The Swordsheath Scroll: The Dwarven Nations

Dragonlance: Dwarven Nations #3

by Dan Parkinson

The final volume in the Dwarven Nations trilogy reveals the origin story of Derkin, King of Living Stone—the legendary dwarven leader Despite the stubborn courage of dwarven warriors, the protracted Wilderness War ends as a no-win. The Swordsheath Scroll is signed, and Thorbardin shows its support of the open-minded Qualinesti elves by joining in the construction of Pax Tharkas, a magnificent fortress and a symbol of peace. Meanwhile, the Mountain Dwarves await the coming of a king who will restore them to their former glory. When a new leader emerges from their midst, it seems the prophecy has been fulfilled and a victory over the Ergothians is no longer a futile hope. He is Derkin, the King of Living Stone—a hero whose bravery and wisdom will be written in the dwarven annals and whose name will become the “throne name” of all future dwarven kings.

Genres: Dragonlance, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 1993

About the author

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Par...

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of the Dragonlance world and is the third book of a trilogy. This can be read as a stand alone novel. In this one, humans control the land that surrounds Thorbardin as the dwarfs have chosen to stay inside their stronghold. One particular dwarf has his destiny forced upon him as he becomes leader to a group of dwarfs who decide to take back this land.

This book is the best one of the trilogy. This trilogy explores the history of the Dwarfs and how they are a formidable race of Krynn. I enjoyed the first two books but the problem I had with them there wasn't a central character to tie in with the history. This book has this character and others while an important era of the dwarf history is explored. I believe people will enjoy the main character as he leads but also like as he deals with his destiny and everyday situations. There is plenty of action and the final battle is terrific. Finally, I liked how Thorbardin has come together and become the place we have come to known.

This trilogy was a decent read and this final book was very enjoyable. If you are looking for a historic perspective about a race of sentient beings, this trilogy is what you desire. It gives a nice insight and all three books explore the formation of the Dwarfs and their kingdom.

[Mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am actually thinking if this deserves a 2.

The writing style is still about the same, but logical consistency and average IQ of the characters...

Here are some examples:

Empire: "How about a truce until spring? We don't cross the wall[1], you don't cross the wall[2], everyone wins[3]."
Dervin: "Ok, sounds like a good plan!"
[1] We only would to kick you out, anyway
[2] You probably need to to get a lot of the stuff that you don't get out there, but that's your problem
[3] We spend the winter cleaning up all the *other* problems we have, then when nobody's there to provide you with reinforcements we come back and kill y'all.


An Imperial Commander (or whatever his rank was) putting dwarven honor above his own military's goals? Especially considering how people generally dislike and mistrust dwarves, not to mention finding them extremely unattractive?

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars because I really enjoyed this but at the same time I closed the final page wanting a little more from it. More character development, more drama/tension, perhaps a bit more humour and most of all more Dwarven history. Dan Parkinson never quite hits the formula for creating a YA style high fantasy that thinks outside the box and whilst the setting keeps pulling him in the right direction and I came to feel really involved with the founding of the Dwarven Empire (through the story told and not a dryasdust history lesson) he always seems very conscious of his readership's tastes and it never quite tells the story I know that he could. It's pretty good though for what it is though, Parkinson does a really good job of building up Derkin from a slave to leader of Dwarves and beloved of his people in just 300 pages, leaving behind introspection and getting on with the job (and the fighting - there's a fair amount of action here). I love the way the Dwarven Nations story ends up dovetailing into the Elven Nations trilogy, that's a neat bit of worldbuilding from TSR ... you can feel that they've been putting these out for some time now and are anxious to push the boundaries of what the format can do and what it, frankly, ought to be doing.

[Fco. Salvador · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este tercer libro vuelve a transportar la narración varios siglos hacia adelante, pues se sitúa hacia 2230 AC y a lo largo de unos cuantos años. Toda la historia está centrada en Derkin, en muchos aspectos similar al personaje (histórico, novelizado y seriado) de Espartaco.
Ciertamente el libro está repleto de pequeñas refriegas y grandes batallas, bien contadas pero excesivas, y la ausencia de los puntos de vista de los enanos de Thorbardin se me antoja un esquilmo arbitrario, como si al no mostrarlo se pudiera sorprender al lector con un final que, para mí, hubiera quedado mejor como el de Espartaco.
En definitiva, unos libros bien escritos, sin incoherencias, que pueden leerse con rapidez dejando un buen gusto en el paladar. Aunque, eso sí, la primera entrega está situada a un nivel muy superior si la comparamos con sus compañeras.

[Jon L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just want to say that three stars seems like just an average opinion, but it also seems that anything more than one star suggests that it is a decent book. I know that two stars means "okay" but I think I have read a lot of "okay" books and the fact that I read them to the end says that it is worth reading, to some anyway. So yes, I did like this book and enjoyed the story and how it fits in with the other books if you are reading a suggested reading order as I am. But in defense of all the books that I have "liked", there are really not that many to me that get to the "really liked" or "amazing" rating. Thanks!!

[Badger Dubhghaill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice end to the trilogy but i was a little annoyed that this book is set hundreds of years after the second one so there was no light shed on Damon being known as "Father of Kings" The synopsis on the back had nothing to do with the story! It only told of the ending when the swordsheath scrolls were created and signed.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good ending for the trilogy, but I wish that there was another one. I plan to read the elven trilogy next, so maybe the stories will meet and you can learn more about the new city. This one takes place years after the first 2 books.

[Matt Littrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than the first two. A very enjoyable read if you're interested in either Dragonlance or dwarves in general.

[Mikaël · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Spartacus was actually successful

[Manuel Baraja · Rating 3 out of 5]

De largo el mejor de esta serie.

Personajes bastante mejor trabajados (quizá al centrarse en menos) y una trama bastante más interesante (muy fragmentada en el primer volumen, de relleno en el segundo).

Trilogía que ha ido de menos a más.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m finally done with the Dwarven Nations Trilogy, and Parkinson definitely saved the best for last with The Swordsheath Scroll! I did not enjoy the first two books. However, here we finally have a true main character in Derkin who escapes from slavery to fight for a stronger border for the dwarven kingdom. I honestly wished that this could have been the beginning of this trilogy and we would get to see the ensuing drama of the dwarves play out in another two books. I loved seeing the sprawl of Ergoth as its human armies try to expand their holdings as well as the little hint of the nearby elves in developing Qualinesti. I’m glad I stuck with this trilogy and gave this final book a chance.

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris, Main patron, July 2015, 4 stars:

The finale of the Dragonlance Dwarven Nations trilogy finds the land of Kal-Thax overrun by Ergothian Slavers. The Mountain Dwarves have retreated into Thorbardin, and await the prophesied king that will lead them back to greatness as well as victory over the Ergothians that have stolen their lands.

[Kyle K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The land of Kal-Thax overrun by Ergothian Slavers. The Mountain Dwarves have retreated into Thorbardin, and await the prophesied king that will lead them back to greatness as well as victory over the Ergothians that have stolen their lands.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

a brilliant book, showing the strong character and bravery of the dwarves and their capacity to create marvellous works both in stone and ore!! Dirkin turned out to be such a strong leader and did so well by his people! hope to read more about the history of dwarves in other books later on!!

[Devi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine conclusion to the Dwarven Nations Trilogy.

Fun read.

[Alexander Faria · Rating 4 out of 5]

a+

[Joel Norden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful series. Lots of history, while not being boring. Lots of good characters as well!

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome Book about Dwarves