DRAGONS OF THE HIGHLORD SKY is the second of the Lost Histories trilogy for DRAGONLANCE. It is also a book based around my all-time favorite female chDRAGONS OF THE HIGHLORD SKY is the second of the Lost Histories trilogy for DRAGONLANCE. It is also a book based around my all-time favorite female character in fantasy: Kitiara uth Matar. She's a villain the original Dragonlance Chronicles and antagonist for Dragonlance Legends. She was a rare character in fantasy when I was a boy in the Eighties, being a female warrior in charge of her own sexuality as well as ruthless in both her ambition as well as talent. It was hard not to root for her even though she was the primary general for the Queen of Darkness.
I always felt that Kitiara deserved better from both the fandom as well as the writing. Fans always want their dark and edgy antiheroes to have a redemption arc and that's just not who Kitiara is. Part of the appeal of Kitiara is her punch clock attitude to her actions. Working for the forces evil is just a job and war is her profession. The Queen of Darkness is just another employer and conquest is what armies do in her time.
This book chronicles the period of Kitiara before the events of DRAGONS OF A WINTER TIDE where she crosses the proverbial moral event horizon by slaying one of the Heroes of the Lance. If you don't know who I am referring to or have forgotten DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES, you might want to re-read them or at least a summary before this because it ties in heavily with the past continuity of the books. We watch her play politics behind the scenes and try to avoid getting herself replaced by Emperor Ariakas.
Despite the fact that I am primarily focused on the Kitiara sections, the book is actually shared between her and Laurana. The elvish princess has her own story arc to go through as she reluctantly teams up with Sir Derek Crownguard in order to try and find the dragon orb that theoretically has the potential to turn the tide of battle against the Queen of Darkness' forces. Unfortunately, for Laurana, Derek is an untrustworthy ally in the Boromir sense. He's a good but flawed man who puts his country over the greater good of the world.
There's a lot of good characters in this book with development for minor ones from the original stories. We get to know Black Robe Iolanthe, Ariakas' newest mistress who is uncomfortably aware that while he's attracted to strong women, he'll never trust any of them. We also get a lot of development on the White Dragon Highlord Feal'thas who has the ambition of killing everyone on his island and being left alone. Which would be a pretty petty motivation for a Dark Lord if not for the fact it involves genocide.
In conclusion, this is an excellent novel and I'll buy anything with Kitiara. However, the rest of the book is good for other classic characters and expanding the world of Krynn. Derek Crownguard is now a much more rounded and tragic character than the insufferable bore he was in the original trilogy. I also think we finally have some development for Ariakas, who was previously just a bigger and meaner version of Verminaard....more
I am a lifelong fan of Dragonlance and a story heavily focused on the history of the setting as well as how a bunch of time-travelers may muck it up iI am a lifelong fan of Dragonlance and a story heavily focused on the history of the setting as well as how a bunch of time-travelers may muck it up is squarely in my wheelhouse. So, I was very excited about this book after finishing the previous DRAGONS OF DECEIT. While I had come issues with the first book, mostly its excessive humor, I have to say this book compensates for it as well as makes use of two of my favorite characters: Sturm and Raistlin.
The premise is Sturm, Raistlin, Tasslehoff, and Destina have found themselves in Solamnia during the Era of Huma Dragonbane. They have the Graygem of Gargath and it is leaking Chaos into the world. It's not a great situation and despite our heroes attempts not to change anything, things start adding up as their moralities as well as confusion over what to do with their circumstance keep making little alterations to the timeline.
If you're not familiar with Huma or the War of the Lance, this book probably won't hit you as hard as it should. This is definitely a book for longtime fans of the series and the more you know about what a High Clerist's Tower is or why the Blue Lady showing up on a certain day is a very bad thing, the more you will enjoy the book. Fans with a more passing familiarity will still enjoy the book, though, and the strength of the characters shines through.
I complained about Destina's characterization last book as she seemed, bluntly, a bit on the thick side mentally. Here, she's much improved by being more realistic about her actions as well as the potential consequences for her failure. I'm a bit saddened that she and Tasslehoff don't continue their romance, though, since that was an unexpected twist I really enjoyed in the previous book. It may have been under false pretenses but I think she couldn't do better than a Hero of the Lance. Tasslehoff has saved the world, after all. Three times!
The real star of the book is Raistlin Majere, though, and I have to say it's fascinating to see him post-Legends. While stripped of about 90% of his magic, Raistlin is still a cunning adversary but he's also learned a valuable lesson in humility. We also realize that Fistandantilus was influencing our hero the entire time that he was having his misadventures. This doesn't make Raistlin innocent but it calls into question just what sort of person he might have been if not for that dark influence. It's interesting to see Sturm and Raistlin start to develop a friendship under their strange new circumstances.
Supporting characters like Human Dragonbane, Magius, Gwyneth, and others all make the book quite entertaining. Seeing our protagonists play off what were only figures of legend to them is interesting. I also appreciated the fact we finally got to see the difference between Sturm and Huma. It turns out that, compared to Huma, Sturm is a bit of a wet blanket. Magius also indicates that Raistlin really may have just needed another wizard in the party.
This is only the second book in a trilogy and obviously ends in a cliffhanger. I will say that I am very excited about this series and am anxious to see how the setting will be changed by the final results. Definitely check this out if you're a longtime Dragonlance fan. If you're not, I think you'll still enjoy it if you liked Dragons of Deceit (or even if you didn't)....more
I am a lifelong fan of Dragonlance and a story heavily focused on the history of the setting as well as how a bunch of time-travelers may muck it up iI am a lifelong fan of Dragonlance and a story heavily focused on the history of the setting as well as how a bunch of time-travelers may muck it up is squarely in my wheelhouse. So, I was very excited about this book after finishing the previous DRAGONS OF DECEIT. While I had come issues with the first book, mostly its excessive humor, I have to say this book compensates for it as well as makes use of two of my favorite characters: Sturm and Raistlin.
The premise is Sturm, Raistlin, Tasslehoff, and Destina have found themselves in Solamnia during the Era of Huma Dragonbane. They have the Graygem of Gargath and it is leaking Chaos into the world. It's not a great situation and despite our heroes attempts not to change anything, things start adding up as their moralities as well as confusion over what to do with their circumstance keep making little alterations to the timeline.
If you're not familiar with Huma or the War of the Lance, this book probably won't hit you as hard as it should. This is definitely a book for longtime fans of the series and the more you know about what a High Clerist's Tower is or why the Blue Lady showing up on a certain day is a very bad thing, the more you will enjoy the book. Fans with a more passing familiarity will still enjoy the book, though, and the strength of the characters shines through.
I complained about Destina's characterization last book as she seemed, bluntly, a bit on the thick side mentally. Here, she's much improved by being more realistic about her actions as well as the potential consequences for her failure. I'm a bit saddened that she and Tasslehoff don't continue their romance, though, since that was an unexpected twist I really enjoyed in the previous book. It may have been under false pretenses but I think she couldn't do better than a Hero of the Lance. Tasslehoff has saved the world, after all. Three times!
The real star of the book is Raistlin Majere, though, and I have to say it's fascinating to see him post-Legends. While stripped of about 90% of his magic, Raistlin is still a cunning adversary but he's also learned a valuable lesson in humility. We also realize that Fistandantilus was influencing our hero the entire time that he was having his misadventures. This doesn't make Raistlin innocent but it calls into question just what sort of person he might have been if not for that dark influence. It's interesting to see Sturm and Raistlin start to develop a friendship under their strange new circumstances.
Supporting characters like Human Dragonbane, Magius, Gwyneth, and others all make the book quite entertaining. Seeing our protagonists play off what were only figures of legend to them is interesting. I also appreciated the fact we finally got to see the difference between Sturm and Huma. It turns out that, compared to Huma, Sturm is a bit of a wet blanket. Magius also indicates that Raistlin really may have just needed another wizard in the party.
This is only the second book in a trilogy and obviously ends in a cliffhanger. I will say that I am very excited about this series and am anxious to see how the setting will be changed by the final results. Definitely check this out if you're a longtime Dragonlance fan. If you're not, I think you'll still enjoy it if you liked Dragons of Deceit (or even if you didn't)....more
A fairly straight forward story of Caramon and Raistlin Majere joining a bunch of mercenaries. Both warrior and mage learn a lot of valuable lessons tA fairly straight forward story of Caramon and Raistlin Majere joining a bunch of mercenaries. Both warrior and mage learn a lot of valuable lessons that start to shape them into the people we know in Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I really enjoyed this one but it's not particularly important as a series of events. I enjoyed the Kitiara Uth Matar bits much more (and I didn't dislike the Caramon and Raistlin bits). Though I will say I don't like her involvement in the theft of the dragon eggs. As awful as Kitiara is, I don't see her as capable of something like this....more
DRAGONS OF DWARVEN DEPTHS is the first of the “Lost Chronicles” trilogy for Dragonlance. They basically are a series of novels meant to fill in the maDRAGONS OF DWARVEN DEPTHS is the first of the “Lost Chronicles” trilogy for Dragonlance. They basically are a series of novels meant to fill in the material left “off camera” from the original Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy. Now if you’ve always wanted to know how Tanis Half-Elven and Flint Fireforge acquired the Hammer of Kharas, that’s probably a great selling point. If you have no idea who either of those people and think Raistlin is a type of candy, then I’d argue this book is still for you. It’s surprisingly easy to follow and might lead you to check out the other books. However, as a rule, I recommend you check out the original Chronicles first.
The premise is pretty simple and picks up directly after the events of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The simple version is that a bunch of adventurers are leading a bunch of refugees through the wilderness while being hunted by dragon-themed bad guys. The safest place is a nearby dwarven kingdom but it’s been sealed up for centuries. They need to figure out something the dwarven kingdom wants to get shelter before the bad guys or winter finishes them off. The complicated version requires explaining centuries of backstory that isn’t actually necessary to explain the story but ties together a dozen other books.
This is what I like about Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman at the height of their game. When they are at their best, you don’t need to know all the backstory and lore to understand the story. The first fantasy novel I ever read after The Hobbit was The Time of the Twins and I actually thought the big epic war was just backstory invented for the book. It didn’t hurt my enjoyment of the book at all to be introduced with them and I feel the same for this one. If you’ve never heard of these guys, this would be a decent way to meet them for the first time.
Part of what makes this book work is the heavy focus on characterization and seriousness of the problems both mundane as well as exotic. A bigger issue than ghosts in the ruins of Skullcap is that Raistlin’s resentment of his brother and his dependence on him drives him to emotional abuse. Something that helps cause Raistlin to lose the trust of everyone who would be otherwise more willing to listen to his (often sound) advice. Flint, Riverwind, Tanis, and the others take the threat of winter as seriously as draconians. It grounds them and makes them likable in a way that lots of other fantasy, particularly Dungeons and Dragons fantasy, doesn’t.
Flint Fireforge never got that much character development in the main books and was sort of regulated to being “Team Dad” and “Token Generic Dwarf.” This book doesn’t so much challenge that as fill it out a bit. We get to see how the bigotry against Hill Dwarves (and by them) has affected all of his relationships. The rest of the characters are somewhat stuck with their characterizations from Chronicles, for better and worse. Raistlin bullies Caramon, who is horny for Tika, and Tanis has a bizarre belief that his ex-Laurana wants to romance the preacher Elistan. Still, it’s some good characterization and watching the noble knight Sturm get tempted with glory as well as power is always good.
The villains for the book are serviceable but entertaining with a pair of draconians impersonating Verminaard, the antagonist from Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I think this is a reference to how Verminaard was referenced as being alive somewhere after the first book but I, sadly, failed my Dragonlance lore check. Still, they provide a decent enough threat and it’s always good to note that even though our heroes “beat” the Red Dragon Army in the previous book, they are still able to mount a horrifying threat. My only real regret is that the book brings back Hederick the Theocrat and doesn’t horribly kill him. I thought he was an unrealistic cartoon in the original trilogy and unfortunately, now I know he’s all too realistic but that just makes me hate him more.
Dragons of Dwarven Depths is probably up there with Legends in my mind for best Dragonlance book and is among the better Dungeons and Dragons fiction as a whole. It’s a bunch of extremely likable fantasy protagonists and gives them enough depth to move them beyond the stock archetypes that they may have started as. In other words, if you’re a fan of Dragonlance or interested in checking it out then try it....more
DRAGONS OF DECEIT by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is the best Dragonlance book since THE SECOND GENERATION. Unfortunately, that's saying quite a bit since that includes DRAGONS OF A SUMMER FLAME, THE WAR OF SOULS, and THE DARK DISCIPLE books. I haven't read THE LOST CHRONICLES yet, but I feel like it is hard to capture the magic of THE DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES and DRAGONLANCE LEGENDS.
Anyway, Destina Rosethorn, my one complaint being her name sounds like it came from Harry Potter fanfic, is a young Solamnic Knight's daughter during the War of the Lance. Her father doesn't believe in the gods, but her mother does. After a series of unfortunate events result in Destina losing her father, castle, fiance, and self-respect, she proceeds to hatch upon a plan to use the Device of Time Journeying ot save her father from death at the High Clerist's Tower.
Much of the book's humor derives from the fact that Destina's plan is utterly insane and incredibly ill-considered from beginning to end. It is also hypocritical as she spends a lot of the book talking about her disdain for magic and wizards while depending on a device that is unquestionably magic. The fact she chooses to involve the Graygem in this, which many book fans will know from Dragons of Summer Flame, is another layer of stupidity on a stupid sandwich.
This isn't a complaint about the book because Destina's plan is actually somewhat endearing. We've all lost someone and would love to see them return if we had the right magic to do so. Watching her blunder forward with not one, but two of the most powerful mystical artifacts in existence is even more humorous than Tasslehoff Burrfoot ever was. Especially when she starts mucking with the timeline like if Rosencratz and Guildenstern decided to tell Hamlet's mother that her current husband murdered her late husband.
Speaking of Tasslehoff, much of the book is about how Destina can't outwit him. Which is hard to really summarize the full meaning of that sentence. She.cannot.outwit.Tasslehoff. I love Destina and she's a wonderfully fun girl but while she may have an INT score of 12 or 13, she absolutely must have either the lowest WIS score on Krynn or is consistently rolling 1's on her Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks. Tasslehoff runs rings around her and that, honestly, is the best evidence I can think of that a character is a complete moron.
How bad is she at this? I mean, beyond trying to alter time and space with an object the gods can't control to save her father versus, I dunno, calling her father's ghost up to contest his will or finding Elistan or Crysania to resurrect him? Asking Astinus to confirm that her father left her keep to her rather than his evil nephew? Straight up murdering her evil cousin and his wife? I mean, still incredibly extreme measures but a little less insane is all I'm saying. Well, Tasslehoff and she end up married. No, I'm not going to explain the circumstances.
Dragons of Summer Flame ended the Dragonlance epic in many fan's eyes with the assumption being that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were attempting to wrap it all up before WOTC took it away from. Mostly because they've been trying to undo the changes to the setting for the past couple of decades. Many fans are assuming this trilogy is going to be yet another attempt and be a bit like DC's FLASHPOINT PARADOX.
Is Dragons of Deceit going to do that? Honestly, I don't know, but it's heavily implied that the Second Cataclysm is something everyone wants to avert. The fact Dalamar and the other High Sorcery mages see it coming as well as desire to stop it is an argument by itself. They certainly didn't know about it in the original timeline. It's also described not in "oh, humanity finally can make its own way!" terms but, "Oh my god, a world without gods and magic after we just got them back? That is monstrous!" Which, honestly, I think is how they would react so no complaints from me there.
I love this book. I love Destina, who feels real both because and despite the fact she is the dumbest person in Krynn. We have way too many incredibly clever protagonists. Dungeons and Dragons was founded on people who see the Necronomicon and forget the magic words to use it safely. There's even a nod to this when the Hand of Vecna is sold to some gullible Black Robe mages with instructions to chop parts off themselves. Yet, I felt her pain and her very real-life problems that were relatable to all of us that struggled after the death of a loved one. Plus, some old favorites may or may not be back from the dead....more
One of the things the Before We Go Blog have been revealing is that a lot of us share the same books that made us the lovers of fantasy we are. Ryan HOne of the things the Before We Go Blog have been revealing is that a lot of us share the same books that made us the lovers of fantasy we are. Ryan Howse did a fantastic job talking about what the Canticle books by RA Salvatore meant to him. Jodie Crump talked about the wonders of the Dragonlance Chronicles.
For me, however much I liked these books, the ultimate book series was Dragonlance Legends: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, and Test of the Twins. These were the sequel books to the Dragonlance Chronicles but I actually read them first. Furthermore, they were not only my first exposure to Dungeons and Dragons fiction but they were my first fantasy novels ever. I mean, not counting Narnia and the Hobbit when I was in grade school.
The premise is the big epic heroic battle against the forces of darkness is over. The forces of good are triumphant and the forces of evil are defeated. I always thought that was a tremendously clever way of opening a campaign setting because, even then, I knew enough about high fantasy to be bored of epic battles against good versus evil. Indeed, it was such a clever idea that I pretty much copied it with Wraith Knight (shh). A war of light and dark can usually end only one way while the aftermath can go anyway you want it to.
War hero Caramon Majere, who I misread as Cameron for a decade, is a fat drunk who is barely keeping himself from being abusive. While the rest of the Heroes of the Lance have gone on to bigger and better things, he’s allowed himself to wallow in self-pity as well as regret. There’s also some undiagnosed PTSD but there isn’t exactly much in the way of psychology on Krynn. The biggest regret Caramon has is his brother Raistlin Majere turning to the Dark Side (or Black Robes in this case).
Raistlin Majere. Man, if there has been a more influential character to my writing then it’s either Harry Dresden or no one. Raistlin was the man when I was a fourteen-year-old nerd thinking he was smarter than everyone else. As a teenager, you think the entire world is out to get you and everyone is jealous of your superior intellect–or maybe that was just me. As an adult, I look back on Raistlin Majere with different eyes. Perhaps the eyes of wisdom. A genius, indeed, but so self-absorbed and misanthropic that he made 90% of his own problems.
In a way, Raistlin also serves as an excellent rebuttal for all those dark and tragic romances out there. He and the cleric, Crysania, have all the hallmarks of a bad boy/good woman romance but the books never shy away from what a terrible person he is. He could have happiness with her but to do so would require him to give up his self-agrandizing plans that have no real purpose to him. Raistlin wants to be a god but, really, why? What’s he going to do once he’s a god? It was an interesting concept to present to a teenager.
I also loved the character of Crysania who was a spoiled and somewhat arrogant woman but possessed of a genuine empathy as well as faith. She wants to help Raistlin but also has own ambitions that are guiding her somewhat foolish actions. I also love the story of Caramon Majere as he struggles to overcome his trauma as well as addiction. He also needs to divorce himself of his toxic relationship with his brother that was, previously, his only reason for living.
Fantastic series and everyone should read it....more
Raistlin Majere remains one of my favorite characters in fiction, though I've since come to also associate him with many qualities I loathed about my Raistlin Majere remains one of my favorite characters in fiction, though I've since come to also associate him with many qualities I loathed about my teenage self. You know, the entitled know-it-all who probably had a lot more issues with women than I would have if I just treated them as people.
THE SOULFORGE is one of the best of the Dragonlance novels other than the original six and details the origins of the one of Nineties' fantasies best antiheroes. Magic was always the great love of Raistlin, even when he was too young for such things, because it is the one he could always control completely.
My only regret about this book is we're still some years away from Raistlin's darkest actions and thus when he's at his most interesting. Oh and that I kind of prefer Kitiara Uth Matar to Raistlin. I would have loved to have read Margaret Weis' take on her rise to power. That's just me as a fan nitpicking, though....more
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