In the Hall of the Dragon King

The Dragon King Trilogy - Book 1

De: Stephen Lawhead

Narrado por: Tim Gregory

A kingdom hangs in the balance as a young acolyte shoulders a knight’s errand to rescue the King. Tested in more ways than one, Quentin must face life outside of the temple as he is swept up in the political uncertainty of the court and ventures out on an Arthurian quest across the lands in hopes of reaching the King before it’s too late. This crossover YA political fantasy features religious undertones.

Quentin had always thought his calling was to be an acolyte at the temple and live a simple life far from adventure or service to the crown – until a waylaid knight with a mortal wound implores the priests to finish his errand to the castle. Unsure but convicted, Quentin offers to finish the quest not knowing the fate of the kingdom rest on his shoulders.

In Arthurian fashion, Quentin is thrown headfirst into the political scheming of the court where Prince Jaspin is trying to usurp the throne for himself while the King has mysteriously disappeared. As Quentin sets out to find the King, he learns that the balance of good and evil are weighing on the scales and time is running out. Tangle in a new destiny, Quentin must rely on his friends and companions as they journey towards an uncertain future filled with ancient secrets and unimaginable obstacles.

In The Hall of the Dragon King readers will find:

• Christian allegory and themes
• A sweeping Arthurian styled epic fantasy about hope, destiny, and purpose
• Crossover appeal for young adult and adult readers
• A coming of age story with religious undertones

In this first book of the Dragon King Trilogy, Stephen R. Lawhead has deftly woven a timeless epic of war, adventure, fantasy, and political intrigue perfect for fans of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series, and Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle.

This seemed like a book written for children

After having listened to other works by Lawhead, this one was a bit of a disappointment. With that being said, I think it would be excellent for older children. I like the way Lawhead weaves the one true God into these stories while also meeting the expectations of fantasy. This one made me think of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

The plot was more predictable than his other works and there weren’t really any surprises.

A Diversion At Best -- Wants To Be Too Many Things

This title wants to be too many things at once: particularly Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The strong narrative performance makes the 13 hour length bearable. That's aided by the author's inclination to shift character focus throughout the chapters (though the time frame of how and when chapters fit together seems muddled). The underlying advocacy of Christian-esque monotheism in contrast to fantasy polytheism is heavy-handed. The pace of the plot is uneven, things come too easily to the hero, and the villians go out with a whimper rather than a bang. This is a movie-of-the week homage to better fantasy blockbusters -- and it's enjoyable if one is prepared to recognize what it is without longing for what it might have been.

Worth the Credit

While this was released on Audible in 2021, the original copyright date was 1982, so this must be an early work. I found the writing as well as the story not nearly as well written as some of his other works, which is to be expected I guess. You would think an author would get a lot better after 30 or 40 years.

This was an interesting story, but it was pretty predictable and I did not find myself enthralled with the plot as it reached the end. Some of his other books kept me more engaged. This book just seemed to be missing something.

One issue might have been the narrator. He did a fairly decent job, but his voice just didn't seem well suited for this story. His interpretation of the evil wizard was especially cringeworthy. He was much more suited for Ted Dekker's "The Complete Circle Series". He did ok on that series.

If this is your first Lawhead book, don't stop here, explore some more of his writings. I would recommend, "Byzantium", "Song of Albion", "The Eirlandia Series" and the "Bright Empires Series". All of them are excellent. Bright Empires is also quite a value since it includes all five books for one credit.

Wonderful

Great story and great reader! This is a wonderful story of heroism and bravery and adventure. The reader does the voices well and make the story come even more to life.

Really bad narrator…

I can’t tell if the cringeworthy aspects of this book are the writing or the narration or both. The narration is particularly bad.
If this is one of your first lawhead books, please keep looking: every other Lawhead book I’ve read has been worth the read or listen.