This was a great finale to an amazing series! One character, Boudain, really surprised me. He stepped up and at least tried, instead of acting like a young, spoiled royal. It's clear he has the potential to be a great ruler. Another character I really liked died in this book too. I understand the necessity, in terms of the storyline, but dang. It really hit me hard. I'm not naming names as it would be a big spoiler.

I am sad to leave Gil's company. He was definitely a character I fell in love with. Each major character really changed over the course of the series. For Gil, I hope the changes stick, and he doesn't go back to what is familiar and easy. He deserves better. I'd love to see the future of the female dragonling, and if other dragons are still out there somewhere. It seems open for another story with some of the same characters due to the arrival of the ghul/vampire like creatures. As for this story arc, and its characters, things felt pretty well wrapped up. The perfect series for any dragon fan! Highly recommended.

A decent end to a somewhat middling fantasy series. Finale has an actual plot & more action; prone to telling character emotions/motivations, not great at developing realistic human characters. Dragons remain the highpoint.

Servant of the Crown is a great conclusion to the Dragonslayer series, at least for the current story arc.

The two aspects of the series that have stood out for me so far are the sheer pragmatism of the characters and their believable motivations. Numerous characters - main & side - have a satisfying character arc. Their beliefs are challenged; some of them grow for the better out of this, and some grow worse. But this is not just an arc oriented around unreal changes rather these arcs are also influenced by the pragmatic choices the people in the story make.

Now, take the classic 'dragons reappear' trope, put it in a setting like France in the 1600s on the verge of technology advancements and mix it with the aforementioned characters - you have the perfect recipe for some great storytelling.

I really liked how Servant of the Crown ended the current arc while keeping a few alive for, hopefully, further stories down the line. Not everything is perfect though - the dominant story is reasonably predictable but, on the flip-side, it is not just about the destination but how one gets there.

So, overall, I would strongly recommend this series to fantasy lovers.

Rating: 7.5/10

If you have been following along, THE DRAGONSLAYER TRILOGY has been an interesting adventure-type fantasy full of genre tropes. It has the quintessential hero-turned sob story-turned hero in Gill, the former Knight of the Silver Circle. There is Solene, mage-in-training with a huge heart who is still learning how to harness her powers. An inexperienced king whose power-hungry top advisor has his hand up his ass in an attempt to take control of the Kingdom. SERVANT OF THE CROWN (Book 3 of the Trilogy and the concluding volume) offers mostly the same as the rest of the Series: a steady storyline, good versus evil, tension in the Kingdom, and DRAGONS.

We will return to the dragons in a minute, but first I want to address the rest of the story. Having been on this journey from beginning to end, I want to tell you that I like the series. It is fun and entertaining, and I have grown to care for the characters. It stirs a sense of adventure, and I find myself actively rooting for the good guys and hating the bad guys. In this sense, there is nothing ground-breaking here. It is simplistic, and in this era of fantasy a series is not going to win awards or be hailed as one of the greats. But it is a good read, and it is well-written.

The most interesting aspect of this series to me are the Dragons. We see many dragon tropes play out here, too: they are ancient and wise and magical, awaking a long slumber. People fear them, but should they? But in THE DRAGONSLAYER TRILOGY they are so much more than the sum of those tropes. I do not want to say too much, but in this Series the dragons are DIFFERENT. The reader gets to learn about their experiences and history and feelings. To me, this took the series from an average story about an old, drunk knight to something worth spending more time with.

Nothing about this book in particular changed my feelings one way or another about the Trilogy. Gill, Solene and Amaury are the mainstays and in constant gridlock with each other. Amaury continues his royal assholeness, while Gill and Solene try to stop him from destroying the Kingdom and killing the dragons. There is a new cast of characters introduced, both for the good and bad of the story. Some of them are right and necessary, while others feel like filler to me. There are a few scenes that play that way for me, also. They do not feel necessary and do not further the story much, but feel more like a way for the characters to pass the time while everyone is waiting for something big to happen. These superfluous characters and scenes did not take away from my enjoyment of the overall story, though.

On the whole, THE DRAGONSLAYER TRILOGY is a good read. It is a solid, fun story that I found to be a good escape. It has its drawbacks (a storyline that is full of plateaus and its climaxes do not quite always hit the mark), but I recommend it for fantasy readers who are looking for a simple story about knights, mages, good versus evil, and, of course, DRAGONS.

I reviewed this at Tor dot com.

https://www.tor.com/2020/03/20/book-reviews-duncan-hamilton-servant-of-the-crown-and-the-dragonslayer-trilogy/

I had some personal things that kept me from getting to this as quickly as I would have liked. It was more than worth the wait.

I have been been a huge fan of Duncan's ever since reading The Tattered Banner and I have stayed current on all of his work from that point on. He has a gift for making each book in a series better than the last and this one was no different.

Honestly it felt like there was enough material for this to have stretched out for another book or two but it did not feel rushed for it to be wrapped up in just this one.

Ultimately this book was a delight and will join the rest of his works on my always recommend list.

After leaving off with a huge cliffhanger at the end of Knight of the Silver Circle, book two of The Dragonslayer series, Duncan M. Hamilton leads into the last book by focusing on a side character from book two, a lad named Val. With Guillot's letter of recommendation in hand, he makes his way to begin apprenticing in hopes of being a banneret one day. Even small characters like this have big impacts as the story builds to its final climax, and that is just one of many things I really enjoyed about Servant of the Crown.

In this last chapter, many loose threads are tied up, but also we get entirely new concepts and players (some not entirely human) introduced and explored. I was thrilled to be thrown a few last curveballs coming into the home stretch here, and many characters got great payoff without feeling like they were steamrolling the proceedings. Amaury, the great villain of the tale, succeeds in many ways and makes our heroes' lives difficult, and the odds continually seem as if they are in his favor. The only thing our heroes have to hope for is that Amaury's magic lust and power hunger is stronger than his cunning.

Guillot began his journey as a washed up drunk, and his arc really pays off in these last pages. Solene, from such humble origins, soars as high as a dragon. Val and Pharadon give the proceedings so much heart, and getting into Amaury's head as he schemes for his madcap future as supreme ruler of Mirabaya is both intriguing and maddening.

Guillot and Solene are one of the most satisfying pairings I've enjoyed in modern fantasy, and that's because of the sheer honesty of their relationship. I say relationship, but it isn't one borne of desire or falling in love. Rather, the bond they share is one of necessity, camaraderie, and most importantly, friendship. They are there for each other when the other needs them the most, and that was so refreshing and welcomed as they fought to turn the tide against Amaury, and also against their own internal demons.

Delving into politics, leadership, war strategy, the cost of magic, hidden dangers, the nature of humanity in war, and hope against the odds, Servant of the Crown will shock you at times, warm your heart in others, and keep you rooting for its heroes even as you curse the arrogance of its villains. If you haven't yet picked up and read the first two in this series, Dragonslayer and Knight of the Silver Circle, you're sorely missing out. For those who are ready to leap off that cliffhanger into the final stretch, you won't be disappointed.

Discover for yourself the fate of dragonkind and the future of humanity as Guillot aims to prove once and for all that his best days aren't behind him, and that he truly is a Servant of the Crown.

I'm just going to cut right to the chase. This book is insane. Hilarious chaos filled to the brim with bloody violence, Servant of the Crown has an overabundance of characters that are too incompetent for their own good.

And to be quite honest, I kind of loved them for it.

Hamilton has a distinct voice that I'm looking forward to reading more from. His style is distinctly charming, which contrasts hysterically with the intense blood and gore. There's a lot of violence in the form of sword fights and epic battles, and it was really cool. Hamilton writes action really well. This debut series in general reminds me so much of Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames whereby the humor element shines strongly throughout the book. I literally laughed out loud when I'm reading this book! While some big words were used by Hamilton, it does not dilute the humor element.

I mean it's about dragons and if you're a fantasy dragon lover like I am, you need to jump on this series already.

I didn't end up finishing the second book, and the first one was an OK read. So I won't be continuing onto this third book.

This series started strong, dragged a little, and then finished strong.

I loved how comfortable I became with the characters, how they became more and more real through the series. I like that each character was "real", they had motivations I could understand, and I mean, that's HUGE. I hate the Fanasty/SciFi bullshit of people doing "the right thing" because reasons. Hamilton does a good job making his characters someone I could see existing in my world.

**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bit of a lacklustre conclusion to the series for me, which is a shame because I have enjoyed both of the previous books. It tells the story of Gill and Solene as they try to foil the Prince Bishop once and for all.

The Positives: I enjoyed the magical aspects of this book very much and the way in which Solene's magical abilities are improved and used to further the action. I also loved all of the dragon action!

The Negatives: This was too focused on the military action of the world and consequently, it didn't feel as magical as the previous books in the series. I also thought that characters were introduced and then completely dropped out of the action, which was a bit disorientating.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the series as a whole, but this was my least favourite book unfortunately.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Servant of the Crown closes out Duncan M. Hamilton’s DRAGONSLAYER trilogy, a series that I thought started out weakly with Dragonslayer and then improved somewhat though not quite enough with Knight of the Silver Circle. Unfortunately, I can’t say the third book continues that improvement, meaning I can’t recommend the series.

The picks up shortly after the events of its predecessor with Guillot, Solene, and Pharadon trying to stop Prince Bishop Amaury from gaining the last Cup of Enlightenment. Guillot and Solene want to prevent Amaury from achieving a nearly unstoppable level of magical power while Pharadon needs the cup to enlighten what may be the last of his kind. When they fail, Pharadon has to seek other lost cups (finding another dangerous foe in the process) while Gil has to turn to more mundane military efforts to stop the Prince Bishop.

As with the other books, Servant of the Crown moves along quickly and smoothly. The strongest moments are the fight scenes, both one-on-one scenes and major engagements, all of which are rendered in clear and excitingly vivid fashion. Unfortunately, the rest of the novel doesn’t fare so well. The plot, despite being quick-moving, is marred by more than a few events that happen too easily (magic in particular comes too easily and does too much), too conveniently, or too implausibly, leading to write several notes along the lines of “why wouldn’t she . . . “ or “why didn’t he . . . “ Characterization is thin, and that, combined with how quickly the moves so, means emotional moments that could have been mined to some strong effect fall flat. With my highest ranking of the three novels being a 2.5, as noted in the intro, I just can’t recommend the series, though Hamilton’s facility with action scenes and pace shows promise with a bit more work on plot and character.

Servant of the Crown by Duncan M. Hamilton, a really good conclusion to a good series that leaves room for future books in this universe.

In the conclusion to Hamilton's trilogy, we find Gill, Solene, and Pharadon joining forces to destroy the threat of Amaury's control over the city of Mirabay and return King Baudain back to his rightful place on the throne.

I find Hamilton's style of writing relaxing to read. There is a lot of internal thoughts and exploration done with each character. While this did become tedious in some areas, specifically those leading up to action scenes and conflict, it was refreshing to see an author so in tune with the inner workings of his characters.

This is a strong trilogy overall with characters that you can really get behind. The plot is not action-packed, which makes for a more relaxing reading experience where we get to spend time enjoying the little details of the characters and the culture that Hamilton includes.

I was disappointed in the lack of expansion on the presence of the goldscale dragon, who we are introduced to as Ashanya. I wasn't really sure what her point in the book was other than to move other characters from one point to another. She never had the moment I was waiting for! That was a huge disappointment.

I have to say it was refreshing to read an entire trilogy of books where romance was a nearly non-existent element. I expected Hamilton to bring Solene and Gill together at the end in some romantic way, and I was thrilled to see him maintain their strong friendship without succumbing to the idea that all main characters must fall in love with each other.

Overall, an enjoyable trilogy, highly recommended for readers looking to enjoy fantasy reading with a classic flavor.

Ahhhh yes, I’ve made it to the end of this trilogy. And overall, I have very much enjoyed the time I spent with this trilogy (a little under 5 hours of my time by my reckoning!). If you haven’t read the first two books, definitely check them out.

I have to admit that I’ve grown very attached to these characters, I dunno how it happened, but damn if Soléne and Gill haven’t wormed their way into my heart. And Pharadon, still a favorite of mine. My favorite part of the characters has been their growth, Gill kind of from rock bottom, given up on the world, back to his place as a Hero™. And for Soléne to face her own immense power and come to terms with it.

Overall, I think it was a good ending, but not the kind of ending that appeals to me. HEADS UP. Spoilers…. (Seriously, if you’re not interested in spoilers, why are you reading a review for the third book in a series?) SOOO YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. Anyway, my issue with the ending was that it just felt too easy and too happy. Everything kind of worked out, and that kind of ending just isn’t my favorite--I love endings that tear your heart out, but you’re kind of happy about it, because well, there’s no other way it could have been satisfying.

Anyway, I think I’ve pretty clearly spelled out some of why this series didn’t totally grab my heart before, but I think in a way it does make it a little easier to recommend. This series is definitely one that sticks to expectations from the genre. It makes me a little nostalgic to be honest, like going back to when I was first getting into fantasy and the books that I devoured then!

This is a series that I would almost definitely recommend to readers who love high fantasy. Additionally, I’ve particularly enjoyed how the books don’t take longer than they need to tell a story, they’re relatively short, and yet there’s clearly a lot of depth to them, and they’re easy to get lost in.

And there you have it, overall a great series I’d definitely recommend!

(This review will go live on my website on February 27, 2020)

I received a free advance reader copy in exchange for an independent review.

I enjoyed this novel. It is the third, concluding book in the Dragon Slayer trilogy that sees Gill and Solene fighting to right the wrongs of Amaury Prince Bishop of Mirabay, who had (in the last instalment) poisoned the King into a prolonged illness and assumed the regency of the kingdom.

The story is fast-paced and takes in battles, intrigue, rescue attempts and duels along the way. Compared to the previous books in the trilogy, gone is much of Gill's self-loathing and Solene's self-doubt about her magical powers, with both finally hitting their stride. It all culminates in a final showdown with the main protagonist on which the future of the kingdom all hangs.

I have read this whole series now and it feels good to finally have completed it. Although it was a bit of rocky start in book one, it all came together by the end with this one being filled with all the adventure I needed.

Just like the other books, there are many point-of-views that take place. There are obviously characters that I liked reading about more than others. I was sad to see one character that had potential die. I will not get over it!

Gill and Soléne are still doing their thing and fighting for justice. They are great characters and have had a lot of development throughout the series which is nice to see. The dragons were still present but at the same time didn't feel as present as book one and two. I'm just a sucker for dragons.

The plot wrapped up nicely and I'm glad there was finally some justice! Plot twists were on point and kept me turning each page. I will say that the ending felt a bit rushed and that did leave me a bit disappointed.

Overall, this is a good series and I've enjoyed my time reading about these characters and their world.