Join me as I review Dragon Sword by Ree Soesbee, live! Share your thoughts on this fifth novel in The New Adventures series, and the first novel in the Dragon Quartet. You can pick up Dragon Sword here: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Sword-Dragonlance-Adventures-Vol/dp/0786935782
About Dragon Sword
The fifth title in an all-new Dragonlance series for young listeners.
Dragon Sword continues a new series of Dragonlance adventures written specifically for listeners ages 10 and up. Sized to fit the young listener market, the series features a new group of young companions who band together for friendship and excitement during the golden age of the Dragonlance world.
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Gildember the 13th, my name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Dragon Sword by Ree Soesbee. I will be spoiling the story, so if you don’t want to know it, stop watching now! I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this YouTube channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.
I am starting to think this whole, new author each book thing is brilliant, because as the last author forgot to mention the Aegis, which is now the sword, this new author picked up on it immediately. However, now Sindri isn’t magical at all… this series is so inconsistent as to be maddening. We pick up with a flashback to 1780 P.C. Where Asvoria is facing off against her once lover, Captain Viranesh. She has decimated the armies of her foes, but lost hers in turn. Viranesh ends up slaying Asvoria as she slays him. As she is dying, she passes her soul into the tapestry. Then we flash forward to just after the last book, and Davyn is interrogating Maddoc. It seems Maddoc lost his magic in Asvoria’s attack, and is not asking Davyn to kill him, for without magic, he is nothing.
They get out of him that Asvoria is probably traveling to her old summer home called Navarre in northern Solamnia. Its location was erased over time, and as her corpse was interred there, her followers buried themselves inside to keep the secret safe. A ranger accidentally discovered the tomb and was rescued after being trapped inside. Maddoc placed an enchantment on it to protect its secrets until he could discover them. Now that Asvoria is back, Maddoc refuses to give any specifics, claiming not to know its location. The companions travel to a gnome bard in Ravenscar named Godwin Elfbearer. He reluctantly gives them information about it, as he is the one who kept the rangers information on where it is located and the rudimentary map he made of the insides. The companions pay for a copy and begin traveling north.
As the others are getting the map, Sindri is watching Maddoc and makes him a proposition to have Maddoc teach him magic, so he can pass the test of High Sorcery, and if he does, Sindri will let Maddoc loose and try to get him his magic back. This seems crazy and pointless as for the last two books, Sindri had magic from the ghost dragon, but now apparently he has none. This is ridiculous. So maddoc makes Sindri swear an oath, not to mention it to anyone, and he decides to teach him. As everyone travels to Navarre together, Davyn takes them to a rout with a bunch of poisonous lizard lynx creatures to find out if Maddoc did indeed lose his magic. When everyone nearly dies, including Maddoc, Davyn is finally convinced he is powerless.
Asvoria sends Ophion to stop or slow the companions from getting to her tomb, and sends out her undead griffon to collect others willing to serve her. Then she summons creatures to hinder the companions. The companions find the entrance to Asvoria’s summer home, and upon entering, realize it is much larger than expected. They continue in, deeper into a vast audience chamber when Elidore discovers a trap. He goes off to investigate it as Maddoc and Catriona have a heart to heart discussion where Maddoc actually convinces Cat to swear to protect him, and she all but does! Now Maddoc has Sindri and Catriona, it seems he will eventually turn them against Davyn, but then Elidore returns. It turns out that if the trap is triggered it will drop the ceiling on top of them, but to clear the trap, two people will have to carefully navigate the room to the other side, and turn two keys at the same time from across the room. Elidore prepped them and Sindri and Maddoc moved to one of the keys as Elidore went to the other.
Just then, the shadows that Asvoria summoned attack, and the companions have no way to defeat them outside warding them away with their lantern. The shadows freeze Sindris fingers, so he can’t turn the key, and Maddoc tells Sindri the spell of fireball, and Sindri casts it, so apparently he does still have magic, and you no longer have to memorize spells to cast them… what?! So the fireball destroys the shadows as they turn the key, but Sindri’s fingers are frozen from the shadows, so he can’t turn his and the ceiling collapses on them. Everyone thinks Davyn is killed, but he survived, and rather than work their way to the other side to help Elidore, they all decide to hurry to stop Asvoria who obviously knows they are there.
They move deeper into the area and come to a library with so much rare knowledge Maddoc is taken aback. There’s even an essay from Fistandantilus! They discover a palantir and accidentally break it, thanks to Sindri, and it unleashes a mist creature that seems to know and dislike Maddoc. Meanwhile Elidore uncovers himself from the rubble and discovers a way to the outside. He comes across Davyn, yea, this must be the shapeshifter Ophion posing as Davyn, and they travel into a valley outside. Why don’t they try to get back into Asvorias lair with the other companions? I have no idea, but they come to a hidden town that Elidore actually used to live in. Its called Tarrent and Davyn and Elidore are arrested for murdering the Baron, though thye just arrived. Apparently Elidore has a bad history with the town and they know him to be a thief and suspect him to be a murderer as well.
After investigating the murder to prove their innocence, they determined it was the Sceneshal’s son who killed the Baron and is about to kill the Baroness as Elidore and Davyn catch up with him. There is a portal in this town, which leads to Asvoria’s tomb, because the residents of this town are the descendants of the slaves that were mean to die in Asvorias tomb but escaped through the portal to this town. A single traitor has been handing down their fealty to Asvoria to their descendants till the portal opened with Ophion coming through it. Now the boy is about to kill the Baroness.
The companions are talking with the mist which was trapped by Asvoria centuries before and now that it is free it opens the door to Asvoria’s tomb for the companions as a thanks, but demands to kill Maddoc as he is evil, and the mist is a guardian of good. When Sindri and Catriona step in to stop it from killing Maddoc, it attacks them, and even Davyn when he moves to protect them. Sindri ends up summoning a painting from Maddocs keep which was enchanted and traps its viewer, and they trapped the guardian. So apparently Sinddri IS magical. Asvoria tries to enter her tomb to collect the Aegis but is stopped by the magical ward Maddoc placed on it years ago. She is not strong enough to break his spell, so she decides to wait for them to open it for her. Then she will come in after them and kill them.
I was wrong. Davynl was with Elidore the whole time, while Ophian was with the companions, appearing as Davyn. He let them all sleep so he could take watch and he stole the Daystar from Sindri’s bags, and bring it to Asvoria. She used it to drop Maddoc’s shield, and entered the tomb. Elidore stops the last priest of Asvoria from killing Baroness Veil, and she lets them through the portal. So Davyn and Elidore entered through the portal from Tarrent into Navarre. Catriona and Sindri ran ahead realizing they had been duped, and entered the labyrinthine corridors of the tomb. Davyn and Elidore split up to try and meet them, as Davyn arrived to Sindri, Cat attacked him, believing him to be Ophion again. They battled, with Davyn nearly dying when Elidore stepped into the room and clarified that it was the real Davyn and Ophion had taken Maddoc to Asvoria.
With Asvoria dead and entombed in the tapestry when her tomb was built, she had no idea where her slaves hid the Aegis, but Maddoc does know. So she is trying to get the information out of him as the companions show up. Maddoc refuses to tell her so she attacks him with lightning, much like Senator Palpatine attacked Mace Windu with force lightning. At least, that’s what it was like in my mind. The companions all rush in to confront Asvoria and Ophion reveals himself from the guise of Elidore, and forces them to all drop their weapons. Maddoc promises to help Asvoria get the Aegis though he doesn’t know the exact key, and Catriona helps him to the panel. Maddoc says he will trip the trap and destroy himself and Asvoria, while Catriona swears fealty to Maddoc to stop him, and returns to Davyn forcing him to give the key to Maddoc. Why she had to swear an oath is lost on me.
Maddoc opens the container and throws the Aegis to Catriona. Asvoria summons snakes and enlarges one, which Davyn faces off against. The true Elidore shows up and attacks Ophion, Maddoc is near death, laying there. Sindri grappled with Asvoria when his attempt at casting a spell failed. She throws him to the ground, and focuses on Catriona. Sindri tells Maddoc the spell failed and begs him to teach him the last half; as it’s an evil spell Maddoc warns Sindri, but he doesn’t care. Davyn kills the snake, turns toward Asvoria as well, but is shocked and she grabs his chest Temple of Doom Style, telling Catriona to give her the sword or Davyn will die. Elidore throws a dagger at Asvoria’s back, and Asvoria casts a spell of life essence transfer from Davin and Elidore to herself, healing. Elidore drops to the ground as Ophion bashes him in the head with a mace. Davyn is near death as Maddoc and Sindri cast the spell which destroys the Aegis.
Asvoria is weakened, as Sindri handles the Daystar away from her and the Aegis is destroyed, so Nearra can take control for a moment. She throws herself down a well, pleading with everyone to run. Ophian sprouts wings and jumps after her. Maddoc demands everyone leave as he is dying and will only slow them. They know Asvoria will return angrier so they flee and Maddoc collects up the pieces of the Daystar, and sees that Elidore is slowly breathing. He casts a spell to teleport them away. And this is where it ends. Sindri may or may not have magic, or it was all Maddoc doing it as he lied about not having his magic. Elidore may be dead but probably isn’t. Catriona swore fealty to Maddoc for some insane reason, as Sindri was learning magic from him. Davyn is devastated that Nearra is probably gone for good, and they all failed… again. Why they don’t reach out to adult heroes, I will never know, but this story is getting convoluted and ridiculous.
Everything given is taken away or teased to never have been taken. Magic? No? Who knows. Daystar? Aegis? Who cares? Asvoria is incompetent without the two artifacts it seems, and Maddoc is the same liar he always was, using the cmpanions to get the Daystar.
I had a good time with portions of this novel, but I found myself forcing my mind to focus on the story. I am losing my desire to care about any of this because it’s all so wishy washy with no actual consequences. Whenever someone dies, they are brought back. When the good guys win, they actually lose. When the bad guys are near winning they lose only to turn the tables again. Why anyone would sit through the entire eight story arc of this New Adventures is beyond me. They are either masochists, or have a Dragonlance youtube channel.
I would not recommend reading this as it’s the beginning of the second, four story arc, and after the first story arc, you should know better. There are so much better Dragonlance books out there that actually feel like dragonlance, unlike this series. Do yourselves a favor, and read those.
Outro
And that’s it for my review of Dragon Sword by Ree Soesbee. What do you think about the fifth of The New Adventures novels? Did you have a favorite part of the novel? You can email me at info@dlsaga.com or comment below.
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This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time Slàinte mhath (slan-ge-var).
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