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| Riddle in Stone (Dungeons and Dragons: Knights of the Silver Dragon) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ree Soesbee
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $5.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $5.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 328185
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0786932112
EAN: 9780786932115
ASIN: 0786932112
Publication Date: August 3, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Riddle in Stone continues a new series of adventures written specifically for readers ages 8 and up. Sized to fit the young reader market, the series features a group of young companions who, through their heroic deeds, become members of the Order of the Knights of the Silver Dragon. This opportunity will be extended to readers of the series as well through the Knights of the Silver Dragon Book Club. Young readers are encouraged to join and participate in the club, and in turn they will receive free giveaways, special correspondence, and other benefits.
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| Customer Reviews:
 THE KNIGHTS SOLVE A MYSTERY March 4, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wizards of the Coast is best known as the makers of the enormously popular Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and their related lines of fiction and home to top fantasy authors R.A. Salvatore and Margaret Weis. In 2004, however, Wizards decided to move into the realm of juvenile and teen fiction with the announcement of their Mirrorstone imprint. For the first two series under the Mirrorstone banner, they decided to stick with two subjects that they know very well: Dragonlance and Dungeons & Dragons.
Knights of the Silver Dragon is a Dungeons and Dragons series aimed at readers 8 - 12 years in age. The stories center upon the exploits of three young heroes in the town of Curston. Kellach, is a teenaged apprentice to the town's most powerful wizard, Zendric. Kellach's brother, Driskoll, is an adventurous 12 year old who dreams of becoming a great warrior like his father Torin, the captain of the Curston's town watch. The brothers are joined by their friend Moyra, a young female thief and daughter to one of Curston's most well known thieves, Breddo.
Taking place shortly after the events in the first book, "Secret of the Spiritkeeper", book two, "Riddle in Stone" begins with the town of Curston having their annual Promise Festival, a celebration of Curston's glory days and the townspeople are enjoying fun, games and food. Kellach and Driskoll walk about the town square sampling various treats from the many vendors selling their goods. The Promise Festival includes a tradition of gift-giving and Driskoll receives a new sword from his father, Torin. Kellach is anxious to receive his Promise gift from Zendric. But underneath the celebration there is a foreboding air in Curston. Watchers (Curston's city guard) have gone missing and the town even dedicated a statue to one young female watcher.
The Boys join up with Moyra to go to the city Prison where her father Breddo is to be released but her father is NOT himself. He appears to be drugged and is mumbling incoherently about something he saw in the lowest depths of the prison. They hope to get some help from Zendric but when they pay him a visit, they overhear a suspicious conversation between Zendric and a mysterious, cloaked woman and fear that Zendric may be in on an evil plot. Soon, most of the town's watch, including Captain Torin, have come under the influence of this mind-altering drug. Kellach, Driskoll, and Moyra learn that the drug can be used to control minds and discover that the mysterious woman is actual one of the terrible Medusa's, whose look can turn anyone to stone. At great risk, the trip uses a secret sewer entrance into the city prison to try and unravel the mystery. They soon discover a series of riddles etched into several stone statues and make the horrifying discovery that these statues are victims of the Medusa. Kellach finds an unlikely ally in a small, mechanical, but intelligent dragon that gives Kellach the ability to see through its eyes and understand the strange runes on the statues. The brave trio of young heroes are now the only ones who can save Curston.
"Riddle in Stone" has a decidedly different feel than the first book in the series. It is less action-oriented and more a mystery requiring the solution of complex riddles. Riddle-solving has always been an important element in playing Dungeons & Dragons, adding depth to games instead of making them mere hack-n-slash adventures. Author Ree Soesbee constructed a clever who-done-it fantasy mystery that keeps readers guessing right up until the climax. Kellach, Driskoll, and Moyra all show off their resourcefulness in this story. Kellach uses his last available spell...a levitation spell...to escape from a group of bandits. Moyra calls upon all of her young thievery skills to avoid several deadly traps and Driskoll displays his courage in sacrificing himself so Kellach and Moyra can escape. Soesbee also did a good job in maintaining consistency with the various personalities and traits of the various characters. That's something that's not always easy to do when different writers handle the same characters.
Emily Fiegenshuh again provides both the book cover artwork along with several interior illustrations which have a distinct, although subtle, Japanese Anime influence to them. Each of the books in the series check in right around 180 pages with short chapters that average 6 - 10 pages in length. This is very important I think as it's much more fulfilling to put a book down for the night at the end of a chapter rather than in the middle. Short chapters make it more motivating to read, especially for younger children. Knights of the Silver Dragon has so far produced two very strong adventures which not only are fun to read, but also display admirable qualities about cooperation, teamwork, courage, and resourcefulness. These are books that any fan of Dungeons & Dragons or fantasy in general will enjoy no matter what their age.
Highly recommended!
 great beach read for the kids June 25, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The second book in the Knights of the Silver Dragon is written by Ree Soesbee. The Promise
Festival is in high gear, celebrating the bygone glory days of Curston. A new statue is about to
be dedicated in the Main Square. It's in the artists likeness, a former watcher, only she has been
missing for two weeks. Kellach and Driskoll hare having a lot of fun when their good friend,
Moyra, asks the boys to help her escort her soon-to-be-released-from-prison father back home.
Not that she needs their help. She doesn't. Moyra is quite a capable little gal. But she did
promise her mother that she wouldn't go alone. Many of the watchers and villagers were
disappearing and there are far too many for it to be a coincidence. But when they arrive at the
prison, Moyra's father, Braddo, is acting funny.
And now that they've noticed it, many of the watchers are acting rather strange too. Like
something has altered their brains and making them do things they normally wouldn't. They go
to Zendric, the great wizard, with their concern. But he has a visitor whom the little trio doesn't
recognize, and Zendric refuses to identify the mystery guest. Kellach doesn't like secrets and
starts a mission to discover the identity of the stranger.
The inn were they think that the visitor is lodging only for it fo be consumed by fire. They spot
three men chasing a hooded figure. Sure that the fleeing form is Zendric's guest, the three begin
to follow, only to wind up being chased through the streets and into a warehouse. This begins a
tale. To solve the mystery of the watchers weirdness and to identify the stranger at Zendric's, the
little band must first detect and decipher a riddle that begins on the edges of the newly dedicated statue.
This second book is as much fun as the first. However, Soesbee's
rendition of the characters makes them appear much less mature than first author Matt Forbeck
described. It was also a tad disconcerting when the three used twenty-first century language (like
"totally" and "weird") in an era that is definitely not modern.
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