Tag: Margaret Weis

Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Published on by Charli1 Comment

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis & Tracy HickmanDragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
Also by this author: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night
Series: Dragonlance Chronicles #3
Also in this series: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night
Published by Wizards of the Coast Publishing on 11/11/2008
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / General
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal Library
Amazon
Goodreads

The war against the dragon minions of Queen Takhisis rages on. Armed with the mysterious, magical dragon orbs and the shining, silver dragonlance, the companions bring hope to the world. But now, in the dawn of a new day, the dark secrets that have long shadowed the hearts of the friends come to the light. Betrayal, treachery, frailty, and weakness will nearly destroy all that they have accomplished.

The greatest battle they have left to fight is within each of them.

Yet, in the end, they will be heroes.

Oh come on, you couldn’t have thought I’d review Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Night but fail to review Dragons of Spring Dawning could you? Good, because if you’d thought I wouldn’t review the third book in the Chronicles quartet, you’d have been wrong.

Once again, we have death and betrayal in this book, so if you’re looking for those things, you’ll want to pick this book up. But again, read Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Night first. Trust me, you’ll thank me later if you do.

First we need to add a bit of direction – before you read DoSD get some tissues. Especially if you have already read DoAT and DoWN. Trust me, you’ll need them. Just get them. If you don’t cry, I swear, you’ve either read the books 100 times before and know what to expect, or you’re one of those people who aren’t moved by the death of a beloved character. No, I’m not going to tell you which one. No, I won’t tell you when it happens. You’ll have to read the book to find that out. But for the love of chickens, get some tissues!

There is betrayal in this book, but it isn’t exactly what you think. It’s betrayal and it’s not betrayal, which I know, doesn’t make any sense at all. But it’s the truth. Again, not giving you any details. I couldn’t begin to describe it even if I was willing to give details. It is definitely one of those “you have to read it to understand it” things. But you do still have betrayals in this book.

There are several things in this book that you absolutely will not understand if you have not read Dragons of Winter Night because there are several things that refer back to the happenings in that book. This book definitely requires it’s forebears to be read first.

Once again, the writing and world building are of the highest quality. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman make an exquisite writing team – they truly love the world of Krynn and the stories they’ve created and it shows in the books they’ve written. I’m honestly not sure how anyone who loves fantasy wouldn’t fall in love with Krynn, our faithful companions, and the stories in which they are featured – unless of course you don’t like epic fantasy, dragons, or misfit heroes.

I know I’ve been giving the books five stars all along, but it’s so difficult not to – they are stunning books and honestly, I can’t imagine them having less than a five star rating – at least not from me. These are easily some of my favorite books I’ve read this year and Dragons of Spring Dawning was no exception. I will never cease to recommend these books to anyone who loves fantasy or Dungeons & Dragons.

Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Published on by Charli1 Comment

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis & Tracy HickmanDragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
Also by this author: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Series: Dragonlance Chronicles #2
Also in this series: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Published by TSR on 08/14/1984
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / Fantasy / Humorous
Pages: 395
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal Library
Amazon
Goodreads

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.[mfn]Just make sure to read Dragons of Autumn Twilight first, as Dragons of Winter Night is the second book in the series.[/mfn]

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.[mfn]I’m hoping that a later book might include it, even though that’d make no sense. You never know.[/mfn]

There’s a lot of suspense and intrigue in this middle book in the series.[mfn]I 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.[/mfn] 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.[mfn]Just 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.[/mfn] 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.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Published on by Charli

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracy HickmanDragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
Also by this author: Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Series: Dragonlance Chronicles #1
Also in this series: Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning
Published by Wizards of the Coast on 11/11/2008
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / General
Pages: 445
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal Library
Amazon
Goodreads

Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

No one expected them to be heroes.

Least of all, them.

I first stepped into the world of Krynn – and Dragonlance, in 2002 with The Legend of Huma. I was working at a little used bookstore in Texas and had noticed that the small rack of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance books we had got a lot of attention – and purchases. I enjoyed The Legend of Huma greatly and set out to read more books. My friend suggested reading Dragons of Autumn Twilight. So I obtained a copy and tried. I got less than 1/4 of the way through it and stopped reading. Then I picked it up a few months later, got about 1/4 of the way through it and stopped reading. I did this several times over the years. Finally, my friend who suggested reading Dragons of Autumn Twilight all those years ago, who is now my roommate, brought me the book[mfn]He actually brought me the first 8 books recommended in the reading order on Witty & Sarcastic Book Club’s post, and he hadn’t read the post![/mfn] this past Friday and told me I needed to read it. So I did. And I finished it this time.

Now I can’t understand why it took me so darned long to read it! I love the characters, I love the world, I love everything about it. I think my favorite character has to be Tasselhof Burrfoot, although I have to say Flint Fireforge and Fizban are up there too. Tas is so funny – always mysteriously finding other people’s belongings in with his, getting himself into awkward or bad situations. Flint is hilarious – especially his commentary on gully dwarves. And Fizban – I’ve never seen a more daft mage… he literally fights with trees. It’s utterly hilarious and you have to read about it to truly understand how hilarious it is.

I love the world of Krynn. I love the dragons[mfn]Even though all we’ve gotten so far are “bad” dragons.[/mfn]. One dragon in particular tugged at my heartstrings even though she’s technically a “bad” dragon. Personally I don’t think any of them are “bad”, just misguided and misunderstood. But that’s just me. I love dragons period.

The plot had enough plot points to keep things interesting and I appreciate that the book, even though it is part of a series, doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, nor does it end in an abrupt manner. It even ends on a happy note even though the struggle isn’t finished. It’s a satisfying ending and I enjoyed it very much.

Now, as to why it took me so long to read this book? I think in a lot of ways it has to do with the fact that I didn’t play D&D back then. Now that I do, I can appreciate the world, I can appreciate the stories and the plotlines that are going on. It’s like reading a D&D campaign without having to roll dice or decide what I’m going to do. I can just sit back and watch the characters handle their business on their own. That being said, if you don’t have an interest in D&D, you might not understand the books and you might find yourself on the bored side while reading them.

If you like fantasy and you like D&D[mfn]Or Pathfinder as 1st edition for Pathfinder was based on the rule set for D&D 3.5.[/mfn] I’m sure you’ll love the Dragonlance books. Even if you aren’t, give them a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.