Hellfire: Plague of Dragons

by Robert Weinberg, Tom Wood (Illustrator)

In the fourteenth century, a horrific plague swept out from the barbaric East to decimate the great nations of Europe. This killer that spared no man, woman, or child—the Black Death—is well-known and documented. But there was also a second disaster that occurred at the same time, no less brutal than the Black Death, a living plague that killed without mercy which has gone untold and unrecorded—until now. A plague consisting of a horde of monstrous beasts unlike any seen before, or since: a plague of dragons. This lavishly illustrated volume tells the story through a lost manuscript and accompanying artwork by fourteenth-century French wine merchant and confidant of popes and kings, Robertus of Avignon (1320–1387), found in the Historical Museum of New York in 2005. Discovered in a box of artifacts, historical documents, and original illustrations purchased by the museum in 1922, his illuminated manuscript and more than two dozen illustrations are reproduced in this spectacular volume that brings to life in great detail the majestic, domineering, and dangerous qualities of dragons.

Featuring the breathtaking images of best-selling fantasy art illustrator Tom Wood and written by prolific author Robert Weinberg, this vibrant and remarkably original book is sure to be a must-have for dragon lovers and historical fantasy fans alike.

Genres: Fantasy

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2010

About the author

Also published as Harrison Denmark.
Robert Weinberg (also credited as Bob Weinberg) was an American author. His work spans several genres including non-fiction, science fiction, horror, and comic books.

Weinberg sold his first story in 1967. Most of his writing career was conducted part-time while also owning a bookstore; he became a full time writer after 1997.

Weinberg was also an editor, and edited books in the fields of horror, science fiction and western. In comics, Weinberg wrote for Marvel Comics; his first job was on the series Cable, and he later created the series Nightside.

Wikipedia entry: Robert Weinberg

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. When merchants brought the Black Death to Europe they also brought another plague - one of dragons in the holds of their ships. And this one was just as deadly. These dragons are not the nice, wise ones who impart secrets to humans. These are vicious monsters from the fires of hell who do nothing but destroy and eat.

This is the chronicle of how the Pope commissioned a knight to gather allies and go forth and kill all these dragons.

It is illustrated beautifully which adds to the delight in the book.

[Bre Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book

[Michael Hohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom wood’s beautiful artwork pairs perfectly with this interesting alternate history story.

[Jake Hainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

(originally published at talesfromideath.blogspot.com)

This book was quite a weird one, despite its massive size, (more akin to the size of an annual than a novel), it’s really just a short story, clocking in at around the hundred and thirty page mark, with almost half of that given up to illustrations.

Hellfire is the “true story” of the time when dragons ruled the earth. The book makes the claim that, following the black death, a second plague hit the earth as dragons began appearing around the world and attacking humans, this chapter of history supposedly slipping into myth and secrecy as the result of a church conspiracy.

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I’m not a huge fantasy fan. However, I’ve been making some effort to read some more and to try and get into the genre. After this book though, I might reconsider that for a little while.
I really didn’t enjoy this book and, despite its short length, I found it a real chore to try and get through.

The actual plot of the novel sees a knight known as Thomas the Dragon Slayer sent on a mission by the pope to destroy as many of the dragons as possible. He is accompanied by a ragtag group of other adventurers and his brother, who chronicles the journey.
A decent enough premise for a story perhaps, but sadly, the book quickly devolves into quick and dull episodes that all blend into each other upon reflection. Basically, the knights arrive at a town, meet a dragon, kill it and move on. There’s no real drama, no character, no struggle, no arc to any of the chapters, they all just sort of happen, with no real consequence.

The story is backed up by multiple full page (sometimes double page) illustrations by Tom Wood. These images fit the story well and are impressive but are also incredibly generic. You’ll feel like you’ve seen these all before in any cheap fantasy art book, there’s nothing unique to be found.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I picked this book up, but the air of mystery the book had disappeared quickly and left a bad taste in my mouth.
If you’re a hardcore fantasy fan, you might want to pick this up for the art, but if you’re looking for an engaging story, you’d best look elsewhere.

[Jasmyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as the memoir of Robertus of Avignon, the writer tells the story of how dragons ran rampant throughout the world during the time of the Black Plague and how history was rewritten to hide this fact.

The story itself is amusing, though you have to suspend your belief even farther than usual because sometimes even for a fictional piece the events that occur are hard to believe in a sense relative to the world settings. Still, the story moves along at a decent pace, each chapter able to stand alone tale without much confusion. Though I gave the book a three star rating, Tom Wood's illustrations were beautiful pieces, filled with color and vivid detail and more than worthy of a four or five.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dragons because the artwork alone is worth the effort. If you're a parent looking for something your child might like, I would give it a thorough look through; though the pictures are beautiful and the story's written in a way that makes it very easy to understand, some (perhaps all?) of the art isn't age appropriate. Some might be considered frightening and a couple are sensual.

[Zuany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was just ok, but the illustrations were excellent.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork, interesting take on history