The Dragon's Dagger

Year: 1994

Abstract:
Gary is once again taken to the land of Faerie to battle evil. I quote from the book: "A wicked king is threatening war on the villages. A banished witch is plotting a scheme. And a dragon who should be banished is burning up the countryside."

Advanced Mind
Exploration/Quest
Military/Fighting
Horror
Magic
Advanced Technology
Time Travel/Alternate History
Science
Aliens/Beasties
Contemporality

Other books in this series: Spearwielder's Tale
The Woods out Back [1993]
Dragonslayer's Return [1995]

Spectre's Review
This seemed to have been a remake of The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. However, it's a pretty damned good remake. I very much enjoyed the main plot, the gnomes, the elves, the dwarves, and all the good stuff Salvatore throws in there. I was especially impressed with the gnomes, as those characters were quite fun.

The character development in this book is extraordinary. What Salvatore lacks in vocabulary he makes up more than sufficiently with wit. The plot is fast paced, the characters are as believable as fantasy characters can get, and the action sequences are realistic, and not everyone survives.

I'm starting a new section, describing precisely why I rated the categories the way I did. I may not always do this, but I will this time at least. The whole plot revolves around a typical quest to vanquish evil. There was quite a bit fighting, and planning to fight. The whole land is a land of magic, so that should be obvious there. The gnomes added a touch of hard science to things. Lots of magical creatures, and of course a huge dragon. Gary comes from our world, and is pulled into Faerie by magical means. This provides a touch of contemporality.

Date posted: 2002 01 23

Spectre's Rating
Minus one for lacking a certain degree of originality.

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