A Memory of Dragons is narrated by Paul Killian in the form of a diary stored in his computer files. As Paul is a skilled technician who works constantly with computers, he finds it natural to record his extraordinary experiences this way. In a short preface he issues a sort of challenge to the opposing faction: Here is the information you wanted. It has been here all along; you just did not know where to look. It is the type of trick a bright computer jockey delights in pulling off, so from the opening paragraph on the reader knows something about his character.

His diary, moreover, is far from a mere record. Paul uses slang, summarizing bothersome characters in a few quick words, such as "the pudge " and "a sergeant at arms with pale, foxy eyes." He recounts conversations and exciting action so vividly that in...