Flint the King

Dragonlance: Preludes #5

by Mary L. Kirchoff, Douglas Niles

After Flint Foreforge is captured and condemned to the Beast pit, gully dwarves rescue him and crown him their king against his will, but they may be his only hope of stopping the agents of the Dark Queen and finding his brother's killer. Reprint.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragonlance, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

Mary L. Kirchoff (b. 1959) is an American author of fantasy and young adult novels.

Reviews

[V&C Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura muy divertida que te saca bastantes risas.
Es una de los libros de la dragonlance que más me gusta.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though not as egregious as in Wanderlust this book also indulges in the needless death of a female character, once again an unlikely "sexy dwarf" although this one also had the quality of being a trained soldier and officer in addition to being the title character's love interest and the villain's unhealthy obsession.


Theiwar Guard Captain Perian Cyprium, probably. Source art here

If you don't like Gully Dwarves or, more likely, the way more "advanced" races treat them in Dragonlance stories this one is not for you, though I will admit I was surprised there wasn't as much of them as I was expecting (must be that whole "they kept me prisoner for 3 years!" gripe Flint made in Chronicles, herein debunked it would appear) and there was insight into how the Hill Dwarf and Mountain Dwarf societies work.


Krynnish Theiwar, or 'Derro', Dwarves come across as a pretty skeevy lot who can't stand the light of the sun and do not have a lot of redeeming qualities.

Ultimately while it was nice to meet Flint's family and visit his hometown this one is for fans only and can be safely skipped.

[Caleb Wachter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come on, don't be shy; you know you remember it. The weapon of mass destruction which will always be unparalleled, even in modern times when man-made viruses, nuclear weapons, and Michael Bay's worst creations threaten more than our lives.

They all pale in comparison to the almighty Agharpult, a weapon so dangerous that no sane society would employ it, for fear of the consequences to their own populace - not to mention the enemy.

Or what about that brave military unit which puts the Greek Phalanx, Heavy Cavalry, and even modern SEAL teams to shame?

You guessed it: the Creeping Wedgies.

If you didn't laugh, there might be something wrong with your wiring upstairs, or you haven't yet read this book. It's not THAT silly in truth, but twenty plus years on I can vividly recall certain scenes and they invariably involve Flint rolling his eyes at his 'cousins' and their antics.

It's a fun, easy read that does bog down from time to time, but considering the era of D&D fantasy which the book came from, it's a really solid entry into the Dragonlance universe. Easy five stars for me.

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been struggling to read these Dragonlance Preludes, which seem to consist of really poor, child-like adventures involving the characters from the original Chronicles trilogy. The token dwarf Flint is the hero of this one, taking part in a war between hill dwarves (good) and mountain dwarves (evil), but unfortunately the calibre of this book is just as bad as previous entries like RIVERWIND THE PLAINSMAN.

Flint seems to have lost his character from the original trilogy to become a stock hero who fights evil and even gets the girl. You won't really recognise him as the same character. The villains of the piece are okay, including a memorable hunchback villain, but unfortunately - and AGAIN - too much of the story is laboured humour involving a 'comedy' species, in this case the stupid gully dwarves. They're once more trundled out for more endless child-like humour and it makes for a long and boring read.

Things pick up at the climax with some average warfare scenes to enjoy, along with a little blood and thunder sitting at odds with the earlier kiddie humour. Throughout, you wonder just who the market was for this book, but in any case, FLINT THE KING is a waste of time and just written to fill a space on the shelf.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flint, the gruff dwarf, friend to the companions and to tas the kender even though he wont admit it!! A book totally about him and his home back in Hillhome!! Flint hears that the mountain dwarfs where trading with the hill dwarfs and could not believe this as these two groups of dwarfs had been enemies for so long!! The dwarves of thorbardin who live under the mountain including the derro, the worst of the lot had become enemies of the hill dwarves after these got locked out to live up top!! Flint returns to Hillhome and the rest of the book is his adventure, his one chance to fall in love, his one chance to become flint the king - of the gully dwarfs aka the aghar who same as kender are diminutive but big on courage and know no fear, could be cause they are too dumb but they are so funny and lovable! A war ensues between the two groups of dwarves and the leaders fight to the death, flint fights the wicked derro savant, the hunchback who wanted to take flint's Perian!!! Brilliant!!

[Austin E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flint, Perian, Pitrick, and Basalt are the main characters. So Flint hears that his hill dwarf town is being used by mountain dwarves. So he decides to go to his town called Hillhome to find out why they are letting mountain dwarves use their city. The reason this is such a big out rage is because of a war that had happened between the two dwarf races. So he heads to Hillhome.
Flint and basalt are very different people. First Flint is older that Basalt and is Basalt's uncle. Second Flint has not been to Hillhome for a long time and Basalt has been in Hillhome most of his life. But Flint and Basalt are both hill dwarves. They also have some similar traits like they both have a bad temper. Flint and Basalt also are very caring towards there own family but in diffrents was.
I really liked this book and it was one of my favorite books of the preludes part of the dragon lance so far. I also thought that there was a lot of war and action in it. It was a really good book and I liked that it had talked about Flint's family in it too. I also think that it explained really well why Flint hates mountain and gully dwarves so much. This was a really good book.

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel set in the realm of Dragonlance. This takes place five years before the original trilogy and tells of Flint's adventure when he returns home. I believe this to be one of the better Prelude books from Dragonlance. The authors did a very good job with the different Dwarf races and their hatred of others. Also, the reader gets to know a different side of Flint that was enjoyable. There was a great battle scene at the end that readers who enjoy action will surely like. If you have read the original trilogy and enjoyed it, this is a book that shoud be read. It ties in nicely with the originals.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old book I first wanted to read when I was in middle school lol. Never got to read it but recently found it as part of an eBay Dragonlance bundle. Decent story but it was a bit slow at times and I wasn’t really excited about the characters. Not a bad story, just not as much character development or action as I like in a good fantasy.

[Bobby H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as good as the chronicles, the standard by which all DL are judged. Only issue is that in Autumn Twilight Flint hated gully dwarves. Nothing in this book would suggest a reason for such intense hatred, sadness maybe but not hatred.

[Tom Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not the funny fluff I expected, and that pleases me. This has finally added depth to flint that has been sorely lacking.

[John (Hey Y'all Listen Up) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Flint Fireforge fans.

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

And with that, I'm finally done with the Preludes series.

It was fine, I guess. Flint wasn't entirely in character, which isn't surprising given that no one really was in these. It's nice that this at least connected to the events that happen in Chronicles. I have to wonder how Flint knew more about the creature in the beast pit than the female dwarf who actually lived in the mountain with it, but whatever. Unlike the other Preludes, I didn't notice any major consistency issues with The Chronicles (not that it's impossible that they were there, I just didn't notice them.)

Competent writing (even if there were a few poorly written lines and exchanges like "he crushed her moist, parted lips in a kiss that was rooted in his soul."), a decent plot that didn't make me roll my eyes (except for how Super Evil the main bad guy was).

Still,boy, am I ever glad to finally have the Preludes out of the way.

[Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can thank Flint Fireforge for a lifetime of appreciation of fantasy literature dwarves. Yes I know Gimli predates him. But I read Dragonlance long before Lord of the Rings. Knowing that he survives this tale as it was a prequel to the main Dragonlance series of novels didn't take away from the suspense or enjoyment of the book. I did enjoy it. And who doesn't love impossibly lucky and bungling gully dwarves? However, I thought the book ended quite abruptly. Perhaps there was no more tale to tell. But I would have liked a bit more of a denouement given the build up of Flint's relationship with the gully dwarves and Perian, as well as closing out more elaborately the time spent with his family.

[Curtis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked. Plain and simple. One of very few books that were so awful I just couldn't finish it even when I FORCED myself to read this crap. Uber predictable, dry, crappy descriptions, and retarded characters. Please beat this author with a snowglobe.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat of a disappointment since I'd been quietly impressed by Kirchoff's previous Dragonlance outing, Kendermore, in which she takes a simple Dragonlance concept - Kender - and has a lot of fun with it. Here we're back on solid Dwarven ground and it feels like there's less room to experiment, and what we do have character-wise, namely a stock gruff Dwarf character, is not really explored in much detail. The basic plot is fine but half way through the tale you realise that there's not a whole lot of personality to it. There's an attempt to create a hunchbacked villain and a love interest for Flint but there's something missing as the bad guy's menace just isn't there (although I liked a scene where he uses a magic ring inadvertently incorrectly, losing 5 years of life for naught) and the romance is flat.

The "Flint the King" aspect is probably the best realised moment in the book which is ironic since it's basically a gully-dwarf gag. The gully dwarves do, however, form the backbone of the middle-section of the book where the plotting breaks down and things, don't exactly stall, they just wobble around and lose momentum. I do like gully dwarves as humorous interludes but Kirchoff doesn't take the time to create as much coherent lunacy as she did with the kender previously, perhaps because she didn't want to write herself into a type. The upshot is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of point in the gully dwarves beyond getting us from the beginning mystery to the end confrontation by way of an underground oversized creepy-crawler (the fight with which was the other brief interlude I enjoyed).

I can't really recommend this one but should you pick it up you probably won't have a terrible time with it, just a fairly uninspired one.

[Noppy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars if it were possible. The book is a breeze to read and the opening chapter settles you nicely in the main character's living home, Which the hero then leaves and never comes back to. One gripe I had with the book is that the female dwarf is almost exclusively described with things like"her curls were lustily" and such. I wish books could sometimes just say "look, the main character was attracted to her" and then be done with it. Otherwise a nice breeze of a read.

[John Teske · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just had trouble holding my interest

so I did not finish this one. I read the first 15 pages, skimmed the next 85, and then stopped reading all together.

Perhaps I will pick up the Dragonlance books once again. I was chagrined to discover that there were 200+ books in the saga, while being aware that there are some new Weis/Hickman collaborations out.

[Stanley Kimmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book to read alongside (or before) the Chronicles series as it takes place during the five year period before the heroes meet back in Solace to kick off the Chronicles series.
Also, you get to see a different side to Flint than you do in Chronicles and beyond.
A quick read and well worth the time for any Dragonlance junkie.

[Mikaël · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a standard enough fantasy story if a bit cookie cutter, but it doesn't work for Dragonlance. Dwarves don't use swords, magic, or even magical items; stop trying

Besides, Flint would never have the patience to deal with the Aguar, nor would he find another lover

[La Bruja Lectora (Tata) · Rating 2 out of 5]

De todas las Preludios esta fue la que menos me gusto, tiene parecido a Gimly en el sr de los anillos

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super funny! Nomscul is just the greatest, everybody who has read dragonlance, loves the gully dwarves, this is the closest book I know to the gully dwarve's book.


Such the funniest, such good

[Cynik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than most of the preludes books. But doesn't track with Flint's later hatred of gully dwarves.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story telling of Flint and his family. It is easy to connect with the characters and their lives.

[Jake Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got really good the last hour but tbh it was overall decent

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful fun enjoyable read. So entertaining and relaxing.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot about this one for a while so I thought I’d finish it up today. It was fine; I wasn’t a huge fan.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite side stories in all of the Dragonlance universe - watching Flint be his gruff old self with the always-ridiculous gully dwarves is simply too much fun.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book if u r a fan of the series. Always wanted to know what happened before the first book that kicked off the series and the Preludes books do a good job of explaining.

[Serena Solange · Rating 2 out of 5]

A solid Meh. It’s readable but you don’t get a whole lot from it.

[Vel Veeter]

Richer and better than I remembered it being from reading it as a kid. For one, the romance completely passed me by, as did the kind of political/ethnic conflict intrigue of the dwarves. I would have only wanted action and more action, and plenty of the other preludes book offer that. So this one is a little slower, a little more mature, and a little more based in nuance and politics. All great! It's also very very very conservative in its use of Gully Dwarves, also good! I haven't mentioned much about them, but man, I can't tell if the authors here are being classist in their creation of the Gully Dwarves or ableist, and obviously I am reading too much into it, but the Gnomes come off weird, but respectable, and it doesn't usually happen with the Gully Dwarves except here. The issue of course is the inconsistency with Flint as a character. Why would HATE HATE HATE Gully Dwarves so much in all the chronicles if they earn his respect and affection here. Blegh.

I love that we got more of the dwarves. I know that there's other book that deal more with the dwarves and I am looking forward to them, but like in Lord of the Rings, I feel like the dwarves (and the elves too, at least in Lord of the Rings) offer glimpses and teases that never get explored. Here, they're explored, and it's nice!