Dragon Venom

Obsidian Chronicles #3

by Lawrence Watt-Evans

After many years of peace in the Lands of Men, there came Dragon Weather: a wave of incredible heat, oppressive humidity, dark angry clouds…and dragons. Dragons with no remorse, no sympathy, no use for humans; dragons who destroyed an entire village and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except the young boy Arlian. Orphaned and alone, Arlian was captured by looters and sold as a mining slave. He finally escaped, fueled by years of hatred and a personal vow to bring justice to all who had wronged him.

After killing those who enslaved him, Arlian sought out The Dragon Society, whose sworn purpose was to stand against the dragon menace. It was there, among his peers, that Arlian discovered he is humanity’s best hope for defeating the dragons…permanently.

Now, Arlian seeks his final vengeance: death to all of dragonkind. But as he begins to destroy the evil beasts, wild magic seeps into the Lands of Men, sowing chaos and destruction in its wake. Will Arlian’s all-consuming quest for justice consume humanity as well? The answer may lie within his ancient foe’s most lethal weapon: Dragon Venom.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, High Fantasy, Magic, Adventure, Adult

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Also publishes as Nathan Archer

Reviews

[Kim-Lost-In-A-Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord Obsidian continues his quest for revenge on the dragons. He learns so much in this book, about dragons, magic, humanity, himself. He learns that change comes with great sacrifice and that sometimes even our most strong-held opinions must be loosened if not sacrificed entirely in order to enact change for the greater good. Something that I think is relevant to our society even today.

What a thrilling conclusion to this trilogy! Watt-Evans is a master at action and sword fighting and at keeping you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen. When I first started I was confused as this book seemed a bit disconnected from the first two and I wondered where he was going with it. But he certainly kept my interest and connected everything and wrapped it all up nicely. There were a couple of plot twists, even right up to the end and there were probably a few times where things that were happening weren't entirely necessary to the story but they kept the story interesting and engaging.

It's been a while since a book has made me cry but this one succeeded in doing just that.

[Mr Pink Ink · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jarrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this series. This one kinda lagged for a bit but I did enjoy it. I was dreading the feeling you get when you end a series. That emptiness and "what do I do without these characters" feeling but...it was decidedly absent this time. The first book was so well done and although almost all of the strings were tied up i feel like there's a lot missing from the end of this book. I know it's Arlians story but the things he set in motion are just absent from the story. We don't even get a little glimpse at what he does after the events he set in motion? But I think I've had enough of them so I suppose it's ok. I did appreciate the noticable difference in his personality after more years as a dragon heart. I'd recommend the series to someone who hasn't read it but not with the gusto of some other series I love

[Raye · Rating 1 out of 5]

The final book in this trilogy wraps up the Arlian's vendetta against the dragons well, but bogs down substantially in the middle and I was left wondering when things were going to happen. There are unpleasant savior-complex issues left unaddressed, as our hero tells us what's wrong with slavery without us ever hearing about the issues from the slaves in question. And no dynamic female roles at all. Meh.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read much of the first book in this trilogy, Dragon Weather, while traveling in Italy on my honeymoon. Perhaps reading while on a train, or poolside on the roof of a hotel overlooking Venice, gave me a rosier perception of this trilogy than it deserved. I read Dragon Society, the follow-up, a year later and had resolved to read Dragon Venom one day to complete the series.

Well, I finally got around to it several years later. This world's interesting take on dragons remains noteworthy and admirable, and the world's other magical elements are heavily explored in this last installment. The unique way in which the magical beings work and balance each other remains the highlight of this series for me. It's too much of a spoiler to say why since that's practically all that this final book is about.

The characters, particularly the main character, Arlian, left much to be desired. The plot is slow and Arlian wears thick plot armor. Characters, dialogue, and the conflict between them comes across as exceptionally shallow when compared to more modern takes on the genre. Now, this book was released 20 years ago (and the first title in the trilogy came out in 1999), so I suppose that could be understandable...Except that A Song of Ice & Fire started in 1996, and it's just lightyears beyond this. That said, the very last couple of paragraphs in Dragon Venom struck with some poignancy and truth. It's just a shame the rest of the novel was lacking.

In the end, this was just okay, as my 2 star rating indicates. A forgettable fantasy that I finished largely due to a feeling of obligation after requesting it from my library mixed with the honeymoon nostalgia. I'll not remember much of it beyond the unique take on dragons. And that's fine.

[Joel Flank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic conclusion to the Obsidian Chronicles, Watt-Evans takes the world and setting to the next level. Arlian has gotten his revenge on the people who enslaved him as a child, and exposed the secret of the Dragon Society - that all the member's power and immortality as survivors of dragon attacks are actually incubating baby dragons, and after roughly a thousand years, they will die horribly as the dragon burst out from their body.

Based on this Arlian has put his vast resources towards finding a way to cure the dragon out of survivors, returning them to mere humans again. However, this provokes the dragons like nothing has before, and starts an all out war between humanity and dragonking. Armed with Arlian's discovery of a way to actually harm and kill dragons, the war begins, rather than a massacre.

Unfortunately, as with many things, there are unforeseen consequences, and finding a way to handle those pushes Arlian to greater and greater acts of daring and desperation, willing to risk anything to find a way to finally free humanity from the curse of dragonkind. The ultimate secrets all work logically with the in depth cosmology of the world Watt-Evans has built, yet still are wondrous and startling, doing a fantastic job keeping the reader always wondering what is next and at the heart of things.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the conclusion of the story of Arlian, Lord Obsidian, and the revenge that his been his driving force since age eleven. In this book, those Lord Obsidian has sworn vengeance on have teamed up to create additional roadblocks on his quest. In addition, fears that his elimination of his foes could result in an even worse outcome than their existence causes other entities to try to dissuade him from completing his quest.
The world created has a unique take on dragons, and the magic of the world was well imagined. The reason that created some of the abilities Lord Obsidian to achieve his status also would gradually reduce his humanity, and this aspect was thoughtfully explored. There were supporting characters that served as means to keep him from succumbing to a complete loss of his moral compass, although it was an increasing struggle.
The climactic battle tied up the loose ends of Lord Obsidian's life. That conclusion did leave questions about the future of his world, but showed his recovery of his humanity with his willingness to accept that his role was complete.

[Kiryn Silverwing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contained all of the fun, adventure, revelations, and world-building that the previous book had lacked. One star off because I still feel that this author spends way too many words rehashing stuff that was explained in previous chapters (spending a whole paragraph re-explaining how he couldn't do this because of another situation when a sentence would have done the job just fine) and because there were quite a lot of story threads set up that were just left hanging without even so much as another mention later.

Also, the second half of the book went in some seriously weird directions that made me a little uncomfortable and made me rethink my conclusion earlier in the book that our main character had finally matured and stopped being such an asshole, but the ending redeemed the overall story, even if it wasn't quite the direction I was expecting it to take.

[Kivrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really more like 3 1/2 stars. I loved that this book wrapped up the trilogy very nicely. A lot of events came full circle with a satisfying payoff. There was plenty of action if not as much as in previous books. I liked that the main character did a great deal of maturing. Still felt that a lot of the relationships were shallow, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. And there were some interesting twists thrown in for good measure.

[Alaric Locke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Obsidian Chronicles when I was in middle school. They were the first fantasy saga I'd ever read and it inspired my love of fantasy. They aren't perfect books but I cannot view them through anything but my rose colored glasses.

TLDR: I 100% recommend this book and the other two of the Obsidian Chronicles.

[Murtah Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this series. I've just finished listening to the audiobook for all three. Arlian's development and growth was so very well done. I enjoyed the wide variety of different creatures/monsters in this world and I loved all the variations on magic. Well done! Thank you for an enjoyable book series.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interestingly, this series did indeed get better written, as it proceeded. The plot was strong, and though the author sometimes went on a little too long in character descriptions, and or thought processes, it was a vast improvement over the first title in the series. The ending was especially well thought out and not predictable.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the earlier books in the series better. I felt like this story dragged for the first three-quarters of the book. I probably would not have finished it if it had not been the final book of the series.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third and final novel of the series far exceeded the first two books, each an excellent read on their own. Mr. Watt-Evans created something I've not ever encountered before, and that's rare. He created a magical ecosystem that brought this series to a great conclusion.

[Ian Suddreth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues the series by being wordy. The book is wordy and it can slow things down.

But overall, it was a fun series that I enjoyed and it had some good twists in it.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ending to the trilogy, some fresh ideas about dragons, and very entertaining.

[Infromsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I wanted to see what else Watt-Evans Laurence put out, I read his book "Wizard Lord" last week and I am enjoying this one a little more.

(SPOILERS)
The story follows a man whose family was wiped out by dragons years ago, in the attack he drank some of his grandfather's blood mixed with some of the dragon's venom (not sure why, this is the one part of the story I don't really like). When any human drinks human blood mixed with Dragon's venom he becomes a dragon heart, lives 1000 years, is immune to disease etc. but at the end of the 1000 years a dragon is born from him/her, consuming the human's soul in the process. The Dragon heart is very charismatic and effects humans in special ways.
Allain is the Warlord for the "Duke" (basically the king) and he spends his time killing dragons while they are sleeping for the winter. After he kills 40 or so dragons he and the Duke realize that the wild magic in the "borderlands" is creeping into the "Lands of man" this is due to the reduction in the number of dragons, apparently their magic is what keeps the borderlands from encroaching on the lands of man. The dragons have hidden the young and powerful dragons away from Allain and have allowed him to kill the older ones, allowing the magic to decrease and the wild magic to spread. This causes the Duke to agree not to kill any more dragons and allow the dragons one town per year (the dragons eat souls, hence the attacks).
In response Allain searches for a way to control the magic in the lands of man and still get rid of the dragons. He goes into the lands of wild magic and learns several things about magic, he goes back to the lands of man and begins experiments with dragon's venom and animals, trying to find a substitute for the dragons, something else to hold the magic but not eat the souls of or otherwise kill humans.
I've been up late the last two nights reading, it's been a long time since a fantasy book has affected me that way, made me so I couldn't wait to get back to it. I guess that after you've read so many fantasy books you get used to the formula and grow tired of the "same old, same old". This is a new "formula" it's well written, the pace is outstanding, there is even plenty of room to write more on some of the adventures the main character has but the author doesn’t elaborate on.

[Evan Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This last in the series, I am glad to say picks up on the action adventure and moves at a better pace than the slow second The Dragon Society
The action starts a dozen years into Obsidian's war against the Dragons. In the first installment we got a coming of age/survival story and the main character's obsession with the concept of fair and just . In the second we got a political intrigue story and Lord Obsidian's obsession with honor . In this last book we get a war story with the character pursuing true happiness .

He does finally get his war wrapped up, grows up enough to realize that war isn't all it's cracked up to be, and wraps all the loose ends up nicely.

I especially liked the neat ecological motif, wherein the "dead" gods, dragons, humans, and chaos magic are all intertwined to make a functioning ecosystem. The Dragons had upset the balance of the whole thing by killing off the gods. Ari restores them in the end.

Spoilers aside, I found the balance between the spiritual awakening of Ari, the relationships developed between the various members of his adopted family, political maneuvering, and straight up action scenes much better in this.

I think if we had a three book series from Black's narrative viewpoint.. and then made Dragon Weather just an origin story/prequel this series could have been 5 stars.. as I was much more in sympathy with Black than Ari. Overall a fun read though.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it.

I did see the rebirth of the gods coming - to be honest, it was hard to see any OTHER way to work out that part of the plot - but that wasn't a disappointment. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more elegant it seemed. All in all, the book was a very satisfying ending to the trilogy.

Two quick points:

1. Although the series is wrapped up acceptably, and the main plotlines have been resolved nicely, I'd like to see more. The ramifications of the rebirth of the gods are simply too intriguing. What happens next? How will the gods interact with other magical beings, the humans in their lands, the main characters, etc? Not to mention the cat-creatures - definitely a loose end there.

2. This may sound weird, but there was one thing that I was expecting that DIDN'T happen, and that was the regrowth of Brook's feet. I realize that wasn't possible since she hadn't had the dragonheart taint removed yet at the close of the book, but I was expecting her to have that done and be fully healed by her son.

Perhaps LWE felt there wasn't enough space to do the cleansing and healing justice? They ARE both pretty dramatic events, and covering them both on the final page might shortchange the story.

Or perhaps they're being held out for a possible additional book, along with the other issues I mentioned? I hope so!

[Lianne Pheno · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5
Je sais je pinaille pour la note de cette trilogie, mais j'hésitais entre 3.5 et 4 et donc j'ai mis le milieu 3.75, au moins tout le monde est d'accord.

J'ai relativement bien aimé la totalité de la séries malgré ces défauts. Le ton est peu être un peu trop manichéen, et les personnages (en dehors du héros) trop simplistes pour en faire un des grands noms mais elle se lit agréablement une fois qu'on est dedans et je suis relativement capable de mettre de coté des points qui me sont désagréables si l'intrigue est suffisamment bien faite pour me donner envie de continuer a lire ce qui est le cas ici, par contre j'ai eu un peu de mal a me mettre dans la peau du personnage tant il m'était indifférent à certains moments.
Bref, pas la lecture du siècle mais une lecture intéressante si on ne recherche pas la perfection.

[Nicholas Barone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two in the trilogy, but still a satisfying conclusion. As Arlian approaches the completion of his vengeance, he realizes that he needs to find other things to live for. As our hero's focus widens, the pace of the book loses some of the drive that the first two books had. Overall a great series!!

[Chris Zmolek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very great series. I read the first book, dragon weather, and enjoyed it emensly. I then found book two, dragon society, and was further entranced I the series. When finally got to dragon venom and it really pulled the series together. I wish I new where I put these books cause I hardly ever put them down. It gives a great fantasy story with dragons as the backdrop (obviously).

[Nicole Diamond · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing

[B. Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

An acceptable end to the series, I'm glad it ended here, because this one was lacking in certain areas and there were some head scratching moments and scene, but overall a decent book. The series does get tied up quite nicely.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Obsidian chronicles are some of the best writing that Lawrence watt-evens has done.
Although I still prefer his Ethshar series.
LWE write more Ethshar novels!

[Emerson Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is freakin awwesome!!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faced with a virtually impossible task, Arilon must find a way to protect humanity from the full might of awakening dragons. A great and satisfying conclusion to the series.

[Kevin Connery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obsidian 3

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

not a bad ending to the series. The first was the best, but this ends it well. How many series end really well?

[Jefferyjayhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this trilogy. A good storyline from beginning to end that keeps you engaged from about 60 pages into the first book to the very end of the last book.