Crown of Thieves

Dragonlance: The New Adventures: Elidor #1

by Ree Soesbee, Vinod Rams (Illustrator)

Elidor, the beloved elf thief, returns in this new trilogy to fight an undead king and the demons of his own past.


Crown of Thieves continues a new series of Dragonlance fantasy adventures written specifically for readers ages 10 and up. The series features a group of young companions who band together for friendship, adventure, and excitement during the golden age of the Dragonlance world.

Genres: Dragonlance, Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Ree Soesbee is a writer, game designer, and lore editor for massively multiplayer online games as well as traditional pen and paper RPGs. She has authored more than sixteen novels in a wide variety of fantastic worlds ranging from the popular Legend of the Five Rings setting to Star Trek, Dragonlance, Deadlands, and Vampire: the Masquerade. Her body of work includes over a hundred RPG texts, and inclusion in numerous short story anthologies and professional literary journals. Currently, she is a lead designer and lore writer for Guild Wars 2; innovative follow-up to the award-winning Guild Wars MMORPG. Already, Guild Wars 2 has recieved Gamescom's 'Best Online Game' and MMORPG.com's 'Most Anticipated MMO' awards.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one more entry in the young reader's novels that take place in Dragonlance. This is the start of a trilogy which we learn the fate of Elidor. His fate was left as a cliffhanger in the first series. I would suggest reading that series first.

My opinion on these young reader's books in this universe have been positive. They are not masterpieces but they accomplish their mission. Introduce new readers to this world and entertain. This is the first book that I thought did not do that. I was curious about Elidor and I like how we get his backstory. And I was happy with the return of some characters while being introduced to new ones. I have a complaint with some of the characters though. I felt like established characters took a step back while a new one changed her whole disposition essentially off camera. The other new characters were a delight. I also felt that the plot contradicted itself on a couple of occasions. That being said, there were two terrific scenes that I enjoyed wholeheartedly.

This wasn't the best start of a new trilogy in this world. I did like the cliffhanger and I look forward to exploring that plot. I am just hoping the quality of writing improves.

[Trevor Bouma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great fantasy adventure book for kids. This story happens in a Magical World with magical creatures and places. It's full of action with a man named Elidor who finds himself wearing a stolen crown. The coolest part is when Elidor fights the Evil Wizard Gieden. It teaches about being brave, making friends and doing the right thing. If you like magic and adventure this is a good book for you to read.

[Miles Bergeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first quarter or so of the book was a bit of a slow start, but it really picked up as the book continued. It was a fun read. I enjoyed the writing, too. The author had a lot of really great descriptions and turns of phrases.

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crown of Thieves is a lively middle grade fantasy story that is best left for young readers. Even some of today's young readers who are used to the combination of cool factor and determined heroism of young heroes like Percy Jackson, Ranger Apprentice Will and Harry Potter may have trouble with the persistent naivete and lack of skill in some of Soesbee's protagonists. Soesbee shows us her characters almost exclusively through dialog. I applaud her avoidance of excessive exposition, and agree that we do learn about people largely through what they say and do. But this story tipped the balance a bit too far in the direction of a dialog-based screenplay for me. I wanted to know more and to be brought more into their minds in order to engage with the characters (the equivalent of the acting you see between the lines).

As an adult reader, I found the novel to be painfully derivative of Tolkien, in tone, style, and content. Everything in it -- characters, scenery, daily details -- felt derived from ideas and imaginings from other novels. There wasn't a breath of fresh, original creativity or real-world vividness from research or life experience. However, if Dragonlance is one of your favorite worlds to play in, the additional backstory and connections that you know about may render the story much richer for you. Altogether, while Crown of Thieves irked me today, I might have found it enjoyable 25 years ago. If you're prone to high fantasy trope fatigue, skip it, but if you're on a kick or a new enthusiast see what you think.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for the youth market, but fast & fun. I liked the other Dragonlance series so this was more of the same.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was nice read. Lots of excitement and challenges. And I would certainly like to read the next one in the trilogy.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of my Childhood favs! One of my fav series I like to go to when I'm feeling a reading slump coming on or need some comfort books. Elidor is still 12 year old Chelsea's crush, can confirm.