In the Hall of the Dragon King (The Dragon King Trilogy)

Title: In the Hall of the Dragon King

Series: The Dragon King Trilogy (Book #1)

Year: 1982

Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

Summary: Carrying a sealed message from the war-hero Dragon King to the queen, Quentin and his outlaw companion, Theido, plunge headlong into a fantastic odyssey and mystic quest.  Danger lurks everywhere in the brutal terrain, and particularly in the threats from merciless creatures, both human and not-so-human.

While at the castle, the wicked Prince Jaspin schemes to secure the crown for himself, and an evil sorcerer concocts his own monstrous plan.  A plan that Quentin and Theido could never imagine.

In the youth's valiant efforts to save the kingdom and fulfill his unique destiny, he will cross strange and wondrous lands; encounter brave knights, beautiful maidens, and a mysterious hermit; and battle a giant, deadly serpent.

In this first book of the Dragon King Trilogy, Stephen R. Lawhead has deftly woven a timeless epic of war, adventure, fantasy, and political intrigue.

Review: It took me a bit to get into this book. One, because I've been super distracted with taking care of my ten month old daughter and trying to find time to work on my Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling. Two, because it didn't completely grab my interest at first. Honestly, I feel like I was expecting more out of this book. It wasn't bad; it just didn't captivate me. And maybe I'm too picky for thinking that.

Quentin is a young man in training to be a priest of the god Ariel, and he's pretty serious about his duty. That is, until a knight of the legendary Dragon King arrives on the temple steps, near death and pleading with the priests to help him accomplish his mission. Quentin volunteers and finds himself beginning an adventure that he believes will end with delivering a secret letter to the Queen herself.

To me, this really wasn't a dragon story, and in that I was disappointed. With all the promise of dragons on the cover and title, I was really hoping for some dragon action, but all we got was an illusion of a dragon in one scene on the beach.

Honestly, it felt more like a Robin Hood retelling. Because the good Dragon King was away at war and hadn't been heard from in years (possibly believed dead), the evil younger brother of the king is looking to usurp the throne (Prince John much, legends?). He has a dark magician on his side, which puts the odds incredibly in his favor, and the kingdom is nearly ready to succumb.

There are still pockets of rebellion, much in the Robin Hood style of archers living in the forest, and the queen herself is willing to do whatever it takes to save her realm.

This is almost your typical cliche fantasy, epic quest kind of story. A young underdog thrown from his home, embarks on a quest, befriends a wise wizard, gains the servitude of a loyal follower, and (spoiler) falls in love with the princess. We've also got some shipwrecks, illnesses, and things along those lines that deter it from the normal cliche track enough that it's not like every other fantasy out there. But no dragons. *tears* Maybe in the next two books of the trilogy. One can hope.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. Part of me just wishes it didn't taste as cliche as it did. This is an older publication, which makes sense; today's readers (myself included) are just looking for more originality. Would recommend if you're a fantasy buff wanting to read a classic type of fantasy story.

Advisory: Fantasy violence/fighting. Nothing too graphic to trouble anyone, I believe, if you're used to this kind of story. One character fights a giant snake; a few characters get wounded/sick.

Dark magic. Fighting with the younger brother/Prince John character is a necromancer who is proficient in the dark arts. He can shapeshift, among other things, but is clearly shown to be evil. At one point, he uses his magic to raise warriors into, what he calls, the Death Legion.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars