‘Storm Dragon’ – James Wyatt (Wizards of the Coast)

Once upon a time, I used to give ‘tie-in’ and ‘RPG’ novels a wide berth. There are so many of them for starters, where would I begin? When I’m reading, I want to enjoy myself not get bogged down in a mass of continuity and funny names stretching back years… The ‘Horus Heresy’ books (Black Library) and Paul S. Kemp’s ‘Erevis Cale’ series really changed my mind though. Can a book be simple and complex at the same time? These were; simple enough to draw the reader in but with a degree of complexity that kept my interest. I was a convert! This new found enthusiasm meant I was pleased when a copy of James Wyatt’s ‘Storm Dragon’ came through the door. Would it match up to the ‘tie-in’ books I had already read? Yes and no…
Gaven d’Lyrandar was once a member of one of the noble ‘dragon marked’ houses but his work (during the last war) drove him mad and now he is locked away in the impregnable ‘Dreadhold’. ‘Impregnable’, that is, until a prison break (aided by dragon) releases Gaven into the hands of people who want to make use of his knowledge to benefit from the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy. Now Gaven must not only fight for his freedom but also use his knowledge of the prophecy to stop mistakes being made and a world falling into darkness…
If you’re a fan of the ‘Forgotten Realms’ books, or just ‘swords & sorcery’ books in general, then I reckon you will enjoy this. There’s plenty going on here and, once again, it’s not just ‘another D&D quest shoehorned into novel form’. There are magic items that have to be found but there are also political machinations and evidence of a world that is slowly beginning to embrace some forms of technology. This makes for a world that comes across as well rounded and engaging (although given how long ‘Forgotten Realms’ has been going on for I’d be surprised if it wasn’t). There’s also a real sense of purpose about the writing that I found refreshing. Wyatt doesn’t hang around or take you off down blind alleys, he starts you off at point A and you just know that things will end where they’re meant to. Having said that though, there’s a little bit too much of a sense of closure at the end of the book. If you look at how much of the prophecy is fulfilled and then take into account that ‘Storm Dragon’ is the first book in a trilogy, well… it does make you wonder what the next book is actually going to be about!
The story itself is a good one and will keep you interested; however it does fall down slightly in one respect. Gaven is tormented by visions of the prophecy but instead of supplying us with titbits here and there Wyatt ‘info dumps’ great swathes of prophecy on the reader. A little bit of prophecy is good; too much just made me skip large chunks of text, especially when Wyatt starts repeating himself…
While there’s enough there to make me look forward to seeing how the trilogy pans out there’s definitely room for improvement. Another one of those frustrating books that likes to tease you with how good it could be…

Seven out of Ten