Temple of the Dragonslayer

Dragonlance: The New Adventures #1

by Tim Waggoner

Nearra does not know who she is or where she lives, but she does know one thing: someone wants her dead. Her only hope lies leagues away, in an ancient temple, where healing clerics may be able to restore her memory.

A helpful young ranger, a failed warrior, a sneaky elf, and a kender wizard offer to accompany Nearra on her journey. She soon learns her newfound friends have secrets of their own. As goblins, an angry minotaur, and a vicious green dragon attempt to stop them at every turn, friendships are tested and all of if may come to ruin from the one Nearra trusts the most.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragonlance, Young Adult, Dragons, Adventure, Fiction, Magic

239 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

.
This is definitely a worthwhile, fantasy, adventure that I enjoyed very much. Would considering rereading the entire series because it was that great! Sure wish I could afford to buy them on the Kindle.

Would recommend 8)

[Aaron Arao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great, I rate it four out of five, five being the best and one being the worst. The only reason why I didn't rate it a five was because, it's not my type of fictional reading. In the story Nearra, the main character, woke up in the middle of nowhere with no memory of who she was. In the adventure to get her memory back she has to travel to a temple of wizards in hope they can help. In this journey she make a few friends who have vowed to help her. Waggoner's stylistic choices were a huge factor to why I liked this book. After a major event had happen, Waggoner would then sum it all up briefly but from another character's point of view, giving it a movie like effect. I also like Waggoner's diction throughout the story. The words weren't too difficult, but I still learned new words when reading the passage.

"The minotaur had caught a glimpse of the others running for the pass, but rather than resenting them for abandoning him, Jax approved. ( Waggoner 149)" This is an example of one of Waggoner's writing choices that made it feel like a movie. Before this, Nearra and the others were ambushed by a group of goblins, and the only way to ensure Nearra's safety was to go through the pass between the hills. It took about five pages for them to decide whether or not to leave, going through each of their individual thoughts. After that it goes to Jax who summarizes it within a sentence. This type of writing makes it easy to picture it, and help the reader know of how fast these events are really occurring. If you like wizards and goblins this book would be great for you, check it out for yourself.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a YA novel that is part of the world of Dragonlance. In this one, Nearra wakes up with no memories. She is joined by various companions in her search to recover her memories.

This is a novel where the company who owns Dragonlance attempted to introduce this world to young readers and it does read like a YA novel. The transition from one scene to the next wasn't the smoothest. It seemed like the author had a checklist where he included an ogre, dragons, an various creatures. While reading this I could imagine the author checking off items from this list. That being said, there is an interesting story here. Also, the characters are terrific as we get a new set of companions that is reminiscent of the original cast. We get a kender who believes he is a wizard, a young female who believes in the knighthood, an elf that is a thief and others. All of them bring something to the table and the author does an excellent job with their portrayal.

This isn't the strongest book in this realm. The characters are strong though and I do look forward to more adventures with this cast.

[Hack · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was disappointing. i realize that it was supposed to be a children's version of the Dragonlance books, so therefore the plot would be simplified and less violence would be present. however, these two things do not give permission for bad writing. the book was simply badly written. the dialogue was flat, the characters had no depth aside from their Dungeons and Dragons character classifications (as in, no motivation for the thief to be stealing things). backstory was only given on two of the characters, and both of those were rather flat. the enemy characters were frequently given names thus making the reader sympathize with their plight. i did think the plot was interesting, but it was badly played out.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first fantasy book I ever read in 5th grade. Obviously doesn't have a lot too it, but it's not meant to be overly deep. Fun characters definitely carry the narrative

[Qaasim Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to say...
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
And that's all there is to it :)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because the new Dragonlance book is coming out soon, I decided to dip my toes back into Krynn for a while and read the first of the original YA books in the series. This follows Nearra as she awakens without any memories. Beset by constant attacks and surprises, Nearra gathers a group of adventurers on her journey to recover her past and find out who has it out for her. Overall, it was ok. Acceptable. But honestly, this read much more like middle grade than young adult, and not particularly good middle grade at that. There wasn’t much depth to the proceedings, and the revelations of secrets and betrayals always came (to me) at the wrong time, usually too soon and without enough development or drama. I’m interested to see where it goes, though—I feel like I’ve committed so much time to Krynn and Dragonlance that I’ll definitely read the rest in the series at some point.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

My son blasted through the entire thing in an afternoon, and it is considerably better than the "Unofficial Minecraft" stuff that he usually ingests. Both of these are reasons enough to start trawling book sales for the rest of the series and other Mirrorstone books published in a similar vein.

It is obviously a gateway product to further adventures in Krynn / Dragonlance. It steps gently into a setting that has some fiddly details and a plot that has at least two levels of not-what-they-seem characters. Unfortunately it means having to explain those fiddly details and to do the inclusiveness thing for the major races of the setting and the major roles of an "adventuring party".

[Kevin Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a long-time Dragonlance fan, I've had mixed feelings about the existence of these YA books. I finally decided to give them a chance and...

Well...

It wasn't terrible.

It does jump around, it does feel a little like the author was ticking things off a list, and it does give the general impression of a D&D game being run by an eleven-year-old.

That being said, I do find myself liking the characters and the story is interesting.

I think I would only recommend this to Dragonlance enthusiasts (a casual Dragonlance reader probably wouldn't enjoy them much) and people who stick to YA when looking for fantasy books.

[Chloe]

I read these books in elementary through middle school, there were so many lol
This was my first long fantasy series, I know I'm missing I think book 8 - I may reread these even though I KNOW FOR A FACT that the main ship (aka my ship) doesn't end up together LMAO
My first disappointing ship ever ahahah

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some mystic power must be drawing all these people to our hapless lead! Maybe she has a great personality? It's hard to tell, with her memory gone. I think I would've enjoyed this more if the kender hadn't been so annoying. It's a mystery how they survive to adulthood.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good, but I have too many books I want to read that I know will be better. It wasn’t that it was badly written or anything, it was just dull compared to what I have read before.
“If you’ve never seen the stars, candles are enough~The Raven Cycle.”
I guess I’ve seen too many stars.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read either this one, or one of the ones in this series, five hundred years ago from the library and wanted to re-read it again. I can def see why I enjoyed Neara & found her relatable.

It's a fun story. Fun characters. I would happily read more in the series.

[Miles Bergeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and fun read, but through reading the series I found Tim Waggoner to be my least favorite author. There were some YA pitfalls in this book, but still a fun read and worth it to get into the series! I loved the series overall.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this is Dragonlance it feels not at all the same and in a lot of ways it doesn't feel at all like one of my favourite series.

[Alec Salmmullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

[ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book began my fantasy obsession around second grade and I will treasure it forever because of that.

[Abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my third time reading this book. Very enjoyable and easy to read.

[Kirsten Simkiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really just didn't much care for this book.

The introductions were fairly good, but every character has one or two personality traits to them and that's it. It makes them feel really flat and hard to relate to, as I feel no one person is so easily simplified to one or two personality traits. We're all a healthy dose of all of them, I think, in different amounts for every individual. The most complex of them all was Nearra, and even then she was just your basic damsel in distress. Sure, she has another personality seemingly stuffed into her, but that personality reveals so little over the course of the book that it's hard to tell what they're like. Obviously, it's implied the other personality isn't nearly as nice as Nearra.

I thought it was really fun having a minotaur as a protagonist. I definitely think of all the characters, he was my favorite. Simple? Absolutely. But also quite fun. How often do you see a minotaur as a good guy?

The plot was very predictable and they spend half their time fighting battles where they're clearly outmatched - yet they seem to always manage to scrape by miraculously. All the characters fit a very overplayed archetype, unfortunately, though it was nice to have a lady knight. Usually, they give that to a male character. Still, none of the stories of these characters seemed particularly original or interesting to me. I mean, I know this is intended to be a kid's series, but come on. The kids reading this are intelligent. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

Overall, it just wasn't my piece of cake. Others may love this, but it was just overly predictable to me.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right from the first chapter, I knew that I was going to enjoy Temple of the Dragonslayer. The book is fun and quickly paced. The five main character are ones that readers of fantasy will enjoy, and each had a mysteriousness about them that makes them all quite intriguing. I have loved kenders for quite a while and was happy to see one in this book. They are always good for a laugh or two.

The main question that I cannot wait to find out is what is going to happen to Nearra if the sorceress awakens inside of her? I can't wait to find out. Tim Waggoner does a fantastic job of starting us out on this fantasy quest to rescue Nearra and he has created characters that all readers will love to read about while filling the book with action and adventure that will leave each reader begging for more.

Temple of the Dragonslayer is an excellent first book in this Young Adult DragonLance series that will be written by different writers. I am looking forward to seeing what transpires next in the book, The Dying Kingdom by Stephen D. Sullivan.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

[Matthew Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The type of person this book would be writen for would most likely be any person who like fantasy.

I gave this book 4/5 stars

When I started reading this book I though it was going to be vary boring and unfufilling, but when I started to get deeper in the book I felt my self care for all the characters. Over all the ending made me want to read the next book to see what happens next to this band of unlikely friends.

I think this story has lot of meaning like having good freinds can save your life, I think this is what the main character learned, she also learned not to let fear controll or manipulate her judgement

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My ex-husband and I have both read the original Weis & Hickman Dragonlance books, and so were curious about this new "young adult" series. We borrowed a copy of this first book to read, and were both pleasantly surprised! We definately enjoyed it, and consider it worth adding to the Dragonlance collection.

[Jun Ming · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly nice and enjoyable read imo. I thought the book might be a bit too naive for me to read as its directed at young adults but no, it has its balance of good character development, well thought out plot and a smooth transition from the chronicles series. Have been looking for this book for quite some time too and I'm glad I finally started it :)

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this with my 10 year old daughter. Her review "I liked it. It was pretty good." She's verbose like that. A good intro to the Dragonlance universe, although if I hadn't been around to stop and explain some of the world building, it would have been easy for her to get lost. But being the huge fan I am of the older novels, I was all too happy to do it.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read--surprisingly well written, with a good cast of characters. Recommended for Dragonlance fans--it's set in the DL world, telling stories outside of the "primary" series. Aimed at kids, but as an adult I enjoyed it.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book. I am not sure what I think about the next one being written my a different author. I liked the start of the series. It seems like it could turn dark though so I am still not sure what I think about the whole series. I did like the first book.

[Kristin Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was really good! no bombed friendships yet. it's gonna happen later, i know it! now i need to find the first dragonlance books, so i know what's going on with the whole cataclysm and war of the lance type stuff... :)

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!! Seriously, it's really good there not at Barnes and Nobles anymore but I can lend them to anyone that goes to Midvale.

[Marcellus galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this fantasy book really good. if your look for a really good fantasy book get this book.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was good but not the best