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Forgotten Realms: Finder's Stone #3
Song of the Saurials
High fantasy adventure takes a turn with mystery in the final title in the Finder’s Stone Trilogy by Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak.
When the Harpers judged the Nameless Bard responsible for the death of his apprentices, they sentenced him to exile and obscurity. Now the Harpers are reconsidering their decision, but with the arrival of the monster Grypht, Nameless’s new trial dissolves in a string of disappearances and murder. It is up to the bard’s friends, Alias the swordswoman, Akabar the mage, Dragonbait the paladin, and Ruskettle the thief, to prove one enemy is behind all the chaos—the ancient evil god, Moander the Darkbringer. Unless Alias and her companions can find Nameless and convince him to sacrifice some of his precious power, Moander will return to claim the Realms.
When the Harpers judged the Nameless Bard responsible for the death of his apprentices, they sentenced him to exile and obscurity. Now the Harpers are reconsidering their decision, but with the arrival of the monster Grypht, Nameless’s new trial dissolves in a string of disappearances and murder. It is up to the bard’s friends, Alias the swordswoman, Akabar the mage, Dragonbait the paladin, and Ruskettle the thief, to prove one enemy is behind all the chaos—the ancient evil god, Moander the Darkbringer. Unless Alias and her companions can find Nameless and convince him to sacrifice some of his precious power, Moander will return to claim the Realms.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
46 people are currently reading
964 people want to read
About the author
Kate Novak
28 books70 followersKate Novak graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Chemistry. She is a fantasy author primarily published in the Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft shared worlds. She is married to Jeff Grubb. Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb are co-authors of the best-selling Finder's Stone Trilogy, and collaborated on the book Azure Bonds. The success of the book resulted in the creation of the computer game, Curse of the Azure Bonds.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 19, 2015
It's Dragonbait's Turn
24 March 2012
This is the third book in the disparate trilogy known as 'The Finder's Stone Trilogy'. It seems to be one of those trilogies that seemed to attach itself to the end of a reasonably good book to attempt to extend the franchise. I have seen a little too many of these and in many cases believe that unless one is specifically writing a trilogy (or creating a franchise) them sometimes sequels should be relegated to the realm of could but won't.
However, as mentioned under the review of The Wyvern's Spur, this series seemed to set itself apart a bit from what one would normally expect from the AD&D franchise. Personally I really shouldn't put this down as a franchise because it is somewhat narrower than simply AD&D but a little wider than this particular trilogy, namely because the franchise is The Forgotten Realms.
The first AD&D world was Greyhawk, but the problem was that this was Gary Gygax's creation, and while he did not take it with him when he left TSR, it did fall to the wayside a bit as TSR moved onto Ed Greenwood's world: The Forgotten Realms. This world has proved to be quite popular with a huge plethora of books being released under the franchise, as well as a multitude of game products. However when AD&D moved to 3rd edition it seems that they moved back to Greyhawk as the default world. Once again the Forgotten Realms did not fall to the wayside but rather became one of the worlds that would operate under the 3rd ed system.
This novel finishes off the Finder's Stone trilogy and brings back the original characters from the first novel. In a way it seems as if this trilogy was much more disparate than many of the other trilogies in this franchise in that there really did not seem to be an over arching theme or plot but rather the characters that tied the stories together. The previous novel focused on a minor character from Azure Bonds, however, this one moves over to another one, The Nameless Bard. It appears that he has got himself into trouble and it is up to Alias and Dragonbait to prove his innocence.
We find out a lot more about the Saurials in this book, but I still wonder if that is really necessary. This is a fantasy novel with no real meaning behind it. It is not part of some huge overarching plot, but then again many of the novels in the franchise aren't. This is not a franchise that seems to be moving towards a common conclusion, but rather a world in which many people live and many people go about their own business. Some of the novels involve possible world-wide cataclysmic events (which are usually prevented at the 11th hour) but unless something is being written into the game world itself, all these stories seem to do is to open a window on a part of the world and to provide action hungry readers with a dose of fantasy. I used to love fantasy, however twenty years on it is a genre that I acknowledge, but generally do not delve too deeply into anymore.
24 March 2012
This is the third book in the disparate trilogy known as 'The Finder's Stone Trilogy'. It seems to be one of those trilogies that seemed to attach itself to the end of a reasonably good book to attempt to extend the franchise. I have seen a little too many of these and in many cases believe that unless one is specifically writing a trilogy (or creating a franchise) them sometimes sequels should be relegated to the realm of could but won't.
However, as mentioned under the review of The Wyvern's Spur, this series seemed to set itself apart a bit from what one would normally expect from the AD&D franchise. Personally I really shouldn't put this down as a franchise because it is somewhat narrower than simply AD&D but a little wider than this particular trilogy, namely because the franchise is The Forgotten Realms.
The first AD&D world was Greyhawk, but the problem was that this was Gary Gygax's creation, and while he did not take it with him when he left TSR, it did fall to the wayside a bit as TSR moved onto Ed Greenwood's world: The Forgotten Realms. This world has proved to be quite popular with a huge plethora of books being released under the franchise, as well as a multitude of game products. However when AD&D moved to 3rd edition it seems that they moved back to Greyhawk as the default world. Once again the Forgotten Realms did not fall to the wayside but rather became one of the worlds that would operate under the 3rd ed system.
This novel finishes off the Finder's Stone trilogy and brings back the original characters from the first novel. In a way it seems as if this trilogy was much more disparate than many of the other trilogies in this franchise in that there really did not seem to be an over arching theme or plot but rather the characters that tied the stories together. The previous novel focused on a minor character from Azure Bonds, however, this one moves over to another one, The Nameless Bard. It appears that he has got himself into trouble and it is up to Alias and Dragonbait to prove his innocence.
We find out a lot more about the Saurials in this book, but I still wonder if that is really necessary. This is a fantasy novel with no real meaning behind it. It is not part of some huge overarching plot, but then again many of the novels in the franchise aren't. This is not a franchise that seems to be moving towards a common conclusion, but rather a world in which many people live and many people go about their own business. Some of the novels involve possible world-wide cataclysmic events (which are usually prevented at the 11th hour) but unless something is being written into the game world itself, all these stories seem to do is to open a window on a part of the world and to provide action hungry readers with a dose of fantasy. I used to love fantasy, however twenty years on it is a genre that I acknowledge, but generally do not delve too deeply into anymore.
November 30, 2020
The worse of the series by far, but still a good read. Nice to see the gang back together after almost alll of them being missing in The Wyvern's Spur.
Here are my thoughts on the series as a whole: https://www.forgottenrealmsreading.co...
My next bard won't be of Oghma or Milil, but of Finder.
Here are my thoughts on the series as a whole: https://www.forgottenrealmsreading.co...
My next bard won't be of Oghma or Milil, but of Finder.
December 6, 2021
It was okay. Not great, just okay.
March 27, 2022
THE SONG OF THE SAURIALS is the third installment of the Finder's Stone trilogy. The Finder's Stone is a magical artifact created by Finder Wyvernspur and the books mostly deal with his oddball creations, up to and including a dozen clones of a redheaded sorceress named Casana that are somehow linked to the demon god Moander. There's also a dinosaur paladin. It's that kind of series. In this case, the book opens with Finder Wyvernspur getting an appeal for his 200 years of imprisonment in the Positive Material Plane of existence for getting his apprentices killed. Things get wonky when Elminster disappears and is replaced with a dinosaur wizard. Is Moander returning? Can Alias and Akabar defeat it? Will Alias kill Akabar's new wife out of jealousy first?
As an ending to the Finder's Stone trilogy, it was a bit of a disappointment as Akabar was one of my favorite characters and gets the short end of the stick.
As an ending to the Finder's Stone trilogy, it was a bit of a disappointment as Akabar was one of my favorite characters and gets the short end of the stick.
January 1, 2023
How to REALLY kill a god
The third and final book in the Finder's Stone trilogy we see the return of the heroes from the first book as the threat once faced attempts to return once more to corrupt and consume the world. with his actions in book one the nameless bard is on trial once more but this time it is a matter of whether his punishment has already fit his actions in the far past (as explained better in the 2nd book) or if he should remain banned from influencing those of the realm. Unfortunately Moander the dark god is far from happy at being defeated in this realm so he has brought help from another world to build himself a new body once more so when the powerful Elminister is suddenly gone missing in the middle of his testimony and a three horned saurial shows up in his place the whole proceedings are thrown into chaos as well as the lives of those that fought the corrupter already.
This is a fun story and although the trilogy revolves around the nameless bard I can't help but notice a little rogue named Olive Ruskettle also shows up in all three tales (even if she starts out as a dragon's temporary entertainment.) Being the little troublemaker she is and possibly an unwitting argent of the goddess of luck she makes a great if occasionally annoying force for good even if she is occasionally scared witless along the way. Of course a single rogue does not make a party capable of stopping a god as some of the more unusual people join the quest along the way including newly introduced Alias clone Zarah who is a priestess that became one of her friend's wives and has skill as a priestess as well as the above mentioned tri-horned saurial known as Grypht and hot headed ranger, Breck Orcsbane. All in all a pretty fun trilogy with interesting characters, dangerous situations, and character developments that often times made me feel good so if you decide to look into them yourself I hope you have as fun a time as I did. :)
The third and final book in the Finder's Stone trilogy we see the return of the heroes from the first book as the threat once faced attempts to return once more to corrupt and consume the world. with his actions in book one the nameless bard is on trial once more but this time it is a matter of whether his punishment has already fit his actions in the far past (as explained better in the 2nd book) or if he should remain banned from influencing those of the realm. Unfortunately Moander the dark god is far from happy at being defeated in this realm so he has brought help from another world to build himself a new body once more so when the powerful Elminister is suddenly gone missing in the middle of his testimony and a three horned saurial shows up in his place the whole proceedings are thrown into chaos as well as the lives of those that fought the corrupter already.
This is a fun story and although the trilogy revolves around the nameless bard I can't help but notice a little rogue named Olive Ruskettle also shows up in all three tales (even if she starts out as a dragon's temporary entertainment.) Being the little troublemaker she is and possibly an unwitting argent of the goddess of luck she makes a great if occasionally annoying force for good even if she is occasionally scared witless along the way. Of course a single rogue does not make a party capable of stopping a god as some of the more unusual people join the quest along the way including newly introduced Alias clone Zarah who is a priestess that became one of her friend's wives and has skill as a priestess as well as the above mentioned tri-horned saurial known as Grypht and hot headed ranger, Breck Orcsbane. All in all a pretty fun trilogy with interesting characters, dangerous situations, and character developments that often times made me feel good so if you decide to look into them yourself I hope you have as fun a time as I did. :)
September 29, 2023
This finalizes the Finder's Stone Trilogy. While I liked all three, linking the second book "The Wyvernspur" which is also a harpers series book, was a stretch. The story starts with Finder aka the nameless bard, being judged by a panel of elder Harpers (loose network of do-gooders) for his crime of 200 years prior; he was banished to another plane for putting his apprentices in danger or so we are led to believe--the reveal about that is near the end. Awaiting trial, an assassination attempt unfolds on Finder but he and several others survive but he ends up escaping. Finder is paired with a fellow bard, a lucky halfling ally named Olive who was featured in all three books. Finder is on the run and the old enemy, Moander the ancient god of rot and decay, who was killed in the first book "Azure Bonds" has returned to this plane to be reborn! Seems a god is not truly defeated until you go to his home plane of existence to kill them and that's what they all attempt to do... Alias, his cloned child from "Azure Bonds" returns in search of her fathers love while her own companion, a lizard creature from another world named Dragonbait become intimately tied to the events unfolding. Finder takes prominence in this book, where Olive was a main figure in the second and Alias was the main in the first. In the end, his stone which is Finder's prized artifact and lost to him during banishment, ends up being the key to ending the return of this plaque. Ultimately it was a good adventure with great personalities among the characters and made good use of the different magical weapons, making them much more than MacGuffins. This is not the last time one can read about Finder as he makes his way into other stories I read such as "Finder's Bane" and "Tymora's Luck".
April 17, 2016
Okay, it was a pretty good ending. We learned more of Alias, which is nice, more about the Saurials, the plot flowed smoothly as always. Some interesting development went there. I have to point out a thing in the prose that courses through the entire trilogy. It probably developed from the fact that this is a Forgotten Realms book, meaning it has its roots in the storytelling of Dungeon Masters. However, when translated into a book, it allows for too much exhibition. The writer shouldn't explain things that the reader can assume with ease, for example, she doesn't need to say that the cleric heals someone "with her healing powers", she's a cleric, we know that she has healing powers, that's what clerics do. But overall, it was nice.
April 29, 2009
I really liked this one. It is focused on the character Finder. He was introduced in the first book, but left behind in the second one. In this one our heros have to fight the evil god Moander once again. Which is good, because my biggest problem with the first book was that they took out the god too easily. Anywho, all of the characters from the first book are reunited, they add a couple new characters; like a human ranger and a 10 foot Saurial wizard, both are pretty cool. The only person missing from this book is Giogioi Wyvernspur, but I guess he was the star of the last one so it's okay. All and all, a good read.
March 13, 2021
This book was quite lousy. I mean, the first in the series was fine but a bit messy, the second was a nice improvement, but this goes a step backward.
The story, overall, is not too bad, which is why I won't rate this with one star. Unfortunately, there are several weak parts, in which things just happen without much sense. The word I would use for this is convenience. For example, it was so convenient that, at a certain point, Alias remembers a detail about something that had happened before, a detail she wasn't able to notice before but now she is because she is no longer worried about Nameless (yes, that is exactly the explanation).
It strongly reminds me of a gaming adventure where the DM dispenses details as fits the game. Which, let's be honest, is probably the very truth. I am quite convinced that this book is the literary transposition of an AD&D adventure played by the authors.
Per se, that would not be a problem, but the fun in gaming sessions and the fun in reading follow different rules, so probably some reworking would have been in order.
The other drawback, and probably another consequence of being the transposition of a game adventure, is that the characters are terribly flat. I am quite aware that even very good role players might still not be good ad giving depth to their characters, so it is one explanation. The other explanation is that Mrs. Novak and Mr. Grubb (who, by the way, is a magnificent game designer) hadn't improved their writing skills so far.
Also, the novel becomes a bit confused at times. Just as it happens when there are many player characters divided in several groups (yes, I can't get this picture off my mind), it is a bit hard to track them consistently. A good DM might do that very smoothly, but that does not necessarily fit clearly into a novel.
The story, overall, is not too bad, which is why I won't rate this with one star. Unfortunately, there are several weak parts, in which things just happen without much sense. The word I would use for this is convenience. For example, it was so convenient that, at a certain point, Alias remembers a detail about something that had happened before, a detail she wasn't able to notice before but now she is because she is no longer worried about Nameless (yes, that is exactly the explanation).
It strongly reminds me of a gaming adventure where the DM dispenses details as fits the game. Which, let's be honest, is probably the very truth. I am quite convinced that this book is the literary transposition of an AD&D adventure played by the authors.
Per se, that would not be a problem, but the fun in gaming sessions and the fun in reading follow different rules, so probably some reworking would have been in order.
The other drawback, and probably another consequence of being the transposition of a game adventure, is that the characters are terribly flat. I am quite aware that even very good role players might still not be good ad giving depth to their characters, so it is one explanation. The other explanation is that Mrs. Novak and Mr. Grubb (who, by the way, is a magnificent game designer) hadn't improved their writing skills so far.
Also, the novel becomes a bit confused at times. Just as it happens when there are many player characters divided in several groups (yes, I can't get this picture off my mind), it is a bit hard to track them consistently. A good DM might do that very smoothly, but that does not necessarily fit clearly into a novel.
January 31, 2025
Characters: 5 /5
Plot: 5/5
Originality & Surprise: 5/5
Entertainment & Cant Put it Down Factor: 5/5
Overall Impression: 5/5
Main Genre: Fantasy
Overlapping Genre Elements: Mystery Romance Drama Thriller
I have such a mix of emotions finishing out the last book of this trilogy. Im sad its over, Im excited to tell you about it, Im happy to have read it (took me forever because Ive just been so busy with other obligations) and I'm content with seeing the loose ends of some favorite DnD character arcs all wrapped up.
First off, this book was great, I looked forward to getting lost in this story every night...ok, not every night, the holidays were crazy and I have kids...but I WANTED to! Oh how I looked forward to getting lost in this story! I dont want to spoil anything so I will just say I was very excited to see the evolution of the main Finders Stone Trilogy characters and one in particular ends the tale in such an amazingly cool and unexpeted way...perfection!
True to form Alias, Olive, Akabar, Finder aka Nameless, and Dragonbait all once again find themselves guarding The Realms against the Darkbringer and his disgusting corrupted possessions! There are interesting and complex new characters to meet and be they friend or foe, they keep the story fun and suspensful! Magical weapons are crafted and used with ingenuity for surprising plot twists, and Moander is a perfectly vile and fun villain so the final battle is memorable to say the least!
If you enjoyed Azure Bonds you will enjoy Song of the Saurials (even though the second book The Wyverns Spur was a bit different, you can skip the second book and still enjoy this one). This was a great read! I recommend this book for any avid fantasy fan, dnd diehards, and casual readers alike
Plot: 5/5
Originality & Surprise: 5/5
Entertainment & Cant Put it Down Factor: 5/5
Overall Impression: 5/5
Main Genre: Fantasy
Overlapping Genre Elements: Mystery Romance Drama Thriller
I have such a mix of emotions finishing out the last book of this trilogy. Im sad its over, Im excited to tell you about it, Im happy to have read it (took me forever because Ive just been so busy with other obligations) and I'm content with seeing the loose ends of some favorite DnD character arcs all wrapped up.
First off, this book was great, I looked forward to getting lost in this story every night...ok, not every night, the holidays were crazy and I have kids...but I WANTED to! Oh how I looked forward to getting lost in this story! I dont want to spoil anything so I will just say I was very excited to see the evolution of the main Finders Stone Trilogy characters and one in particular ends the tale in such an amazingly cool and unexpeted way...perfection!
True to form Alias, Olive, Akabar, Finder aka Nameless, and Dragonbait all once again find themselves guarding The Realms against the Darkbringer and his disgusting corrupted possessions! There are interesting and complex new characters to meet and be they friend or foe, they keep the story fun and suspensful! Magical weapons are crafted and used with ingenuity for surprising plot twists, and Moander is a perfectly vile and fun villain so the final battle is memorable to say the least!
If you enjoyed Azure Bonds you will enjoy Song of the Saurials (even though the second book The Wyverns Spur was a bit different, you can skip the second book and still enjoy this one). This was a great read! I recommend this book for any avid fantasy fan, dnd diehards, and casual readers alike
December 17, 2022
Loved this trilogy
The Finder's Stone trilogy ends in a high note and has become my favorite trilogy in this early publishing period of the Forgotten Realms along the Crystal Shard trilogy. I became a huge fan of the noble paladin Dragonbait, I learned to appreciate Olive despite all her faults, Akabar was a decently written wizard (which is something rare since wizards are rarely likeable in this TSR period) and Alias is at least for me the character that still needs more development, Alias is a good character but I feel it had a regression as a character in this book. And I will not spoil it, but Finder also has a very good closing arc for his character.
The Finder's Stone trilogy ends in a high note and has become my favorite trilogy in this early publishing period of the Forgotten Realms along the Crystal Shard trilogy. I became a huge fan of the noble paladin Dragonbait, I learned to appreciate Olive despite all her faults, Akabar was a decently written wizard (which is something rare since wizards are rarely likeable in this TSR period) and Alias is at least for me the character that still needs more development, Alias is a good character but I feel it had a regression as a character in this book. And I will not spoil it, but Finder also has a very good closing arc for his character.
February 27, 2017
This series ends up a thin thread running through them.
Second book in series close to a stand alone.
Almost NONE of those characters even are mentioned or barely mentioned here.
So not like all characters start quest together through all three novels.
A shift of characters again. With more cast being added to start with.
Some central themes running through them all.
Yet for the most part. Each is it's own story.
Not a bad read, but definately not a normal trilogy continuance.
Through all the books here.
Second book in series close to a stand alone.
Almost NONE of those characters even are mentioned or barely mentioned here.
So not like all characters start quest together through all three novels.
A shift of characters again. With more cast being added to start with.
Some central themes running through them all.
Yet for the most part. Each is it's own story.
Not a bad read, but definately not a normal trilogy continuance.
Through all the books here.
July 23, 2017
I did not enjoy this book as much as I did the first two books in the series. I think that the book is more of a continuation of the first book with just a few elements from the second book thrown in.
I would say read it to finish the series but don't go rereading for enjoyment.
I would say read it to finish the series but don't go rereading for enjoyment.
September 7, 2018
A very nice finish to this trilogy, wrapping up everyone's plotlines while still leaving the door open for more stories. I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed these books, and would be very interested in reading more.
December 12, 2018
It's Doctor Who for Fantasy. Great little wrap up, and it makes you seriously wonder about Nameless/Finder as a character. Is he good? Is he evil? How neutral can he be?
Moander is just about the worst evil god ever though. But he does make quite the good roleplaying adversary.
Moander is just about the worst evil god ever though. But he does make quite the good roleplaying adversary.
September 1, 2020
For me, this was a slightly downbeat ending to the trilogy - even though it involved the fated confrontation between a party of characters we know well and a deity. It was still entertaining enough, for what it is, but the focus it took on particular characters over others left me a little cold.
June 15, 2023
Enjoyable end to the trilogy
A little windy and not quite as tight an adventure as the first two, this nevertheless does a good job of tying up the loose ends of the trilogy. Certainly enjoyed it and would recommend to FR fans.
A little windy and not quite as tight an adventure as the first two, this nevertheless does a good job of tying up the loose ends of the trilogy. Certainly enjoyed it and would recommend to FR fans.
December 8, 2017
Great end to a thrilling trilogy. I think it was a bit rushed but overall it closed up all the loose ends.
September 9, 2018
While fine pulp fantasy, I found this title fell well short of the prior titles in the trilogy. Late in the book, I lost the desire to continue for several days - never a good sign.
May 25, 2019
Book Started out kinda slow. but toward the end it got better. Not the best in the trilogy but still a good read.
December 22, 2020
A solid series, though this last book might show its age a little more than the other two. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy.
November 29, 2022
Wow! Just wow! This was an incredible story, and it really deserves to be read.
December 12, 2022
DNF @ 50%
This was a drag.
This was a drag.
January 17, 2024
It really took a lot for me to return to this series considering how I felt about book 2. But I'm glad I did. This was a very satisfying conclusion to the first book.
January 25, 2025
Una obra maestra de la fantasía
June 9, 2015
Si la segunda entrega de la serie constituye un respiro gracias a la aparición de Giogi Wyvernspur, esta tercera novela retoma todos los personajes de El tatuaje azul en todo su ¿esplendor? La historia comienza con una revisión de la sentencia ejercida sobre el Bardo Innominado.
¿No sabéis de lo que hablo? Se explica fácil: Había una vez un bardo perteneciente a la organización de los Arpistas que utilizó sus dotes mágicas para crear una suerte de clon que cantara por siempre sus canciones. Sin embargo, el nuevo ser se rebeló, mató a uno de los alumnos del bardo y dejó a otro herido (quedando sin voz y suicidándose por eso poco después). Tan horrible les debió parecer la cosa a los Arpistas que encerraron al bardo en una prisión planar para siempre jamás, y borraron su nombre de cualquier registro, prohibiendo sus canciones.
¿En serio? Después de dos libros diciéndonos que el Bardo Innominado había hecho algo horrible, ¿me salen con eso?
Corriendo ese estúpido velo nos encontramos con una pequeña cagada en la traducción de los libros anteriores, que han intentado arreglar espantosamente. En el primer libro aparece la Piedra de Localización (en inglés, "Finder's Stone"). En el segundo aparece el nombre verdadero de Innominado, Mentor Wyvernspur (en inglés, Finder Wyvernspur). En este tercer libro descubrimos que el creador de la piedra es el propio Mentor. Frase de uno de los personajes: "¡Ah, claro! Mentor, el que guía, y Piedra de Localización. Tendría que haberlo sabido" (!!!!!!)
Olvidemos ambos datos, y centrémonos en la trama. Básicamente, la historia se reduce a unas 200 páginas para reunir a los ochos personajes (dos que huyen de los asesinos, otro que simplemente ha escapado de la prisión,...), y luego otras cincuenta para hacer aquello a lo que parecen destinados. ¿De qué se trata? Así por encima, de destruir a Moander, dios de la podredumbre. Su carcasa en los Reinos fue destruida un año atrás con el fuego de un dragón. Y ahora llegan estos payasetes y pretenden destruirla de nuevo, y luego viajar al Abismo para acabar con su esencia. Así, sin más ni más.
Por supuesto, tenemos que volver a aguantar la mole de plantas en descomposición, con sus zarcillos acabados en bocas y ojos, y sus intenciones de 'tragarse' a gente que acaba encontrando la manera de destruir al ente desde su interior. Yo diría que la carcasa mortal del dios tiene un ligero fallo de diseño.
Y así, con una basura que parece una repetición del primer libro se acaba la trilogía. Las referencias al mundo de los Reinos Olvidados son escasísimas.
Eso sí, nos dejan una perla final. El que tan horrible crimen había cometido, y a pesar de ser un maltratador infantil casi reincidente, acaba absuelto de sus pecados al eliminar la esencia de Moander. De hecho, al parecer Mentor (Finder) queda como un ente semidivino, pues ha absorbido parte de la energía del dios. Sus hazañas continúan en un par de libros que no tengo intención de leer ("Finder's Bane" y "Tymora's Luck"), así como también sigue la historia de Alias y compañía en una secuela por los mismos autores, "Masquerades".
Resumiendo, recomiendo leer únicamente la segunda entrega de esta trilogía (El Espolón Del Wyvern), que a pesar de sus fallos es la mejor de la serie. Las referencias a la novela anterior están bien explicadas y nadie se pierde nada por no leer las otras dos, que es mejor ignorar.
¿No sabéis de lo que hablo? Se explica fácil: Había una vez un bardo perteneciente a la organización de los Arpistas que utilizó sus dotes mágicas para crear una suerte de clon que cantara por siempre sus canciones. Sin embargo, el nuevo ser se rebeló, mató a uno de los alumnos del bardo y dejó a otro herido (quedando sin voz y suicidándose por eso poco después). Tan horrible les debió parecer la cosa a los Arpistas que encerraron al bardo en una prisión planar para siempre jamás, y borraron su nombre de cualquier registro, prohibiendo sus canciones.
¿En serio? Después de dos libros diciéndonos que el Bardo Innominado había hecho algo horrible, ¿me salen con eso?
Corriendo ese estúpido velo nos encontramos con una pequeña cagada en la traducción de los libros anteriores, que han intentado arreglar espantosamente. En el primer libro aparece la Piedra de Localización (en inglés, "Finder's Stone"). En el segundo aparece el nombre verdadero de Innominado, Mentor Wyvernspur (en inglés, Finder Wyvernspur). En este tercer libro descubrimos que el creador de la piedra es el propio Mentor. Frase de uno de los personajes: "¡Ah, claro! Mentor, el que guía, y Piedra de Localización. Tendría que haberlo sabido" (!!!!!!)
Olvidemos ambos datos, y centrémonos en la trama. Básicamente, la historia se reduce a unas 200 páginas para reunir a los ochos personajes (dos que huyen de los asesinos, otro que simplemente ha escapado de la prisión,...), y luego otras cincuenta para hacer aquello a lo que parecen destinados. ¿De qué se trata? Así por encima, de destruir a Moander, dios de la podredumbre. Su carcasa en los Reinos fue destruida un año atrás con el fuego de un dragón. Y ahora llegan estos payasetes y pretenden destruirla de nuevo, y luego viajar al Abismo para acabar con su esencia. Así, sin más ni más.
Por supuesto, tenemos que volver a aguantar la mole de plantas en descomposición, con sus zarcillos acabados en bocas y ojos, y sus intenciones de 'tragarse' a gente que acaba encontrando la manera de destruir al ente desde su interior. Yo diría que la carcasa mortal del dios tiene un ligero fallo de diseño.
Y así, con una basura que parece una repetición del primer libro se acaba la trilogía. Las referencias al mundo de los Reinos Olvidados son escasísimas.
Eso sí, nos dejan una perla final. El que tan horrible crimen había cometido, y a pesar de ser un maltratador infantil casi reincidente, acaba absuelto de sus pecados al eliminar la esencia de Moander. De hecho, al parecer Mentor (Finder) queda como un ente semidivino, pues ha absorbido parte de la energía del dios. Sus hazañas continúan en un par de libros que no tengo intención de leer ("Finder's Bane" y "Tymora's Luck"), así como también sigue la historia de Alias y compañía en una secuela por los mismos autores, "Masquerades".
Resumiendo, recomiendo leer únicamente la segunda entrega de esta trilogía (El Espolón Del Wyvern), que a pesar de sus fallos es la mejor de la serie. Las referencias a la novela anterior están bien explicadas y nadie se pierde nada por no leer las otras dos, que es mejor ignorar.
August 6, 2017
Cierra de forma correcta la trilogía, no sorprende pero te hace pasar un buen rato. Personalmente me he quedado con ganas de un Dragonbait más profundo, con mayor protagonismo.
January 26, 2015
Final de la saga. Tres libros con los mismos personajes donde no existe una hilo por debajo de la historia, sino que todo se va desarrollando a nivel de aventura, capítulo a capítulo. Es lo bueno de la saga, la aventura sólo te abandona en los momentos de reflexión o explicación, el resto son retos que los personajes deben ir afrontando.
Este tercer libro sigue enganchando como el segundo, aunque el desenlace final resulta un poco de cartón. El megapoderoso enemigo no acaba de desplegar todas sus huestes ni su mortal talent, así que te quedas con una extraña sensación de que alguien ha querido ir muy rápido en el final.
La capa y espada es pura, magos y guerreros, personajes místicos y singulares, batallas con espadas y sortilegios, seres típicos y aquellos que requieren explicación. Las aventuras no defraudan, sin muchas complicaciones pero muy fluidas.
Este tercer libro sigue enganchando como el segundo, aunque el desenlace final resulta un poco de cartón. El megapoderoso enemigo no acaba de desplegar todas sus huestes ni su mortal talent, así que te quedas con una extraña sensación de que alguien ha querido ir muy rápido en el final.
La capa y espada es pura, magos y guerreros, personajes místicos y singulares, batallas con espadas y sortilegios, seres típicos y aquellos que requieren explicación. Las aventuras no defraudan, sin muchas complicaciones pero muy fluidas.
December 6, 2019
The weakest book of the trilogy, in my opinion. I greatly enjoyed the first two entries, and I think this one suffered from not focusing more on the characters that we have come to know and appreciate in Azure Bonds. Yes, they are all there, but they hardly seem to be the primary characters in this story. In addition, this novel suffers from a severe case of the characters knowing far less than the reader for the first two-thirds of the book. The long-lasting misunderstanding that most characters had about events and the intentions of other characters was simply aggravating, as a reader I had to keep waiting for them to catch up to me so that we could move on to greater events.
Regardless, I still enjoyed the writing and look forward to reading other, later novels by this adorable writing pair.
Regardless, I still enjoyed the writing and look forward to reading other, later novels by this adorable writing pair.
March 30, 2021
3.5 stars
I felt this book got off to a shaky start. It introduced the main characters from book 1 again, but they were all acting against type. Throw in some new characters who are overly protective of what they think and it becomes a farce of everyone jumping to the wrong conclusion.
I'm sure this is meant to add suspense but all of the characters seem unlikeable from the start.
Once everything is sorted out and the story proper gets going then it's back to an enjoyable read with a lot of actual suspense and action.
The ending leaves a bit to be desired. There's a brief explanation and wrapping up, but some of the characters are completely ignored.
I felt this book got off to a shaky start. It introduced the main characters from book 1 again, but they were all acting against type. Throw in some new characters who are overly protective of what they think and it becomes a farce of everyone jumping to the wrong conclusion.
I'm sure this is meant to add suspense but all of the characters seem unlikeable from the start.
Once everything is sorted out and the story proper gets going then it's back to an enjoyable read with a lot of actual suspense and action.
The ending leaves a bit to be desired. There's a brief explanation and wrapping up, but some of the characters are completely ignored.
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