I really enjoyed this first book about Cormyr, site of quite a few Forgotten Realms adventures and a location mentioned in a few of the related video games. I thought this was a good adaptation of game material to a novel and the authors did a good job with it. ( )

A great favorite of mine and a good start to a fantastic series. ( )

Oh Ed Greenwood, you're such a brilliant ideas man, but such a terrible writer. I slogged through this book (and many other Greenwood books) because I was interested in the world he'd created. ( )

As always, Ed Greenwood presents a fascinating journey through the world of Faerun, which he created so long ago. Focusing this volume on the nation of Cormyr, he tells a story of a land in a crisis, searching for the solution in its past. With co-author Jeff Grubb, the story of the Dragon Throne is told from its earliest beginnings and the crown's most poignant and trying times, and always with the history of the court wizard.
With Azoun IV lying near death and neither of his daughters adequate to take the throne, a silent war of intrigue arises among the nobility, all the while with speculation riding the wind of who poisoned the king, and what the royal magician's plans for the throne are. The more intriguing work of the novel is the back and forth as the present relates to the past, from the dragons to the elves to the founding of the human nation and its growth. Watching a walk through the history of any land so well crafted as by Greenwood's vision, be it fantasy or reality, is a treat. It's worth re-reading again and again. ( )