Death of the Dragon

by Ed Greenwood, Troy Denning, Ed & Troy Greenwood and Denning

Book Overview

King Azoun must defend his beloved land of Cormyr after it is attacked by a vicious dragon and a series of mysterious foes. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786916370
• ISBN13: 9780786916375
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Valiant ending to an era!

This clever story redeems all of the plotlines previously presented. I feel both authors worked well together. Mr Denning has failed in the past and the poorly executed Return of the Shadowmage trilogy. Ed Greenwood, the creator of this world has presented some of the best and worst offerings of writing within this sprawling series. He returns to the place he knows best,Cormyr. The prose picks up the pace from the other two novels. In fact, the plot moves rather quickly, thanks to Ed. Tanalasta who whined through the first novels, finally redeems herself as a heroine. The battle scenes are memorable, yet pay homage to Tolkien. The King makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the kingdom he loves. I actually expected him to die in the first novel. His death brought tears to my eyes. He has been a character in these stories for years. I eagerly await the 4th edition storyline that promises to plotline 20 years into the future. This could be revolutionary to readers and gamers, or drive away fans like vampires at dawn! Is the world ready for the adventures of Azoun V? Time will tell. Thank you for this brilliant creation of yours, Ed.

Excellent!

The most realistic look at war and rulership that can be found in any Forgotten Realms book. If you're looking for lighthearted fare where all the good guys live, look elsewhere.If you're looking for an excellent story with characters you can care about, look here.I've read entire stories where an author has failed to do what Greenwood and Denning manage to do in only a few sentences: Make an individual character, even a short lived one, come alive. And that makes their ends all the more tragic. The soldiers dying in the field aren't generic redshirted security officers being beamed down to die like fodder. They're good hearted, often humorous lads, who you hate to see go.So good. One of the best FR books I've read. A must read.

Now thats a combo!

Other reviews of this book say that you should read Cormyr: a novel and Beyond the high road before reading this book. I say you should read every FR novel bfore this one if you really want to get everything out of this book. This book has a huge impact on the realms as a whole. I was so wraped up in this climatic book that I didn't do any homework the whole time I was reading it. If you are a long time realms fan this book is gong to have a great deal of meaning to you, if you are a casual fantasy reader this book is going to be a hack and slash book with minor other characteristics. Me being a long time FR fan found this book to be very emotional. It shows the horrors of war and the casualties.... It is noce to see author collaborations such as this, because Denning and Greenwood have played such a big part in making the realms come alive in the past, it only seemed fitting that two authors such as this would take on such a task. Anyways read this book if you enjoy FR novels. If you don't read them, you may be dissapointed.

Death of the Dragon - Birth of Great Literature

This is one of the best, if not the best, fantasy epic adventures that I have ever read. The story is gripping; the characters are real; the plot lines are original; the magic is original; there is even an original monster or two; and there is a dragon -- a very big dragon. I read 'Cormyr: A Novel' quite a while ago and was very impressed with the magnitude of the history of the world it described. It stood out as a book-among-books because of its scope and credibility. It weaved two story lines, one of now, a strand of sky blue, and one of then, a strand of gold, to tell a fantastic tale. 'Beyond the High Road' continues the tale of now with lots of references to the tale of then to lay the foundation for 'Death of the Dragon'. Normally, I don't like books that merely set up the next book but I gladly accepted it in this case because of the wonderful story and originality that went into it. 'Cormyr' is not necessary reading but it is strongly recommended and will make 'Dragon' much more enjoyable. Reading 'Beyond the High Road' is an absolute must otherwise the reader will be quite lost and confused. Without giving too much away, let's just say that this book turns the typical stereotype of never-a-doubt that Good will prevail and stretches it to the extreme. Normally few, if any, good guys actually die. If they do it is only after the momentous battle that is the conclusion of the book. Not here. Greenwood & Denning show much more reality in the battles. They must have taken cues from WWII film footage. You will see where death keeps her sting. This book will draw you into the story and make you read it because what happends next is never predictable. The story is one long perilous journey; there is no safe place to rest and no safe place to close the book.This trilogy is a must read for any fan of the genre and a great first for someone just beginning it.

Well done Ed & Troy!

This is a well written story by authors Ed Greenwood and Troy Denning. As the third installment of stories beginning with "Cormyr: A novel" and "Beyond the High Road" this book takes us through the long expected end of the reign of the Forgotten Realms longest and most stable monarchy. That's not really a spoiler since it is implied in the synopsis above and on the cover (as well as fan mailing lists for the last 9 months). In the FR shared world time goes on, people die, and governments change, which is to be expected. It's the fact that the FR setting changes with time that makes it so great - as long as the changes are within reason and don't force us out of our willing suspension of disbelief.The writing of Greenwood and Denning is excellent, and the difficulty of author's working together on a story is transparent, the storyline nearly seamless. Even longtime fans of both writers will be hard pressed at times to tell which author wrote what portion. Either Ed & Troy work well together or the editor is to be commended - probably both. Action, dialogue and the story itself are well constructed. A kingdom at war with a giant dragon (book cover) and other beasties has to have lots of action to it and for fans this story has plenty. War IS hell, and the writing takes you through both the hack & slash attitude common in this genre as well as the gripping reality of war in all it's horrible consequences. It's not gory in the descriptiveness though, so if you can handle watching ER you're more than prepared for this book. This is one of the great features of these authors in that they can show the horror of combat without resorting to the common day 'fill it with gore and it will sell' phenomenon. Oh, it has that, but it is well done and is not overmuch. Action alone is often not enough and this story both fills the reader with pride at the marching armies and tugs at heartstrings during some very well written emotional moments.The story itself is compelling (you'll not want to put the book down until you're finished). At certain portions in the story, if you don't find yourself welling up with emotion or wiping your eyes, you're a hard heart indeed. Very few FR novels can have this said of them, and by far this story makes it one of the best (if not THE best) stories to be born from this setting created by author Greenwood.*Helpful Hints*"Cormyr: A Novel" is not a required read, but a recommended one. The historical details of this book do come into play in the third volume. They are well explained n "Death of the Dragon" but the details are in the first book and definitely round out the story as a whole."Beyond the High Road" is almost an absolute requirement. Without having read this book you'll have little understanding of what Alaundo's prophecy is (See back cover of Death of the Dragon); who and what the creatures mentioned are; and the "why" of it all. You'll also need this book to b