The Sword and the Flame

Too preachy, too predictable, too clichéd... None of the characters had any surprises, and the minor characters, rather than being interesting, were so stereotypical it was almost laughable. I know this trilogy was written early in Lawhead's career, but even compared to the first two books in this series, this was a letdown.

This is the third of the Dragon King Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. The evil necromancer, Nimrood, makes a return in this story and manages to kidnap Quentin's son. Thus a new quest is born. I think since writing these books, the author has learned something important about an antagonist. It is not enough just to have your characters tremble at the name of the antagonist - for a really delicious antagonist, there needs to be some deliberate and nasty thing done to the protagonist that really involves the reader. In this book I did not get that feel - but in later works by this author he does it wonderfully.

Wo this trilogy is really for Lawhead completists, but some less exacting readers than me could well enjoy the questing and the journey show more of discovery the characters go through. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but it is still a good story. show less

Fantasy, Middle Ages