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Ethshar #4
The Blood of a Dragon
It was definite Dumery had no magical talent at all. He could never fulfill his dream to become a wizard's apprentice. Hurt, angry, and mortally disappointed, he despaired of ever choosing a trade.
But then Dumery spied a so-called great wizard humbling himself before a man selling dragon's blood the precious stuff that made difficult spells work. If Dumery couldn't be a wizard, maybe he could become a dragon-hunter and have all those scornful wizards crawling to him.
So, leaving his family, city, and comfortable home, Dumery began trailing Kensher, the man in brown even though Kensher said he didn't need a dragon-hunting apprentice. But when Dumery finally caught up with Kensher, he would discover Kensher's great secret of how the precious fluid was obtained a secret from which only Kensher's kin could profit.
Once again, Dumery would be left without career or future. Unless . . .
But then Dumery spied a so-called great wizard humbling himself before a man selling dragon's blood the precious stuff that made difficult spells work. If Dumery couldn't be a wizard, maybe he could become a dragon-hunter and have all those scornful wizards crawling to him.
So, leaving his family, city, and comfortable home, Dumery began trailing Kensher, the man in brown even though Kensher said he didn't need a dragon-hunting apprentice. But when Dumery finally caught up with Kensher, he would discover Kensher's great secret of how the precious fluid was obtained a secret from which only Kensher's kin could profit.
Once again, Dumery would be left without career or future. Unless . . .
236 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 1991
11 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 28, 2012
While the Ethshar series isn’t “good” in the literary sense, they’re a lot of fun. They’re lighthearted adventure stories involving absolutely ordinary people in (usually) ordinary events. There’s no horrible disasters to avert, no kingdoms or worlds to save, no grand treasures to find or quests to complete - just ordinary people trying to live their lives. In this one, the young brat Dumery has decided that if he can’t be an apprentice wizard, he’ll at least be an apprentice dragon hunter so that he’ll be able to lord it over the wizards who refused to teach him. I’ll let you guess how well that works out.
I really like the Ethshar world – especially the magic system. I like how Watt-Evans has made a distinction between witchcraft, wizardry, warlocks, and demonologists, and how each branch of the craft has its own strengths, weaknesses, and strict limits on what it is capable of. I also like that each of the books can be read independently of each other, yet there’s tiny things that crop up every now and again that tie in previous books. There’s nothing major of course – none of the books are books where major things (or people) happen – but it’s this little comfy feeling of familiarity when I see a spriggan or meet the innkeeper again.
I really like the Ethshar world – especially the magic system. I like how Watt-Evans has made a distinction between witchcraft, wizardry, warlocks, and demonologists, and how each branch of the craft has its own strengths, weaknesses, and strict limits on what it is capable of. I also like that each of the books can be read independently of each other, yet there’s tiny things that crop up every now and again that tie in previous books. There’s nothing major of course – none of the books are books where major things (or people) happen – but it’s this little comfy feeling of familiarity when I see a spriggan or meet the innkeeper again.
May 4, 2008
As with other of Watt-Evans' books set in Ethshar, it features an unexpected hero, who has to cope with mundane issues in a magical world. The author does a fabulous job of presenting the every day "what if" issues about having magic, and this book also does not disappoint. I keep hoping I'll find another stray book by the author, but I don't think he's writing any more!
April 4, 2015
Just awful. I spent most of the book praying for the main character to be eaten by a dragon.
May 14, 2008
This is one the Magic of Ethshar series of books. I recorded most of them, including this one, in 50-55 minute installments for my local Golden Hours radio service for blind or reading-impaired listeners. I also made CD copies for myself.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
February 7, 2016
One of the weaker entries in the Ethshar. Not bad mind you, but merely okay.
December 5, 2020
Started really nice, the beginning was immersive and the middle was fine and fun in its own way too. But the end was horrible. The main plot basically started way too late into the story and I still can't help but wonder why the author had to end it abruptly. They could have focused at the main plot more properly, added more events, (SPOILER) showed us what happened next when the protagonist returned, or maybe just written more about the warlock magic. I really liked it at first and I don't even mind the protagonist's journey that took more than half the pages of the book than it probably should have. But the ending really bummed me.
A good side though is that it's a really nice magic-y medieval-like fantasy book and the world-building was done really well with all the different kinds of 'magicians' and detailed lively towns. I love the unwavering determination of the protagonist too and all the hurdles he had to face. Maybe if the story was just about the protagonist's journey like travelling and reaching his goal then the book would have made more sense. I also like the author's narration and it could have been one of the best books ever if not for that mess of an ending.
A good side though is that it's a really nice magic-y medieval-like fantasy book and the world-building was done really well with all the different kinds of 'magicians' and detailed lively towns. I love the unwavering determination of the protagonist too and all the hurdles he had to face. Maybe if the story was just about the protagonist's journey like travelling and reaching his goal then the book would have made more sense. I also like the author's narration and it could have been one of the best books ever if not for that mess of an ending.
October 29, 2023
Unlikable protag, who stays unlikeable much longer than the author's other protags, drags it down. Not up to the series' standard for that reason.
The protagonist is also younger than most, at 12 (the age of apprenticeship), and is remarkably, pig-headedly, disastrously and self-sabotagingly stubborn. He persists in an obviously wrong-headed course of action for far too long, and even when he (by coincidence) discovers a way that he can have what he wants, is determined to take petty revenge on someone who's done nothing but help him, because he wouldn't (because he couldn't) give the protag what he wanted. He's also, throughout the book, set on taking petty revenge on someone else who, likewise, couldn't have helped him any more than he did.
This makes him a very annoying character, but the journey has some points of interest.
The protagonist is also younger than most, at 12 (the age of apprenticeship), and is remarkably, pig-headedly, disastrously and self-sabotagingly stubborn. He persists in an obviously wrong-headed course of action for far too long, and even when he (by coincidence) discovers a way that he can have what he wants, is determined to take petty revenge on someone who's done nothing but help him, because he wouldn't (because he couldn't) give the protag what he wanted. He's also, throughout the book, set on taking petty revenge on someone else who, likewise, couldn't have helped him any more than he did.
This makes him a very annoying character, but the journey has some points of interest.
April 17, 2023
The 12-year-old son of a merchant is of age to become an apprentice, and he chooses wizardry. Unfortunately, and uncommonly, the kid has no magical aptitude whatsoever. So, learning that wizards require dragon blood for many of their spells, he decides to apprentice himself to a dragon hunter, except the one person he finds who he thinks is one won't take him. The kid (who is both an idiot and a spoiled brat) follows him out of town, into the mountains, and finds something he never expected.
Despite having a truly unlikable protagonist, this is an enjoyable light fantasy.
Despite having a truly unlikable protagonist, this is an enjoyable light fantasy.
September 4, 2024
Ethshar is always fun to read. But my gods, the main character is one if those you ones you hope doesn't ever succeed and honestly, could he maybe just die? What a selfish, insufferable, entitled little jerk. Really liked the link to the Misenchanted Sword and am hoping the storyline of witches and warlocks is picked up in some of the other books.
March 1, 2019
I was unable to sympathize with any of the thoroughly unpleasant characters in this story. Disappointing for a novel of Ethshar.
July 31, 2020
Loved it!!
January 9, 2021
It was good and adventuresome. Felt unique
January 13, 2022
This book was just ok. Very, very annoying but persistent main character. I was actually far more interested in the witch, and would have been happy to have the book about her instead.
Read
August 26, 2022Most unlikeable protagonist I've read in a while.
December 24, 2022
Stubborn little shit! 😂️
May 15, 2023
This was OK. Not quite as fun or charming as the other Ethshar I've read. Honestly the main character is pretty much a jerk of a kid.
February 2, 2024
Another fantastic read. Love this world and the sideways way of bringing about the building of it.
December 5, 2025
*3.5 stars
February 14, 2011
It's late, so this will be relatively brief (for me, that is - which means it will probably be one of the longer reviews here on GoodReads).
Lawrence Watt-Evans' Ethshar books are the preeminent modern light fantasy series. They're eminently readable, and particularly enjoyable because most of them feature intelligent, reasonable, fundamentally decent protagonists who take sensible precautions, make intelligent choices, and cope with the unexpected logically - although not necessarily with superhuman perfection.
That's what makes the Ethshar books so refreshing: they're about people who are about as intelligent as most fantasy readers, I think. Or as intelligent as I am, anyway. :D
Whereas most modern genre fiction either features "heroes" who constantly miss the obvious in order to bloat the plot and page count to forest-killing proportions, or else have characters who are so annoyingly perfect and flawless that they have all the excitement of a particularly dull 1950s Superman comic.
It's nice to read books about people using their brains to deal with interesting problems that don't necessarily involve Saving the World. And it's a pleasure to read about people who make reasonable moral choices.
But the main protagonist in The Blood of a Dragon is something of an exception to that rule (as is Tabaea the Thief from The Spell of the Black Dagger). Dumery of Shiphaven is spoiled, paranoid, self-centered, doesn't think ahead, and repeatedly demonstrates both bad judgment and a surprisingly questionable morality. He only ends up succeeding because of pure luck (and, perhaps, stubbornness), and that's very unusual for an Ethshar protagonist.
To make up for that, we also have Teneria of Fishertown, a very sensible witch-apprentice. Her encounter with Adar the warlock is gripping, with fascinating implications for the world of Ethshar - implications which will, I suspect, be addressed in the forthcoming Ethshar novel The Unwelcome Warlock.
But Dumery? He's a jerk. Oh, there's a paragraph or two where he has a mild moral crisis over his behavior, and regrets his acts. But it felt to me as if Watt-Evans was almost forcing the character in that direction; it didn't ring quite true.
So although this is quite an enjoyable read, it's not the best of the Ethshar series - and it's definitely not a good introduction to Ethshar. I'd strongly suggest starting with The Misenchanted Sword and proceeding in order of publication, if you can.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: the book has a spriggan. It's one of the funnier spriggans, too - and they're all funny. I don't know what it is about spriggans, but they always make me laugh and tug my heartstrings!
Lawrence Watt-Evans' Ethshar books are the preeminent modern light fantasy series. They're eminently readable, and particularly enjoyable because most of them feature intelligent, reasonable, fundamentally decent protagonists who take sensible precautions, make intelligent choices, and cope with the unexpected logically - although not necessarily with superhuman perfection.
That's what makes the Ethshar books so refreshing: they're about people who are about as intelligent as most fantasy readers, I think. Or as intelligent as I am, anyway. :D
Whereas most modern genre fiction either features "heroes" who constantly miss the obvious in order to bloat the plot and page count to forest-killing proportions, or else have characters who are so annoyingly perfect and flawless that they have all the excitement of a particularly dull 1950s Superman comic.
It's nice to read books about people using their brains to deal with interesting problems that don't necessarily involve Saving the World. And it's a pleasure to read about people who make reasonable moral choices.
But the main protagonist in The Blood of a Dragon is something of an exception to that rule (as is Tabaea the Thief from The Spell of the Black Dagger). Dumery of Shiphaven is spoiled, paranoid, self-centered, doesn't think ahead, and repeatedly demonstrates both bad judgment and a surprisingly questionable morality. He only ends up succeeding because of pure luck (and, perhaps, stubbornness), and that's very unusual for an Ethshar protagonist.
To make up for that, we also have Teneria of Fishertown, a very sensible witch-apprentice. Her encounter with Adar the warlock is gripping, with fascinating implications for the world of Ethshar - implications which will, I suspect, be addressed in the forthcoming Ethshar novel The Unwelcome Warlock.
But Dumery? He's a jerk. Oh, there's a paragraph or two where he has a mild moral crisis over his behavior, and regrets his acts. But it felt to me as if Watt-Evans was almost forcing the character in that direction; it didn't ring quite true.
So although this is quite an enjoyable read, it's not the best of the Ethshar series - and it's definitely not a good introduction to Ethshar. I'd strongly suggest starting with The Misenchanted Sword and proceeding in order of publication, if you can.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: the book has a spriggan. It's one of the funnier spriggans, too - and they're all funny. I don't know what it is about spriggans, but they always make me laugh and tug my heartstrings!
April 26, 2021
A light weight fantasy about a very stubborn and spoiled 12 year old who wants to become a wizard and winds up chasing across country with six pennies in his pocket to become a dragonslayer. Not the same old plot though, he's not "the chosen one" of the Potter-like fantasies. Teneria, the apprentice witch, is more likeable character, is sent to help Dumery. A fun read for when you've ODed on dark literature.
Can be read without reading prior books though I'd recommend With a Single Spell or The Misenchanted Sword as better first reads.
Can be read without reading prior books though I'd recommend With a Single Spell or The Misenchanted Sword as better first reads.
June 13, 2020
I want to be a Magician
Dumrey is a very stubborn young man from a prosperous merchant family. As the third son the most he can hope for us an Apprenticeship of his own choosing, but every single Wizard, Warlock or Witch he asks rejects him as being unsuited for his desired future as a magic user. Undeterred he runs off after a dragon hunter wishing to become his apprentice so he can be a supplier of Dragons Blood,a vital and expensive component of many spells. This novel tells the story of his adventures on the Great River and wilderness in Sardiron, on the edges of what was the Northern Empire during the Great War two centuries ago.
Dumrey is a very stubborn young man from a prosperous merchant family. As the third son the most he can hope for us an Apprenticeship of his own choosing, but every single Wizard, Warlock or Witch he asks rejects him as being unsuited for his desired future as a magic user. Undeterred he runs off after a dragon hunter wishing to become his apprentice so he can be a supplier of Dragons Blood,a vital and expensive component of many spells. This novel tells the story of his adventures on the Great River and wilderness in Sardiron, on the edges of what was the Northern Empire during the Great War two centuries ago.
August 12, 2009
This is one the Magic of Ethshar series of books. I recorded most of them, including this one, in 50-55 minute installments for my local Golden Hours radio service for blind or reading-impaired listeners. I also made CD copies for myself.
This one of the more lighthearted entries in the series, and I'm looking forward to the sequel The Spriggan Mirror; especially as the mischeiveous spriggan's appear in several other books in the series.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
This one of the more lighthearted entries in the series, and I'm looking forward to the sequel The Spriggan Mirror; especially as the mischeiveous spriggan's appear in several other books in the series.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
November 11, 2014
Another wonderful addition to what is becoming my favorite series. The different types of magic and the mysteries of this fascinating world continue to unfold in dramatic fashion. Somehow Watt-Evans expands and further explains the parts of each book that I was most interested in from the previous story. Is he a literary genius, were we separated at birth, or doe he write so effortlessly about magic because he himself is a wizard? I must start the next book right away to find out.
June 25, 2009
I went to read this book and realized that I had already read it before I starting organizing things here on GoodReads.
I found it was a fun book, simple easy fantasy to devour in large gulps. I enjoy the world and think that there is much to be said for knowing what you are getting when you start off an Ethshar book.
I found it was a fun book, simple easy fantasy to devour in large gulps. I enjoy the world and think that there is much to be said for knowing what you are getting when you start off an Ethshar book.
March 26, 2011
The writing was at quite a low level, and the book was pretty boring. I thought the idea had a lot of potential, but it just ended up being the humdrum travelogue of a boy and the people sent to find him and bring him home.
In my opinion, the author could definitely have made this an action-packed adventure, but... it fell short in a big way.
In my opinion, the author could definitely have made this an action-packed adventure, but... it fell short in a big way.
March 19, 2009
Prototypical Watt-Evans. A young man decides to set off to make his fortune, as you might expect of a certain sort of fantasy tale, but discovers walking is a slow way to travel and travelers have to worry about eating and sleeping. A charming tale set in Ethshar.
August 27, 2010
Dumery is an annoying little brat. Half the book, the narrative seems to be casting about in search of a plot. I was going to give this one star, but the character of Aldagon the dragon changed my mind.
September 10, 2016
Entertaining story
May 21, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
April 10, 2016
A slow starter, but I read the whole thing on the flight home from Europe And I Really Enjoyed It By The end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews