Legends of the Dragonrealm:Dragon Masters

Legends of the Dragonrealm

by Richard A. Knaak

The first volume in the exciting new Dragonrealm trilogy featuring the events of the Turning War!

Some two hundred years before Cabe Bedlam became entangled in the machinations of the Dragon Kings, his grandfather Nathan led a band of wizards against the drake lords in the hopes of freeing the realms of their tyrannical rule. Yet, the truth behind that story is not a simple one.

Here now, is the dawn of the Turning War, a pivotal moment in the Dragonrealm, and the startling creation of the first band to stand against the Dragon Kings --- the Dragon Masters.

The Turning War is a three volume saga answering many of the questions concerning the Dragonrealm and the Dragon Masters and how those events yet reverberate in current timeline.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2013

About the author

Richard A. Knaak is the bestselling author of Dragonlance novels, the Dragonrealm and Black City Saint series (his own creations), six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, and six works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written several non-series fantasy books.

Reviews

[Kevin Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying this was my first experience in the Dragon Realm, so I have no prior knowledge of the world or characters.

The audiobook narrator was very good, particularly with the Dragon voices. However, she struggled to create the depth of male voices (considering there's not a single female main character, I have to wonder what possessed them to go with a female narrator...)

I suspect it's because it's my first time in the world, but I spent nearly half the book in a state of confusion.

In the end, the characters were very well developed and the story well thought out. But as is the case for many shorter fantasy books, it seems to jump around to many locations and events without spending enough time on any of them.

That being said, however, the book has a powerhouse ending that makes every other weakness more than worthwhile.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a world where shape changing dragons rule civil war is brewing. Caught in the middle is Nathan Bedlam whose family has served the dragon lords as mages for generations.But nothing is as it seems and truth remains elusive.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read quite a few of Richard Knaak's books on the subject of Diablo or Warcraft and I always found them to be the best of that respective world. But I had never touched the Dragonrealm series or anything else that Knaak has done. Most people would think this be an odd one to get started with since this is written as a prequel and I should be reading Firedrake or Ice Dragon first perhaps. But not this guy, so let's dive in.

This trilogy starts long long ago when Nathan Bedlam was the lead wizard to Lord Purple, a massive drake (dragon). He has two sons, Dayn and Azran who also serve as wizards to the drake and there are many other mages as supporting characters who serve in a similar capacity. In as little spoilers as possible, one day Nathan goes to the Libraries of Penacles to find the answers to information he so desperately seeks. However, there is one little problem with that. Such access is forbidden without the consent of Lord Purple.

This sets off a chain of events and the shattering of secrets which escalates the tensions between the Lord drakes and their human mage servants to a breaking point. The wealth of characters in this novel seems overwhelming at first but by the end you embrace each one as they leap upon the page. Many experienced Dragonrealm readers will recognize various characters such as Shade or Darkhorse or Gryphon. I however greatly enjoyed reading about Jekrith Terin, the seneschal to Lord Purple who has sinister intentions of his own.

In fact it's hard to find a character that's not interesting and does not raise your ire every time they get mentioned. The plot twists should also be highly commended. A lot of times twists are thrown about in a manner that makes no sense or are done for shock. This is certainly not the case here. Every plot twist felt jarring but yet moved the story in a sensible direction. The ending is phenomenal and unless the reader is very perceptive, they will be slapping their head in "I wish I saw that coming."

But I didn't really want to see it coming because this book was so entertaining. After the first few chapters, I was certainly willing to forgive the glossing over of certain subjects that I'm sure were covered in the originals. In fact, maybe it's better this way to know the history before diving into the main course. Like watching Red Dragon/Manhunter before diving into Silence of the Lambs. Except I've seen Silence of the Lambs probably about a dozen times and Red Dragon and Manhunter once or twice each but we'll let that go for now.

Anyway, very high recommendation for this title, and one that I will be looking for the sequels in short order. The negatives are few for any reader and even fewer if you are a veteran of the series. It's well written fiction by one of the modern day savants when it comes to fantasy. Enjoy or else become just another pawn to your master drake. Take care.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story in this book. I like the characters a lot, having gotten to know them in his other books. This world of the dragon realm, it’s mysterious history, and the history between the different races captures my attention in every book. That having been said, I had such a difficult time with the actual writing - there were so many grammatical errors I really struggled to enjoy what should’ve been a terrific four or even five star story. This book needed significant editing before it was published.

[Vojtěch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Znáte ten pocit, kdy se vrátíte ke čtení jedné staré série a je to jako byste potkali svého starého kamaráda? Tak přesně to jsem zažíval při čtení prvního dílu trilogie Dragonrealm: Legendy, které předchází celé základní sérii Dragonrealm. Když se na scéně objevili známí hrdinové (jako Gwendolyn, Shade, Temný kůň, Azran), plakal jsem štěstím. Když pominu, že je svět Dračí říše od Knaaka srdcovka, tak se to četlo zatraceně dobře a nechybělo tomu nic. Jasných pět hvězd.

[James Evick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, I couldn't put it down.

[Alex DiGennaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5** I am not completely certain if I’m the only one but it raised so many questions continually and never had the time because of that to answer even some of them. I get it’s a series but it’s continuously too confusing although I was able to keep up sort of ignoring the questions honestly. I’ll write an actual review later

[Stuart Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this series has a prerequisite: you have to have read all of his dragon novels to be able to jump into this one. Because it has been almost 20 years since I read those, it took me a few chapters to remember the parameters of how this world worked. However, once in, the book is a quick read and quite enjoyable. Looking forward to the other two.

[Israha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Přepostavované a s přílišnou nahuštěností klíčových událostí. Trochu mi to připomínalo hned první knihu ze ságy, Ohnivý drak. Zde už je Knaak oproti svým začátkům vypsaný, a ví, co chce vyprávět, navíc už má v zádech hotový a propracovaný svět, ale opět zkouší psát epickou válečnou fantasy sword and sorcery stylem, a výsledkem je zkratkovitost, uspěchanost a nemožnost hlubšího propojení s postavami. Navíc zde už nefunguje tajemný element některých postav (Shade, Temný kůň) či zákonitostí světa (Zakladatelé), protože čtenář už o těchto věcech četl v předchozích svazcích série, a ke všemu navíc ještě ví, jak dopadne celá tato trilogie. Ale jo, pořád je to čtivé, jako akční fantasy jednohubka je to fajn.

[Timothy McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I liked it. It did feel a little rushed (but I also don't know if there is a way to tell the story better than how it was hinted at in the original books). I wanted more time with Azran-the-hero (I was actually hoping that the trilogy would have been setup so as to show that Azran's downfall was due as much to his own narcissism and quest for power as it was to being overlooked by his fellow spellcasters).

I'm only going three stars because of the formatting errors. Also, much like with Shade , there is an instance where one character's name is substituted for another's in the middle of a paragraph.

I'd give the story and writing four stars. But there are formatting issues.

[Bara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mezi první čtvrtinou a první třetinou jsem měla problém se začíst, ale jak jsem dosáhla 45% už to šlo hladčeji.

Kniha je z minulosti, takže se čtenář setkává s několika postavami, které jsou buďto už po smrti nebo v průběhu původní série Dragonrealm umřou.
***
Nevím jistě, proč jsem si na Nathana zvykala ze všech Bedlamů nejdéle. Teda jedno tušení bych měla, ale nesmím ho vyzradit.

Mladá učnice Gwen je rozkošná. :3
Jsem ráda, že se do hry o říše zapojila i další rasa a není to pořád jen o dracích a lidech.