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Dragon Knight #3
The Dragon on the Border
Sir James, the Dragon Knight, faces his most terrifying challenge in the nearly indestructible Hollow Men, spirits of the dead who reside in empty suits of armor. Reprint.
393 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
34 people are currently reading
642 people want to read
About the author
Gordon R. Dickson
589 books377 followersGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author. He was born in Canada, then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota as a teenager. He is probably most famous for his Childe Cycle and the Dragon Knight series. He won three Hugo awards and one Nebula award.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 29, 2021
When I stumbled on this book, I didn't know it was the third in a series. I'm a fan of of Dickson; he is a sci-fi master, whose work has entertained multiple generations. Sadly, this book is not his best. Jim has landed in an alternate-universe 14th century (the subject of an earlier book in the series.) Magic is used here, and Jim has the ability to turn himself into a dragon. Bully for him.
So there's a plot afoot, and enemies plan to invade England, and they have the assistance of some magical-evil entities, and Jim sees that he has to help stop this pending atrocity. Good enough, but the book lacks tension and seems to consist mainly of a bunch of noblemen-knights eating roast boar, chugging wine, and praising their general sophistication and high morals. The story, which could easily have been dramatic, plods along, with the principals announcing their plan, then explaining their plan to the troops, then implementing their plan while explaining the plan, then executing the plan while noting that it was a well-planned plan. Everything proceeds as expected, and the reader has the unsatisfying feeling of being on a winning side that had no chance of losing.
That said, the final battle is well crafted, and the book has plenty of humor as Jim's 20th century persona deals with the intricacies of 14th century etiquette.
So there's a plot afoot, and enemies plan to invade England, and they have the assistance of some magical-evil entities, and Jim sees that he has to help stop this pending atrocity. Good enough, but the book lacks tension and seems to consist mainly of a bunch of noblemen-knights eating roast boar, chugging wine, and praising their general sophistication and high morals. The story, which could easily have been dramatic, plods along, with the principals announcing their plan, then explaining their plan to the troops, then implementing their plan while explaining the plan, then executing the plan while noting that it was a well-planned plan. Everything proceeds as expected, and the reader has the unsatisfying feeling of being on a winning side that had no chance of losing.
That said, the final battle is well crafted, and the book has plenty of humor as Jim's 20th century persona deals with the intricacies of 14th century etiquette.
April 14, 2021
The charm of this series (mostly nostalgia, tbh) has worn thin and I'm going to have to nope right out of this one. It's just not enough fun to justify a re-read.
October 28, 2020
Well, I sure did like it the first time I read it....many years ago. Today...not so much. Guess the current day mane-turned dragon-turned ye olde knight doesn't hold the magic for me that it once did.
May 26, 2021
I LOVE this series. I do have to say that some books are better than others in this series. However, this book was not one of them.
This one does not feature Angie, any dragons, Aragh, or Cornelius. Cornelius shows up a few times but he is not one of the main characters in this book.
The story begins with Sir Jim Eckert, The Dragon Knight and D class magician, and his friend Sir Brian Symes, a knight of great renown. They are traveling to Sir Giles deMer to tell his family that he died in the last battle. Along the way, Dafydd the Welsh Bowman joins them. To their surprise, when they get to the DeMer castle, they find that Giles is alive. It seems that when you put one of the silkies in salt water, they heal and return even if they are dead.
While journeying to the DeMer castle, Jim and his friends are attacked by a group of supernatural beings called The Hollow Men who are ghosts when outside of their armor but real once they are in their armor and they are evil.
And so Jim and his friends have a mission to fight and/or get rid of the Hollow Men. And so the tale begins...
This one does not feature Angie, any dragons, Aragh, or Cornelius. Cornelius shows up a few times but he is not one of the main characters in this book.
The story begins with Sir Jim Eckert, The Dragon Knight and D class magician, and his friend Sir Brian Symes, a knight of great renown. They are traveling to Sir Giles deMer to tell his family that he died in the last battle. Along the way, Dafydd the Welsh Bowman joins them. To their surprise, when they get to the DeMer castle, they find that Giles is alive. It seems that when you put one of the silkies in salt water, they heal and return even if they are dead.
While journeying to the DeMer castle, Jim and his friends are attacked by a group of supernatural beings called The Hollow Men who are ghosts when outside of their armor but real once they are in their armor and they are evil.
And so Jim and his friends have a mission to fight and/or get rid of the Hollow Men. And so the tale begins...
October 11, 2007
The first book I read of the series. I immediately loved it and have re-read it several times since I bought it all those years ago. :)
April 28, 2023
Let me tell you our plans...over and over!
This book could have been cut by a THIRD, at least, if they didn't dedicate a scene to EVERY TIME they retold their plans back and forth. The fun part of the first two books was meeting all the new people and locales. Each place they visited had some weight to it. Here, he's running errands. It feels like a slog to get to the end, which is the best part.
This book could have been cut by a THIRD, at least, if they didn't dedicate a scene to EVERY TIME they retold their plans back and forth. The fun part of the first two books was meeting all the new people and locales. Each place they visited had some weight to it. Here, he's running errands. It feels like a slog to get to the end, which is the best part.
December 27, 2022
Not as good as the previous two books in the series. The main character seems to have grown more arrogant and looks down on the medieval characters for their ignorance. The story is somewhat predictable.
March 24, 2020
This was a fun mix of a present day person trying to navigate ancient customs. As such, it was kind of fun. The later books that I read lose that charm.
August 20, 2021
Inspired much artwork.
September 4, 2021
The story is amazing. The author adds and repeats unnecessary details. He needed a better editor. But if you can ignore that, this book is fantastic
December 11, 2022
More with Sir James, Angie, and all their friends in a world much like our own 1400's England but with MAGICAL MAYHEM
November 30, 2023
Would have preferred more magic
April 8, 2015
The Dragon on the Border (1992) 393 pages by Gordon R. Dickson
The Dragon on the Border picks up about six months after The Dragon Knight. With the arrival of spring it is the duty of Jim, Brian, and Dafydd travel to Northumbria to tell the next of kin about Giles de Mer being killed. When they get there they see that Giles, being a silkie, was still alive, but if he's killed as a man again he won't be able to escape his fate once again. That's the good news, the bad news is there are these Hollow Men that are wreaking havoc on the border. The Hollow Men are a ghost that can take a corporeal form, as long as at least one of them survives, they can only be killed for for a 48 hour period.
The French have conspired with the Scots to start a war on the border. The plan is for the Scots to use the Hollow Men to be their front line of attack, to throw the English into disarray, then the Scottish force will attack. At about the same time the French will attack England from the south.
Jim has to figure a way to eradicate the hollow men.
This series is excellent. I have previously read the next two books in the series. The first five make me want to read the others, and also maybe go back to The Dragon and the George and reread the first couple of chapters to see how Jim and Angie got back to 14th century England.
The Dragon on the Border picks up about six months after The Dragon Knight. With the arrival of spring it is the duty of Jim, Brian, and Dafydd travel to Northumbria to tell the next of kin about Giles de Mer being killed. When they get there they see that Giles, being a silkie, was still alive, but if he's killed as a man again he won't be able to escape his fate once again. That's the good news, the bad news is there are these Hollow Men that are wreaking havoc on the border. The Hollow Men are a ghost that can take a corporeal form, as long as at least one of them survives, they can only be killed for for a 48 hour period.
The French have conspired with the Scots to start a war on the border. The plan is for the Scots to use the Hollow Men to be their front line of attack, to throw the English into disarray, then the Scottish force will attack. At about the same time the French will attack England from the south.
Jim has to figure a way to eradicate the hollow men.
This series is excellent. I have previously read the next two books in the series. The first five make me want to read the others, and also maybe go back to The Dragon and the George and reread the first couple of chapters to see how Jim and Angie got back to 14th century England.
November 3, 2011
The third book in the Dragon Knight series is excellent. The story is well written and entertaining. The characters are realistic and funny. As always the differences between 14th and 20th century life is beautifully described and very interesting.
We learn a little of Dafydd's past and get to meet Sir Gile's family the primary ones having very interesting characters.
The only problem is that the final battle against the Hollow Men is very anti-climatic after all of the build up. The story after this battle is excellent, especially Carolinus having a talk with the Accounting Office.
If you enjoyed the previous two books then you should definitely read this one too.
We learn a little of Dafydd's past and get to meet Sir Gile's family the primary ones having very interesting characters.
The only problem is that the final battle against the Hollow Men is very anti-climatic after all of the build up. The story after this battle is excellent, especially Carolinus having a talk with the Accounting Office.
If you enjoyed the previous two books then you should definitely read this one too.
January 24, 2022
2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book published in the 20th Century:
This is the third book in the series, and the characters have pretty well settled into themselves. The story pattern more or less follows the previous books, essentially spending the majority of the story building up to a large battle against the Forces Of Darkness that ultimately ends pretty quickly after all the setup. Still, the story is sold and knowing the characters better at this point makes for some enjoyable story elements.
This is the third book in the series, and the characters have pretty well settled into themselves. The story pattern more or less follows the previous books, essentially spending the majority of the story building up to a large battle against the Forces Of Darkness that ultimately ends pretty quickly after all the setup. Still, the story is sold and knowing the characters better at this point makes for some enjoyable story elements.
October 28, 2015
The story took awhile to gather steam for me, but I enjoyed the process since I had not read the previous book. So during the tale the past adventures of how and why and so forth where incorporated into story in a proper manner. I enjoyed to humbleness of characters as they progressed even into battle, no one tried to be the hero or the better except for the villains.
Much enjoyed! Simple and pleasurable read.
Much enjoyed! Simple and pleasurable read.
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January 4, 2015CT Yankee in King Arthur's court only it's not exactly KA's court and he's in a parallel dimension where he is an apprentice wizard (D Class) that can turn himself into a dragon as long has he has enough credits. In this one he joins the fight against a ghost army in league with the Scots & French against Britain.
June 25, 2009
i had high hopes for this book after reading the dragon knight.. it was an enjoyable read, but it lacked the humor that i expected to be as hilarious as the previous book.
October 24, 2009
Good book, fun book, I miss Gordon R. Dickson
April 5, 2020
Not quite as good as I remembered, but still fun. Dickson is definitely a "tell don't show" writer but this was a nice light romp.
December 18, 2014
Another re-read from log ago
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March 30, 2015I enjoyed The Dragon and the George, but I'm not a big fantasy fan overall, and I'm just not enjoying this one. I don't dislike the book, it's just not my thing.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews