Stormblade Review

Join me as I review Stormblade by Nancy Varian Berberick, live! Share your thoughts on this second novel in the Dragonlance Heroes series, released on September 12, 1988 by TSR Inc. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/47Lhh6l

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About Stormblade

A shaft of argent starlight touched by the Forge of Reorx

Hilted and gemmed in the blood of heroes

Unite! Mountain dwarves of Thorbardin

A kingsword at last, at last.

Deep in the cavern kingdom of Thorbardin, the powerful Stormblade is secretly crafted by an elderly dwarf-master. A Kingsword, it is intended to break the deadlock among the ruling council of Thanes.

When Stormblade is stolen and turns up years later, a series of exciting and deadly events are set in motion. Only a heroic dwarf knows the magic of the legendary blade, and he sets out to recover the lost weapon. To do so, he must travel to a land rife with war and treachery.

Review

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Darkember the 30th. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of Stormblade by Nancy Varian Berberick. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this YouTube channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.

I had completely forgotten this novel. I am sure I read it as a child, but for the life of me, nothing I read is familiar. That being said, I am really enjoying this. It is set after the Heroes of the Lance liberate the prisoners from Pax Tharkas, and are headed across the Kalkhist Mountains toward Thorbardin. Naturally, this is worrying the dwarves as they, for the most part, don’t want any humans or anyone for that matter in their halls. Simultaneously, a dwarven smith named Isarn Hammerfell crafter the first kingsblade in three hundred years. This is important because with the death of the last king Duncan, the Hammer of Kharas went missing and without it, there can not be a true king of Thorbardin. However, if one of the thanes have the kingsblade, they can rule as king regent. So the Hylar and Thiewar thanes are furiously searching for it. The blade went missing after being constructed.

I also like that Verminaard is alive and his dragon Ember is regularly patrolling their lands in Abanasinia. This lines up perfectly with the AD&D; modules, though it doesn’t line up with chronicles, so I wonder if readers were confused? In either case, both thanes have sent parties searching for the sword as they argue over the coming prisoners. The sword was spotted in the possession of a human ranger named Hauk, who is part of a freedom fighting party making guerilla attacks on the red dragonarmy. Hauk is in the town of Long Ridge, which is controlled by Verminaard’s agent, Carvath. He enters a tavern and two dwarves see his sword and make a wager for it. Hauk wins the wager and ends up secretly giving the sword to a barmaid named Kelida. She soon falls in love with him, and searches for him, to give back the sword, but he was abducted by the Thiewar thane. He is being tortured for its whereabouts. I suspect he saw his abduction coming and got rid of the sword to protect it, though I am not sure if he is aware of its significance. 

The other group searching for the sword on behalf of the Hylar thane is led by Stanach Hammerfell.