Dragon's Bluff (Dragonlance: Crossroads) [Mass Market Paperback]

This story starts out with Ulin Majere and his betrothed, Lucy, living in Solace after the destruction of the Academy of Sorcery. With magic failing both are making the transition to mundane lives. Suddenly, their routines are upset when a dwarf appears from far away Flotsam and asks Lucy to journey to that town to identify a corpse - one suspected to be the body of her father, Kethril Torkay. Lucy hasn't seen her father in 10 years and, wants to resolve her ambivalent feelings about the man who deserted her and her mother. She also feels a need to prove herself to Ulin, who is a descendant of the famous Majeres. When the dwarf offers 25% of her father's estate, the temptation proves to great and Lucy and Ulin set off on a hair-raising journey by boat and caravan.

Once arrived in Flotsam, Lucy finds that she hadn't quite been presented with all the facts. The corpse is not Kethril, and it turns out that his 'estate' consists of the stolen treasury of Flotsam. That treasury is desperately needed to pay the town's taxes to the fierce red dragon Fyremantle and his horrific mistress Malystryx. Far from being able to pay Lucy, Flotsam is on the verge of destruction and desperately needs help. On the strength of having magically converted several potatoes into firebombs and thus saving a caravan Lucy is offered the job of sheriff. Lucy and Challis the dwarf attempt to organize the town while Ulin, with the help of Notwen the gnome attempt to track down her errant father and Flotsam's missing taxes. Of course, nothing ever works quite according to plan and the fate of Flotsam is not decided until the last minute.

"Dragon's Bluff" turns out to be a charming story full of suspense and surprises. I am used to heavier fare from the DragonLance series and found myself being happily entertained by the many plot twists and the fascinating residents of one of Krynn's more obscure locations. This is by and large an upbeat story, despite being set in a land ruled by vicious and destructive dragons. It is a grim place to be, but the denizen's of Flotsam are determined to survive. Mary Herbert writes for pure entertainment and there is much to enjoy here. The novels in the Crossroads series are intended to be independent tales, and this tale stands well on it's own, although some understanding of the world of Krynn would be to the reader's advantage.

This novel includes just about everything a good DL novel needs. It has mages, thieves, dragons, gnome and kender sidekicks. It even has the cool theme of the story revolving around a card game called Dragon's Bluff. But it just kind of lacked that killer instinct that could have turned it into a truly great novel. Instead, while well written, the plot never really gives you the action you assume you should get. And the ending lacks that large bang you want during the end of a DL novel.

While it was realistic, had a well driven plot, developed characters, and even had the all important dragon as a villain, it just lacked a little "umph". Can't say I didn't like it, but sadly can't rave about it either.

Final Thought: Anyone up for a game of Dragon's Bluff?

With about 80 novels in the DL series, it's a good thing that not all of them are worth reading a 2nd time(or 1st for that matter)but it still drives me crazy when they so obviously give some of these books a half-hearted attempt.