Customer Reviews

Knights of the Sword (Dragonlance Warriors, Vol. 3)

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

 

 

Let me start by saying that I am an avid Dragonlance reader, having read just a little over 100 DL books to date.
Yet I find myself in the sad obligation of warning any potential buyers that this book is awful.
Where Knights of the Crown was a relatively good book, this time I was simply forcing myself to keep reading this dreadful thing until I just couldn't do that to myself anymore.

Why is it so bad? How can you describe a bad meal? The best I can say is that the author takes a different approach this time by constantly giving you a peek at what's on the characters minds; I know this may sound interesting, but in this book, it simply doesn't work. Also, the story just keeps dragging along to the point where you wish the fiery mountain would divert itself from Istar and just fell on these caracters' heads for the good of Krynn.

Looking for good DragonLance? Please let me help:
1) AVOID THIS BOOK.
2) If you're a newbie, you must read Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends before anything else. Then follow it up with Dragons of Summer Flame and then start with the War of Souls.
3) If you've already been to Krynn before, then may I suggest the Soulforge and Brothers in Arms... Done that? Then pick up The Doom Brigade and Draconian Measures (all 4 of these are brilliant!).
4) But if you're a REAL DL nut, then find Elven Nations Trilogy and Dwarven Nations Trilogy. Those books, although rare, are excellent!

I hope this helps...

Ace

This book rocked. I am a huge fan of minotaurs, and Waydol is no exception. The tale of Pirvan, Waydol and his "adopted" son Darin is great. The minor characters give the book some color. I also like the cameo appearance of Jemar. This book does have some boring moments, but what are you going to do?

This book definatelly is a sequel to 'The Knights of the Crown' also by Roland J. Green. All the same characters are there, with the addition of a few new ones, and all the same action is present. I rather liked the previous one, so I also liked this particular book.

If you disliked 'The Knights of the Crown' don't even bother reading this book and most probably don't bother reading 'The Knights of the Rose' as well. One point of interest is that Green is rather fond of nautical adventures, something that struck me in his first book, and it is of no surprise that a big part of this book also takes place at sea.

Worthwhile in my humble opinion, better than most DL novels but sometimes a bit boring.

The author finally incorporated the unique features of Krynn in the sequel to the Knights of the Crown. In this book, the reader is introduced to an adventure set in the pre-Cataclysm Ansalon. There is the growing complacency among the humans, especially in the court of the PriestKing of Istar. There are the White, Red and Black Robes and the Towers of the wizards. Last but not least, there are the not-so-stuffy Knights who embarked on a mission to evacuate a too-successful band of bandits to prevent a potential war in Karthay.

Waydol, an exiled minotaur, went among the humans to learn of their strengths and weaknesses. In the course of his mission, he created a highly organised group of bandits that roamed the countryside of Karthay. Ever alert to the potential of expanding its power, the Istarian court despatched an army to Karthay to eradicate the bandits, threatening to take direct control of the distant region. Anxious to prevent a war between the Istarians and the Karthayians, Sir Pirvan the Wayward, along with his wife and old friends, embarked on a race against time to evacuate the bandits if the outlaws are willing, or to eliminate them before the Istarian army entrenches itself in Karthay. To meet Waydol, Pirvan had to travel over hostile countryside riddled with various outlaws, some in tacit support of Waydol, others finding the bounty on the minotaur too tempting. Meanwhile, his friend Jemar the Fair led a convoy of ships, braving the rough seas and stormy weather and above all, his pregnant wife who insisted on tagging along.

Against them, besides the outlaws, is the highly disciplined Istarian army, locally raised militias of Karthayians anxious not to give Istar any excuse against Karthay, and the Istarian fleet complemented with the mysterious priests of Zeboim who were acting under orders from the PriestKing, or was it really Zeboim?

Pirvan was counting on the help from his wife Haimya, Jemar the Fair, his old friend the mage Tarothin, the mage's love interest the Black-Robed Rubina and Epron the mercenary captain.

Roland Green did a good job in fleshing out little know aspects of the Dragonlance world. His characters are interesting in their virtues, weaknesses and motivations.

Unfortunately, he left out parts which could have been interesting undeveloped - the schemes of the priestking, his silent servants etc.

Frankly, I was disappointed. In one word, this book sucked (no wait, that's three words). Still no real knightly stuff, too much boring nautical junk and a lot of boring parts. I can't believe that I was stupid enough to buy it. The only reason I gave it two stars was because the ending was good compared to the rest of the book. If you're a die hard DL fan, buy it but don't read it. If this is your first DL book, throw it out and get some Weis and Hickman. They are GODS!

I thought this was a grate book. It did have a few problems though. Like the dialoge. It was not written with much care. And I did not like the way Roland killed off Waydol. He was my faveriot charicter. I have just started reading Roland's first book in the Warriors saga Knights of the Crown and I think he is a very good author. So far (from what I have read) he has done a very good job on writting this one. I recamend any book written by him. Knights of the Sword is a very, very good book dispite it's few problems.