Reviews for Dragonmage of Mystara

The average rating for Dragonmage of Mystara based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-10-21 00:00:00 Justin Gould I am going to review this trilogy as a whole because no single book stands out in my mind as being any better or worse than another. They were all equally terrible. The three books Dragonlord of Mystara, Dragonking of Mystara and Dragonlord of Mystara make up the 'Dragonlord Chronicles'. They are written by Thorarinn Gunnarsson. I should have been suspicious from the start given the obvious play upon the immensely popular and infinitely better conceived 'Dragonlance Chronicles' from the same publisher. These books are set within the Dungeons and Dragons world of Mystara and chart the course of the obligatory orphaned farm boy on his meteoric rise to his righteous destiny among the stars. It could be reviewed in one of two ways, as a fantasy novel in its own right, or as a piece of the Mystara universe. Neither would be flattering. For a fan of the Mystara universe this book is an abomination, totally disregarding the campaign world's established fan base and re-writing the history past, present and future of a much beloved world. It adds nothing, nor appears to be derived from much resembling the world the fans know and love. As a fantasy novel it relies greatly on cliche, we have the stoic Dwarf Fighter, the independent Amazon, the Wise Old Mentor and the Impressionable Do-No-Wrong Orphan Hero-Boy. That is about as far as the characterization goes. After drudging through the entire trilogy I could tell you little else about the main characters. I could mention that they all 'talk' for the author, the unsurprising advancements of plot are simply revealed all too often in unbelievable dialogue rather than revealed by events and actions. Likewise the character's thoughts and motivations are never revealed through action but always in a very clumsy monologue fashion. They frequently talk in obvious D&D game terms, even going so far as to describe each other by class and level. The dragons of the books are just awful. I cannot stress this enough. At once described as wise, powerful, majestic beings we then learn that regardless of color or species they are such a territorial race that if two or more are around each other for very long they degenerate into wild beasts and savagely rip each other apart. This is stressed time and again in the first book, and yet the second and third books feature, literally, thousands of dragons on each page and unfortunately this never happens. The dragons are also laughably weak. Our uber-powerful hero, in one memorable moment kills six dragons with a single blow from his sword. I only wish I were joking. The bad moments are too many list but I will try. The hero is simply impervious to all damage by anything, and can kill anything effortlessly - this does not help to add any dramatic tension whatsoever to the story. His mysterious origins are really very predictable and boring and I found I could really care less. An army of several thousand dragons surrounds a city, trying to get to our hero - but they fear him too much to attack! Come on, these are dragons! In the meantime, a couple of allied armies 'sneak' into the besieged city under cover of darkness without the supremely wise and knowledgeable dragons apparently noticing. I could go on, but I will spare you. I am, and ever will be a fan of fantasy novels and the Dungeons and Dragons genre lines. I have read the good, the bad and the indifferent. This trilogy falls way below the bad. It is the dire, the terrible, the abysmal and really-should-not-have-been-written much less read. Thanks but no thanks, Thorarinn.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-10-12 00:00:00 John Topaum A lot of people seem to dislike these books. I don't blame them, I suppose. But honestly, the books did enough for me. They entertained me. There is nothing really super special about them. I wouldn't suggest them over many books. Honestly, I probably rated too high... but still, I can't help it. I enjoyed them. Clear your mind. Forget those who are pushing the fantasy book realm to a new level. Don't seek to compare. In college, a wise professor told me to not go into any text without an open mind. Not to bring in outside influence. That is hard, but it has allowed me to enjoy books all the more for it. If you read this series, you'll find things to enjoy. There is nothing really special about the writing. It is neither great, nor horrible. The setting can seem generic at times, but the author seems to know that, so he doesn't focus too much on it. Just read these books and try to enjoy them for what they are: slightly entertaining. They weren't written to break the mold, or to change fantasy. They were written to celebrate it in a light way, I think. At least, that's what it seemed like to me. The series was like a high-quality B movie. They know what they are, and there are no apologies about it.