- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: St Martin's Press (31 Dec 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312869789
- ISBN-13: 978-0312869786
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,279,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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"An epic tale."--"Tulsa World"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Arlian had never left his home village in the Obsidian Mountains. The green hills, white peaks, and black glass were all he had ever known of life, and though he dreamed of travel and adventure, he knew deep in his heart that he would probably never leave.
Until the dragon weather came. Incredible heat, oppressive humidity, dark and angry clouds... and dragons. Dragons with no feelings, no empathy, no use for humans; dragons who destroyed his entire village and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except Arlian.
Orphaned and alone, Arlian the child is captured by looters and sold as a mining slave. Seven years later Arlian the man escapes, fueled by years of hatred for the dragons, bandits, and slavers who took his youth away -and by a personal vow to exact retribution from those who wronged him.
As Arlian makes his way through life, he is obsessed with the concept of justice, and that obsession informs every task, every decision. Even Black, the man he befriends and grows to love as a brother, has little influence over Arlian's obsession. His entire life has one purpose, and one purpose only: to mete out justice.
But can one righteous man change the entire world for the better? Or is he doomed by his own actions to become as unjust as those he seeks to destroy?
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Despite the name of the book, dragons play surprisingly little
part in this book. The story is really about one man's quest for justice (or is it vengeance?) in an injust world.
part in this book. The story is really about one man's quest for justice (or is it vengeance?) in an injust world.
Arlian's village of Obsidian is destoyed by a dragon attack when he was just 11, after a bout of "dragon weather" - very hot but overcast days - which woke three dragons from their sleep in the deep caves where they now live.
In the process of the attack, Arlian accidentally swallows a mixture of blood and dragon venom (which usually, but not always, iginites to produce flame) which gives him a magical quality called the dragon's heart - a combination of a powerful charismatic presence, grest health and a 1000-year lifespan.
But he gets little benifit from this at first, since a group of scavengers come upon him - and sell him into slavery in a silver mine. It takes him 7 years to escape, but he vows to get his revenge upon them, especially their leader "Lord Dragon".
When he does escape, he is taken in by a group of brothel-slaves - all of whom have been mutilated (their feet cut off) to prevent them escaping. Disaster strikes, and he is left on the run again in Spring, with the 6 owners of the brothel now on his list for vengeance - 6 powerful lords, including Lord "Dragon".
Arlian eventually makes his fortune and is able to gain enough power, in his new identity as "Lord Obsidian", to confront his foes on equal terms - for Lord "Dragon" and 4 of the others are powerful dragonhearts themselves.
As usual there is a great wealth of detail to Watt-Evans' worldbuilding. The nation of the Lands of Man was until a few centuries ago under the rule of the invincible dragons, and no-one really knows why they left. Almost everybody uses aliases all the time (a hangover from the reign of draconic terror) and a lord is simply anyone who employs free men to work for him, rather than slaves. Real power lies in secret societies - above all others, the Dragon Society.
While rather grim and pessimistic in places ("gritty" as some might put it) I found this a very enthraling story. Towards the end it begins to resemble Scaramouche, with the wronged man challenging each opponent to a duel in turn, but takes a few surprising twists at the end. The book ends with Arlian's human opponents either dead or making a sort of peace with him - leaving him free to start wondering how to take on the dragons, and what secrets are best left untold. The consequences of all this leads to the next book in the trilogy, The Dragon Society. The trilogy (called the Obsidian Chrnonicles by the author) will end with Dragon Venom.
The author Lawrence Watt-Evans is best known for his light-hearted fantasy series The Legends of Ethshar. This is a rather different style of fantasy. There is injustice and violence, and men believe the gods to be dead, with only Fate in charge. The only justice for Arlian is the justice he makes for himself - with a little helping hand from Fate, here and there.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
38 reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Another great work from one of the unheralded masters
26 Oct 1999
Format:Hardcover
Lawrence Watt-Evans seems to be below the radar among fantasy writers these days. I can't imagine why -- his post-Ethshar novels ("Dragon Weather" and "Touched by the Gods") have each been gripping reworkings of tried-and-true fantasy themes.
In the case of "Dragon Weather," it's the old young-man-grows-up-and-avenges-wrongs formula, but Watt-Evans manages to breathe his own fresh life into it. Especially refreshing (well, maybe that's not the right word) is the casual brutality he brings into it -- diseased and maimed people fill the pages, much as one would actually expect in a barbaric pre-technological world.
Sure, some of the plot points are seen kind of early, but Watt-Evans even manages to bring them around in a refreshing way, even going so far as to pull a triple-cross on the reader at one point.
The ending suggests a sequel to the point that "To Be Continued" might as well have appeared beneath the last few lines. We can but hope.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
A Very Solid Read
20 April 2000
Format:Hardcover
Lawrence Watt-Evans has created a great multi-level sci-fi read. With spectacular character development he shows us a world with falable heroes and villains that are both cruelly evil yet sometimes right. The author undauntingly asks the question of greater good versus justice. Then is polite enough not to answer for us. Instead he throws in a very interesting plot twist(One I found better than a certain Oscar naominated movie). Although, The book was a little ponderous towards middle the climax was well worth the wait. A very solid read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Lawrence does it again
27 April 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It's been a long time since I enjoyed reading a fantasy novel this much. While a long time fan of this author, I think this is one of his best efforts since the publication of the Overman series. This book in the classic "person wronged and getting even" genre like the "Count of Monte Cristo". In fact, the main character, Arlian, follows a very similar path, from a boyhood cut short by being sold into slavery, to his eventual escape and plan to revenge himself on those who did this to him by posing as a Lord and getting wealthy from a hidden stash. I could hardly put it down. It's a definite must read for anyone who has admired Lawrence Watt-Evans' books as long as I have, and for anyone who wants to try him out for the first time. An excellent work of fantasy.
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