Review: Dealing with Dragons by Jaleigh Johnson

 Dealing with Dragons is a novel set to be released on July 29, 2025. I surprisingly received it in advanced and here is my ever-honest review. Much of this review will echo my thoughts on the first book: this book is part of a shift in Forgotten Realms fiction, one that feels more like game fiction rather than fantasy fiction that also happened to be for a game. 

I posted the news of this novel back in January. In my review for book one I expressed hope for a sequel. That hope has become a reality. More accurately, I was hoping for a sequel as it meant the novels are viable and maybe we can get a return to the novels I know and love. Funnily, this novel feels very gamey, something the earliest game-to-book adaptations make the mistake of doing is taking blatant game aspects in the fiction. This often makes the fiction bland and stilted, and very boring. You want the world to feel similar, but not like a game. What is ironic is that this gamification is what WotC has aimed for with these novels (maybe the subgenre of books recently popular called progression fantasy is to blame. I'm not a fan). The only difference is this seems to be for a younger audience and it overall feels very modern: the characters are overpowered, overly emotional, and many are queer. The last is pretty normal in the Realms and good; and the first two will only bother certain people. I find, as a player, the newer iterations of D&D make the PCs too powerful. I also am not the target audience, I'm not a young adult reader. Back in previous decades, many gamers (be they tabletop or video) read books. This trend died, most gamers don't read anymore. Maybe that is why this reflects more popular fiction of today rather than the stuff of old.

Now onto the review:

The story opens in a dungeon, with Tess complaining about the monsters they’re fighting. Immediately we see the story is going to be in a mode like the previous book but unlike the books of old. Instead of feeling like an actual world, this feels like a caricature. This is a sad emasculation of the Forgotten Realms, but the only thing we get besides Drizzt (which doesn’t treat lore well either, wo to me!)

Cazrin, Baldric, Lark, Anson, and Tess are in the Sunless Citadel. A classic 3rd edition adventure that forced its way into the Forgotten Realms in Tales from the Yawning Portal, this really doesn’t feel at home. It is like starting with Mordenkainen; it’s not Forgotten Realms at all. What a bunch of lazy lore people WotC has become. It’s pathetic. Imagine wasting such an IP. (Please sell.)

I could spend the whole time complaining. I’ll try not to. Surely this isn’t Johnson’s fault. She actually writes well. Despite the juvenile aura and audience it seeks, the writing really keeps a good pace, and the start in the middle of things is superbly done. The action and dialog really blend expertly, as well.

And this insert Sunless Citadel is near Neverwinter, a favorite locale of mine (though they don't go, though Luskan does make an appearance later). The party also has their young oytugh, an aberration but a pet here, named Uggie. They are in search of a magic apple, but also of a missing tortle cleric of Mielikki and Harper agent named Keevi. Keevi, like Tess, was trained by the halfling Mel. Mel set them on the trail from their base in Baldur’s Gate. 

Baldric still receives blessings from many deities, he also deals with a ticking clock as the mysterious entity looms over him and the potential forced control could close Baldric off from the gods. 

Ashardalon is a greatwyrm (not a great wyrm, confusingly), a type of dragon that is close to godlike in power. 

I appreciate that Johnson includes duskwood trees, something unique to the Realms and often excluded from FR novels. 

There is any early scene between Uggie and Kulkek that some will probably find cute. It seemed out of place as really non-possible biologically and a bit silly as far as one either what an aberration would feel, but it’s already a pet, but then at that, not a very good or realistic one. Which is to say, I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough for this scene. And does it add anything? No, doesn’t come up again. 

Cazrin has the hots for an eladrin bard that has her hair shaved in the side of her head. I like romance in a book but I don’t really read books for the romance. Again, this feels like it’s written for young adults, it’s coy and awkward. While that’s cute and cringe (if you will), again just not what I normally expect from a Forgotten Realms or D&D novel. If it does show up, it’s not near the start, more so at the end when the battle is won or it’s all going to fail. 

Lark gets turned on by a thief. Anson has sibling trouble with Valen who was up to some bad Zhentarim stuff in the first book. I do like that the Cult of the Dragon having a say in this one, a classic faction. 
We do get some new things, while Baldur’s Gate is familiar, the Sunless Citadel feels off, it’s nice to see a new smaller settlement: Verin’s Crossing. We do see more but it’s all Sword Coast, sadly overdone the last ten years while the rest of the Realms have been forgotten. It of course follows the execrable idea of lore not mattering that D&D goes for these days. While that’s super lazy it does make this rather accessible, though I see little reason to start here as there is book one still, Bound For Ruin. 

I took a couple weeks from reading this to relax and come back more open-minded. While this is not the Realms of old, nor like those books I love, it isn’t a bad book. Don’t expect anything amazing, it’s still a run-of-the-mill fantasy like most D&D fiction.

One thing this book does is it pulls back the focus from Tess and puts it on all the other party members. 
Also, the title seems like it’s coming from a book by Patricia C. Wrede, though I have not read said book.

If you want a straightforward vanilla D&D story, than this is here for you. It works as an entry point but again this is book two. If you want a continuation of Realms novels of old this will probably disappoint, unless you’re easy to please which is good for you. I am very torn with this novel, just like its predecessor, and it makes it very difficult to rate. I'll say it's acceptable, and hopefully, I have expressed my thoughts well enough to help you, the reader. 

--

You can track my current progress here.

The first D&D Anthology - Dragontales edited by Kim Mohan

If you have stuck around for awhile, you may remember I reviewed the first novel for Dungeons & Dragons, Quag Keep, some years ago. Before Quag Keep there was only one other story officially tied to D&D, The Gnome Cache by Garrison Ernst (a nom de plume for Gary Gygax). It was serialized in the first issues of The Dragon, and released to the point it was a novella. In reality, it was a complete novel but never fully published. I'm not sure why. That was 1976. In 1978 Quag Keep released, and in 1980 the world received the third piece of D&D fiction.

That is Dragontales, ten stories not attached to any official settings, edited by Kim Mohan, who was working for Dragon Magazine but was not quite Editor-in-Chief yet. I recently read this and spoke about it on my Liam's Lyceum channel, so can watch/listen here if you would like.

The dimensions of this anthology are not like the mass market paperbacks of the lines for Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms that would come in later years. It actually is a magazine, though of heftier paper than most.

Here are the stories.

“The Wizards are Dying” by John L. Jenkins. This has an exciting start, a wizard faces haywire magic and warns his servant Grimsley the gnome of such danger who then barely escapes. We then meet fellows in a tavern discussing this immolation. These are Deihm, a cleric of the Brotherhood, R’kan a dwarf, and Faendril an elf wizard from Llum. It feels very D&D. Maybe an early stab at the success of things like The Sword of Shannara.

The story is rather straightforward: fight into a lich’s lair. It’s also one of the longest. There is a scholar, a girl with the generic fantasy name of Arya, manticores, and a classic party of adventurers. The worldbuilding feels like many a generic D&D world, but isn’t one I’m familiar with.

“Dragon’s Fosterling” by Ruby S. W. Jung. This one is pretty interesting. Asgara is the daughter of a count and one day she gets taken by a dragon. They have an interesting relationship, he teaches her some useful things but he’s pretty wicked still, killing the men that come to rescue her. It’s kinda boring to start, besides that Asgara speaks more like a teenage girl from the 80s with colloquialisms and slang. The end really amps up and I quite liked it. While a bit silly it’s pretty feminist. This one feels less strictly tied to game mechanics of DnD, Jung like the author before her doesn’t seem to have published anything else. A nice reference to the Saga of the Volsungs and the legend of Sigurd.

The third story is “Out of the Eons” by Gardner F. Fox, known for his comics and Kothar and Kyrik sword & sorcery stories. This is a story of Niall of the Far Travels who appeared in several issues of Dragon Magazine. Niall in this one is expanding his wine cellar when he goes through his wall he finds another wall and breaks through that as well. This inadvertently unleashes a sealed green spirit thing known as Adonair. The power of a goddess that is his lover protects him. A good clip, with godly things. Feels prettygeneric but not bad. 

Fourth is “Sir George” by Carl Parlagreco. I thought this might be somehow about a dragon slaying Saint George. Instead, George is the dragon and this is comic. Like Shrek or Myth Adventures. When a knight comes calling for George’s head to win a maiden in matrimony, things go a different route. It’s rather short too and my favorite of the first four. 

Fifth is “Black Lotus Moon” by Tom Moldvay, before his famous Moldvay Basic was released in 1981. In Biaazan, Tamara awakes with the man she spent the night with. She makes a swift acrobatic escape as the city watch bangs on the door, presumably looking for her, as the naked man feigns sleep. She finds out from her fellow thief Saris that the thieves guild and mayor have had enough to her, and instead to trap her and see her hang. We also are introduced to a Conan like Barbarian fur diaper man, Arngrim. And the sorcerer Gorilon, who dreams once a month under the haze of black lotus. Essentially, we’re gathering typical sword & sorcery protagonists to form a D&D party. A longer story, and nicer than the first story which also has a party of characters. While not great literature, I enjoyed it, and the ending was nice. It is another of my favorites in the anthology.

“Honor Among Thieves” by Roger Moore is about two thieves who make a short-lived pact. Pretty short and straightforward, I appreciated that. 

“Ice Dream” by David F. Nalle is 7th and shortest. It’s about a young shepherd being inspired by a traveling skald and it not quite going as we like to think adventure will. Similar to the beginning of Spellfire by Ed Greenwood.

“In the Darkness, Hunting” by Janrae Frank. This follows a woman who lives as a warrior and man among the nomads. She is an exile from her own people who have some inherent power that seems magical. The story starts with a chief for which she acts as war-leader, he wants to make her his woman, even though they’re sworn brothers in arms. She refuses, as among the nomads she would have quite a different life if they knew she was a woman. He then tries to force himself upon her. Easily the most interesting of the batch! This character also appeared in other anthologies, the first being in Amazons! from 1979.

“Just Call Me Albert” by Martin Mundt is another humous one, though told in first person. I don't have much to say on this one.

And last and tenth is “Birth of a Wizard” by Marie Desjardin. This is about a great wizard from a village returning home and the lack of welcome he receives. It really gets into thought-provoking aspects of power and manhood that I was not expecting. Another of the standouts!

Throughout there are also illustrations by James Holloway, M. Kay, Peter Laird, etc. Each story has several by a new artist for each. Some are not credited so blatantly so I'm unsure who all ten were, but the art is quite good!

Overall, the anthology has some good and mediocre stories, as I have come to expect from magazines and anthologies. But as a piece of history, it is very important. We have no orcs; it feels like a mix of the sword & sorcery that dominated fantasy fiction in the 1970s and the heroic fantasy flavor D&D established with later fiction. It is the third publication, and with ten stories increased the fiction of 2 stories to 12! Maybe find a copy and enjoy it yourself?

--

You can track my current progress here.

The Verdant Passage - My First Experience with Dark Sun

 In June of 2024, I read the 1991 novel The Verdant Passage by Troy Denning. I have read many of his novels set in the Forgotten Realms, but this was my first time reading anything in the Dark Sun campaign setting. Over the years I have explored these other D&D settings, such as Dragonlance and Greyhawk. Dark Sun is different from these, and the Forgotten Realms, for (as the name implies) the setting is rather dark.

The Verdant Passage is book one of The Prism Pentad, of which I have the first three. As of writing this, I have also read the second book. Denning was one of the key designers of the setting, which was blessed with artwork by Brom.

Dark Sun is a low magic dying earth setting, where sorcery has drained the world dry, like a much bigger version of the Forgotten Realms' Anauroch. The setting therefore relies psionic powers and it feels more sword & sorcery than the high magic of other D&D settings. There are also things like the insectoid thri-keen and 2 moons over Athas, the planet that give it some flavor.

In a dark city in the midst of desolation, named Tyr, a being named Kalak has ruled for a thousand years. But the tyrant is about to meet his end at the hands of three unlikelies. 

The story introduces the king and a Templar named Tithian. Tithian is a great character, serving as priest to the god-king that is frail and powerful all at once. Tithian is in an interesting predicament and will play an important role in the future of the realm.

Sadira is a nubile half-elf woman that is the least interesting. She has some free love ideas but besides that she is largely dull. Though her magic is interesting.

Agis was the childhood friend of Tithian. He’s almost the opposite of him, having the drive but not the greatest cunning, rather he is romantic and has humanistic values and intelligence in ways most others don’t. Rikus and Neeva are gladiators, slaves bred to fight. They are dangerous and hope for freedom. They often fight in the arena as a pair and are meant to breed together too. 

Then there is the very alien Gaj. It is very deadly but interested in understanding the characters readers should connect with easier. There are also dwarves, halflings, and elves, but all under a crimson sun. I also thought the divine magic of D&D was unique in this setting. Overall, it still feels like D&D fantasy over sword and sorcery, but darker than most settings. 

Overall the book felt consistent, I’ve seen some say the end fizzles or the beginning is the best but I think it’s a fun short D&D novel that does fine and manages to be more entertaining along the way than some other Denning novels I’ve read. 

--

You can track my current progress here.

Thorass in D&D Honor Among Thieves

I was not in love with the 2023 D&D movie when I saw it early in theaters. But I love it now, while my complaints still stand, it’s a remarkable movie. One thing that I adore is how much it brings the world of the Forgotten Realms to life. 

This included in some props using the made-up script/alphabet that we have looked at before, Thorass. This is very popular, like the Latin is in our world. I am a philologist outside of these digital walls, and I always get a kick out of the codicological exercise of reading a manuscript. Maybe some paleography skill helps here?

This first one says, in English, “The High Sun Games.” The other two are bit blurry for easy deciphering. The second likely says something similar, though I believe the bottom one is for Korinn’s Keep.

Enjoy, amarast!

--

You can track my current progress here.

Little Realms Things - Elminster’s Sigil on a T-shirt

 This is an item I’ve had for a handful of years now. I was wearing when I spoke with Ed in 2022. It is a lot more worn now, I’ve thought about buying another from Red Bubble, which is where I got it. It’s a favorite for a couple reasons. 

First, it is the Sigil of Elminster. He is a character dear to my heart. Second, it is obscure. Most people don’t recognize it as a D&D shirt. 

--

You can track my current progress here.

Session Recap: Cormyr Goblin War Act 3, Session 2

Read Act 1 and Act 2 recap and session 1 recap.

The first watch goes to Whitehead. Piper is largely unresponsive and ill looking. Feek dreams of a pleasant scene with the family, except it is not his, it is Proster Obarskyr's, now long dead. Hjalmar dreams of Clangeddin wrapped in a tentacle. Feek takes the second watch and spends the time talking to Nana Opal, who has rested only a little. She says she is going to her home and talks about the friend's home she watches over. Feek asks if this is Elminster and she says it is! And that she has had a good and congenial, and sometimes conjugal, relationship with the old mage since her retirement.

In the morning the party hikes a few more bells to the base of the ledge the College of Rune Magics sits upon. They decided to add it to their itinerary and begin the hike up the many stairs. At the top the encounter illusions and an old Rune Adept, Edwood. Edwood berates them and tells them to leave. They draw weapons upon him but decide he is not worth the trouble and promptly leave without exploring the largely ruined campus.

At the bottom of the stairs they find Nana Opal, who has caught up after their detour. She invites them to Elminster's Castle for a pot pie after their trip to Volkumburgh. But in conversation she lets slip that she is a retired member of the Zhentarim. After a heated exchange (only on the side of the Purple Dragons), they punch her in the face and continue on to the College of Shaping Magics.

At the top of the stairs Feek touches a runestaff embedded in the stone. He teleports to a round chamber with eight doors. The rest of the party decides to camp and see if he comes back. He opens three doors, is tossed around and the room starts filling with sand, before he opens a door to an old storage room. He finds four magical items. Another runestaff which does not do anything obvious, a set of leather armor as heavy as plate, and a tenser's flying disk that seems dysfunctional.

He then receives a sending from Hjalmar asking him his whereabouts. He responds and says it is safe. Everyone else touches the runestaff and meets him in the room before the head outside to the college campus. 

Once outside they quickly encounter undead denizens roaming the grounds. Five zombies and one wight, which they don't recognize, only notice its hateful glare. They are able to ward off the undead without any harm done.

As the shortly settle into camp, Hjalmar consecrating the ground, Stardust takes the first watch. The second watch goes to Feek who has been sleeping poorly, dreaming of a place of madness far from the material plane. He enjoys Selune high in the sky, the wind calm. When clouds cover the moon and her train of tears, a figure walks into came. It is a tabaxi. It does not deign to acknowledge Feek until he aggressively calls it out.

 The tabaxi apologizes, and says he is here to talk, calling Feek by name. He introduces himself as Stream Runs Dark and tells Feek his friends will not awaken. Feek tries to wake Hjalmar and discovers he cannot. The tabaxi then pulls out a yarting and sings a beautifully magical song. Feek is seemingly transported body and soul out of space and time, and sees a maddening and dark scene, full of loss and despair. The tabaxi stands and says he would like to speak again. Stream invites Feek to seek out Black Ice near Thunder Gap.

When the tabaxi leaves, Feek is shaken. He wakes Stardust and shortly everyone else and recounts what just happened. He does not sleep the rest of the night.

Pages Behind the Pixels: The Eye of the Beholder Trilogy and the Sparse Fiction that Accompanied It

 Eye of the Beholder released in 1991. Developed by Westwood Associates and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. for MS-DOS. It was later released on other systems and also spawned two sequels. The first, The Legacy of Darkmoon released in 1991 and developed and published by the same companies as the first. The third game, Assault on Myth Drannor, released in 1993 and was developed in-house by SSI.

All three take place in the Forgotten Realms, the focus of this blog. The first two are set in Waterdeep but the third is far to the east in the ruins of Myth Drannor. While all three were popular enough in their day, they received relatively little fiction compared to some other games (like Baldur’s Gate). In fact, there is only one story for the games, and it’s for the third. “Moonrise Over Myth Drannor” by Ed Greenwood has been reviewed on this site before. It can be read only in the game’s guide. I’m not sure if it can be found online, I cannot find it. Beyond purchasing a copy of the game with the manual, or maybe just the manual, maybe finding someone willing to share from their copy is an option?

--

You can track my current progress here.