What do you think?
Rate this book
Dragonrealm #3
Wolfhelm
Shipwrecked long ago on the Dragonrealm, the half-human Gryphon rose to free part of the land from the tyranny of the drake lords,yet his own past remained a forgotten mystery. Now, haunted by the dark words of an old foe, he crosses the sea, journeying to the domain of the ebony-armored wolf raiders. However, in discovering his origins, the Gryphon will awaken the powers of an empire...and risk the wrath of its savage god.
251 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
4 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Richard A. Knaak
283 books1,484 followersRichard 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 1, 2018
Don't let that three star rating fool you. I really enjoyed this novel.
This is the third book in the first volume of Legends of the Dragonrealm. I read the first two books a little earlier this year and enjoyed those, but this was definitely my favorite, which surprised me. I hadn't particularly enjoyed the Gryphon in the two previous stories, so I wasn't sure that I would like a novel with him as the focus, so I was pleasantly surprised.
One thing that I really like about these are all of the unlikely friendships that form. Morgis, a drake lord that is traveling with Gryphon from the Dragonrealm, is probably my favorite character in this installment and I really enjoy the odd relationship that develops between this pair. In the beginning it's more dislike but it slowly transforms to grudging respect and finally to friendship.
The romance in these stories is a little lacking, since there is never any development between the two romantic interests. They meet, maybe fight alongside each other for a day, and suddenly they are in love! But it isn't so extreme that it hinders the overall story, so I can handle it.
The style takes a while to get used to, but I actually really enjoy the story telling now that I have gotten into these. The world is fairly well built and always hints at something that will make it even bigger. At times it is sparse details, which can get bothersome, but it's still complex and interesting.
I really hope that I can find the next installment of this series, because I really want to continue on in 2018.
This is the third book in the first volume of Legends of the Dragonrealm. I read the first two books a little earlier this year and enjoyed those, but this was definitely my favorite, which surprised me. I hadn't particularly enjoyed the Gryphon in the two previous stories, so I wasn't sure that I would like a novel with him as the focus, so I was pleasantly surprised.
One thing that I really like about these are all of the unlikely friendships that form. Morgis, a drake lord that is traveling with Gryphon from the Dragonrealm, is probably my favorite character in this installment and I really enjoy the odd relationship that develops between this pair. In the beginning it's more dislike but it slowly transforms to grudging respect and finally to friendship.
The romance in these stories is a little lacking, since there is never any development between the two romantic interests. They meet, maybe fight alongside each other for a day, and suddenly they are in love! But it isn't so extreme that it hinders the overall story, so I can handle it.
The style takes a while to get used to, but I actually really enjoy the story telling now that I have gotten into these. The world is fairly well built and always hints at something that will make it even bigger. At times it is sparse details, which can get bothersome, but it's still complex and interesting.
I really hope that I can find the next installment of this series, because I really want to continue on in 2018.
September 10, 2017
"Come on. You're all done with that Piers Anthony thing, now just pick up another book."
"Ugh, do I have to?"
"Shelf's not empty yet, so yeah, you kinda do."
"I've read a zillion books. They're all blurring together."
"No, they're not."
"Can't I just go rot my brain with some reality TV for a few days?"
"It's sitting right there. Pick it up and read it."
"Yet another midlist fantasy from the dollar bin that's been waiting its turn for years?"
"Its protagonist is a magical shapeshifting gryphon."
"...Hold my beer."
So Book #65 for this year turns out to be the third volume of the Dragonrealm series by Richard A. Knaak. There are a few stumbling blocks to starting the series with the third book, but it does stand, a little unsteadily, on its own, if the reader is willing to assume the investment in the characters.
I've never been disappointed by Knaak, having run into some of his Warcraft tie-ins, a game in which I invested either too much or not enough time. It's pretty clear that I haven't read enough of his books.
"Ugh, do I have to?"
"Shelf's not empty yet, so yeah, you kinda do."
"I've read a zillion books. They're all blurring together."
"No, they're not."
"Can't I just go rot my brain with some reality TV for a few days?"
"It's sitting right there. Pick it up and read it."
"Yet another midlist fantasy from the dollar bin that's been waiting its turn for years?"
"Its protagonist is a magical shapeshifting gryphon."
"...Hold my beer."
So Book #65 for this year turns out to be the third volume of the Dragonrealm series by Richard A. Knaak. There are a few stumbling blocks to starting the series with the third book, but it does stand, a little unsteadily, on its own, if the reader is willing to assume the investment in the characters.
I've never been disappointed by Knaak, having run into some of his Warcraft tie-ins, a game in which I invested either too much or not enough time. It's pretty clear that I haven't read enough of his books.
October 12, 2024
Technically I'd rate this one as a 4.5, still a very good read but not as much as the prior two.
In this book we follow the Gryphon and Duke Morgis, with some secondary characters thrown in along the way. The Duke was by far my favourite character, and I desperately hope that he reappears somewhere in the next few books at least once. As for the main character himself, the Gryphon was never a pov I particularly relished in reading. Not that it's bad, it's not bad at all, I just found Cabe's (or anyone elses) pov to be far more interesting. The Gryphon's female love interest, while interesting, is very bland and falls into the trope of fanservice. We do not know why they like each other, they barely talk, have little time together and by the end we're led to believe they are basically dating now. Thankfully that part of the story is a very small one.
That aside, I really admire how these books were written; you could pick up any of them and enjoy the story as a standalone, or go through them all like me and thoroughly enjoy all the interconnecting threads of plot, characters, mysteries that are sprinkled throughout.
Why did this book get a 4.5 then? Personal choice. If not for my mild disinterest with the Gryphon and his backstory, I'd have given it a 5 for sure. However, we leave the Dragonrealm and go off on a detour of sorts from the last two books. Not a bad detour, but one I might have been tempted to skip. I'm glad I didn't and got to find a new favourite character!
In this book we follow the Gryphon and Duke Morgis, with some secondary characters thrown in along the way. The Duke was by far my favourite character, and I desperately hope that he reappears somewhere in the next few books at least once. As for the main character himself, the Gryphon was never a pov I particularly relished in reading. Not that it's bad, it's not bad at all, I just found Cabe's (or anyone elses) pov to be far more interesting. The Gryphon's female love interest, while interesting, is very bland and falls into the trope of fanservice. We do not know why they like each other, they barely talk, have little time together and by the end we're led to believe they are basically dating now. Thankfully that part of the story is a very small one.
That aside, I really admire how these books were written; you could pick up any of them and enjoy the story as a standalone, or go through them all like me and thoroughly enjoy all the interconnecting threads of plot, characters, mysteries that are sprinkled throughout.
Why did this book get a 4.5 then? Personal choice. If not for my mild disinterest with the Gryphon and his backstory, I'd have given it a 5 for sure. However, we leave the Dragonrealm and go off on a detour of sorts from the last two books. Not a bad detour, but one I might have been tempted to skip. I'm glad I didn't and got to find a new favourite character!
June 9, 2024
I don't want to give this one two stars because it's not the book's fault that I dont care for any of the characters, but I REALLY don't care about any of them.
Except Morris. Morris is delightful and I want him in every book.
It IS the book's fault, however, that the reveal of the Gryphon's identity is underwhelming and half the mistery goes unaddressed.
Except Morris. Morris is delightful and I want him in every book.
It IS the book's fault, however, that the reveal of the Gryphon's identity is underwhelming and half the mistery goes unaddressed.
January 11, 2021
La primera obra de fantasía épica que leí en mi vida, con 8 años fue una gran revelación. Y con los años y otras obras Richard A. Knaak me ha demostrado ser un maestro dentro del mundo de la fantasía. Recordar que esta obra se escribió antes de que internet fuera lo que es hoy día.
March 6, 2015
Zatím nejlepší díl. Gryf, D'Shay a Morgis, to bylo super dobrodružství :)
January 31, 2018
it so easy to really enjoy this book which such great characters
April 17, 2023
Pasé muy bien leyendo esta parte de Reino de los Dragones, mejor que con Dragones de Hielo.
A diferencia de los anteriores, la historia no se centra en Cabe Bedlam, sino en el enigmático personaje de El Grifo, quien en busca de resolver misterios sobre su pasado (y por hechos acaecidos en el volumen anterior), se embarca hacia el Imperio de los Piratas-Lobo.
Lo único que hace le quite una estrella es el hecho de que el estilo de narración de Knaak, salta de personaje y escena abruptamente dentro de un mismo capítulo, de párrafo a otro (cosa a la que uno se acostumbra al tiempo de leerlo). Tal vez si la edición tuviera algún separador para marcar un poco estos saltos y así ayudar con el seguimiento de la narración, la lectura sería un poco mas cómoda.
Otra cuestión -que no sé si es un problema de la traducción- es que hay escenas que me costó interpretar y tuve que releerlas. Knaak deja muchas cosas con una leve descripción o escenifica un diálogo con poco contexto y esto puede ser tanto un defecto como una virtud, ya que con el tiempo me di cuenta de que busca haya cosas que queden a criterio del lector. Todo esto es algo que se puede ver en toda su obra, no solo en El Devastador.
Por todo lo demás es -sin dudas- una linda aventura; con muchas intrigas, misterios, personajes variopintos.
PD: Aclarar que esta no es una obra para nada estilo "Tolkien" (aclaro porque vi por ahí que decían era fantasía "tolkienezca"). Me encanta la obra de Tolkien pero esto no tiene nada que ver.
A diferencia de los anteriores, la historia no se centra en Cabe Bedlam, sino en el enigmático personaje de El Grifo, quien en busca de resolver misterios sobre su pasado (y por hechos acaecidos en el volumen anterior), se embarca hacia el Imperio de los Piratas-Lobo.
Lo único que hace le quite una estrella es el hecho de que el estilo de narración de Knaak, salta de personaje y escena abruptamente dentro de un mismo capítulo, de párrafo a otro (cosa a la que uno se acostumbra al tiempo de leerlo). Tal vez si la edición tuviera algún separador para marcar un poco estos saltos y así ayudar con el seguimiento de la narración, la lectura sería un poco mas cómoda.
Otra cuestión -que no sé si es un problema de la traducción- es que hay escenas que me costó interpretar y tuve que releerlas. Knaak deja muchas cosas con una leve descripción o escenifica un diálogo con poco contexto y esto puede ser tanto un defecto como una virtud, ya que con el tiempo me di cuenta de que busca haya cosas que queden a criterio del lector. Todo esto es algo que se puede ver en toda su obra, no solo en El Devastador.
Por todo lo demás es -sin dudas- una linda aventura; con muchas intrigas, misterios, personajes variopintos.
PD: Aclarar que esta no es una obra para nada estilo "Tolkien" (aclaro porque vi por ahí que decían era fantasía "tolkienezca"). Me encanta la obra de Tolkien pero esto no tiene nada que ver.
March 27, 2018
The setting changes, to a different land.
Two warring domains.
As the Gryphon character takes center stage.
In an attempt to restore his past.
While fighting an old enemy.
One thought previously dead.
Which at first, knows more about the Gryphon's past.
Then he can remember himself.
Dragon alliances begin to shift and build.
Both for the good, as well as the peril.
Of the rising race of men.
With older races.
Still seeking to return to power.
A major shift in setting, and lead characters.
Yet enjoyable.
Once more, letting the span, and mythology.
Of the Dragonrealms grow.
Like how these are taking care of main current story plots.
While keeping the wider tapestry growing, each story.
Two warring domains.
As the Gryphon character takes center stage.
In an attempt to restore his past.
While fighting an old enemy.
One thought previously dead.
Which at first, knows more about the Gryphon's past.
Then he can remember himself.
Dragon alliances begin to shift and build.
Both for the good, as well as the peril.
Of the rising race of men.
With older races.
Still seeking to return to power.
A major shift in setting, and lead characters.
Yet enjoyable.
Once more, letting the span, and mythology.
Of the Dragonrealms grow.
Like how these are taking care of main current story plots.
While keeping the wider tapestry growing, each story.
November 30, 2017
Definitely the better one of the first three in the series. I enjoyed exploring this area of the world in comparison to the Dragonrealm. The ending was kinda anti-climatic even if I liked it. I can see why they call it weird. Altogether this book actually made me LIKE The Gryphon. Lord, I despised him after the second book because I felt his plot was pointless and drew way too much focus. All in all, I'm excited to see where the story goes from here!
August 26, 2023
East to see why this author is so successful !! Richard Knaak is a 3.5 star in comparison to the greats like Michael
Crichton, Robert E Howard, or Diane Duane. But so very, very better than the likes of Darcy Coates, Alice Feeny, JK Rowling, or the Landover series!
If you enjoy fantasy Knaak should be in your reading list just like Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, Terry Goodkind, Robert E Howard, Brandon Sanderson, and Robert Jordan.
Crichton, Robert E Howard, or Diane Duane. But so very, very better than the likes of Darcy Coates, Alice Feeny, JK Rowling, or the Landover series!
If you enjoy fantasy Knaak should be in your reading list just like Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, Terry Goodkind, Robert E Howard, Brandon Sanderson, and Robert Jordan.
December 4, 2023
Zde již má autor soustředěnější vyprávění a méně rozsáhlý příběh. Na čtivosti je poznat i nižší počet souběžných dějových linek. Navíc zde již autor začíná poodkrývávat zákonitosti a některé věci začínají dávat větší smysl.
December 4, 2023
Sin Cabe es mucho mejor. Al final tiene bastantes deus ex maquinas i sigue siendo sexista pero la historia mejora mucho sin un personaje con síndrome de protagonista sin personalidad. De todos modos la construcción del mundo la he notado más floja que en los dos anteriores.
May 7, 2019
Better than expected. Long Live the Gryphon!
Read
August 3, 2016Interesting. The whole novel had a very Tolkienesque aura of the unexplained. While I'm not sure I liked it as much as Firedrake and Ice Dragon, which I read in a set along with this one, it was nice to get a change of setting and characters. I don't think Knaak did a really good job of making the Gryphon's history clear - either his initial origins or how he came to have amnesia in the Dragonrealm - in the end, but that may have been his purpose, to leave it open for interpretation. However, as far as the actual storyline went, it was delightfully packed with suspense, nonstop action, intrigue, mystery, and even a little romance and humor. I still love Knaak's dialogue; it's very believable and adds a lot of character depth. A solid novel, although not one that operates well as a standalone because of all the allusions it makes to events and people in Knaak's other Dragonrealm books. Maybe delving into some of those other books will clarify some of the loose ends in Wolfhelm. I have a lot of respect for Knaak as a writer; as he's proven himself a very inventive and creative author with a very broad scope that he captures excellently in each of the novels I've read thus far. He provides a lot of detail and brings a fresh take on overused fantasy staples. I'll definitely continue reading his books!
October 13, 2020
Knaak zde konečně v rámci Dragonrealmu vypráví soustředěnější, méně rozsáhlý příběh o nižším počtu souběžných dějových linek, a na čtivosti to je poznat. Gryf jako postava si stále ponechává tajemnost, ale zároveň se nám profiluje, a jeho přátelská chemie s drakem Morgisem funguje na jedničku. Bohužel, tam, kde Gryfův příběh nepostrádá přitažlivost a dobrou dávku prostoru pro vlastní imaginaci (Knaak chytře poodkrývá zákonitosti Dragonrealmu tak, aby některé věci začaly dávat smysl, ale zároveň pořád funguje aura divnosti a neuchopitelnosti tohoto světa), tam na druhou stranu sítí do extrému vyhnaných, překombinovaných intrik plná společnost Vlčích nájezdníků postupem času čím dál více nudí.
July 24, 2024
I didn't enjoy it, I never felt that the Gryphon was an interesting character and I only really finished it because I wanted to read the rest of the books. It was slow and drug on and on, I probably won't reread it, it took me a year of reading it on and off to finish it.
2024: I finished this again about a month ago, probably in early June. My feelings are much the same. I don't enjoy the Gryphon as a character. The dreamlands could be interesting if Knaak let us in there. Now I would rate this as 1 star and it wasn't worth the reread. Maybe the latter half of the book had some small merit.
2024: I finished this again about a month ago, probably in early June. My feelings are much the same. I don't enjoy the Gryphon as a character. The dreamlands could be interesting if Knaak let us in there. Now I would rate this as 1 star and it wasn't worth the reread. Maybe the latter half of the book had some small merit.
June 20, 2016
I consider Knaak's books to be one of the underrated series. This book is a comfort one for me, an easy read to enjoy a rainy afternoon. It isn't a deep story or filled with rich characterizations, but it still brings a smile to my lips.
The main character of the novel and the villains are all given a fair amount of depth and introspection. The secondary characters are, sadly, glossed over. There are only a few token female characters, which is a bummer.
Overall, it is an easy read. The gradual evolution of Gryphon throughout the story is what pulled me into it. However, the other characters were relatively static in their progression throughout the story.
The main character of the novel and the villains are all given a fair amount of depth and introspection. The secondary characters are, sadly, glossed over. There are only a few token female characters, which is a bummer.
Overall, it is an easy read. The gradual evolution of Gryphon throughout the story is what pulled me into it. However, the other characters were relatively static in their progression throughout the story.
October 11, 2010
The development of this one is the most satisfying of the series so far. There isn't a rabbit pulled out of the hat in the last three chapters like the previous two books, but I say that only because it was foreshadowed in some of the early chapters. However if you get rid of the dragons and change them to cyborgs it could almost be a ST:TNG holodeck episode with so much emphasis on making the gate work properly.
What is most satisfying is that some of the plans for this book seem to have been set up even in the first book, specifically with D'Shay and the guardian whistles.
What is most satisfying is that some of the plans for this book seem to have been set up even in the first book, specifically with D'Shay and the guardian whistles.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2013
Still a good book, but I found the first 75% to be much better than the last 25%. The story and background were great. Learning about the Gryphon's past was very interesting.. and then the ending hit. Plot twists seemed to break up the flow of the story. The plot became very muddled at the end. I felt that many things were thrown in that didn't need to be there. Even so, on to the next.
April 28, 2019
Part 3 already of the Dragonrealm series.
Enjoyed reading this again. There's quite a number of characters in this book, making for some nice side stories. On the other hand you will need to keep track of some of them in order to follow the storyline.
Story flows well and keeps you reading. Must say that I found the end of it a bit confusing and vague.
Enjoyed reading this again. There's quite a number of characters in this book, making for some nice side stories. On the other hand you will need to keep track of some of them in order to follow the storyline.
Story flows well and keeps you reading. Must say that I found the end of it a bit confusing and vague.
November 22, 2013
In this book there is no Cabe, just the Gryphon and we try to rediscover the secrets of his past. I really tried to enjoy this book, the Gryphon is one of my favorite characters some parts were amazing other parts were confusing as hell(like the ending).
April 2, 2014
My favorite book so far in the dragonrealms. The Gryphon is an incredible character, and the narrative is way Bette than the last two. Also the buildup is balanced and the conflict is not solved magically in the last 15 pages.
June 15, 2021
3rd book of this epic series is not dissappointment for me. I couldnt get away from this book until I end it. Showing some history of Gryphon is really interesting for fans like me. I recommend this book to fantasy fans but first you should read Fire drake first.
August 15, 2011
The first two books in the series were a better read. I had to force myself to finish Wolfhelm. Ugh!
March 24, 2016
thankfully it finished well. it was harder to pick up then to put down.
August 31, 2012
I read them sometime ago but remember reading them fast... really good series
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews