By Ian Strelec, Staff Reviewer

Available at FRP Games

Dungeons & Dragons: Dragons: Worlds Afire HC [Novel]
Retail $29.95 Sale $23.95

Initiative Round
Dragons: Worlds Afire contains 4 short stories written by 4 different authors, each for a different world, but all pertaining to the giant magic lizards most of us know and love. It is published by Wizards of the Coast and is available in hardcover.

The book opens with the beginning of the mighty (and somewhat insane) Witch King's attempt at conquest of Damara, in northern Faerûn. Zhengyi the Witch King, a mad lich of incredible arcane power, is attempting to summon dragons to his call in order to take control of Damara. This first story is entitled "If Ever They Happened Upon My Lair", and is penned by R.A. Salvatore, author of the popular series of books about Drizzt Do'Urden, drow ranger, also from Faerûn.

The second story, "Here Be Dragons," deals with events on a somewhat smaller scale. Around kender-size, actually, for those of you who recognize the halflings from the Dragonlance Chronicles. Absolutely lacking in anything resembling fear and possessing more curiosity than any living being has a right; many civilizations have banned kender due to the mischief they cause (and the pockets they empty!). This tale, by the two authors who defined Dragonlance (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, for those who haven't gotten around to reading the Chronicles) follows Tasslehoff Burrfoot's encounter with a blue dragon.

"Principles of Fire" is set in Eberron, and written by Keith Baker. The story delves into more mysterious terrain, following the investigation of why a silver dragon (keep in mind, dragons in Eberron have achieved almost mythical status and are rare in the extreme) exploded out of a crashing airship, and was then found in the wreckage with nothing but a seared stump where it's head should have been. Needless to say, the finding of the headless body of the Loch Ness Monster might create the same kind of shock.

The fourth and final tale delves into the realms of Magic: The Gathering. "Unnatural Predator", by Scott McGough, starts simply enough. A potionmaker and his apprentice, as well as several soldiers, a druid, and a pixie are on a quest to slay a dragon that has been terrorizing the nearby area. Of course, the discovery that their pixie guide can't say anything at all regarding the dragon is something of a problem, not to mention multiple other developments that throw a wrench into their carefully crafted plan.

Critical Hit
First up, the stories may be short (the entire book is only 143 pages long, though the book itself is closer to the size of a D&D book than a novel), but they are very good. They offer up interesting characters and short tales that really couldn't be told anywhere else. The whole thing simply fits together well.

Another major selling point is that the book itself is simply really incredible. The hardcover copy comes with a plastic sleeve with the cover art, a spectacular image of a red dragon in flight in midbreath. The font used for the cover text is also very cool. Remove the cover, however, and you are left with a cover designed, it seems, to mimic dragonhide leather. Far simpler, it's still very nice (and not prone to being bent up and scratched quite as easily). The images used inside the book are just as incredible as the cover.

Critical Fumble
Honestly, there are only two problems with this book. The first is length. I have no problem with the individual stories (though they do all seem to leave a few loose ends), but more stories would have been great. Maybe one with Greyhawk; Wizards seems to be trying to phase that one out as it is.

My second gripe is that they used the Magic story. Personally, Magic has never been my thing and I'm not even sure it has even a vaguely established history (as far as historical events goes). Of course, if you like Magic, go ahead and read it. The story is still very good.

Coup de Grace
Ultimately, this book is awesome. Don't even hesitate - it may be $30, but the art is incredible, the stories superb, and in the long run the book is worth every penny. Buy this book. Do it. Now. You know you want to.

Final Grade: A