Servant of the Crown

The Dragonslayer, Book 3

By: Duncan M. Hamilton

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

The exciting conclusion to the Dragonslayer trilogy

Long laid plans finally bear fruit, but will it prove as sweet as hoped for? With the king on his deathbed, the power Amaury has sought for so long is finally in his grasp.

As opposition gathers from unexpected places, dragonkind fights for survival, and a long-awaited reckoning grows close.

Soléne masters her magic, but questions the demands the world will make of her. Unable to say no when the call of duty comes, Gill realizes that the life he had given up on has not given up on him.

Once a servant of the crown, ever a servant of the crown....

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

The Dragonslayer trilogy:

1. Dragonslayer
2. Knight of the Silver Circle
3. Servant of the Crown

©2020 Duncan M. Hamilton (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Engaging, Not Quite Riveting

I stopped listening to all other titles to to finish this non-stop in under one day, so is not as though Duncan M. Hamilton has dropped the ball on this one. It's good, but not his greatest.

It had the usual plot twists and turns, and good action, but none of it felt quite as exciting as the first two novels in this stores or, to compare it with another closer, the end of the Wolf of the North trilogy. The twists weren't quite as unexpected, the character development more minimal, and the ending confrontation certainly less dramatic.

At the same time, as always the writing and world building are great and there's some clear setup for following titles which I will eagerly await.

Oh, and if you haven't figured out yet that Simon Vance is awesome, go listen to his rendition of the complete Sherlock Holmes - not a single repeat voice with new characters.

Decent, but needs some of Sanderson's Rules

This author writes a nice tale. i enjoy the protagonist and the action moves nicely. there are a couple areas i wish were written better.

1) the other characters.
Solen is a good character, but could be a little more proactive in the story. Part of me appreciated that there wasn't a romance, part of me was disappointed at the end that there was no hint of any flirtation or suggestion of a possible future. Also, characters who you start to like and who get developed at all seem to constantly get killed off, so there's a weird dichotomy of a bunch of silhouettes we know nothing about, and a couple full characters, and nobody in between. Spoiler: there really should've been some magic from the cup that brought Val back, just saying.

2) the use of magic
the use of magic is so inconsistent it's frustrating. Solen has the power to teleport two people through space, but can't fight off dozens of attackers in a cave minutes earlier? not only her, but the thousands year old dragon mage who's enlightened can't think of anything more clever than suiciding when it's established the enlightened just have to think about what they want, and it's done? magic should be difficult based on energy cost*precision of things, but it just doesn't add up. it should be hard to use lots of energy, it should be hard to do precise things. killing these creatures is shown to be really easy, and doesn't require precision. the writing needs to make it believable why 2 enlightened are so easily overwhelmed. also the prince bishop, even once he starts seeing his power and stops fearing it, doesn't use it in a clever way. magic implementation is pretty clumsy, and using some basic rules (Sanderson's) for how it interacts with the plot would help a lot.

3) the world building
overall it's nice. Feels sometimes Quixotic, sometimes like the world of Dumas, and it's pretty consistent in its medieval European feel. but there are some glaring holes, like if you're going to have a guy called the Prince Bishop, and say he's the leader of the church, you should probably establish a religion. there are no religious practices, no trappings of office to speak of, it's a totally empty title. he could've just been the royal chancellor and i never would've questioned it. i also take issue with how other people follow that character in open revolt with no motivation stated. it could make sense if the religious side was played up, 'I've excommunicated the king. follow me now for the sake of your souls'. but instead he's just weirdly ineffectual, the king comes back, and somehow everyone doesn't switch sides? also could tie in him mind- controlling everyone in the city for nefarious purposes to make the story really get going. instead he's just kind of doing dictator/mage things very half- heartedly.

Love the story and Narration!

Duncan M. Hamilton tells a great story!! Very fun to read but complex enough to keep the mystery. I really enjoy all the series.

Dragons! You’re Really Going to Like This.

I go out of my way to listen to every story about dragons. Let me tell you, Dragonslayer is so cool. Give this a listen.

Yes. Couldn't stop listening AND re-listening

great series through and through. The author and narrator are a perfect team throughout this series.

The exciting conclusion to a great adventure!

Gil and Solene master their individual skills and finish their exciting adventure! Great portrayal of dragonkind, as the richly developed characters take you on a fantastic journey.

Riveting

I had to get one after the other and wish for more of Duncan Hamilton books.

regret buying series.

This series wasn't worth 3 credits for sure. Performance by Simon Vance makes it bearable. M. Hamilton has lost me if he turns into someone just churning out small 30 hour trilogies that fizzle by second book. will not be fooled again so easily.

Fantastic!

I loved this whole series. It’s worth it!! Wonderful character arcs and a decent plot!

Satisfying, but a couple of irritants

*spoilers*

While I overall enjoyed the story, there were two things that will probably prevent me from reading any more of the author's work:

1) Our MC had a chance to put an end to our villain early in the story, but he stood and monologued instead of plunging his knife. This is lazy storytelling, inventing unlikely behavior just to prolong the story. He should have put more time into thinking of a more plausible reason for the MC's failure.

2) The author killed of Val at about the same time, off screen. I see this as a betrayal by the author, because he started the book from Val's viewpoint, suggesting he would be an important character and safe from harm. Instead, he played almost no role and was killed for no real service to the plot.

“I am ever a servant of the crown, your highness”

Brilliant from start to finish! Amazing characters, story and well, EVERYTHING!!
I mean it’s got dragons in it, what’s not to like!!
Perfect narration for this story too that keeps you absorbed in the adventure all the way through!
I hate getting to the end of books like this and wish they could go on forever!

Enthralling.

From cover to cover. Superb artistry with both the written and Spoken word.
Totally Enchanting.

Very enjoyable

I’ve really enjoyed this trilogy, as I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve listened to, by Duncan M. Hamilton. I hoped that this final instalment would have been longer & I certainly hope that we will see the main characters again, in subsequent audiobooks.

Rushed ending

An enjoyable series overall so disappointing to see a rushed last book. All story lines felt half baked and as if the author just wanted the book to be done with.

magic at its best

fantastic , a definite listen for anyone.Worth a second listen.I certainly will be listening again

Brilliant story and narration ...

have now read complete set of stories, will probably start again just so I can experience the brilliant characterisation and dialogue again. superb on all counts..

Perfect ending

I've listened to all 3 books back to back and enjoyed everything about this trilogy. perfectly written with excellent narration from Simon Vance as always. Looking forward to more books from Duncan M. Hamilton

An excellent finish to the trilogy!

Great trilogy, interesting and engaging from start to finish. Hoping for more from Mr. Hamilton soon!