Name: In the Hall of the Dragon King
ISBN: 9780745946184

Steve Lawhead

In the dead of night, Quentin, a young acolyte, is unexpectedly summoned when a mortally wounded knight stumbles into the temple of Ariel. Determined to save the realm of the Dragon King, the dying knight makes a desperate plea for someone to continue his quest. Now Quentin must choose—a life of ease or a dangerous, unknown path.

In the Hall of the Dragon King

Sarah Sammis

I really enjoyed the first two thirds of In the Hall of the Dragon King. The story happens on a fully realized world filled with different cultures, different belief systems and complicated politics. The young protagonist, Quentin, sees a way out from his humdrum life and takes it without worrying too much about his own safety.

For those first almost 200 pages, I was enjoying a book happily situated amongst other enjoyable adventures like The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope or the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. And then my enjoyment came crashing down around my ears as the power behind the plot revealed himself. The book went from being something I was eager to finish to a scary flashback to the Malorian series by David and Leigh Eddings or any of the later books in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.

See, I don't like books centered around a one true god or "Most High God" as he's called in Lawhead's book. All the scheming and counter plots and backstabbing of the other characters ceases to be important, relevant or material to the plot when there is one puppet master orchestrating everything through is chosen golden boy be it Quentin or Garion or Jesus or whomever you want to call the star of the moment.