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Forgotten Realms: Knights of Myth Drannor #2
Swords of Dragonfire
Return to the beginnings of the Forgotten Realms with it's creator!
Florin and his friends have finally made a name for themselves - only to find themselves the pawns of both dark and noble forces in a battle for power. Together, the Swords of Eveningstar must untangle the web of lies that surround them before the threat to the kingdom eclipses their ability to defend it.
Florin and his friends have finally made a name for themselves - only to find themselves the pawns of both dark and noble forces in a battle for power. Together, the Swords of Eveningstar must untangle the web of lies that surround them before the threat to the kingdom eclipses their ability to defend it.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
20 people are currently reading
712 people want to read
About the author
Ed Greenwood
364 books883 followersEd Greenwood is the creator of the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, which became the setting for his home D&D game in 1975. Play still continues in this long-running campaign, and Ed also keeps busy producing Realmslore for various TSR publications.
Ed has published over two hundred articles in Dragon magazine and Polyhedron newszine, is a lifetime charter member of the Role Playing Game Associaton (RPGA) network, has written over thirty books and modules for TSR, and been Gen Con Game Fair guest of honor several times.
In addition to all these activities, Ed works as a library clerk and has edited over a dozen small press magazines.
Invented the character Elminster from the popular Forgotten Realms RPG series. Currently resides in an old farmhouse in the countryside of Ontario, Canada.
Ed has published over two hundred articles in Dragon magazine and Polyhedron newszine, is a lifetime charter member of the Role Playing Game Associaton (RPGA) network, has written over thirty books and modules for TSR, and been Gen Con Game Fair guest of honor several times.
In addition to all these activities, Ed works as a library clerk and has edited over a dozen small press magazines.
Invented the character Elminster from the popular Forgotten Realms RPG series. Currently resides in an old farmhouse in the countryside of Ontario, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 29, 2017
I've always been a fan of Forgotten Realms and have enjoyed most of Ed Greenwood's novels, but this one is just flat out BAD on so many levels.
Two thirds of the way through I wanted to stop reading. I ended up skimming the final third so I could see how he managed to wrap up this monstrosity, but it was a chore.
Even if you are a fan of his other work, save yourself the grief and skip this book. You won't actually miss out on anything.
Why is this book so bad? Let me enumerate:
1) The female characters/sex. I am not against sex in novels and am not a prude. But I expect it to have a point. Most of the sex in this book is on the level of bad fan fic written by a 13 year old boy. Almost every character in the book is either using sex to manipulate people or totally abandons their duty and morals at the first opportunity to see someone naked/get it on. Azoun has always been a embodied lust elemental, and Filfaril his wife seems to think him sleeping with every female in the country is a wonderful thing. The Ambassador from Silverymoon literally does nothing the entire scene she is in but make out with every single person she is introduced to at the reception. Penae the rogue spends half the novel topless as a way distract the Purple Dragon Knights while sneaking around the palace. On the one hand it is nice that Greenwood recognizes and celebrates the sexuality of his characters of all ages, but having them all act like adolescents in heat all the time was exasperating. The only author I can think of worst than Greenwood in this book is Piers Anthony "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series.
2) The lack of character development
I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the Knights of Myth Drannor. Unfortuantely they do very little in this book but run away and bumble around, and are so perpetually jumping from one crisis to the next that you don't get any sense of who they are besides the very broad character stereotypes that have been in place since the first chapter of the trilogy. Florin is nobel. Isif is big. Doun is faithful and Wolftooth is a wise cracking lech. (like 80 perecent of the men in this book). Penae must be higher level than the rest of the party put together because she is hyper competent and ofcourse flirts with everyone all the time. Far more time is spent giving us POV monologues from villains and random side characters than the main characters. It left me not caring about any of them...except maybe Florin.
3) Too many villains. Cormyr is a place where there are alway plots and intrigues, but this book fust layed it on too thick. There were so many conspirators and plots it was hard to keep straight and people would get suddenly added to the mix in a POV chapter with not warning, set up, or connection to the other plots going on. In his best novels Greenwood strikes the balance on this. In this one it was way over the top.
4) Repetativeness. I will sum up half the book for you here: The dragon knights/zentarim/war wizards/noble mercenaries send a new group of people into the dungeon. The book spends half a chapter introducing a POV character to attempt to make us care about this. They all die in the same pointless stupid way (see next complaint). As best I could tell over a 100 war wizards die in this book, including most of the inner circle. Except Vangey and Laspera. This has happened in several of his books. As far as I can tell War Wizards have a life expectancy shorter than red shirts on Star Trek. It stetches all belief and becomes so boring to read after a while. The Knights spents a hundred pages running around in the chambers below the royal palace repeating the same thing sitauation ad nauseum: "We are here to save the King!" "I am too stuck up to believe you and will try to kill you instead" PEnae rolls the legs out from under the war wizard/dragon knight/magical guarding and someone else hits them in the head with the pommel of their sword. Eventually Penae gets seperated from the group and add the variety of stripping to her repetoire to add varity.
5) Believe-ability. Over 100 war wizards and high level Zhentarim are killed in this book by two ghost continually possessing individuals and having them cast spells on their team mates. Despite the fact that half the realms is scryign the whole thing going down nobody ever figures out what is going on. Top level war wizards who are supposed to be paranoid precautions to protect themselves never think to cast a first level spell like "protection from evil" to avoid being possessed. This doesnt just happen once or twice. It happens over a score times, people comment on the fact that it happens and powerful wizards never figure out a way to protect themselves, and continue to send more troops into the same dungeon where dozens and dozens of their peers have already died.
Okay enough ranting. The book is awful. Do not read.
Two thirds of the way through I wanted to stop reading. I ended up skimming the final third so I could see how he managed to wrap up this monstrosity, but it was a chore.
Even if you are a fan of his other work, save yourself the grief and skip this book. You won't actually miss out on anything.
Why is this book so bad? Let me enumerate:
1) The female characters/sex. I am not against sex in novels and am not a prude. But I expect it to have a point. Most of the sex in this book is on the level of bad fan fic written by a 13 year old boy. Almost every character in the book is either using sex to manipulate people or totally abandons their duty and morals at the first opportunity to see someone naked/get it on. Azoun has always been a embodied lust elemental, and Filfaril his wife seems to think him sleeping with every female in the country is a wonderful thing. The Ambassador from Silverymoon literally does nothing the entire scene she is in but make out with every single person she is introduced to at the reception. Penae the rogue spends half the novel topless as a way distract the Purple Dragon Knights while sneaking around the palace. On the one hand it is nice that Greenwood recognizes and celebrates the sexuality of his characters of all ages, but having them all act like adolescents in heat all the time was exasperating. The only author I can think of worst than Greenwood in this book is Piers Anthony "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series.
2) The lack of character development
I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the Knights of Myth Drannor. Unfortuantely they do very little in this book but run away and bumble around, and are so perpetually jumping from one crisis to the next that you don't get any sense of who they are besides the very broad character stereotypes that have been in place since the first chapter of the trilogy. Florin is nobel. Isif is big. Doun is faithful and Wolftooth is a wise cracking lech. (like 80 perecent of the men in this book). Penae must be higher level than the rest of the party put together because she is hyper competent and ofcourse flirts with everyone all the time. Far more time is spent giving us POV monologues from villains and random side characters than the main characters. It left me not caring about any of them...except maybe Florin.
3) Too many villains. Cormyr is a place where there are alway plots and intrigues, but this book fust layed it on too thick. There were so many conspirators and plots it was hard to keep straight and people would get suddenly added to the mix in a POV chapter with not warning, set up, or connection to the other plots going on. In his best novels Greenwood strikes the balance on this. In this one it was way over the top.
4) Repetativeness. I will sum up half the book for you here: The dragon knights/zentarim/war wizards/noble mercenaries send a new group of people into the dungeon. The book spends half a chapter introducing a POV character to attempt to make us care about this. They all die in the same pointless stupid way (see next complaint). As best I could tell over a 100 war wizards die in this book, including most of the inner circle. Except Vangey and Laspera. This has happened in several of his books. As far as I can tell War Wizards have a life expectancy shorter than red shirts on Star Trek. It stetches all belief and becomes so boring to read after a while. The Knights spents a hundred pages running around in the chambers below the royal palace repeating the same thing sitauation ad nauseum: "We are here to save the King!" "I am too stuck up to believe you and will try to kill you instead" PEnae rolls the legs out from under the war wizard/dragon knight/magical guarding and someone else hits them in the head with the pommel of their sword. Eventually Penae gets seperated from the group and add the variety of stripping to her repetoire to add varity.
5) Believe-ability. Over 100 war wizards and high level Zhentarim are killed in this book by two ghost continually possessing individuals and having them cast spells on their team mates. Despite the fact that half the realms is scryign the whole thing going down nobody ever figures out what is going on. Top level war wizards who are supposed to be paranoid precautions to protect themselves never think to cast a first level spell like "protection from evil" to avoid being possessed. This doesnt just happen once or twice. It happens over a score times, people comment on the fact that it happens and powerful wizards never figure out a way to protect themselves, and continue to send more troops into the same dungeon where dozens and dozens of their peers have already died.
Okay enough ranting. The book is awful. Do not read.
May 23, 2024
Classic Ed Greenwood, magical swords and evil wizards and bouncing bosoms galore.
Shoutouts to princess alusair
Shoutouts to princess alusair
June 2, 2011
For my full review of the series, please go here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
April 3, 2018
This book is a mess, a constant selection of characters all trying to kill each other pretty much exclusively without thinking about anything
Honestly I love the Realms and the Knights, and worrying about realism in a world of magic and dragons does seem to be a bit silly. However
Hundreds of people die constantly everywhere
The Bad Zhents and the Good Cormyrians seem to be very similar in outlook, all either lazy, stupid, lecherous or murderous. And this may be quite common, but none of them seemed to combine those traits with also being sensible or careful or able to talk or think like non idiots.
The nobles are all arses
Wizards are all stupid
Highly skilled and trained warriors are tripped up and beaten by newly minted adventurers, instead of being tough veterans
And the Knights - I love the Knights of Myth Drannor. However they bumble from encounter to encounter usually only using violence after trying nothing else at all. They could be a party of drow if they just cut throats after knocking out their enemies - enemies that actually would have killed them 20x over if they acted in that way in a "real" adventure.
That is my main problem with this book, it should just be about the Knights and has way too much filler around it where idiots are idiots. And when it is focused on the Knights they are not an adventuring band, just daft thugs mainly who run around being in trouble and punching Purple Dragons. I want them to be heroic and kill demons and find ancient treasures guarded by a lich - not punch a high knight in the arse
I will still read the 3rd book however as I am also an idiot
Honestly I love the Realms and the Knights, and worrying about realism in a world of magic and dragons does seem to be a bit silly. However
Hundreds of people die constantly everywhere
The Bad Zhents and the Good Cormyrians seem to be very similar in outlook, all either lazy, stupid, lecherous or murderous. And this may be quite common, but none of them seemed to combine those traits with also being sensible or careful or able to talk or think like non idiots.
The nobles are all arses
Wizards are all stupid
Highly skilled and trained warriors are tripped up and beaten by newly minted adventurers, instead of being tough veterans
And the Knights - I love the Knights of Myth Drannor. However they bumble from encounter to encounter usually only using violence after trying nothing else at all. They could be a party of drow if they just cut throats after knocking out their enemies - enemies that actually would have killed them 20x over if they acted in that way in a "real" adventure.
That is my main problem with this book, it should just be about the Knights and has way too much filler around it where idiots are idiots. And when it is focused on the Knights they are not an adventuring band, just daft thugs mainly who run around being in trouble and punching Purple Dragons. I want them to be heroic and kill demons and find ancient treasures guarded by a lich - not punch a high knight in the arse
I will still read the 3rd book however as I am also an idiot
November 6, 2020
Another one by Greenwood has been completed.
I wish I could put my finger on it, but for some reason this book was easier to get through than some of the others. It is still chock full of randomly named 'NPCs' that move in and out of the story with abruptness that keeps the reader's head spinning. As per usual, the danger in the first book is much more serious than the danger in the second book. Maybe it's because I felt like we got to know two of the main characters much better; Florin and Penae definitely moved further in to the lime light in this book.
Greenwood does some pretty silly things in the story; Penae reveals her bosom three different times in an attempt to distract guards and take advantage of them while they are stupefied...three times...in a row...I feel like that is just cheating as a writer.
One more to go. Thank god.
I wish I could put my finger on it, but for some reason this book was easier to get through than some of the others. It is still chock full of randomly named 'NPCs' that move in and out of the story with abruptness that keeps the reader's head spinning. As per usual, the danger in the first book is much more serious than the danger in the second book. Maybe it's because I felt like we got to know two of the main characters much better; Florin and Penae definitely moved further in to the lime light in this book.
Greenwood does some pretty silly things in the story; Penae reveals her bosom three different times in an attempt to distract guards and take advantage of them while they are stupefied...three times...in a row...I feel like that is just cheating as a writer.
One more to go. Thank god.
April 22, 2024
If this were just a bad novel, It'd be one thing, but knowing that it was also an actual adventure that real people had to go through, adds another layer of misery.
In summary, it's a book where the main characters are so dumb they make you want to scream at them; the mage doesn't cast a single spell, the clerics are constantly getting knocked out or mutilated (but survive anyway), the thief runs around topless to distract every single soldier blocking her way (conveniently, they are all horny guys) and the main character, like in the previous book, does one single right thing that normally anyone would be able to do, and is applauded as the greatest hero ever and everyone wants to marry him. Oh and the female fighter is stronger than the strongest NPC but nobody cares about her.
0 stars, throw away.
In summary, it's a book where the main characters are so dumb they make you want to scream at them; the mage doesn't cast a single spell, the clerics are constantly getting knocked out or mutilated (but survive anyway), the thief runs around topless to distract every single soldier blocking her way (conveniently, they are all horny guys) and the main character, like in the previous book, does one single right thing that normally anyone would be able to do, and is applauded as the greatest hero ever and everyone wants to marry him. Oh and the female fighter is stronger than the strongest NPC but nobody cares about her.
0 stars, throw away.
January 4, 2019
Entertaining read, though again a strong streak of misogyny ran throughout. In particular, a character had her top off for at least 50 pages. Apparently topless women always bamboozle guards.
Like the previous book, there's a weird tension between the female characters. Female characters are included but they're also treated differently than the male characters. It's a move to include and yet exclude women at the same time.
Like the previous book, there's a weird tension between the female characters. Female characters are included but they're also treated differently than the male characters. It's a move to include and yet exclude women at the same time.
December 1, 2017
desmejora mucho con respecto al primero
January 19, 2020
Mindworms and naughty Cormyreans!
December 30, 2021
Read for completion's sake.
Ugh.
Ugh.
January 30, 2026
This entire book is the party frantically opening and closing doors. This isn’t a metaphor. They are legitimately only opening and closing physical doors.
This entire series is a devastating mess of uninteresting nothingness.
This entire series is a devastating mess of uninteresting nothingness.
June 23, 2025
2025 Update: original review still holds. There's too much Cormyr internal politics and side characters, and the Zhentil Keep politics, while a match for Cormyr, do the same task of keeping things away from the Knights, who are starting to get a little more interesting, despite Greenwood's refusal to spend much time on them. Maybe this is just a by-product of these being his player's characters rather than his?
2 1/2 stars is more accurate than 3. Frustrating, because there's a better book in here.
*******************
Volume II of this series suffers from the same problems as volume I: it's awfully high-gun for relatively small stakes, and most of the supposed protagonists don't really end up doing very much other than run from place to place. That feels a bit wasteful, especially since I really do actually like the characters and want to know more about who they are and how they became the legendary figures they became in the Realms.
Plus, the fake swear words are super annoying.
But the action is still good, the Realms lore is impeccable, and it's not exactly a difficult read. I'll get to volume three for completeness, but this series should be better than it is, which is disappointing. For Realms fans only, I think.
2 1/2 stars is more accurate than 3. Frustrating, because there's a better book in here.
*******************
Volume II of this series suffers from the same problems as volume I: it's awfully high-gun for relatively small stakes, and most of the supposed protagonists don't really end up doing very much other than run from place to place. That feels a bit wasteful, especially since I really do actually like the characters and want to know more about who they are and how they became the legendary figures they became in the Realms.
Plus, the fake swear words are super annoying.
But the action is still good, the Realms lore is impeccable, and it's not exactly a difficult read. I'll get to volume three for completeness, but this series should be better than it is, which is disappointing. For Realms fans only, I think.
June 17, 2014
A nice novel, all in all. It was nice to see heroes treated as anything but, though a running theme I've come to see in Ed's novels is a staghering degree of incompetence amongst the purple dragons and the blatant stupidity of the Cormyrean nobles. Forget falling to evil villans and dasterdly foes, with such a seemingly incompetent security force, and such moronic nobles, how has this realm not fallen into Chaos and Discord from internal inability to function?
January 29, 2015
The second book in the Knights of Myth Drannor series. The origins of the Knights continues as they are sent out of the kingdom by the queen on a quest only to have to rush back and save the King and Queen from an internal plot to assassinate them and the Court Magician.
Continuous action from start to finish, humour and innuendo abounds as Ed Greenwood, edges toward a more adult feel. A fun quick read.
Continuous action from start to finish, humour and innuendo abounds as Ed Greenwood, edges toward a more adult feel. A fun quick read.
February 3, 2017
Fun court intrigue with swords and magic. I think things get lost when you are presenting what was once role-played as a story for others. Others have said, Ed presents a large number of plots and characters. You have to pay attention. But the novel moves along in spurts and starts. Sometimes you know what's going on, and others you are looking back to see if you missed something.
January 22, 2016
That was a bit of a slog. Pretty standard Ed Greenwood fare with copious nudity, interchangeable characters and a baffling plot. Felt like the last third of the book was running around corridors for no real reason.
June 20, 2011
Ed never disappoints. A hilarious fantasy adventure that was well worth the eight dollars shelled out to buy it brand new from Borders. I loved this story. =)
July 13, 2015
The storyline did not flow smoothly...there are far too many better books of the genre.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews