The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King

Dark Sun: Chronicles of Athas #5

by Lynn Abbey

"I, Hamanu . . . "

Hamanu the Innocent - his parents killed by an invading party of trolls. Hamanu the Survivor - enlists as a soldier, forging himself into the same heartless mercenary that killed his parents. Hamanu the Victorious - powerful warrior-king, and scourge of the Tablelands. Hamanu the lion of Urik, King of the World. . . and Dragon King?

He is the greatest threat to the city of Urik, and its only hope as well. Forces are conspiring to bring about a dreaded metamorphosis, and he is their only possible salvation. This is Hamanu's story . . . in his own words.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Dungeons and Dragons, Science Fiction, American, Dark

310 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 2, 1996

About the author

Lynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson.

In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.

Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have paid attention to the publisher. Much as I love Dungeons and Dragons, TSR has never, to my knowledge,  published a half-decent novel. 

It will come as a complete surprise to everybody that this novel reads more like a D&D campaign than a novel. 

Meh.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Lynn Abbey shows us absolute power and unending life on a brow that we can both relate to and find pity for. Her treatment of 'Power Characters' sets her apart from many fantasy writers today.

[Don Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much in the way of a review but this is at once my favorite (for the history involved) and least favorite (for the unsatisfactory conclusion) of the dark sun campaign books. But the Lion of Urik has to be among my all time favorite characters. And the story is worth the read.

[SapphireRose26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, this book was a little harder to follow than the previous installments written by Lynn Abbey. Previously, she did a really great job of explaining the world just enough for a novice like me, who doesn't play Dungeons and Dragons, to be able to follow and enjoy the story. This time, though, she really fell short. It was obvious that I was supposed to know a lot of the Lion of Urik's fellow champions by reputation, and I was supposed to know about Rajaat's backstory, or at least what he'd been up to since he'd escaped his prison the first time. Since I didn't, I was a little lost for a good portion of the book. A few things became clearer about 3/4 of the way through the book, when I finished Hamanu's journal entries, but not everything. I do like the way the author wove together Hamanu's reflection and journaling with the current events. It was a great way to make the backstory more relevant and less boring. It just felt like there was information in the entries that I needed earlier in the book to fully understand the scenes happening.

All that being said, I still enjoyed this deep dive into the mind of a man who lived 1300 years and experienced things I never imagined before. It was heart-wrenching sometimes, and at other times, infuriating.

The end was perfect. It gave me a feeling of closure and justice I wasn't expecting, but I'm grateful for.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last instalment of the Chronicles of Athas, a five part series of mostly stand alone books.

The Dark Sun fantasy world has always held a special place in my heart, as it was one of the fist places I became excited to read about on my own. It's been a long time coming (it's not like there are many books set in this world), but I have now finished all the books that were published in the 90's involving this setting.

As with the books I read in the Forgotten Realms universe, I am most excited when I come across some great history. And this novel does not fail to deliver in that arena.

The organization is a bit confusing at times, as the narrator jumps back and forth in time to tell us about his youth and what brought him to his current position. Some of the politics are lacking, so I didn't quite understand all of the back story and why it molded Hamanu into the King he is, and why the other Kings have picked him. But that didn't really ruin the overall plot for me.

This was a great read.

[Nenad Pavlović · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a while since I DNF-ed a book, but this one made me do it somewhere near the end, I just couldn't bear this travesty any more.

Lynn Abbey is a good writer. But she is a terrible D&D novel writer, and an even worse Dark Sun writer. It is evident that she has no understanding, no sympathy, and no love for this literature.

Not only did she failed to provide any new or interesting lore and stories, she actually managed to demystify, retcon and destroy everything previously written by more capable authors.

The great Hamanu the Lion, the mighty and terrible sorcerer king? Not great, mighty, nor terrible. Not really a sorcerer. Not even a lion (it's just a cheap illusion).

Kalak? Never really was a sorcerer king.

Rajaat? Never actually defeated.

Sadira? An idiot, apparently.

And "Elves, dwarves, troll and other races are just humans under the skin".

I am at loss for words.

Read The Prism Pentad series, and please give this one a wide berth.

[Ian Mathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I wish this really was just a trilogy formally as well as practically! So much easier to refer to. It's a relatively low bar, but after this re-read I think it's an easy call that these three are just my favourite D&D tie in novels. Even more than the first two this one just blew my little mind as a kid, truly did not expect that we'd get a whole book from Hamanu's perspective and that if we did that we'd get a take on him that does not reduce, minimize, or try and justify all of his many, many horrible aspects, but still treats him as a... honestly, even anti-hero doesn't work. Maybe this is a good example of protagonist not equalling hero, but the real strength here is that Hamanu is a monster and a hero, and while those things may not be inextricable in all cases, in his they definitely are. I also couldn't believe the ending at the time, what a power move (for a licensed book).

[Julian Spergel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange end to the story of Dark Sun's Urik that began with the Brazen Gambit (which I also enjoyed) and to a lesser extent the Prism Pentad (which I admit I have read only some of). I don't know if it can be read as a stand-alone novel. I had to look up some plot points from the Prism Pentad, and I think the plots that focus on Pavek would probably be unintelligible to those that had not read both The Brazen Gambit and Cinnabar Shadows.

As a novel about an immortal god-king who seeks to not become a monster, it was very thought-provoking and surprisingly emotional. It managed to convey a millennia of life in a way both biblically overwhelming and intimate. This may be my favorite book in the Dying Earth genre, along with Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book, but kept feeling like I was coming in at the end of a long saga. The story felt disjointed and our hero hadn’t much ‘presence’ ... even though this is his story, in his own words, I never felt a substantial connection. It’s not that he was unlikeable ... just that he wasn’t all that warm, even while professing love.

At first, I was all ears aperk, thinking, “oh there were more books?” But by the end ... “Imma give those a hard pass, and I can’t be bothered to see if there are any.”

[Genifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good ending to an uneven series. Hamanu, the Lion King of Athas has been one of the strongest characters throughout the series and it's nice that the final book is his story - the story of how the God King came to be and who he really is/was.
There's a lot of political interplay and treachery that frankly, can be skipped but reading Hamanu's story and any part of the story with Pavek or Windreaver is worth the effort.

[Laurence · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final book of the original run of Dark Sun books, this one dives into the backstory of the sorcerer-kings, and we actually get flashbacks to the Cleansing Wars.

Following on with the adventures of the templar Pavek, this book also directly deals with the fallout of the Prism Pentad, so the very highest of stakes are in play here.

Liking this book relies on your ability to feel sympathy for a genocidal dictator, and it definitely does its best to try and convey that.

[Paschalis]

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[Taylor Brosseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the most entertaining and thoughtfully written books I've ever read in my life; I look forward to reading the Lynn Abbey's other works

[Valentin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Product Description

The much-feared sorcerer-king of Urik, Hamanu joins a plot to force a transmutation that will allow him to avoid his own corruption but that will destroy all of Urik in the process. Original. 65,000 first printing.

[Rob C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book set in a babalyonian-type world