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The Dragon King #1-3
The Dragon King Saga
The three volumes that comprise this compelling saga begin with In the Hall of the Dragon King, and follow the fortunes of Quentin, who as a young temple acolyte, seeks to overthrow the evil loosed by Necromancer Nimrood and to save Mensandor, the realm of the Dragon King. In the second volume, The Warlords of Nin, Quentin once again holds the king’s destiny in his hands as the Wolf Star grows greater and the power of the Nin increases, spreading its black terror. In The Sword and the Flame, the final volume, Quentin reigns as Dragon King and faces an insidious attack of evil—from within himself—when Nimrood holds his son hostage.
1018 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1990
186 people are currently reading
562 people want to read
About the author
Stephen R. Lawhead
102 books2,745 followersStephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium, Patrick, and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion.
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 13, 2012
I started this book a looooong time ago, and for awhile I was reading it steadily. But then I got to the final book of the trilogy (it's one of those giant volumes with three books in one), and I put it down for weeks. I finally finished it up to a very underwhelming ending. The proselytizing just got to be too much for me. Sexism and racism I expect from mediocre high fantasy, but the unabashed proselytizing was new and repulsive. Seriously, the kingdom of the Dragon King previously worshipped a whole Greco-Roman pantheon of gods, but then the baby Dragon King and his hermit friend brought the religion of the God Most High to the people! The baby Dragon King even had VISIONS of a brown-haired man beaming at him! Then God gave him a magical sword, but he wielded it in anger, and it stopped being magic. But then he believed again, and it became magical once more!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2011
Just reread this series. Lawhead is an amazing writer, so it should be no surprise that this earns 5 stars from me. What separates this series from others I have read of his is the clear theological aspect. This enhances its meaning to me as a Christian reader, and takes me even deeper into Lawhead's creativity and exceptional story-telling ability. Marvelous.
August 2, 2024
Many years ago I was given a bunch of Stephen Lawhead books by a friend who no longer had a need for them. She had enjoyed them, more for the Christian messages than any long of YA-fantasy, but knowing I was a keen reader, she thought I may enjoy them as well. Whilst fantasy is not my preferred genre and I’m nowhere near the target market for YA fiction, I’ll read more or less anything.
In “In the Hall of the Dragon King”, the opening novel of the “Dragon King Saga”, Quentin, a young man training to be a priest in the temple of Ariel, is awakened in the middle of the night. The cause of the disturbance is the arrival of a badly injured knight, who bears a message from King Eskevar, who rode into battle many years before and has never returned.
In his absence his brother, Prince Jaspin, is doing all he can to make himself King, bending corrupt nobles to his ends with false promises and conspiring with Nimrood, a dark and powerful sorcerer. Having delivered the message, Quentin finds himself part of a small band, loyal to the King, including his Queen, who seek to rescue him and, along the way, he finds out that the god he served is not the greatest God in this world.
The next novel in the trilogy, “The Warlords of Nin”, opens with Quentin and Toli studying in the city of Dekra, learning more about the ancients and their God. However, they are summoned home by the Dragon King, who is suffering with poor health and concerned about portents in the skies which indicate the end of the age. The brightness of the Wolf Star has never before been a good omen and so it seems to be again, as the knights of the realm are finding frightened villagers fleeing from their burned out homes.
Having survived capture and the threat of torture from the Ningaal, the warlords at the head of the armies of Nin the Destroyer, Quentin finds himself at the centre of a prophecy, which finally seems to be coming to pass. This mentions a priest-King wielding a sword of shining light who will save the world. The problem is that this sword has never been known to exist and no-one knows where to find it, or even who it to wield it once it is found and Quentin has to leave his country on the verge of war to find the answers to these questions.
After the events of the previous novels, the opening of the third novel “The Sword and the Flame” finds Mensandor is at peace, with King Quentin and his shining sword having defeated Nin and ushered in a period of prosperity and rebuilding. The main thing that is being built is a new temple honouring the Most High, the new God who the royal family follow instead of the old gods. The King and Queen are settled into their roles and bringing up their three children and are welcoming old friends to Askelon for a celebration.
But during this celebration, Prince Gerin is kidnapped and one of Quentin’s closest advisors is killed. In seeking to save his son, Quentin uses his shining sword in anger and revenge and the Most High withdraws the blessing. Having lost his son, a close friend and his God in a short space of time, Quentin spirals into a depression and as rumours spread of this situation, both the people and his Lords consider rebellion against the crown.
Even as a Christian and sometime fantasy reader, I struggled with so many aspects of these novels. The biggest issue I found was that they lacked much in the way of heart and this made them very difficult to read, as there was nothing in here that grabbed my attention as either a reader or a person of faith. For the length of the books, they took far longer to read than I was expecting and they were too easy to put down and go and do other things, as they didn’t demand anything more.
What possibly didn’t help was that the character-building was done with very broad and very faint brush strokes, such that you didn’t get much feel of either. It was relatively easy to determine which side of loyalty to the King the characters fell on, but little more than that. Some of the background characters blended into each other and others, who were built up to a point where it seemed that they would have an important role to play, briefly appeared and then vanished. Even in the final novel where there started to be an emotional heart at play, it didn’t go deep enough and was resolved far too quickly and too easily.
The world-building was weak, as there was little to give any impression of the landscape or terrain and, perhaps even worse in a novel based around a quest, distances. Sometimes it felt as if characters were essentially teleporting from one place to another and cities were sited exactly where they would be required, but seemingly out of nowhere. There was a fantastic opportunity for adventure and descriptive work at one part of the story involving a wall that can only be traversed if you know how, but this was horribly wasted. This also gave rise to one of the laziest pieces of writing I’ve seen in a long time at the end of the second novel, which miraculously transplanted characters who had been sent on a long quest for a specific purpose back halfway across the world with their aims achieved at just the right moment.
The novels did improve as they went along, suggesting Lawhead was growing a little as a writer throughout this journey, although not to the extent that I would say I enjoyed even the final novel. The plotting and pacing improved and whilst the world- and character-building wasn’t much better, there was more emotion and faith-based aspects to the story. That’s not to say either was handled with great depth or written particularly well, but they were at least introduced a little more in the later novels.
Although the trilogy ended a little better than it had proceeded, I still found myself feeling fairly empty about the whole thing. This is a novel and a trilogy that didn’t really offer any heart and combined with the gaping holes in the plot, I’m not sad to see the end of it. However, as a caveat and to be fair to Lawhead as a writer, this was a very early outing in his writing career and I have read far better works of his from later years, so this is not indicative of his talents as a writer.
In “In the Hall of the Dragon King”, the opening novel of the “Dragon King Saga”, Quentin, a young man training to be a priest in the temple of Ariel, is awakened in the middle of the night. The cause of the disturbance is the arrival of a badly injured knight, who bears a message from King Eskevar, who rode into battle many years before and has never returned.
In his absence his brother, Prince Jaspin, is doing all he can to make himself King, bending corrupt nobles to his ends with false promises and conspiring with Nimrood, a dark and powerful sorcerer. Having delivered the message, Quentin finds himself part of a small band, loyal to the King, including his Queen, who seek to rescue him and, along the way, he finds out that the god he served is not the greatest God in this world.
The next novel in the trilogy, “The Warlords of Nin”, opens with Quentin and Toli studying in the city of Dekra, learning more about the ancients and their God. However, they are summoned home by the Dragon King, who is suffering with poor health and concerned about portents in the skies which indicate the end of the age. The brightness of the Wolf Star has never before been a good omen and so it seems to be again, as the knights of the realm are finding frightened villagers fleeing from their burned out homes.
Having survived capture and the threat of torture from the Ningaal, the warlords at the head of the armies of Nin the Destroyer, Quentin finds himself at the centre of a prophecy, which finally seems to be coming to pass. This mentions a priest-King wielding a sword of shining light who will save the world. The problem is that this sword has never been known to exist and no-one knows where to find it, or even who it to wield it once it is found and Quentin has to leave his country on the verge of war to find the answers to these questions.
After the events of the previous novels, the opening of the third novel “The Sword and the Flame” finds Mensandor is at peace, with King Quentin and his shining sword having defeated Nin and ushered in a period of prosperity and rebuilding. The main thing that is being built is a new temple honouring the Most High, the new God who the royal family follow instead of the old gods. The King and Queen are settled into their roles and bringing up their three children and are welcoming old friends to Askelon for a celebration.
But during this celebration, Prince Gerin is kidnapped and one of Quentin’s closest advisors is killed. In seeking to save his son, Quentin uses his shining sword in anger and revenge and the Most High withdraws the blessing. Having lost his son, a close friend and his God in a short space of time, Quentin spirals into a depression and as rumours spread of this situation, both the people and his Lords consider rebellion against the crown.
Even as a Christian and sometime fantasy reader, I struggled with so many aspects of these novels. The biggest issue I found was that they lacked much in the way of heart and this made them very difficult to read, as there was nothing in here that grabbed my attention as either a reader or a person of faith. For the length of the books, they took far longer to read than I was expecting and they were too easy to put down and go and do other things, as they didn’t demand anything more.
What possibly didn’t help was that the character-building was done with very broad and very faint brush strokes, such that you didn’t get much feel of either. It was relatively easy to determine which side of loyalty to the King the characters fell on, but little more than that. Some of the background characters blended into each other and others, who were built up to a point where it seemed that they would have an important role to play, briefly appeared and then vanished. Even in the final novel where there started to be an emotional heart at play, it didn’t go deep enough and was resolved far too quickly and too easily.
The world-building was weak, as there was little to give any impression of the landscape or terrain and, perhaps even worse in a novel based around a quest, distances. Sometimes it felt as if characters were essentially teleporting from one place to another and cities were sited exactly where they would be required, but seemingly out of nowhere. There was a fantastic opportunity for adventure and descriptive work at one part of the story involving a wall that can only be traversed if you know how, but this was horribly wasted. This also gave rise to one of the laziest pieces of writing I’ve seen in a long time at the end of the second novel, which miraculously transplanted characters who had been sent on a long quest for a specific purpose back halfway across the world with their aims achieved at just the right moment.
The novels did improve as they went along, suggesting Lawhead was growing a little as a writer throughout this journey, although not to the extent that I would say I enjoyed even the final novel. The plotting and pacing improved and whilst the world- and character-building wasn’t much better, there was more emotion and faith-based aspects to the story. That’s not to say either was handled with great depth or written particularly well, but they were at least introduced a little more in the later novels.
Although the trilogy ended a little better than it had proceeded, I still found myself feeling fairly empty about the whole thing. This is a novel and a trilogy that didn’t really offer any heart and combined with the gaping holes in the plot, I’m not sad to see the end of it. However, as a caveat and to be fair to Lawhead as a writer, this was a very early outing in his writing career and I have read far better works of his from later years, so this is not indicative of his talents as a writer.
August 2, 2020
The Dragon King Saga, a combination of three books by Stephen Lawhead, is a series I feel torn on. On one hand, this saga tackled a lot of things I am interested in, paramount which is fantasy and religion. On the other hand, I think there were definite weaknesses to the series that detracted from my overall enjoyment of the series.
I liked the book’s introduction of a monotheistic religion and its gradual adoption by the main characters. Considering I taught a course on this subject at UCLA, it was really interesting to see that religion slowly introduced and fleshed out over the course of the three novels. Granted, the monotheistic religion heavily resembles Christianity, but it doesn’t feel like a direct copying of Christianity. I do wish that the pantheistic religion of the world had been explored more, especially with the antagonists in the third book being priests. Still, I thought the book made interesting discussion about faith and what it entails, and religion enriched the worldbuilding in a meaningful way. I also thought that the monotheistic god’s influence on the main character, Quentin, was done in a deft fashion and did not feel like deus ex machina either.
A major weakness for me in the book series was character development, both with the protagonists and the antagonists. In a lot of ways, the first book reminded me of David Eddings’ Belgariad series, with the main character, an orphan, undergoing an adventure with a far-ranging cast of characters. While the Belgariad dives into each of those characters, their strengths and weaknesses, and allows those characters to change and develop, this cast of characters generally feels shallow and one-dimensional. Quentin, the main protagonist, does develop, but his supporting cast feels bland. Trenn, one of the characters that Quentin journeys with, is especially forgettable. To me, that is disappointing. The villains of the book also tend to be one dimensional and simply exist. Each protagonist is Bad and wants to accomplish something Bad. In the first book, Nimrood the Necromancer and Prince Jaspin feel more like over-the-top cartoon villains, especially thanks to the third-person omniscient viewpoint consistently cutting to their plotting and other nefarious discussions. The villain in the second book barely gets any screen time, and arrives at the conclusion just to die spectacularly. Perhaps that is the intent of the book, but it was hard to take the villains seriously. While I don’t mind the bad guys being Bad and the good guys being Good, I was desiring more nuance in this book.
Maybe I need to excuse this book series, as it was written in the early 1980s, from this next point, but I thought the treatment of female characters was disappointing. Queen Alinea plays a large role in the first book and joins the quest to save her husband. However, I felt her role in the first book seemed greatly muted beyond that, probably due to lack of character development as mentioned earlier. While Queen Alinea had a role in book 1, book 2 featured Esme, a princess from another country, and it was disappointing to quickly see her relegated to Toli’s love interest and not much else beyond that – it really would have been cool to see her more integrated into the adventure of that book instead. Finally, I did appreciate the third book devoting significant time to Esme, and her exploration and understanding of her faith, but the female characters were still sidelined heavily from the main action. Overall, I think the series under utilized its female characters, perhaps to its detriment.
Finally, I disliked several times a plot device to maneuver the main character tended to be the main character running off practically alone and unguarded into a war zone. Common sense (and proper communications networks) felt like it was in short supply at times.
Overall, I wanted to really like this series, especially as the books dove more into religion and spirituality in a fantasy setting. While this series bears many of the trappings of an epic fantasy setting, the lack of character development throughout the series really hampers it, and leaves characters feeling rather indistinguishable. Furthermore, I thought the relegation of the female characters from the main plot at times was a loss. I think my ultimate rating for this book is a 3.5, and I’m going to round down in this case. Read this if you enjoyed other older fantasy works like The Belgariad by David Eddings and want something reminiscent of that series.
I liked the book’s introduction of a monotheistic religion and its gradual adoption by the main characters. Considering I taught a course on this subject at UCLA, it was really interesting to see that religion slowly introduced and fleshed out over the course of the three novels. Granted, the monotheistic religion heavily resembles Christianity, but it doesn’t feel like a direct copying of Christianity. I do wish that the pantheistic religion of the world had been explored more, especially with the antagonists in the third book being priests. Still, I thought the book made interesting discussion about faith and what it entails, and religion enriched the worldbuilding in a meaningful way. I also thought that the monotheistic god’s influence on the main character, Quentin, was done in a deft fashion and did not feel like deus ex machina either.
A major weakness for me in the book series was character development, both with the protagonists and the antagonists. In a lot of ways, the first book reminded me of David Eddings’ Belgariad series, with the main character, an orphan, undergoing an adventure with a far-ranging cast of characters. While the Belgariad dives into each of those characters, their strengths and weaknesses, and allows those characters to change and develop, this cast of characters generally feels shallow and one-dimensional. Quentin, the main protagonist, does develop, but his supporting cast feels bland. Trenn, one of the characters that Quentin journeys with, is especially forgettable. To me, that is disappointing. The villains of the book also tend to be one dimensional and simply exist. Each protagonist is Bad and wants to accomplish something Bad. In the first book, Nimrood the Necromancer and Prince Jaspin feel more like over-the-top cartoon villains, especially thanks to the third-person omniscient viewpoint consistently cutting to their plotting and other nefarious discussions. The villain in the second book barely gets any screen time, and arrives at the conclusion just to die spectacularly. Perhaps that is the intent of the book, but it was hard to take the villains seriously. While I don’t mind the bad guys being Bad and the good guys being Good, I was desiring more nuance in this book.
Maybe I need to excuse this book series, as it was written in the early 1980s, from this next point, but I thought the treatment of female characters was disappointing. Queen Alinea plays a large role in the first book and joins the quest to save her husband. However, I felt her role in the first book seemed greatly muted beyond that, probably due to lack of character development as mentioned earlier. While Queen Alinea had a role in book 1, book 2 featured Esme, a princess from another country, and it was disappointing to quickly see her relegated to Toli’s love interest and not much else beyond that – it really would have been cool to see her more integrated into the adventure of that book instead. Finally, I did appreciate the third book devoting significant time to Esme, and her exploration and understanding of her faith, but the female characters were still sidelined heavily from the main action. Overall, I think the series under utilized its female characters, perhaps to its detriment.
Finally, I disliked several times a plot device to maneuver the main character tended to be the main character running off practically alone and unguarded into a war zone. Common sense (and proper communications networks) felt like it was in short supply at times.
Overall, I wanted to really like this series, especially as the books dove more into religion and spirituality in a fantasy setting. While this series bears many of the trappings of an epic fantasy setting, the lack of character development throughout the series really hampers it, and leaves characters feeling rather indistinguishable. Furthermore, I thought the relegation of the female characters from the main plot at times was a loss. I think my ultimate rating for this book is a 3.5, and I’m going to round down in this case. Read this if you enjoyed other older fantasy works like The Belgariad by David Eddings and want something reminiscent of that series.
March 29, 2024
Lawhead “Lite” is not deep, but still enjoyable. (4 stars)
If you are expecting something like Stephen Lawhead’s profound and satisfying “Pendragon Cycle” when reading the “Dragon King” trilogy, prepare to be disappointed. This is the Lawhead “Lite” version, because it lacks the depth of description, character and emotion present in many of Lawhead’s other works. Undoubtedly, this is more entertainment than the literary fiction of those offerings.
But it would be unfair to criticize Lawhead too harshly for this, because this series was born in the infancy of his career as a writer. Readers familiar with the more polished and developed Lawhead as evident in his later work would do the man an injustice by measuring his first work by the incredibly high standard of his more mature efforts. As a series geared towards the level of teens rather than adults, and where the reader is not under the false expectation that it contains the majesty and depth of the “Pendragon Cycle”, this is still a great read.
This first volume in the series “In the Hall of the Dragon King” introduces us to young Quentin, who undertakes an important mission to rescue the Dragon King Eskevar from the traitorous Prince Jaspin and the evil necromancer Nimrood. The king can be rescued from the corrupt wizard only after Quentin and his friends make a perilous journey to the dreaded Karsh, the desolate home of Nimrood.
In volume two of the series “The Warlords of Nin” Quentin has matured into a young adult, and must defend the royal castle and the kingdom over against the deadly Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Victory is only possible when Quentin is armed with the enchanted sword Zhaligheer, but first Quentin must make a dangerous journey to search for a rare and fabled substance needed to make the sword.
In “The Sword and the Flame”, the third title in the series, the adult Quentin has assumed the throne and is busy building a temple dedicated to the Most High. But the evil necromancer Nimrood returns and collaborates with the defenders of the old gods against Quentin. The flame of the sword goes out, and the faith of the king and the hopes of the kingdom appear to be extinguished with it.
The strength of this series is the constant battle between good and evil, the powers of light and darkness. Quentin and his companions fight for freedom, justice and righteousness. Lawhead plainly intends this conflict to portray spiritual warfare. Quentin’s enemies find their support in the pagan religions who worship the old gods, and employ the powers of sorcery, the occult and the dark arts. In contrast, victory of Quentin’s kingdom is possible only with the help of the Most High God. The Christian symbolism is clearly evident: the conflict between the powers of good and evil is a picture of the great spiritual battle of the ages between God and Satan. Readers familiar with the battle images of Ephesians 6 will find the connections obvious.
Quentin in particular plays a Messianic role, by achieving deliverance as the Priest King, fulfilling prophecy in a manner much like Jesus Christ. Yet in contrast to these Messianic overtones of Quentin’s role in an epic struggle, Lawhead also humanizes Quentin to the point where he is like us, a soldier in the battle rather than the Deliverer. In the process, Lawhead makes profound observations about personal faith, by showing that in the battle Quentin must learn to trust in the Most High. The Most High will be faithful in preserving the Kingdom, but his soldiers must be faithful in trusting and obeying him.
It is this depth of spiritual vision that makes Lawhead’s prose all the more compelling and enjoyable. This series of three books is in the first place a story filled with medieval vistas and conflict - courageous knights in shining armour, flashing swords, evil wizards, deadly battles, heroic quests, and ancient chivalry. But especially the central place of the Most High God makes Lawhead’s “Dragon King” trilogy so powerful and wholesome, as a picture of spiritual warfare, kings and kingdoms, prophets, dreams and visions, and above all faith in the Most High. It’s not as deep and profound as his “Pendragon Cycle”, but Lawhead “Lite” is still a very enjoyable read.
If you are expecting something like Stephen Lawhead’s profound and satisfying “Pendragon Cycle” when reading the “Dragon King” trilogy, prepare to be disappointed. This is the Lawhead “Lite” version, because it lacks the depth of description, character and emotion present in many of Lawhead’s other works. Undoubtedly, this is more entertainment than the literary fiction of those offerings.
But it would be unfair to criticize Lawhead too harshly for this, because this series was born in the infancy of his career as a writer. Readers familiar with the more polished and developed Lawhead as evident in his later work would do the man an injustice by measuring his first work by the incredibly high standard of his more mature efforts. As a series geared towards the level of teens rather than adults, and where the reader is not under the false expectation that it contains the majesty and depth of the “Pendragon Cycle”, this is still a great read.
This first volume in the series “In the Hall of the Dragon King” introduces us to young Quentin, who undertakes an important mission to rescue the Dragon King Eskevar from the traitorous Prince Jaspin and the evil necromancer Nimrood. The king can be rescued from the corrupt wizard only after Quentin and his friends make a perilous journey to the dreaded Karsh, the desolate home of Nimrood.
In volume two of the series “The Warlords of Nin” Quentin has matured into a young adult, and must defend the royal castle and the kingdom over against the deadly Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Victory is only possible when Quentin is armed with the enchanted sword Zhaligheer, but first Quentin must make a dangerous journey to search for a rare and fabled substance needed to make the sword.
In “The Sword and the Flame”, the third title in the series, the adult Quentin has assumed the throne and is busy building a temple dedicated to the Most High. But the evil necromancer Nimrood returns and collaborates with the defenders of the old gods against Quentin. The flame of the sword goes out, and the faith of the king and the hopes of the kingdom appear to be extinguished with it.
The strength of this series is the constant battle between good and evil, the powers of light and darkness. Quentin and his companions fight for freedom, justice and righteousness. Lawhead plainly intends this conflict to portray spiritual warfare. Quentin’s enemies find their support in the pagan religions who worship the old gods, and employ the powers of sorcery, the occult and the dark arts. In contrast, victory of Quentin’s kingdom is possible only with the help of the Most High God. The Christian symbolism is clearly evident: the conflict between the powers of good and evil is a picture of the great spiritual battle of the ages between God and Satan. Readers familiar with the battle images of Ephesians 6 will find the connections obvious.
Quentin in particular plays a Messianic role, by achieving deliverance as the Priest King, fulfilling prophecy in a manner much like Jesus Christ. Yet in contrast to these Messianic overtones of Quentin’s role in an epic struggle, Lawhead also humanizes Quentin to the point where he is like us, a soldier in the battle rather than the Deliverer. In the process, Lawhead makes profound observations about personal faith, by showing that in the battle Quentin must learn to trust in the Most High. The Most High will be faithful in preserving the Kingdom, but his soldiers must be faithful in trusting and obeying him.
It is this depth of spiritual vision that makes Lawhead’s prose all the more compelling and enjoyable. This series of three books is in the first place a story filled with medieval vistas and conflict - courageous knights in shining armour, flashing swords, evil wizards, deadly battles, heroic quests, and ancient chivalry. But especially the central place of the Most High God makes Lawhead’s “Dragon King” trilogy so powerful and wholesome, as a picture of spiritual warfare, kings and kingdoms, prophets, dreams and visions, and above all faith in the Most High. It’s not as deep and profound as his “Pendragon Cycle”, but Lawhead “Lite” is still a very enjoyable read.
August 26, 2018
Writing an epic of my own
Once again Stephen Lawhead took me to a time and a land beyond my own. As the story unfolded , however, I was challenged to reflect on my own experiences and measure my own belief system. Although it is a story of fiction, Truths regarding the Most High God shine through to elaborate on the impact He has had on my life and many others playing out the human drama.
Once again Stephen Lawhead took me to a time and a land beyond my own. As the story unfolded , however, I was challenged to reflect on my own experiences and measure my own belief system. Although it is a story of fiction, Truths regarding the Most High God shine through to elaborate on the impact He has had on my life and many others playing out the human drama.
May 6, 2019
This was my first foray into Lawhead's works, and I will definitely be exploring his other series! The characters were well-developed, the plot was interesting (albeit a little predictable at times - at least for anyone who's read The Lord of the Rings), and the overarching themes felt authentic and timely. More than just a good story, it also encourages thought about one's own priorities and values, and how far you'd be willing to go to stand up for your convictions.
April 28, 2018
An adventure into a world of noble men and women serving the Most High!
The Dragon King finds that faith in the Most High, safety of family, and the love and loyalty of old friends and new are the most important things of all!
Mr. Lawhead is an exceptional storyteller!
Highly recommended!
The Dragon King finds that faith in the Most High, safety of family, and the love and loyalty of old friends and new are the most important things of all!
Mr. Lawhead is an exceptional storyteller!
Highly recommended!
January 22, 2020
The Best Reading
Not since reading The Raven King Trilogy have I enjoyed such adventure. I laughed, I cried. I was there in every exciting scene. Stephen Lawhead is an exceptional writer. I am about to go on my next adventure with another group of his wonderful collection s. Cynthia J.
Not since reading The Raven King Trilogy have I enjoyed such adventure. I laughed, I cried. I was there in every exciting scene. Stephen Lawhead is an exceptional writer. I am about to go on my next adventure with another group of his wonderful collection s. Cynthia J.
November 18, 2022
Exceptional, uplifting read
I first read this trilogy as a young boy and it’s moral view of a fictional, medieval world gave me endless joy—and instilled in me a love of reading that has lasted decades. I have read hundreds of other fictional books, none of which live up to the memory of these beautiful novels.
I first read this trilogy as a young boy and it’s moral view of a fictional, medieval world gave me endless joy—and instilled in me a love of reading that has lasted decades. I have read hundreds of other fictional books, none of which live up to the memory of these beautiful novels.
October 24, 2024
A great piece of wordsmithing
I enjoyed every one of these books, they are well written and hard to put down. If your up for an adventure with many twists and turns and surprises then begin your journey Quentin,Toly and friends. You will not regret doing so.
I enjoyed every one of these books, they are well written and hard to put down. If your up for an adventure with many twists and turns and surprises then begin your journey Quentin,Toly and friends. You will not regret doing so.
November 24, 2018
Classic high fantasy.
January 2, 2019
Deeply moving
Truly a story to relish. A call to more--to live an honorable life, loving well and drawing others to a higher calling.
Truly a story to relish. A call to more--to live an honorable life, loving well and drawing others to a higher calling.
July 27, 2019
Nice premise but predictable
March 25, 2020
blah blah blah can't get into this book, disappointing
January 2, 2025
Excellent
Absolutely well written. What a pleasure to read !! After the first book, hardly able to wait to read the following two
Absolutely well written. What a pleasure to read !! After the first book, hardly able to wait to read the following two
April 15, 2025
Really good set of books.
November 13, 2017
I gave this book five starts because it is so fun to read and the king and everyone else is so adventure. Plus it was actullay kinda funny. Some one should read this if they like things about magic and things like that also if they love to lagh or even like a great adventure novel then they should defnily read it. What would make it better if there are even more girl nights who are really good at everything. Also if the book is shorter.
March 3, 2016
Mediocre at best. The well written characters were little more than cardboard cut-outs, and the worst were inconsistent and unnecessary.
There was no chemistry in any of the romantic relationships - they all came out of nowhere, and the characters might as well have been strangers for all the real affection they had for each other.
A nine year old boy can save the day, in a situation so absurd it's beyond suspended disbelief, but women can't do anything but be soppy about men. They just get to stand around crying until they decide - or get told - that they shouldn't have their own emotions because it might inconvenience their husbands. The only female character who showed a hint of being interesting had her personality erased within a chapter.
None of the antagonists had any hint of motivation. They did bad things because they were bad people and therefore they're the bad guys. Anyone intriguing had a chapter or two before they swung to the black or white end of the morality scale and turned from people into puppets.
The worst part about it was the proselytising of thinly veiled Christianity. Barely a paragraph goes by without a mention of the most high god. Not only is divine intervention an integral part of the plot, but events unnecessary to the overall plot are set up to end in a deus ex machina, just so we know how all-powerful and loving and attentive this god is - if he's that impressive, what's the point in any of the plot? If you can bring someone back from the dead just by praying, surely god could have solved any of the plot driving problems? Everyone is, of course, happy to abandon the religion their people have presumably followed for thousands of years to convert instantly, without hesitation, and with no conflict, usually after an unlikely and unnecessary miracle. Even a high priest of the old faith took about a book and a half to abandon everything he'd ever believed in.
All that complaining, and this is from someone who likes religion in fantasy. Done well - or even done badly but with something resembling tact - it can be a fascinating part of character and culture. This goes beyond doing it badly and into a whole new realm of terrible - if I'd been warned about how bad it was, I probably wouldn't have started reading in the first place.
In any other fantasy novel, the king who tears down temples and converts everyone to his new faith is the bad guy. Personal freedom and free will are supposed to be seen as good things, not unfortunate failings.
If this is supposed to be a children's book, I dread to think of what the author is actually teaching, despite presumably good intentions. The trilogy is an extended lesson in bigotry of all kinds. Once you get past the staggering amounts of misogyny and religious intolerance, there's some slightly less obvious racism to enjoy, and the miraculous fixing of a disabled person who, actually, was perfectly happy how he was and didn't want to be fixed (to the extent that he ran away and cried about being afraid of losing himself before the loving, wise, and holy mentor bullied him into it)
I give it two stars rather than one because at least the plots, while admittedly predictable and prone to tension-killing divine intervention, were enough to keep me reading when the rest of the content made me want to scream. They were simple, but still enjoyable. They do bounce from cliché to cliché, to the point that I was surprised when no elves showed up, but that's not always a bad thing. It's usually the smaller elements rather than the overall plot that are worth paying attention to.
There was no chemistry in any of the romantic relationships - they all came out of nowhere, and the characters might as well have been strangers for all the real affection they had for each other.
A nine year old boy can save the day, in a situation so absurd it's beyond suspended disbelief, but women can't do anything but be soppy about men. They just get to stand around crying until they decide - or get told - that they shouldn't have their own emotions because it might inconvenience their husbands. The only female character who showed a hint of being interesting had her personality erased within a chapter.
None of the antagonists had any hint of motivation. They did bad things because they were bad people and therefore they're the bad guys. Anyone intriguing had a chapter or two before they swung to the black or white end of the morality scale and turned from people into puppets.
The worst part about it was the proselytising of thinly veiled Christianity. Barely a paragraph goes by without a mention of the most high god. Not only is divine intervention an integral part of the plot, but events unnecessary to the overall plot are set up to end in a deus ex machina, just so we know how all-powerful and loving and attentive this god is - if he's that impressive, what's the point in any of the plot? If you can bring someone back from the dead just by praying, surely god could have solved any of the plot driving problems? Everyone is, of course, happy to abandon the religion their people have presumably followed for thousands of years to convert instantly, without hesitation, and with no conflict, usually after an unlikely and unnecessary miracle. Even a high priest of the old faith took about a book and a half to abandon everything he'd ever believed in.
All that complaining, and this is from someone who likes religion in fantasy. Done well - or even done badly but with something resembling tact - it can be a fascinating part of character and culture. This goes beyond doing it badly and into a whole new realm of terrible - if I'd been warned about how bad it was, I probably wouldn't have started reading in the first place.
In any other fantasy novel, the king who tears down temples and converts everyone to his new faith is the bad guy. Personal freedom and free will are supposed to be seen as good things, not unfortunate failings.
If this is supposed to be a children's book, I dread to think of what the author is actually teaching, despite presumably good intentions. The trilogy is an extended lesson in bigotry of all kinds. Once you get past the staggering amounts of misogyny and religious intolerance, there's some slightly less obvious racism to enjoy, and the miraculous fixing of a disabled person who, actually, was perfectly happy how he was and didn't want to be fixed (to the extent that he ran away and cried about being afraid of losing himself before the loving, wise, and holy mentor bullied him into it)
I give it two stars rather than one because at least the plots, while admittedly predictable and prone to tension-killing divine intervention, were enough to keep me reading when the rest of the content made me want to scream. They were simple, but still enjoyable. They do bounce from cliché to cliché, to the point that I was surprised when no elves showed up, but that's not always a bad thing. It's usually the smaller elements rather than the overall plot that are worth paying attention to.
July 21, 2016
It's hard to start a review of a book without spoiling it. however, let me summarize my thoughts about the book without revealing much about the book. Note that I listened to to audiobook version.
To start, the book was good but not memorable. It's an out of sight-out-of-mind kinda book. The writing was excellent and the plot was just "meh". Predictable at most.
The plot follows most of the similar fantasy genre, and I ve not problem with.Heck, my favorite book is Belgariad which followed more or less the same formula. It felt like the author had a phobia for battles. In all his three book, the ending always consisted of a battle of sorts, but when it came to the battle parts, the angle would change to another character perspective. It's left the essence of the buildup just dull. And the formula was repeated for the next 3 books. It was disappointing. Although the third book proved to be the best, it was rushed.
Character development. Am a sucker for character development and no story is complete without understanding the characters and why they did what they did. For this case, the book did badly with the main characters. The hermit and main character Quentin. A brief backstory on the hermit would have sufficed or more perspective from him would have worked too. He was wholly one dimensional which made hard to believe he had belonged to another order of priests before he left. He was a very important character and was developed poorly. Quentin had the more dimensions than my tissue paper. His sudden change in book 3 was just underwhelmingly hopeless. His agony for his son was.......nah. His emotions had the switch of my light bulb. There is a way things a built up but his was just insane. I ve known people who were once ragamuffins turn to God and give unbelievable loyalty. I can't express Jan words how this character was badly develop. Book 3 ending was superficial and Quentin would go from unbeliever to BANG I believe..!!!
Boy, that escalated quickly!
All in all, the book was alright. A recommendation for a one time read and for bored chemists like me.
The books were always so good in the beginning but something always went wrong towards the end. Just a small change in them would have made this trilogy EPic.
*sighs.
To start, the book was good but not memorable. It's an out of sight-out-of-mind kinda book. The writing was excellent and the plot was just "meh". Predictable at most.
The plot follows most of the similar fantasy genre, and I ve not problem with.Heck, my favorite book is Belgariad which followed more or less the same formula. It felt like the author had a phobia for battles. In all his three book, the ending always consisted of a battle of sorts, but when it came to the battle parts, the angle would change to another character perspective. It's left the essence of the buildup just dull. And the formula was repeated for the next 3 books. It was disappointing. Although the third book proved to be the best, it was rushed.
Character development. Am a sucker for character development and no story is complete without understanding the characters and why they did what they did. For this case, the book did badly with the main characters. The hermit and main character Quentin. A brief backstory on the hermit would have sufficed or more perspective from him would have worked too. He was wholly one dimensional which made hard to believe he had belonged to another order of priests before he left. He was a very important character and was developed poorly. Quentin had the more dimensions than my tissue paper. His sudden change in book 3 was just underwhelmingly hopeless. His agony for his son was.......nah. His emotions had the switch of my light bulb. There is a way things a built up but his was just insane. I ve known people who were once ragamuffins turn to God and give unbelievable loyalty. I can't express Jan words how this character was badly develop. Book 3 ending was superficial and Quentin would go from unbeliever to BANG I believe..!!!
Boy, that escalated quickly!
All in all, the book was alright. A recommendation for a one time read and for bored chemists like me.
The books were always so good in the beginning but something always went wrong towards the end. Just a small change in them would have made this trilogy EPic.
*sighs.
October 4, 2020
This was good, but a bit repetitive from book to book.
February 26, 2016
The legend of the Dragon King continues in this second book of the trilogy. Quentin and Toli are set on a new quest-one unexpected and filled with doubt that they will ever return to their beloved Dekra-a city once inhabited by faithful followers of the Most High God. Lawhead, ever the skilled writer, brings you through a journey of mystery and adventure, love and dread. When all seems lost with Nin the Destroyer bent on taking Askelon, hope ensues with the forging of the Zhaligkeer-a sword blessed by the Most High God. Images of hope, love and sacrifice are clearly displayed and, amidst it all, the majestic power of God.
February 19, 2009
This book is really good for anyone who likes adventure - the first two books are packed full of it. Unfortunately, though, I wasn't able to get past the half-way point of The Sword and the Flame. That one I just didn't find interesting...more likely depressing because Quentin's son was abducted and he lost the fire from his holy sword. If he gets past those two problems, I probably won't know until a year or two from now when I pick up this book and say, "Hey, I remember reading this, it was awesome!" and pick up where I left off. So good luck to anyone else reading this!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2015
The Dragon King Trilogy is amazing. The development of characters from the first book to the last is executed brilliantly and thoroughly. You are connected to each characters story, their fears, their destinies, and the journey they find themselves on to rid the world of true evil. I read this when I was young and it left it's mark on me from then until now. Definitely worth the time and money to purchase these books and get lost in their pages!
October 28, 2012
c1982: FWFTB: knight, acolyte, companions, quest, usurper. This was a re-read for me and I did not realise how far the spec-fic genre has moved on since the 80s. It is still a good YA novel as an introduction to spec-fic but I don't think that I will reread the entire series. Recommended for the YA audience as the protagonist is 15 years old at the start of the book.
February 3, 2008
I've recently reread these stories which were written for children. I love reading childrens books. This series challenges the reader to stay on your path and listen to those who know you best. It's a healthy version of good vs. evil.
March 28, 2013
I really enjoy Lawhead's writing, but for some reason was never able to get this one started. Finally I've gotten into this story line, and I can't put it down. Great story, interesting spiritual overtones, an enjoyable read.
May 10, 2016
This book is written to a young adult target audience. While I really enjoyed when I was 17, I now much prefer Lawhead's writing which targets adults. I would recommend this book for younger readers.
July 19, 2016
This is either the first or one of the first book series that this author wrote. Lawhead is a theologian, lawyer, writer. So, obviously a brilliant guy, and I love these books. I think I've read them 4 times, now.
May 25, 2007
I would say this was my favorite set of books ever for a long time, possibly based largely in my age (high school) when I read them. But they were so much fun!
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