. . . but I guess tastes change. I loved this book when I was something like 12, 13, 14, and i've had it on my shelf and remembered it fondly ever since. I kept meaning to read it, ahd it in the back of my mind as a really good book that I liked to pull off the shelf and reread one of these days.

Well, "one of these days" finally came, and I pulled it off the shelf and reread it, and y'know what? It was far from wonderful. I wouldn't go as far as to call it terrible - the fact remains, I've read worse books, far worse books, but this one's definitly up there with the bad ones.

The plot is unclear. From the start, it's unclear why the Scattered ones are scattered, why they leap - even when it's explained, later on, the explanation is weak. The motive and power and drive behind thier pursor, the Darkling, is unclear. Everything about Dutchman is unclear. And throughout the whole book you can never really get a clear grasp on whether the Scattered ones are the lucky ones, that they can live so many lives, or the cursed ones, to never get to live out one life completely, to be forced to keep moving. The explanation behind the Despair herself is weak . . . a bit of mystery in a plot is a lovely thing, even a bit that remains unresolved to the last, but at least explain properly the things you try to explain! Nothing in this book is really made clear, and as a reader and writer of fantasy, this is quite frustrating to me in a read. The surprises are unsurprising and unexciting. The characters seemed stock as well, the relationships between them one dimensional and either stagnant or too quick, developing in ways that the writer doesn't develop but rather jumps to.

The book is choppy, slow moving, amorphous, and while a clever idea, quite badly executed. In its one defense, the chapter titles made me smile.

I'm giving this book two stars because I really did like it when I was younger, enough to let me remember it fondly for a whole bunch of years. I guess once my tastes got more mature, though . . .

I recommend this book. It is very well written, and maintained my interest. I have read it three times in the last two years, and I rarely read a book more than once.

I read this book a few years ago and enjoyed it thoughly. This book is an excelent work of contemporary fantasy.

This is one of the few books that I had trouble reading. It was a good book, however it seemed to me to keep the reader at arms length, not allowing them to feel the emotions of the characters. And in the few parts that you almost got into the characters minds, you were shut out and left feeling empty. However if you are just a person looking for a entertaining book by all means get it

I found "Children of the Drake" one of the better Dragonrealm books, especially since the Origin mini-series helped to explain the history of the D-Realm. Richard A. Knaak seems to write more interesting and developed environments and characters under his own fantasy realms (opposed to the Dragonlance world). I loved how Knaak would subtlely divulge what the characters were thinking without being so blatant as saying: "Dru thought to himself..." Also the Origin series provided some of my favorite characters such as Gerrod (who would later show up in other books in a 'different' form) and Darkhorse.

I have not found many page-turner books, but Richard A. Knaak has done a fantastic job with this work by leading the reader along with a good fantasy story...and just when things start to slow down, he throws in a twist, and element of curiosity, mystery, or surprise to keep the reader guessing what really is going on with the Kingdom of Shadow? This book relates more back to some of his earlier works like the Dutchman or The Janus Mask where the plot goes through some interesting twists. What you were sure you understood at one point is turned on its head 100 pages later, and then spun about even more later on.

Most of Knaak's most creative works have been set in his own realms of imagination (Dragonlance, or the Chicago-based novels like King of the Grey or Dutchman), but he has done an admirable job in incorporating various elements of the Diablo world (such as Necromancy spells) while spinning a wonderful tale.

Kingdom of Shadow was an excellent book. It combined action with adventure. The only problem with it was that I had to compare it to Legacy of Blood and The Black Road while I was reading it. Every fan of Diablo needs to read this book. It delves deeply into the roles of the many types of people in the world of Diablo and also greatly reveals the tretchery of Diablo himself. While Legacy of Blood is the most graphic of the stories it contains an original plot that uses an element from the game (the concept of Bartuc), which somewhat left me disappointed because I like to figure things out. Mel Odom made The Black Road a completely different adventure than I could have ever thought was possible. He took the realm of Diablo and added in the most personal characters and the most involving story I have ever read. But in Kingdom of Shadow Knaak comes back with a new and original story. It is a romance with terror and action. A great read for all people. Read them all, you will be happy.

If this is the end to the Dragonrealm series, then it is a poor one. However, as a stand alone book "Horse King" does a lot explore the character of Darkhorse. Getting into the head of this indestructable(?) force of the void. When I read this book 3 years ago, I never suspected it would be the last. I hope that there is still hope for this great, epic series to properly conclude

This book returns us to the realm Knaak first created so vividly in "FireDrake." Our hero Cabe Bedlam is forced into conflict with Ice Dragon, who has hatched a mad scheme to engulf the world in an eternal winter.

The story is not half as silly as it sounds. Not even a quarter. Maybe a tenth, though. Seriously, this is a good read. It fleshes out the setting and the characters even further while providing another entertaining, fast moving story.

The only drawback to this book is that there is less intrigue and surprises. Still worth a read.

This book primarily focuses on the exploits of the Gryphon, the mysterious lion-bird and ally of Cabe Bedlam. The Gryphon--accompanied by Morgis, a drake--journeys to the land of his creation to uncover the secrets of his past...and confront a force of incredible power and evil. An excellent read, especially for those fans of Lord Gryphon.

I picked up this book because of Richard A Knaak who had written many good novels. However, I was disappointed with this book, because the characters are not really well developed. Each had a very simple 'script' that reads like a computer role-playing game. The evil Ganth just alternates between "Bwahahaha..I'm so evil" and "The shard! I MUST have the Shard! ". The lead characters Jarric and Ferlyn are you atypical good-guy-hero. Maybe another interesting character might be the seductive vampiress-turned-good. All-in-all, this book reads rather like a computer game. Entertaining enough, but not epic material. I guess I might be too picky with a one-volume book, but I still can't help being disappointed.

As usual Richard delivers the goods in this novel. The world is filled with characters you grow to care about greatly as you read. The storyline was a bit predictable, with some good plot twists. Not his best but, still far above the rest in his league. If you are a Dragonrealm fan, or just a Knaak fan in general you owe it to yourself to read this.

It was one of the best books I have ever read. I liked it, too.

In a world of magic and treachery, one man is face to face with his past. Strong story and characters, with nice surprises. A good read.

I must say, this was some of the most original and intriguing fantasy I've been exposed to(and I have read quite a bit). The characters are extremely well done, so much that this has become one of those rare books that I looked forward to reading next whenever I had to put it down. Mass market fantasy(Jordan and Eddings especially) often spends a little too much time on convoluted history, action, shallow enemies and absurdly cheesy magic without giving the reader any reason to care about such things. This book has none of those faults.

This is one of several books that I have read by Knaak, and I will tell you that he is one of the better writes I have discovered in his genre. He caries of his twisted plot and fasinateing characters with a realisim that is dificult to find in fanasy books, where most characters sound as though they have steped in from a bygone era, and tend to be a little streotyped. When Viktor discovers that he wears another mans body, the reaer will feel the shock along with him, and feel the sickening feeling when he tries to cast spells with too little magic. Not to spoil the plot, but just immagne when you find out what REALT happened to Viktors body.

_Frostwing_ introduced me into the world of modern dark fantasy, a place i have happily been trapped in ever since. Knaak from page one drops you right into his world of sorcerors, vicious memory stealing gargoyles, and a line of descendants of a mad wizard.

Grigori Nicolau is our main character, a man haunted by Frostwing, a gargoyle that continually steals bits of Nicolau's memories bit by bit each night, only leaving him with pieces so unrellated that Nicolau can never put them together. Nicolau discovers however that finally he can find out who is behind Frostwing's power, what his past is, and what the future might hold for him.

If you're looking for a good modern fantasy, or want to introduce yourself to the genre Richard Knaak's _Frostwing_ is certainly a book worth picking up.

One of the first fantasy books I ever read, Mr. Knaak quickly became one of my favorite authors. Of all his books I've read, and those I have not are of the Forgotten Realms, this is one of my most treasured. Contrary to some previous reviews, I believe it is fantastically written, entertaining, and overall a great story.

This book is one of my favorites. The plot twists and turns until you aren't sure that the characters you know are the same ones from the beginning. It grabbed my attention and held it till the very end of the book, and even then I wanted to read more.

A refreshingly original book. Knaak manages to draw the reader into the setting, but unfortunately the setting gets a bit too farfetched at times, and some loose threads are never nested. The ending also defies logic, and leaves me with a feeling that this book may have been heavily cut down, because it otherwise is quite good. It just isn't glued together well enough. Worth reading on a train on a rainy day, though.