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"Old, grizzled veterans like he king?" Alusair said with a smile.

"Death of the Dragon," by Ed Greenwood and Troy Denning, is the latest book in the so called "Cormyr Saga," following on the heels of "Beyond the High Road" and the earlier "Cormyr: A Novel." This novel generated more pre-release talk than then previous two because of the rumored death of long time favorite NPC, King Azoun. The novel has been out for a month or so in most places so it is not to much of a spoiler to say the good king dies, as do other NPC's.

...others who must be stone cold insane to want the Dragon Throne for themselves.

The story opens almost immediately following the conclusion of "Beyond the High Road." Vangy is still trapped in an otherworldly dungeon, Rowen is missing, Tanalasta is pregnant, Alusair is being chased by orcs and the kingdom is in peril. From here, the story quickly turns into a full-fledged war for the survival of Cormyr. Hordes of highly sophisticated goblins – well, highly sophisticated for goblins at any rate – are swarming over the land. The ghazneths – Cormyrian traitors given new forms and vast powers – fly around and crush mages and spell casting. Meanwhile Vangy discovers both Rowen – more correctly, what Rowen has become – and a terrible red dragon – more correctly, an elf woman warrior transformed into a red dragon – in the same prison with him. The dragon, it turns out, seeks revenge for an ancient wrong done to her as an elf. She is using magic and the goblins to get that revenge. This is the dragon of the title of the novel. She escapes the dimensional and makes a bad situation much worse for Cormyr. Rowen – now a ghazneth for his own betrayal of the realm – and Vangy escape from their prison, to help princess Tanalasta, Azoun, and Alusair who are fighting tooth and nail to save the kingdom.

"The king is dead," he said.

This is one of the bloodiest books in the Forgotten Realms line. Many, many characters die violent deaths. One of the good characteristics of the book is the bloodyness – this is the middle of a life or death war and you cannot forget this at any point during the conflict. The blood baths and nature of war are not whitewashed – no mater how distasteful war is and no matter how sweet it might seem by comparison after a whitewashing. Tanalasta, Azoun, the Queen, and just about everyone is seen not just in action, but action at more or less a full gallop. No one rests during the novel. The only respite the reader has from this pace is when the focus of the story moves back to Vangy in his prison. There, things move at a pace that allows the reader to catch their breath. Likewise, Rowen becoming a ghaszneth is an element that adds a touch of tragedy to the story, in a setting where things often end far too neat and tiddy. However, there are errors in the book. For one thing, "Beyond the High Road" left a distinct impression that Vangy had himself turned into a ghazneth. He is no such creature in "Death of the Dragon" and no explanation is offered for this discrepancy. Sometimes the pace of the novel moves so quickly that events and situations are left out. We only see Arabel fail and hear as people talk about Myrmeen Lhal being stapled back together – so we do not see the city under siege or watch as it's defender fails in battle. Tanalasta's death is surprising and provokes mixed emotions; while it was dramatic and emotional; it is debatable if it was necessary for the over all plot. When Tanalasta dies, the Royal War Priests present do not raise her. While this can be written off as part of their Tempus ethic, they also do not even attempt to heal her. It is hard to see this as anything but gross negligence. The last chapter is unsettling. We are not allowed to see the funerals for Tanalasta, Azoun or anyone else. More disturbing, we never really see anyone – not Filfaeril, Vangy, or Alusair – go through a grieving process. It is if this vital part of human nature does not exist in Cormyr. This makes the final chapter disturbing, because it reads like all the emotional horror and trauma of the war and loosing some many people so close to them has just washed off the characters like water off a duck back. It is debatable whether some like that -- someone with apparently no emotional connection to anyone around them -- is someone to admire, respect and to follow. Even a hint of grief or sorrow would have made the difference. None is present in the final chapters of the book. This is, however, still a good read. It keeps the nice earthy tones that Greenwood deal in so well and continues to develope Denning shaped characters like Rowen, Tanalasta and Vangy. It looks at war as a thing that kills people not a glory making machine. It is worthy buying and reading.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Death of the Dragon
Author: Ed Greenwood and Troy Denning Category: novel Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Forgotten Realms Cost: $21.95 Page count: 376 ISBN: 0-7869-1637-0 Capsule Review by R. Sullivan on 08/29/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	"Old, grizzled veterans like he king?" Alusair said with a smile. "Death of the Dragon," by Ed Greenwood and Troy Denning, is the latest book in the so called "Cormyr Saga," following on the heels of "Beyond the High Road" and the earlier "Cormyr: A Novel." This novel generated more pre-release talk than then previous two because of the rumored death of long time favorite NPC, King Azoun. The novel has been out for a month or so in most places so it is not to much of a spoiler to say the good king dies, as do other NPC's. ...others who must be stone cold insane to want the Dragon Throne for themselves. The story opens almost immediately following the conclusion of "Beyond the High Road." Vangy is still trapped in an otherworldly dungeon, Rowen is missing, Tanalasta is pregnant, Alusair is being chased by orcs and the kingdom is in peril. From here, the story quickly turns into a full-fledged war for the survival of Cormyr. Hordes of highly sophisticated goblins – well, highly sophisticated for goblins at any rate – are swarming over the land. The ghazneths – Cormyrian traitors given new forms and vast powers – fly around and crush mages and spell casting. Meanwhile Vangy discovers both Rowen – more correctly, what Rowen has become – and a terrible red dragon – more correctly, an elf woman warrior transformed into a red dragon – in the same prison with him. The dragon, it turns out, seeks revenge for an ancient wrong done to her as an elf. She is using magic and the goblins to get that revenge. This is the dragon of the title of the novel. She escapes the dimensional and makes a bad situation much worse for Cormyr. Rowen – now a ghazneth for his own betrayal of the realm – and Vangy escape from their prison, to help princess Tanalasta, Azoun, and Alusair who are fighting tooth and nail to save the kingdom. "The king is dead," he said. This is one of the bloodiest books in the Forgotten Realms line. Many, many characters die violent deaths. One of the good characteristics of the book is the bloodyness – this is the middle of a life or death war and you cannot forget this at any point during the conflict. The blood baths and nature of war are not whitewashed – no mater how distasteful war is and no matter how sweet it might seem by comparison after a whitewashing. Tanalasta, Azoun, the Queen, and just about everyone is seen not just in action, but action at more or less a full gallop. No one rests during the novel. The only respite the reader has from this pace is when the focus of the story moves back to Vangy in his prison. There, things move at a pace that allows the reader to catch their breath. Likewise, Rowen becoming a ghaszneth is an element that adds a touch of tragedy to the story, in a setting where things often end far too neat and tiddy. However, there are errors in the book. For one thing, "Beyond the High Road" left a distinct impression that Vangy had himself turned into a ghazneth. He is no such creature in "Death of the Dragon" and no explanation is offered for this discrepancy. Sometimes the pace of the novel moves so quickly that events and situations are left out. We only see Arabel fail and hear as people talk about Myrmeen Lhal being stapled back together – so we do not see the city under siege or watch as it's defender fails in battle. Tanalasta's death is surprising and provokes mixed emotions; while it was dramatic and emotional; it is debatable if it was necessary for the over all plot. When Tanalasta dies, the Royal War Priests present do not raise her. While this can be written off as part of their Tempus ethic, they also do not even attempt to heal her. It is hard to see this as anything but gross negligence. The last chapter is unsettling. We are not allowed to see the funerals for Tanalasta, Azoun or anyone else. More disturbing, we never really see anyone – not Filfaeril, Vangy, or Alusair – go through a grieving process. It is if this vital part of human nature does not exist in Cormyr. This makes the final chapter disturbing, because it reads like all the emotional horror and trauma of the war and loosing some many people so close to them has just washed off the characters like water off a duck back. It is debatable whether some like that -- someone with apparently no emotional connection to anyone around them -- is someone to admire, respect and to follow. Even a hint of grief or sorrow would have made the difference. None is present in the final chapters of the book. This is, however, still a good read. It keeps the nice earthy tones that Greenwood deal in so well and continues to develope Denning shaped characters like Rowen, Tanalasta and Vangy. It looks at war as a thing that kills people not a glory making machine. It is worthy buying and reading. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)