The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen D. Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Clan War | Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Rokugan is Doomed!

The Serene Prophet foresaw its downfall -- tides of demons flooding out of the Shadowlands. One man seeks to avert the catastrophe -- the leader of the Scorpion Clan. He will pay any price, perpetrate any deception, to save the empire. If he must, he will become evil to fight evil. He and the emperor's champion will battle each other to the death for that which they both hold dear: Rokugan

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786916842
• ISBN-13: 978-0786916849
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

www.stephendsullivan.com - Adventure guaranteed. (Monsters optional.)

I was born in 1959 in Illinois, grew up in Massachusetts, attended SMU (U. Mass, Dartmouth), and moved to Wisconsin to work for TSR (the Dungeons & Dragons people) in 1980.

I've been in Wisconsin ever since, writing stories, drawing, and raising kids with my wife (who I've been with since 1980 as well).

I've had more than 30 books published (counting the anthologies and the ghost-written stuff not listed by name on Amazon). I've also been involved with more comic books and games than I can either list or remember. (More than 30 years in publishing will do that to you.) Projects I've worked on include D&D, Iron Man, Dragonlance, Spider Riders, Fantastic 4, Star Wars, Speed Racer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thunderbirds, The Simpsons, Darkwing Duck, The Twilight Empire, the Blue Kingdoms (with co-creator Jean Rabe), and many, many more.

I am co-creator and co-host of Uncanny Radio, a program dedicated to the strange and supernatural, with my friend Linda Godfrey. Though original over-the air broadcasts have ended, UR can still be heard in repeats online at www.uncannyworld.com.

After a brief stint doing in the "real world," I'm now back to creating fantasy and adventure stories (and art) full time. I've even started putting stories -- both original and reprints -- up for Kindle and other ebook readers.

More information about me and my projects can be found at my personal web site, where you can sign up for my FREE newsletter (with valuable info, tips, and freebies). Head right over to www.stephendsullivan.com and sign up now!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Excellent Start !, July 25, 2000

By 

Damien Bosley - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is definetely one of the best books I've read in a long time.The author did a great job with character developement and plot. Although I dont play the card game this book caught my interest a long time ago(when i saw the advirtisements for it in other books) and am glad to say it was worth the wait. The story is great and also the backround for it is also great because its different involoving eastern mythology instead of western mythology. Eastern mythology is interesting and this book had a lot of it. The book was also a great start off for what i hope will be a great series. I would highly recommend this book for anyone is into the fantasy genre. I hope the other books in the series will be as great at this one.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scorpion strikes..., July 3, 2000

By 

Linda Larsson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) (Mass Market Paperback)

As some readers already know, The Scorpion is based on the storyline from the popular Legend of the Five Rings card game. Of course, this doesn't in any way mean that people who have never heard of L5R won't enjoy this book - quite the opposite, in fact.

In order to really explain to you how much I enjoyed this book, I'll have to blather a bit. Bear with me, please.

I play the aforementioned card game (a little) and the role-playing game based on it (avidly). I've spent a small fortune in money and time hunting down information about the very same story and characters revealed in "The Scorpion". I've read every preview, every snippet of spoilers. (And yes, I probably ought to get a life, but my local bookstore doesn't stock them...) When I picked up this book, I knew almost exactly what would happen, who would be involved, and how it would all end.

And still, I couldn't put the book down. That's how good it is. Every word, every scene rang true.

Now, other fans of L5R will probably want to know how the book relates to previously released info. The answer is, very well. There are places where Mr. Sullivan has deviated from 'official' info, but in my opinion these differences don't hurt (and sometimes even enhance) the final result.

I think that's quite enough blabbing from me. Go read this book.

Linda Larsson

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you like Asian Culture, you should try this out, January 6, 2001

By 

Anthony "mrwhy" (San Gabriel Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Scorpion (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, First Scroll) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read a lot of fantasy, and am a little tired of the fact that most of it is written using medieval europe as the background culture. So when I saw The Scorpion and realized that it was a fantasy novel written using an Asian backdrop I was pretty excited. I did not realize that this was a book based on a card game. I have never played the card game, but I don't feel that you need to have played it to read this book. Now for the review. This is not a great book, so if you are expecting a masterpiece of fantasy you may be disappointed. Throughout reading it I had the feeling that it was written for a younger age group, perhaps the 12-15 year old crowd. The characterization is very crude. I found that the characters just did not have much depth. But despite that, I did find myself enjoying the book. The plot moves along at a rapid pace. At no point did the book seem to drag. And the ending was pretty good. I think that if you enjoy the Asian culture, and are looking for a quick read that is not your typical fantasy, then you should try this book out. I am planning on continuing the series and finding out what happens.