Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

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Dragons

Creatures of legend. Stories told to children.

But now dragons have returned to Krynn. The darkness of war and destruction threatens to engulf the land.

A small band of heroes brings hope to the land. But the hope is fragile as a rose and many be lost completely, shattered by the bitter winds of winter.

Knights and barbarian, warrior and half-elf, dwarf and kender and dark-souled mage; they begin a perilous search for two artifacts that may help them or lead them to their destruction-

the Dragon Orbs...

and the legendary Dragonlance.

I have to say, if you’re looking for a fantasy book with suspense, intrigue, death, and betrayal, you’d do well to pick up Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.¹Just make sure to read Dragons of Autumn Twilight first, as Dragons of Winter Night is the second book in the series.

First things first – be aware that when you start Dragons of Winter Night, you’ll be starting about a month after the ending of Dragons of Autumn Twilight, and in kind of an awkward spot as you’ll have little idea of what’s going on because the companions have gone on an adventure that we don’t get to read about.²I’m hoping that a later book might include it, even though that’d make no sense. You never know.

There’s a lot of suspense and intrigue in this middle book in the series.³I say series because Dragonlance Chronicles includes four books, although you generally don’t read the fourth book until much later in the recommended reading order – there are four books to read between Dragons of Spring Dawning and Dragons of Summer Flame in the recommended reading order. We meet a new character who becomes one of the companions of sorts, but there are reasons not to trust this new character. The newbie also has a secret, that will be revealed in due time.⁴Just a note, I actually guessed the secret long before it was revealed, but I think that’s just because I’d paid attention to some of the stories/legends told about before the Cataclysm. You’ll also get the chance to meet an old friend again – one who we last saw in Dragons of Autumn Twilight.

As for the betrayal portion, there’s a good portion of that. From family betrayals to betrayals from friends, this book has its fair share of betrayal. I’m not sure which betrayal – the family or the friend betrayal hurts worse. Personally, the more surprising one was the friend betrayal. I’m obviously not going to give spoilers but I’m pretty sure if you’ve read this book before, then you already know what I’m talking about. The family betrayal goes on both sides of the family coin, with some betrayals worse than others. They’re no less heart-wrenching though.

Don’t get me started on how heart-and-gut-wrenching the death you’ll experience in this book is. I needed tissues – I’m becoming too attached to our noble companions. I won’t tell you who it is, but I will tell you that you’ve been with this character since DoAT and will likely either be very upset or even cry like I did when it happens.

All of this is beautifully written. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have their writing down to an art. Their passages blend seamlessly with each other’s – unless the authors themselves were to tell me who wrote what passage, I’d never be able to tell you. They also have the world of Krynn down to an art and a science – everything flows well, works well, and makes sense. They’ve built a world around Dungeons & Dragons that is mesmerizing, horrifying, and wonderful all at the same time.

If you’re new to fantasy or Dragonlance, start with Dragons of Autumn Twilight – it’s the first book in the Dragonlance Chronicles series. If you’ve already read it, go ahead and read Dragons of Winter Night. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this book because I’ve already started Dragons of Spring Dawning and you won’t understand what’s happening at all if you haven’t read Dragons of Winter Night first.

This is another five star read from the Dragonlance world and I can’t wait to read more.