The Sleeping Dragon: Book One of The Guardians of the Flame

Seven college students meet for another night of role-playing games, where they will be cast as wizard, warrior, cleric, or thief. However, their conniving gamemaster has something entirely new planned for them. The seven gamers are cast into an alternate world of magic, fire-breathing dragons – and a quasi-medieval culture with slavery. The only way back to Earth is through a dragon-guarded Gate Between Worlds, about which little is known.

The five men and two women face tough challenges – simple survival in a harsh environment as well as finding the mysterious Gate to bring them home. Publishers Weekly praised this series for its “energy, wit, and a strong moral sensibility.”

The first novel in Joel Rosenberg’s bestselling Guardians of the Flame series:

GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME
The Sleeping Dragon (#1)
The Sword and The Chain (#2)
The Silver Crown (#3)
The Heir Apparent (#4)
The Warrior Lives (#5)
Road to Ehvenor (#6)
The Road Home (#7)
Not Exactly the Three Musketeers (#8)
Not Quite Scaramouche (#9)
Not Really the Prisoner of Zenda (#10)

“A major star in the fantasy firmament.” 
- Mike Resnick, author of SANTIAGO and STALKING THE UNICORN



“One of the leading lights in fantasy.” 
- William R. Forstchen, author of ONE SECOND AFTER and ONE YEAR AFTER

“One of the few writers I deliberately seek out . . . His splendid stories are intricate and fast-paced and exciting.”
- Dennis L. McKiernan, author of VOYAGE OF THE FOX RIDER

“If I see a book with Joel Rosenberg’s name on it, I buy it . . . His plots are fast-moving, meticulously crafted . . . his works are page-turners from first to last.”
- S.M. Stirling, author of MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA

“Joel Rosenberg writes fantasy rich with intelligent humor and gritty, well-researched detail.”
- Janny Wurts

“Joel Rosenberg is one of the emerging talents in our field today!”
- Raymond E. Feist

Joel Rosenberg (1954-2011) was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was raised in eastern North Dakota and northern Connecticut. He attended the University of Connecticut, where he met and married Felicia Herman.

Joel's occupations, before settling down to writing full-time, have run the usual gamut, including driving a truck, caring for the institutionalized retarded, bookkeeping, gambling, motel desk-clerking, and a two-week stint of passing himself off as a head chef.

Joel grew up reading Robert A. Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Gordon R. Dickson and Rafael Sabatini, and found himself becoming a writer pretty much as a natural outcome of such early influences. His fantasy series include the New York Times bestselling “Guardians of the Flame” series, “Keepers of the Hidden Ways” series, “D’Shai” novels and two “Mordred’s Heirs” novels. He is survived by his wife Felicia and their daughters Judy and Rachel.