Preview Dragon Venom
In Watt-Evans’s stirring conclusion to his high fantasy Obsidian Chronicles (after Dragon Weather and The Dragon Society), the series’ rather remote and self-righteous protagonist, Arlian, returns to the walled city of Manfort after 14 years of slaying evil dragons to find the duke of Manfort contending with unruly subjects and disruptions caused by wild magic. Since the duke blames these problems on dragon slaying, Arlian suffers near disgrace and has to defend his work from criticism, not that the duke’s displeasure bothers our thick-skinned hero much. No longer allowed to kill dragons, Arlian decides to nose out why the wild magic has spilled into the Lands of Man and stumbles on a more intriguing line of study-dragon venom. Why, and how, does dragon venom turn humans into dragonhearts, and what connection is there between humans, dragons and the long-lost Gods of Man? Watt-Evans tends to overexplain and his dragons lack any redeeming graces, but the swashbuckling story line builds to a twist ending sure to leave the author’s fans smiling.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Watt-Evans concludes his formidably complex and intelligent trilogy about Arlian the dragon-slayer (_Dragon Weather_ [2000], The Dragon Society [2001], and this book) with Arlian wreaking the last of his vengeance on dragonkind. Having discovered the secrets of the Dragon Society and of obsidian as a lethal weapon against dragons, Arlian is prepared to eradicate the entire despised breed. As he pursues that consummation, however, wild magic is unleashed on the world, and the question arises of whether his actions have something to do with the crisis. Is he doing more harm than good? Does dragon venom hold the key to the balance between men and magic? This book is as rich in incident and idea as its predecessors, but if you are looking for easy reading or sauntering into Watt-Evans' three-volume roadshow for the bang-up ending, it won't be obliging. Instead, it is challenging enough to raise some questions about the ethics of some classic devices of high fantasy within the context of a very good high fantasy: this one. Roland Green
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