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Forgotten Realms: The Harpers #12
The Veiled Dragon
To save the life of Eversult's Ruling Lady, Ruha, a Bedine witch and Harper agent, infiltrates the palace of a Shou prince and uncovers a murderous conspiracy linked to the royal household of the east and the Cult of the Dragon in the west
311 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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618 people want to read
About the author
Troy Denning
186 books662 followersAlso known as Richard Awlinson.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 17, 2024
The worst thing about this novel isn't even the constant cringy racism of every Shou (Forgotten Realms stand-in for Chinese) character's speech pattern, written in pidgin English even when they're speaking in their own language amongst themselves, like it was really important to constantly convey, "Please to pardon, Orientals not speak well."
The sometimes purple prose, multiple drawn-out awkward chapters, and heavy reliance on a reader well-versed in nautical terminology in the opening chapters were all a chore, but also not the worst.
The worst thing was the lack of stakes.
I enjoyed this book's technical prequel, The Parched Sea. The only thing that carried forward was the character Ruha, an outcast magic-user from a desert culture, now in Faerun doing whatever the Harper organization tells her to do. That is the sum total of her character motivation and development in this book: she's only there at all and doing what she does because she was ordered to. It doesn't help that the Harpers are such a nebulous group that functions completely differently in each book in this loose series. Ruha is an acceptably original character concept, but she could have been replaced with a more typical wizard and the story wouldn't have changed.
I didn't find any reason for the reader to give a damn about the story's outcome. The plot's central problem to resolve is that a character we've never seen, the leader of a town we've never been to, is in a coma and this is supposedly bad. That unconscious person that neither the reader nor the main character knows or has any interest in might have her soul permanently removed by an undead dragon. So what? What significance does this person have? What bad outcome might there be if Eversult's leader dies? Where in the world is any of this even happening? Who cares? The only people who care is the off-screen Harper leader who sent Ruha there, and one "Lady Constable" on scene. There's absolutely no reason for the reader to care who lives or dies.
There's a personality-deficient "Cult of the Dragon" drawn straight from a list of "generic enemy factions in Faerun." There's no indication the undead dragon in this story even knows they exist. The cult consists strictly of a bunch of unshaven mooks that appear in all of two brief points in the story. In what way is this a cult? Do cults generally just go around openly calling themselves a cult? What do they even hope to get out of their cult membership? The book doesn't give us anything to work with.
As for the Shou's involvement, also who cares? They're only part of the story because the author previously wrote about them in Dragonwally, so they're like his thing in Forgotten Realms novel line, mashed up here with his other character for no beneficial purpose. Some of the story is about demonstrating the foreign Shou culture's focus on honor and stuff, but that material makes up some of the most irritating parts of the book. Let's just say I'm not sold on the portrayal.
So we've got characters acting for no palpable motivation, in a setting of uncertain importance, with no discernible consequence of failure (or of success for that matter; the heroes won but I still don't know why that should be a good thing), uninteresting enemies, plus racist portrayals. What was the point of any of this?
The sometimes purple prose, multiple drawn-out awkward chapters, and heavy reliance on a reader well-versed in nautical terminology in the opening chapters were all a chore, but also not the worst.
The worst thing was the lack of stakes.
I enjoyed this book's technical prequel, The Parched Sea. The only thing that carried forward was the character Ruha, an outcast magic-user from a desert culture, now in Faerun doing whatever the Harper organization tells her to do. That is the sum total of her character motivation and development in this book: she's only there at all and doing what she does because she was ordered to. It doesn't help that the Harpers are such a nebulous group that functions completely differently in each book in this loose series. Ruha is an acceptably original character concept, but she could have been replaced with a more typical wizard and the story wouldn't have changed.
I didn't find any reason for the reader to give a damn about the story's outcome. The plot's central problem to resolve is that a character we've never seen, the leader of a town we've never been to, is in a coma and this is supposedly bad. That unconscious person that neither the reader nor the main character knows or has any interest in might have her soul permanently removed by an undead dragon. So what? What significance does this person have? What bad outcome might there be if Eversult's leader dies? Where in the world is any of this even happening? Who cares? The only people who care is the off-screen Harper leader who sent Ruha there, and one "Lady Constable" on scene. There's absolutely no reason for the reader to care who lives or dies.
There's a personality-deficient "Cult of the Dragon" drawn straight from a list of "generic enemy factions in Faerun." There's no indication the undead dragon in this story even knows they exist. The cult consists strictly of a bunch of unshaven mooks that appear in all of two brief points in the story. In what way is this a cult? Do cults generally just go around openly calling themselves a cult? What do they even hope to get out of their cult membership? The book doesn't give us anything to work with.
As for the Shou's involvement, also who cares? They're only part of the story because the author previously wrote about them in Dragonwally, so they're like his thing in Forgotten Realms novel line, mashed up here with his other character for no beneficial purpose. Some of the story is about demonstrating the foreign Shou culture's focus on honor and stuff, but that material makes up some of the most irritating parts of the book. Let's just say I'm not sold on the portrayal.
So we've got characters acting for no palpable motivation, in a setting of uncertain importance, with no discernible consequence of failure (or of success for that matter; the heroes won but I still don't know why that should be a good thing), uninteresting enemies, plus racist portrayals. What was the point of any of this?
July 25, 2019
I actually enjoyed the plot in this book, although I wish they had not skipped over Ruha’s previous adventures. In fact the author seemed to have anonymized this interesting character and made her little more than a generic Harper.
Where I really had problems with this book is that the portrayal of Eastern characters is racist AF! They speak in broken common and all but say “Ahh soo”, they drip of orientalism and remind me of cringe worthy renditions of Chinese and Japanese characters from 1950s Looney Tunes. I’d read this because I’m a series completionist but otherwise there are much better, and less offensive, books out there
Where I really had problems with this book is that the portrayal of Eastern characters is racist AF! They speak in broken common and all but say “Ahh soo”, they drip of orientalism and remind me of cringe worthy renditions of Chinese and Japanese characters from 1950s Looney Tunes. I’d read this because I’m a series completionist but otherwise there are much better, and less offensive, books out there
September 28, 2009
This was one of the first authors of my youth. I read his "Athas Chronicles" when I was still in junior high, so I have a special place in my minds libray for Troy Denning.
This is the 12th book in the harper series, but only the second book in the series by this author. It was nice to revisit the character of Ruha, from the deserts of Anaroch. In this book the Shou are also involved, and the asian culture was a lot of fun to read about.
Also, I really liked that a dragon was the bad guy. So often are dragons pushed to the wayside because they seem cliche', but they are still great antagonists in my opinion.
My one problem with this book is that I felt that it was too short. There was too much crammed into the 300 pages, and there was so much more that could have been done with such cool characters...I wanted to know more.
This is the 12th book in the harper series, but only the second book in the series by this author. It was nice to revisit the character of Ruha, from the deserts of Anaroch. In this book the Shou are also involved, and the asian culture was a lot of fun to read about.
Also, I really liked that a dragon was the bad guy. So often are dragons pushed to the wayside because they seem cliche', but they are still great antagonists in my opinion.
My one problem with this book is that I felt that it was too short. There was too much crammed into the 300 pages, and there was so much more that could have been done with such cool characters...I wanted to know more.
August 25, 2022
Good conflict between a wizard and a dracolich. The Shou stuff was forced and not interesting.
April 16, 2020
A Harper novel with a fun enough plot buried in it as the Bedine witch Ruha adventures beyond Anauroch and battles a dracolich holding captive a ruler's spirit with the forced help of some magic-wielding pseudo-Asian spice merchants, etc., etc., etc., this book is unfortunately marred by poor pacing, some rather unsatisfying character deaths/resolutions, and hands-down the most bald-faced racial insensitivity I've encountered in a D&D novel to date. The broken English and general shenanigans of the Shou, the 90s Forgotten Realms' catch-all for all things East-Asian fantasy, was so over the top I honestly thought the author was about to hit us with a "me love you long time" at one point. To go along with the frequent "slant-eyed" descriptors. Even for a time when we weren't all so sensitive and inclusive as today, this one falls way, way, way off the mark.
December 2, 2021
The sheer, unnecessary racism in this novel is appalling. The most blatant example is the complete reduction of an Asian culture to broken English (even when allegedly speaking their own language, the author chose to represent them with awful broken English) and the idea that all of this Asian analog culture obey rules above anything else, ignoring justice, kindness, and basic humanity in favor of following rules. The story itself is confusing and incredibly basic, even for a D&D novel. The Harpers series ends shortly after this one; this novel may well be the reason for its downfall. SHAME on you, Troy Denning, for your blatant racism. Even in the 90's, this kind of garbage was unacceptable!
October 26, 2024
The author effectively weaves elements of past and present cultures into an engaging Dungeons and Dragons adventure. This book is a continuation of the Harper Series (12 books total) and follows the first book, The Parched Sea. The story opens with a sea voyage, where a Half-Orc Sea Captain ferries Ruha, a mage from the Desert of Anauroch and a new member of the Harpers (a group of heroes dedicated to protecting the realm). The journey is interrupted when Ruha insists on aiding another vessel under attack by an undead black dragon. Although she manages to defeat the creature, it comes at the cost of damaging her own ship. Fortunately, she is rescued by those she saved, including an emissary of the Shou Emperor.
Once ashore, Ruha learns she must infiltrate the palace of a Shou prince to help save Lady Yanseldara, a local noble. Along the way, she uncovers conspiracies linked to both the royal family and the Cult of the Dragon—a faction devoted to the undead dragon she recently vanquished at sea.
The book also follows the conflicted Shou Prince, whose mother, known as the Third Virtuous Concubine, is being held captive by the undead dragon Cypress. Though Cypress was severely weakened by Ruha, he has begun to regain his full strength. But why did Cypress take the Shou Prince's mother? You’ll have to read more to find out!
I enjoyed how the author blended Eastern cultures—the Shou reflecting elements of Asian culture and Ruha representing the Middle East—within a Dungeons and Dragons setting. Some critics feel the author’s writing leans toward stereotypes, but I believe he intended to represent both Asian culture and the way English might sound from Asian's speaking English. However, I did feel that a "slant-eye" reference was unnecessary and over the line.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, even though I found the map less helpful. It has everything from alligators and wyverns to magic and psionics. I’d recommend reading the first book, The Parched Sea, to better understand Ruha’s “Middle Eastern” background before diving into this one.
Great job once again, Troy!
Once ashore, Ruha learns she must infiltrate the palace of a Shou prince to help save Lady Yanseldara, a local noble. Along the way, she uncovers conspiracies linked to both the royal family and the Cult of the Dragon—a faction devoted to the undead dragon she recently vanquished at sea.
The book also follows the conflicted Shou Prince, whose mother, known as the Third Virtuous Concubine, is being held captive by the undead dragon Cypress. Though Cypress was severely weakened by Ruha, he has begun to regain his full strength. But why did Cypress take the Shou Prince's mother? You’ll have to read more to find out!
I enjoyed how the author blended Eastern cultures—the Shou reflecting elements of Asian culture and Ruha representing the Middle East—within a Dungeons and Dragons setting. Some critics feel the author’s writing leans toward stereotypes, but I believe he intended to represent both Asian culture and the way English might sound from Asian's speaking English. However, I did feel that a "slant-eye" reference was unnecessary and over the line.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, even though I found the map less helpful. It has everything from alligators and wyverns to magic and psionics. I’d recommend reading the first book, The Parched Sea, to better understand Ruha’s “Middle Eastern” background before diving into this one.
Great job once again, Troy!
March 11, 2022
This book is a complete surprise from the same author of the Prism Pentad in the Dark sun series.
Overall the plot was lacking, the pace was boring and it was almost impossible to invest in flat characters.
Ruha has gotten her own book now as a new Harper and I hope this is as far as Troy Denning takes her(as far as I have read FR novels to this point). Unfortunately I did not enjoy The Parched Sea either.
I can only hope the author was having a rough week and simply hammered out this filler over a long weekend to get some extra ale money.
Forgotten Realm novels are a great line of fiction that adhere to many rules and present the art of storytelling to fans. This is NOT one of those successes.
Overall the plot was lacking, the pace was boring and it was almost impossible to invest in flat characters.
Ruha has gotten her own book now as a new Harper and I hope this is as far as Troy Denning takes her(as far as I have read FR novels to this point). Unfortunately I did not enjoy The Parched Sea either.
I can only hope the author was having a rough week and simply hammered out this filler over a long weekend to get some extra ale money.
Forgotten Realm novels are a great line of fiction that adhere to many rules and present the art of storytelling to fans. This is NOT one of those successes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2023
The plot works in a very 90s D&D-/fantasy-style. Nothing else does.
Was the Anauroch book too Arabian-nights orientalism racist? Well, this one's Far East Orientalism racist. But that's not all. In a very orientalism racist fashion, there is nothing more to the characters than the brand of Orientalism the author has brought upon them.
There is no real pacing, no character development beyond three sentences for each, and no politics and worldbuilding beyond three sentences. The underwater diving encounters got interesting for a bit but that was it.
Was the Anauroch book too Arabian-nights orientalism racist? Well, this one's Far East Orientalism racist. But that's not all. In a very orientalism racist fashion, there is nothing more to the characters than the brand of Orientalism the author has brought upon them.
There is no real pacing, no character development beyond three sentences for each, and no politics and worldbuilding beyond three sentences. The underwater diving encounters got interesting for a bit but that was it.
December 24, 2019
This was a good one, and arguably the best thing of Troy Denning's I've read. It features Ruha, the protagonist from the first Harpers novel, The Parched Seaand here she battles both an undead dragon and some serious politicking. What it lacks in characterisation, it compensates for being fast-paced and good, wholesome fun.
November 3, 2025
Epically bad...
Troy Denning's first novel of this collection was actually pretty good; but this one was terrible. Flimsy motivation and conflicting behaviors from the characters, inane conversations, and galling racism toward Asian culture even for the time it was written. Just a travesty of a novel. DNF.
Troy Denning's first novel of this collection was actually pretty good; but this one was terrible. Flimsy motivation and conflicting behaviors from the characters, inane conversations, and galling racism toward Asian culture even for the time it was written. Just a travesty of a novel. DNF.
November 26, 2021
Ok, this is the last TD book I'm ever going to read. The guy's certainly got a flair for coming up with interesting ideas and plots, but... I just straight up don't find his prose engaging. Like, at all. The story moves either too slowly, or its too dense, which makes the pace slow. Who'da thunk combat on the high seas against a dracolich could be made boring? I mean, it sounds epic on paper, but the prose was just... yawn.
I got up to chapter 8 before I hit the limits of my stamina. Incidentally, I had no problem with the broken common spoken by the "asian" characters; I have no idea why others readers are so touchy. It's actually how Chinese syntax works. It's frankly your fault you've got something like Mickey Rooney's egregious and offensive Asian stereotype playing in your head. Maybe western minds can't cope with female obsequiousness and submissiveness, or discussion of concubines because it offends some notion of individual free will bullshit. Here's a thought, a lot of the time you don't have free will. You need to shit, you go take one; And speaking in a language you tragically awkward geeks understand - you get depressed/bored, you jerk off.
Anyway, great plot, wish it could've been told better, no more Troy Denning for me. There's a reason the rating for this book is 3.59 (at time of writing).
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Finished it. Again, the plot is good and there are exciting elements. It's the execution of storytelling which is bland.
I got up to chapter 8 before I hit the limits of my stamina. Incidentally, I had no problem with the broken common spoken by the "asian" characters; I have no idea why others readers are so touchy. It's actually how Chinese syntax works. It's frankly your fault you've got something like Mickey Rooney's egregious and offensive Asian stereotype playing in your head. Maybe western minds can't cope with female obsequiousness and submissiveness, or discussion of concubines because it offends some notion of individual free will bullshit. Here's a thought, a lot of the time you don't have free will. You need to shit, you go take one; And speaking in a language you tragically awkward geeks understand - you get depressed/bored, you jerk off.
Anyway, great plot, wish it could've been told better, no more Troy Denning for me. There's a reason the rating for this book is 3.59 (at time of writing).
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Finished it. Again, the plot is good and there are exciting elements. It's the execution of storytelling which is bland.
June 5, 2023
After an awesome opening it never is able to get back to such heights.
September 20, 2023
Too racist to even pay attention to the plot.
March 25, 2015
Really enjoyable old-school fantasy with a protagonist who fails sometimes and a solution to the problem that's not just swords and spells but a bit of politics and social engineering. Definitely a worthwhile read.
February 1, 2013
one of the worst books I've ever read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews