulers.

I read this a few years ago and became fascinated with the way it showed the dragons way of life and culture. I enjoyed reading it then and pleased to see it back in print.

Let's get straight to what you want to know, why this book is so good. You do have the typical conflict between good and evil, wars are waged and light seems as though it will fall. There are powerful warlocks abound, a beautiful enchantress, and shapeshifting Dragon Kings. But as usual, something unexpected occurs, and so the forces of evil are thwarted once again. The thing about this novel, is that the unexpected really is unexpected. Knaak creates a plot filled with twists and turns, not to mention fantastical concepts that I have not seen paralleled in all of my readings. I give this book a five purely on its ability to drive thought and imagination. Once you get past some of the rather unimaginative names (i.e. the gold dragon is named Gold, the black Black, and so on and so forth) then you are free to enjoy a magical ride of intrigue and suspense.

THE sword and sorcery fantasy setting, in my humble opinion. I've read books by over 20 of the current big names in fantasy and science fiction, and I rank Knaak as one of the best.

This book starts Richard Knaak's fantasy series set on the world of the Dragonrealms. It is fantastic sword and sorcery writing: a fascinating setting with a rich history and colorful characters. The books are all fast paced and engrossing.

Pick this up if you get the chance. You can't lose.

I read this book many years ago, and was hooked into the series. The charaters are real and Knaak doesn't get bogged down in descriptions as I have found many fantasy and sci-fi writers. The story does begin "in the middle" but that only adds to its "reality". I have been a Knaak fan for quite some time, and the Dragonrealm series only gets better in the later books.

All right, I read this book when I was about 9. It was my very first, real fantasy book, and there are very few authors in my opinion who can even come close to Knaak. He is still one of my all time favorite authors (he and Feist, not to mention Roberson, Brooks and Lackey are among the top ten), and I still own my battered old paperback of Firedrake I've had since I was nine years old. I am now 22, and a fantasy artist. Knaak has been a major influence on my tastes in artwork, reading material, and the like, and I never get tired of reading his works.

At this point, I own the entire Dragonrealm series (including the Origin of the Dragonrealm series), and am hoping he'll pick it up from where he left off on the Horse King. Those half-human, half-Dragon people sound very interesting, and I'd love to see more of them.