The Rage (Forgotten Realms: The Year of the Rogue Dragons, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Richard Lee Byers (Author) "Kara jerked upright, and her wounded arm and shoulder throbbed..." (more)
Key Phrases: ooze drake, undead green, knuckle spikes, Year of Rogue Dragons, Wearer of Purple, Cult of the Dragon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The first in a new trilogy of novels from R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen author Richard Lee Byers. The Rage is the first title in a new trilogy exploring the ancient secrets of dragon society in the Forgotten Realms world. Author Richard Lee Byers will be writing the entire trilogy, and the cover art for the trilogy and the associated anthology will be rendered by award-winning fantasy artist Matt Stawicki.

About the Author
Richard Lee Byers is the author of over 15 novels, including the Forgotten Realms novels The Shattered Mask, The Black Bouquet, and R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book I: Dissolution.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786931876
• ISBN-13: 978-0786931873
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #429,231 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a gaming manual, January 4, 2005

By	benn333 (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

I'd picked it up for two reasons:
1) I enjoyed Byers' War of the Spider Queen title
2) The premise of the series intrigued me

I was a bit disappointed in the end, mainly due to the writing style. Each action taken by a character seems to be prefaced by what almost happened, or what would have happened had the circumstances been slightly different. Being familiar with D20 rules I can understand that Byers is trying to explain the various spells/feats/skills in whole as he moves the story forward. However, I'd expect this sort of detail to work better in a gaming manual than a novel. (You can almost see Byers writing this book, throwing dice to decide the outcome of each scene.) I found the writing style confusing at times, and often had to reread a paragraph or two to figure out what had just happened. In the end, the writing broke my suspension of disbelief.

I don't see myself reading the rest of this series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read - impressive protagonist!, July 19, 2004

By	J. Stoner "Plants and Books" (Parkville, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I almost gave this book three stars because at first I had a hard time sticking to this book. After finishing it I believe it was not because of the quality and content of the book, but more so just distractions in my real life. Anyway, that said, again after finishing I determined that this book is really good.

The ending makes up for the slower beginning - the book does drag slightly from up until the middle of the book, but not enough to get frustrated or upset at the book because it is still filled with action and interesting and surprising characters. I won't say what the surprises are but they are, for a lack of better word, interesting.

One thing I really loved about this book, especially compared to other Forgotten Realms books was the sheer quantity of races, character classes, and monster types. I had never read about many of the creatures in this book before and was pleased that this book incorporated things that are only briefly mentioned in other FR books. I will also leave those as a surprise to the reader as to not spoil the fun.

Finally, the main character, Dorn, is a beast of a man. I can't tell if I truely like him or if I just like the idea of him being this huge ugly half-golem man. He brings on the pain with his half iron body and he is just so interesting. However, I dislike his sexual tension with another of the characters just because it seems so cheesy and will be trying to make a moral point later in the series.

Finally, I believe this series will be above average overall, with stunning cover art that I heard will be able to put together to make a four part mural when lined up with the other two books and the anthology for "The Year of the Rogue Dragons."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good, fun read., September 13, 2004

By	Craig (Canada) - See all my reviews

I picked up this book because I had read Dissolution. It is by no means high literature, but it is a fun, page-turning romp with likeable characters. For those who think Dragons should be invinceable, desperately hard-to-kill demi-gods, I have this to say: That wouldn't make for a very long, nor particulary interesting book.