Guardian's of the Flame #03 the Silver Crown

Rating:
Summary: Can he do no wrong?
Review: Joel Rosenberg has cemented his status in the fantasy-fiction world with his third installment of the Guardians of the Flame Series. The title in itself is prophetic, and to have Karl leading the region is somnething no one could have expected. As I said earlier in another review, Mr. Rosenberg does not mince when it comes to the question of likeable characters getting hurt seriously or killed off. There were many times in this book that I was upset about what happened to a favorite character, but I realize that Mr. Rosenberg is putting as much "reality" in it as possible. Characters do NOT live forever, and yes, sometimes the favorite ones get killed.

Once again, Mr. Rosenberg has outdone the preceeding edition, and I am sure that he will continue to do so.

Rating:
Summary: On the edge of a sword
Review: Karl fights to free slaves and to destroy the slave guild. This is a good book especially if you like alot of fighting scenes with pretty graphic descriptions on how people are being killed than this is the book for you!

Rating:
Summary: The Sword and the Chain Redux
Review: The Silver Crown is no worse and no better than The Sword and the Chain. Like its immediate predecessor, it seems to have no real theme other than the use of violent means to achieve noble ends. The promising theme of The Sleeping Dragon - the adaptation of people from our world to a fantasy world - has been all but abandoned. What we are left with is not much more than entertainment; enjoyable but neither provocative nor moving.

To be fair, there is a suggestion that the true plot of the series is a long-term effort by erstwhile professor Deighton to control the fantasy world. Deighton even makes an appearance in The Silver Crown. It could be that an incredibly complex storyline is about to emerge, in which case my opinion of books two and three may have to be revisited. For now, however, I remain of the view that The Silver Crown is a harmless read that should be enjoyed by most fantasy readers who don't mind a bit of violence in their stories.