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Dragon Knight #8
The Dragon in Lyonesse
The Dark Powers threaten proud King Arthur and his knights, as they reside under the sea in the land of Lyonesse, leading to a call for help to the Dragon Knight, Jim Eckert, and his friends. Reprint.
505 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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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 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 10, 2007
Back in the mid 1970s, Gordon R. Dickson took time off from writing science fiction to write a quirky fantasy about a modern day man trying to rescue his wife who had been transported to a strange medieval world. The only problem; the man was stuck in the form of a wizard's dragon! The Dragon and the George was a humorous aberration from Dickson's normal writing until 1990 when he turned the one-off into the "Dragon-Knight" series.
The Dragon in Lyonesse is the penultimate in the series and it lacks the humor and clever plot twists that the earlier ones in the series had (and none of the series can best the original). The book is yet another quest and yet another battle of wits against the "Dark Powers" but it reads like a reunion of old friends who are trying for one last moment of glory before retiring. Every character has to be reintroduced including their back-story and how they fared on previous quests. With a half dozen characters and locations to reintroduce the book upwards of a hundred pages to even get started on the quest.
The quest itself reads like Dickson trying to parody a Piers Anthony parody of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon (if one exists). The writing goes for cheap puns and absurd situations to the expense of plot and character development.
The Dragon in Lyonesse is the penultimate in the series and it lacks the humor and clever plot twists that the earlier ones in the series had (and none of the series can best the original). The book is yet another quest and yet another battle of wits against the "Dark Powers" but it reads like a reunion of old friends who are trying for one last moment of glory before retiring. Every character has to be reintroduced including their back-story and how they fared on previous quests. With a half dozen characters and locations to reintroduce the book upwards of a hundred pages to even get started on the quest.
The quest itself reads like Dickson trying to parody a Piers Anthony parody of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon (if one exists). The writing goes for cheap puns and absurd situations to the expense of plot and character development.
March 24, 2020
This book ties in with the legends of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. But... the book really dragged on for me. It didn't have the charm that the third book had, and though there were many references to the background of King Arthur, somehow it felt very flat and uninteresting, somehow irrelevant.
I recall liking the first one well enough, and the third was solid. After a quick glance through the Djinn book, I don't think I'll be looking into the others in this series.
I recall liking the first one well enough, and the third was solid. After a quick glance through the Djinn book, I don't think I'll be looking into the others in this series.
October 27, 2018
Dragon
The only problem with this series is that I know it will eventually end and that is sad. Anyone reading these books will be well rewarded.
The only problem with this series is that I know it will eventually end and that is sad. Anyone reading these books will be well rewarded.
April 8, 2015
The Dragon in Lyonesse (1999) 505 pages by Gordon R. Dickson
This is the eighth book in the Dargon Knight series. Jim Eckert and his wife Angie have been transported to an alternate magic filled 14th century. Jim has progressed through the series in his magical abilities, and has picked up new friends. Hob has become an integral character in the last two or three books.
Jim, Brian, Daffyd and Hob travel to the drowned lands and Lyonesse to thwart the Dark Powers.
A lot of the book is the same as the rest of the series. Jim having to follow the 14th century customs and mores. What is different from the others is that Jim is more philosophical about magic (or magick), and about what the Dark Powers can do.
There are a series of small tasks that Jim has to overcome. Getting out of a maze, a joust with a knight, a meeting with a magical queen, etc. Then there is the overall task of finding out what the Powers are trying to do and raising a force to defeat them.
There are a bunch of Arthurian references/characters that didn't have extra significance me. I just had to take the characters as they were written without adding any additional information from Arthurian legend.
This was a fun read, but I think I'll wait before reading the last book in the series.
There's a well written review here: http://www.sfsite.com/01a/lyo48.htm
Gives a lot of the background of the series without spoiling the plot.
This is the eighth book in the Dargon Knight series. Jim Eckert and his wife Angie have been transported to an alternate magic filled 14th century. Jim has progressed through the series in his magical abilities, and has picked up new friends. Hob has become an integral character in the last two or three books.
Jim, Brian, Daffyd and Hob travel to the drowned lands and Lyonesse to thwart the Dark Powers.
A lot of the book is the same as the rest of the series. Jim having to follow the 14th century customs and mores. What is different from the others is that Jim is more philosophical about magic (or magick), and about what the Dark Powers can do.
There are a series of small tasks that Jim has to overcome. Getting out of a maze, a joust with a knight, a meeting with a magical queen, etc. Then there is the overall task of finding out what the Powers are trying to do and raising a force to defeat them.
There are a bunch of Arthurian references/characters that didn't have extra significance me. I just had to take the characters as they were written without adding any additional information from Arthurian legend.
This was a fun read, but I think I'll wait before reading the last book in the series.
There's a well written review here: http://www.sfsite.com/01a/lyo48.htm
Gives a lot of the background of the series without spoiling the plot.
February 24, 2009
I do really like the Dragon Knight series, but must admit a few things bother me. One is the amount of recap for previous novels that is included, its more than I would like, but not really a big failing. The other thing that I get annoyed with is not always fully understanding what is happening when Jim is discussing magic, particularly with Carolinus and KinetetE - they follow their conversation, and he gets answers from them, but I cannot seem to figure out how he interprets things to come up with his answers. It sometimes feels like it just doesn't make sense, and I dont know if that is because it is "magic" and therefore supposed to be beyond the realm of the ordinary person's understanding (doubtful) or if it was simply a sort of short cut taken by the author to get the end results needed...which may be unfair. Perhaps it is only a lack on my part. And exactly how is "magick" pronounced that it is so different from "magic"???
September 6, 2009
I enjoyed this book and its delving into the legend of King Authur and the Knights of the Round Table. From reading this series I've become more knowledgeable about Knights, Honour, and Battle. I think I'd like to try my hand at jousting but would need to have an extremely excellent horse like Blanchard. The Questing Beast is my favourite character and I'll be researching him.
October 11, 2007
A fantastic mix of Arthurian legend with the unique alternate medieval world the author has previously created. It's a great read.
July 14, 2013
Hasta el momento el mas flojo de la saga. Me ha costado terminarlo.
June 20, 2012
Well written, The dragon knight gets to fight along side of Arthur and his knights! A fun story.
June 22, 2020
Very good story, better than some previously in this series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews