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Well of Darkness (Sovereign Stone #1)
by
Margaret Weis,
Tracy Hickman (Goodreads Author)
Second in line for succession to the throne, Prince Dagnarus will have his crown...and his queen -- though his heart's prize is a married elfin beauty. Let his hated half-brother Prince Helmos and the Dominion Lords dare to oppose him. For Dagnarus's most loyal servant has ventured into the terrible darkness, where lies the most potent talisman in the realm. And once it is...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
September 4th 2001
by HarperTorch
(first published 2000)
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Jan 26, 2013
Sneakend
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Sneakend by:
Knaus
Shelves:
fantasy
I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I was hooked from page one. I used to be a huge fan of Weis and Hickman as a teenager and though I might not regard their writing as highly as I used to, I did not want to put this book down before I'd read all of it.
It was interesting, the different races are not at all what you expect and I personally found the orks to be extremely humorous. I would read a whole book about them. And that is another aspect I always enjoyed in these writers' books: t...more
It was interesting, the different races are not at all what you expect and I personally found the orks to be extremely humorous. I would read a whole book about them. And that is another aspect I always enjoyed in these writers' books: t...more
Nothing jaw-dropping, no brilliant characters or plots here, but okay structure, an interesting magic system, and cool world-building. Cool world-building is really what I expect from these guys.
Here we've got your standard fantasy world with a nice subtle twist. They've kept something core about each race, and just given a perspective shift on the rest. For example, the elves, as expected, love nature, live mostly in fancy gardens, and are contemplative. They are also inspired by aspects of var...more
Here we've got your standard fantasy world with a nice subtle twist. They've kept something core about each race, and just given a perspective shift on the rest. For example, the elves, as expected, love nature, live mostly in fancy gardens, and are contemplative. They are also inspired by aspects of var...more
A few weeks ago I remembered that I once read a little piece of a fantasynovel in which a boy with a port-wine stain starred. I couldn't remember the name of the novel, and it took me a while to finally remember that it was definitely written by Weis & Hickman. After that, the search ended quite soon. The Sovereign Stone! I remember that a chapter of 'Well of Darkness' was once covered in a Dutch fantasy magazine and now that I found out which novel/series it was, I had to start reading imme...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This story is apparently based on a role-playing game, but since I am not into RPGs, I've never heard of it. I have, however, read many of Weis & Hickman's books, and generally enjoy them. This was no exception.
I will warn readers that this is a very dark story. It begins with the choosing of nine year old Gareth to be the whipping boy for Prince Dagnarus (the authors will forgive me, please, for wanting to read that as Prince "Dagnabit" every time! I do have an odd sense of humor.) The whip...more
I will warn readers that this is a very dark story. It begins with the choosing of nine year old Gareth to be the whipping boy for Prince Dagnarus (the authors will forgive me, please, for wanting to read that as Prince "Dagnabit" every time! I do have an odd sense of humor.) The whip...more
Some people may recognize the name Weis and Hickman from their very popular Dragonlance series. Well of Darkness is the first book in a series based off of a role-playing game, The Sovereign Stone. I have never seen, much less played that game but it isn't really necessary to enjoy the book.
This is definitely a series for the lover of dark fantasy. The story follows Garreth, the young whipping boy of Prince Dagnarus. For no one would dare harm the prince when he acts out, they lash the whipping...more
This is definitely a series for the lover of dark fantasy. The story follows Garreth, the young whipping boy of Prince Dagnarus. For no one would dare harm the prince when he acts out, they lash the whipping...more
I picked this up solely based on the who the authors were and the cover artist. I continued, drawn on mostly by it being told from the point of view of Gareth the whipping boy. After the children are grown, it was like a train wreck that you can't look away from, even if you can guess what might happen to all involved. Luckily, I had picked up the second book in the trilogy, so I'm starting that immediately! In the end, I'll probably judge the whole trilogy as a trilogy rather than individual bo...more
Slow starter but a strong finish. The authors put some twists on the races but this is a straight up fantasy novel based off of an RPG I've never heard of. The characters were well written but I never found myself connecting with any of them. There are really no characters in this book that you really want to like (which I find typical in Weis/Hickman novels).
I'd recommend it but know that it is Book 1 of the trilogy and the next 2 parts aren't written.
Side note - I picked this book up at GenCon...more
I'd recommend it but know that it is Book 1 of the trilogy and the next 2 parts aren't written.
Side note - I picked this book up at GenCon...more
Disturbing. Not their usual writing. Although, it has stayed with me. I may reread it to give it another shot and try to stomach the horrendous things that happen. It's definitely not Krynn, or even related to Krynn. Forget all about Krynn and all other magical worlds and lands. This is a new one that will need some getting used to. I may learn to enjoy it.
**Spoiler Alert**
I am a huge fan of Weis/Hickman, but this series is absolutely horrible. It is depressing and all of the characters I came to care about (which weren't many) were all senslessly destroyed at the end of the book. It is graphic (in more ways than one) and really never gets to the "point" of it all. I guess if I had continuted on to the next in the series I may have found out. I just couldn't bring myself to at the end of this one because of the nausious feeling when I thought abou...more
I am a huge fan of Weis/Hickman, but this series is absolutely horrible. It is depressing and all of the characters I came to care about (which weren't many) were all senslessly destroyed at the end of the book. It is graphic (in more ways than one) and really never gets to the "point" of it all. I guess if I had continuted on to the next in the series I may have found out. I just couldn't bring myself to at the end of this one because of the nausious feeling when I thought abou...more
After slogging few the first few chapters, I just couldn't finish the book so I stopped reading it - which is something I almost never do. I thought it seemed like an exercise for a beginning writer to try and come up with a new world and characters . . . too much setting up and not enough story.
Dit boek is anders dan ik gewend ben van fantasy. In plaats dat er een groep helden achter een of andere duistere heer aan zit gaat het hele boek eigenlijk over de opkomst en herkomst van die 'duistere heer'. Terwijl andere boeken hier normaal gesproken dus maar een hoofdstukje aan besteden.
Het is... anders. Niet slecht, helemaal niet. Maar het boek heeft te lang nodig om op gang te komen, en als je dan eindelijk aan de actie toe komt lijkt dat wel erg snel afgeraffeld te worden.
Epiloog zorgt er...more
Het is... anders. Niet slecht, helemaal niet. Maar het boek heeft te lang nodig om op gang te komen, en als je dan eindelijk aan de actie toe komt lijkt dat wel erg snel afgeraffeld te worden.
Epiloog zorgt er...more
I keep picking this up and stopping before the end. There isn't a single character I find likeable, intriguing, or fully developed. On the other hand, I feel that the world is really well fleshed out. I just wish there were people acting in it that would make me care what happened.
I really like this book, but it took a long time for me to get interested. There is a LOAD of information all at once, but I loved the end!
While the book had its interesting moments, I was not particularly impressed. In a fantasy series, I usually like to have at least one character I can root for. In this book the good people were either weak, or naive, and the evil people were,,,,,evil. Nobody even approached being heroic. Actually, my favorite character was Dagnarus, who was the villain.
I know these authors can write, as I had previously read the Deathgate books, so I will give the second book of this trilogy a try. However, th...more
I know these authors can write, as I had previously read the Deathgate books, so I will give the second book of this trilogy a try. However, th...more
Was given to me by someone that's a little over stocked on books and expected a good read like the others I've received but this book surprised me.
All of the characters have distinctive personalities and it's hard not to get attached to Gareth - the whipping boy. The writter has a great style that flows smoothly throughout the book and doesn't leave you wanting to follow one character more than the others - good timing. I haven't read much fantasy besides LOR trilogy and like the cultural diff...more
All of the characters have distinctive personalities and it's hard not to get attached to Gareth - the whipping boy. The writter has a great style that flows smoothly throughout the book and doesn't leave you wanting to follow one character more than the others - good timing. I haven't read much fantasy besides LOR trilogy and like the cultural diff...more
Honestly, a bit of a let-down. There's a lot of repetition of explanations about things... like they're afraid the reader won't follow.
A few compelling characters - did like Baron Shandamer (sp?).
A few compelling characters - did like Baron Shandamer (sp?).
Gotten 50 pages into it, and haven't gone back yet.
Not poorly written, I just can't get into it
I got bored before p. 50 so I stopped reading it...
Religion + races + an old fashioned D&D campaign.
ereader ebook
Sovereign Stone
I liked this book, although I'm realizing that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman are not the authors I once thought they were. Of course that comes as no surprise. This was mostly fun for the interesting twists they did with old ideas. Orks sail the sea and are inventors, Elves live and die by honor of the sword with a sort of oriental flavor to them, and Dwarves ride the plains on the backs of shaggy ponies.
I am finally done. I felt that the characters in this novel were uncharacteristically flat for a Weis and Hickman novel. The Dragonlance crew are so well developed and these characters seemed like sterotypes at the best. At this point I have no plans to read the other two novels.
Struggled with this book. Perhaps it was just me, I love the Dragonlance books, this did not hold my attention.
It was interesting enough. The beginning is really slow-paced and the Prince as a child is really annoying.
An interesting fantasy, but too similar to the other works by the authors, I would like to see both the authors branch out from D&D fantasy fare. I know that Tracy Hickman has a Sci-Fi novel out; I think I'll try reading that one.
A bit of a dark novel that would probably be best suited for your High Schoolers and not so much for the young ones.
This is a new and interesting world that Weis and Hickman have painted, with atypical portrayals of the classic fantasy races like elves, dwarves, and orcs. A well-written tale of tragedy, murder, love, betrayal, and magic.
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Margaret Edith Weis is a fantasy novelist who, along with Tracy Hickman, is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in the world of Krynn. She graduated from the University of Missouri–Columbia and now lives in southern Wisconsin in a converted barn. Most recently, she has completed the third novel in the Dragonvarld trilogy...more
More about Margaret Weis...
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Mar 09, 2013 09:24pm