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Birthright #1
The Iron Throne
Anuire, the great empire rose from the wreckage of gods-death, from the tumbled lands where the pantheon had died to stop one of its own from destroying the world. In the chaos after Deismaar, Roele founded an empire that would span the continent and last a millennium.
504 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1995
4 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Simon Hawke
90 books238 followersAlso published as J.D. Masters.
He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the penname "J. D. Masters" and mystery novels.
He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the penname "J. D. Masters" and mystery novels.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 25, 2015
While this is a simple tale, filled with standard fantasy tropes, the first half of the novel was entertaining enough, but I grew tired of it much too quickly, which is why I put it to the side for another day. After nearly ten months, I have never felt a desire to finish the story and finally decided it was time to part with it, so my copy of this book now resides at a local used bookstore and I am giving it the dreaded one star rating because I just didn't like it.
May 11, 2021
Of all of the D&D licensed novels that I have read (generally ranging in quality from "ok" to "hot garbage", with the original Dragonlance trilogy being a statistical outlier), who would have thought that the best one so far would be from what was probably one of the game's least popular settings (although Birthright was instantly one of my favorite settings when it came out in the far reaches of mid 90s past)?
The Iron Throne packs a whole trilogy worth of story into its 500 pages, and reads like a high fantasy version of Game of Thrones. There is war, treachery, black magic, sex (way more, in fact, than I would have expected from a D&D novel), villains that just drive you crazy because you hate them so much, and of course enough monsters and undead baddies to stop an army (literally). And, much like Game of Thrones, no happy endings should be assumed for any particular character here.
The Iron Throne packs a whole trilogy worth of story into its 500 pages, and reads like a high fantasy version of Game of Thrones. There is war, treachery, black magic, sex (way more, in fact, than I would have expected from a D&D novel), villains that just drive you crazy because you hate them so much, and of course enough monsters and undead baddies to stop an army (literally). And, much like Game of Thrones, no happy endings should be assumed for any particular character here.
April 15, 2009
The author stated that his intentions with this book were to create something expansive in the manner of Tolkien. While the story doesn't go into some of the exhausting details of song or language that one finds in Tolkien, I do have to say that it does a good job of creating a moving and deep world. I actually played the games based around this book before ever reading the book itself, but even if I had no idea of what the world was about, it would have been easy to understand without the loss of wonder. Having played said games, it was impressive how much I was drawn into the story despite already knowing many of the basic elements. Definitely a book worth having on your bookshelf.
September 1, 2008
I read this book once before, many years ago, but wanted to refresh my memory before reading the sequel and other books in this series. It is even better than I remembered. Incredibly interesting in its description of the world and its history, it has a whopper of an ending that, if you're not careful, will affect your mood. I don't want to say which way lest it spoil anything. I'll just say that this is a very well-written book and it makes me wish that Hawke was still writing in the Birthright setting.
October 26, 2020
The Iron Throne is not based on the famous George R. R. Martin novels. In fact, The Iron Throne by Simon Hawke precedes Game of Thrones and was a title in a line of books intended to support a game called Birthright. Birthright was a 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons product that allowed players to assume the role of nobles, kings, and emperors within a dynamic political situation. Gamers were required to manage the economy as well as military campaigns while still going on a typical quest or dungeon delve. I own the game as well as the intriguing PC version of Birthright published by Sierra long before it was subsumed by Vivendi and later, Activision. I share the game background because Hawke has done such a great job of interweaving the political, the fantastic, and the personal in The Iron Throne
As one might expect from a story with “throne” in its title, The Iron Thone is about a usurper and a civil war over control of an emperor’s throne. And even when that war is settled, for better or worse, the throne is threatened by hordes of inhuman monsters (It is, after all, based on a Dungeons & Dragons world. And wherever there are imperial conflicts and conflicting visions of power, there will be people whose ambition threatens their very survival. I like the phrase, “…who saw only the prize at the end of the journey and not the toll one paid along the way.” (p. 254) The Iron Throne features siblings who are at odds (although not always the main belligerents in the war) and an intriguing cast of traitors (obviously a matter of perspective, though the novel clearly sees one side as traitorous), some involuntary but others with an anchor of past resentments forming their ulterior motives.
There is even a modern counterpart to the politics in this novel—Goebbel’s “Big Lie” theory or, a more cynical person during the 2020 presidential campaign might call it one party’s entire approach to winning an election. It is described in The Iron Throne as follows: “Repeat something often enough or loud enough, and people eventually come to accept it. Or at least, some people. And now it appeared that his father had managed to convince himself, as well.” (p. 249) One wonders, since the book was published in 1995 if the “Read My Lips” of 1992 was still ringing in the author’s mind. Regardless, he has pictured the current political strategy of at least one set of candidates in 2020 very well.
The basic political schemes and the descriptions of the logistics and strategic maneuvers of war would be quite acceptable in a purely historical novel, but of course, in an AD&D universe, these considerations have been enhanced (or complicated) by magic. Birthright as both game and novel setting handles magic as the game has since its early roots. Modern editions aren’t quite as restrictive to mages as 2nd Edition was, but the basic principle described in the following conversation still applies. “’You mean a spell, once used, is always forgotten and must be learned again before the spell can be used anew?’ asked Aedan. ‘Such is the nature of magic,’ the mage replied. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Do they not teach you such things?’” (p. 114) Naturally, such a “law” in the novel and “rule” in the game serve similar purposes. In the novel, it means the mage doesn’t have to use the same solution to every problem or have the readers asking, “Why didn’t she just use her X spell again?” In the game, it requires the player to use the available memory slots (sounds almost like a computer) to build a variety of useful spells in the mage’s “memory.” That way every situation isn’t handled in the same way in either form of the universe.
Magic, though, can symbolize power well- or ill-used. As one character indicates, it can also be a positive metaphor for life: “To pursue the ways of knowledge is to forever be a student, learning the same lessons over and over again. It is a never-ending process, and the reward of it is the process itself. We forget too easily, and must always learn again. The study of magic is an apt metaphor for life; when one stops learning, one begins to die.” (p. 129)
For me, though, what sets The Iron Throne above many fantasy novels (even some historical fiction) is Hawke’s use of moral choices. In more than one way, Hawke illustrates the cost(s) of sexual promiscuity versus the nature of love (as well as the cost(s) of love). I won’t delineate how Hawke does so because at least one such love affair has significant consequences to the plot. I also liked how Hawke demonstrated how one’s ego might fool oneself—even in philosophy. “As a Fatalist, he had believed in nothing greater than himself. And when he lost his belief in himself, he was left with belief in nothing.” (p. 293)
Unless one finds an old copy of the PC game or a used copy of the table-top game and a group of retro-gamers willing to play 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons), the Birthright background is probably irrelevant to you. As fantasy with a rich tapestry of humanity and “history,” The Iron Throne has outlived its promotional usefulness for the game, but it hasn’t outlived being worth reading.
As one might expect from a story with “throne” in its title, The Iron Thone is about a usurper and a civil war over control of an emperor’s throne. And even when that war is settled, for better or worse, the throne is threatened by hordes of inhuman monsters (It is, after all, based on a Dungeons & Dragons world. And wherever there are imperial conflicts and conflicting visions of power, there will be people whose ambition threatens their very survival. I like the phrase, “…who saw only the prize at the end of the journey and not the toll one paid along the way.” (p. 254) The Iron Throne features siblings who are at odds (although not always the main belligerents in the war) and an intriguing cast of traitors (obviously a matter of perspective, though the novel clearly sees one side as traitorous), some involuntary but others with an anchor of past resentments forming their ulterior motives.
There is even a modern counterpart to the politics in this novel—Goebbel’s “Big Lie” theory or, a more cynical person during the 2020 presidential campaign might call it one party’s entire approach to winning an election. It is described in The Iron Throne as follows: “Repeat something often enough or loud enough, and people eventually come to accept it. Or at least, some people. And now it appeared that his father had managed to convince himself, as well.” (p. 249) One wonders, since the book was published in 1995 if the “Read My Lips” of 1992 was still ringing in the author’s mind. Regardless, he has pictured the current political strategy of at least one set of candidates in 2020 very well.
The basic political schemes and the descriptions of the logistics and strategic maneuvers of war would be quite acceptable in a purely historical novel, but of course, in an AD&D universe, these considerations have been enhanced (or complicated) by magic. Birthright as both game and novel setting handles magic as the game has since its early roots. Modern editions aren’t quite as restrictive to mages as 2nd Edition was, but the basic principle described in the following conversation still applies. “’You mean a spell, once used, is always forgotten and must be learned again before the spell can be used anew?’ asked Aedan. ‘Such is the nature of magic,’ the mage replied. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Do they not teach you such things?’” (p. 114) Naturally, such a “law” in the novel and “rule” in the game serve similar purposes. In the novel, it means the mage doesn’t have to use the same solution to every problem or have the readers asking, “Why didn’t she just use her X spell again?” In the game, it requires the player to use the available memory slots (sounds almost like a computer) to build a variety of useful spells in the mage’s “memory.” That way every situation isn’t handled in the same way in either form of the universe.
Magic, though, can symbolize power well- or ill-used. As one character indicates, it can also be a positive metaphor for life: “To pursue the ways of knowledge is to forever be a student, learning the same lessons over and over again. It is a never-ending process, and the reward of it is the process itself. We forget too easily, and must always learn again. The study of magic is an apt metaphor for life; when one stops learning, one begins to die.” (p. 129)
For me, though, what sets The Iron Throne above many fantasy novels (even some historical fiction) is Hawke’s use of moral choices. In more than one way, Hawke illustrates the cost(s) of sexual promiscuity versus the nature of love (as well as the cost(s) of love). I won’t delineate how Hawke does so because at least one such love affair has significant consequences to the plot. I also liked how Hawke demonstrated how one’s ego might fool oneself—even in philosophy. “As a Fatalist, he had believed in nothing greater than himself. And when he lost his belief in himself, he was left with belief in nothing.” (p. 293)
Unless one finds an old copy of the PC game or a used copy of the table-top game and a group of retro-gamers willing to play 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons), the Birthright background is probably irrelevant to you. As fantasy with a rich tapestry of humanity and “history,” The Iron Throne has outlived its promotional usefulness for the game, but it hasn’t outlived being worth reading.
February 26, 2018
In the 1990's, when this novel was written, I was just being introduced to sci-fi/fantasy literature. I had Frank Herbert's six Dune novels, loved Stephen R. Donaldson's Tales of Thomas Covenant, and read the first book of Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. I was eager to read more, so I bought this book. And it sat on my shelf for years. In an attempt to finally read the dust collectors of my book collection, I finally read The Iron Throne.
Honestly, it was meh. Not terrible, but too simplistic and author Simon Hawke dedicates far too many pages to the unpronounceable names of characters, types of beings and other lands within the novel. When you're forced to read more than half a page of such things at once, you've got a problem. My eyes glazed over and eventually, I just gave it a quick glance, flipping the pages until an actual readable story line appeared again. And you know what? I don't think I missed anything. All that info wasn't actually necessary. Needless to say, I'll skip the other four books in the series. I already know there are better sci-fi/fantasy series out there.
Honestly, it was meh. Not terrible, but too simplistic and author Simon Hawke dedicates far too many pages to the unpronounceable names of characters, types of beings and other lands within the novel. When you're forced to read more than half a page of such things at once, you've got a problem. My eyes glazed over and eventually, I just gave it a quick glance, flipping the pages until an actual readable story line appeared again. And you know what? I don't think I missed anything. All that info wasn't actually necessary. Needless to say, I'll skip the other four books in the series. I already know there are better sci-fi/fantasy series out there.
December 15, 2025
I am conflicted about giving this book 2 or 3 stars. It is not a bad book per se, but I've come to dislike this particular edgy sort of dark fantasy. The plot, in fact, is almost a 1/1 reimagining of the life of Alexander the Great, except in place of two rival civilizations clashing there is a gruesome civil war to be ended.
There is too much exposition halting the narrative and some jarring time-skips, but the plot is serviceable enough, the main characters are likeable enough, and the setting is serviceable enough. There is war, treachery, black magic and way too much sex: villains are tied to sex, some most grueling deaths are tied to sex and, much like Game of Thrones, no happy endings should be assumed for any particular character. There seems to be an underline moral: love is not enough and sex is at the root of a many great deal of evils.
Notably, in this particular setting, there seems the same borrowing from Highlander that we later found in the first two Baldur's Gate videogames, except it was a by far better developed aspect in the games rather than in this one 500 pages long novel.
There is too much exposition halting the narrative and some jarring time-skips, but the plot is serviceable enough, the main characters are likeable enough, and the setting is serviceable enough. There is war, treachery, black magic and way too much sex: villains are tied to sex, some most grueling deaths are tied to sex and, much like Game of Thrones, no happy endings should be assumed for any particular character. There seems to be an underline moral: love is not enough and sex is at the root of a many great deal of evils.
Notably, in this particular setting, there seems the same borrowing from Highlander that we later found in the first two Baldur's Gate videogames, except it was a by far better developed aspect in the games rather than in this one 500 pages long novel.
October 16, 2025
This actually makes for a surprisingly rounded story. Not to insinuate that Simon Hawke isn't an accomplished novelist, but often 'early setting' books (meaning books that were written to support a new DnD game setting) are a bit flat. All the infodumping and explanation of mechanics usually allows for only a pretty linear, tropy, plot.
Not so in this story. It has friendship, love, lust, betrayal, sex (not explicitly, thank the gods), battle, despair, and death. The pacing is pretty good (although near the end things feel a bit rushed), characters are rounded enough, etc.
For its time excellent, and it holds up pretty good.
Not so in this story. It has friendship, love, lust, betrayal, sex (not explicitly, thank the gods), battle, despair, and death. The pacing is pretty good (although near the end things feel a bit rushed), characters are rounded enough, etc.
For its time excellent, and it holds up pretty good.
June 13, 2024
Returning to this about 25 years after reading it for the first time, I am surprised at how well it has aged. There is enough story here to fill a whole saga but the plot, intrigues, and character development survived well compacting it into one book. And it has a lot - political intrigues, battles, sex, magic, etc, and while some of the plot can be predictable, the storyline and character arcs are well written and kept in good pacing. Really liked the ending.
December 31, 2011
The last book I read was The Iron Throne. From birth, Michael Roele has been destined to rule the Anuirean Empire. Forces within his domain, however, conspire to challenge his right and claim his power for their own. This was the last one I read but the first ever written. In the war torn empire all try to achieve the title of emperor upon the death of the current, aging emperor. The one direct descendent is missing and another takes over the role as emperor. Once the descendent is found alive, another round of the civil war begins. The result has a lasting effect on the empire. The background of the nation is overly detailed which in my opinion was very important since I never had played the original game. Only the computer. Once the civil war begins, the book accelerates at a rapid pace. After the civil war, a former human named Raesene but now transformed monster named the Gorgon, has his own plans for the empire. Once the Gorgon starts employing members of the empire to achieve his desires, another war soon ensues. The Gorgon also causes some internal strife among major players within the empire. Our main viewpoint character is Aedan Dosiere, the playmate of Michael Roele, who is to grow up to be his high chamberlain. We see how the Archduke Boeruine treacherously betrays him, leading to an 8-year civil war, and how Michael's sister, Laera, turns to darkness in a manner that will lead to the destruction of the empire at the hands of its greatest threat, the Gorgon.
The ending, while a bit surprising, is presented well and does leave the door open for a sequel. 8/10.
The ending, while a bit surprising, is presented well and does leave the door open for a sequel. 8/10.
May 5, 2010
Mediocre at best. Very predictable in most aspects - especially the plot. Some minor nice surprises at the end but still - there is nothing that would set this book apart from typical fantasy. The Polish translation was not very good in my opinion. Even some typos to be found. I read it quickly only because there was another book waiting and I don't like to leave books unfinished (unless they are really terribly bad).
August 19, 2012
The ending of this book compares to the ending of the movie "The Grey"
July 27, 2014
Warring kingdoms. Treachery. Warfare. Been there. Done that. Fairly decent story but a tired theme. =/
December 7, 2016
Took a while to really get going, and it pulls a few annoying tricks on the reader, but over all pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews