Margaret Weis: Dragonlance chronicles (1984, TSR, Distributed to the book trade by Random House)
447 pages
English language
Published Oct. 7, 1984 by TSR, Distributed to the book trade by Random House.
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.
Then hope appears - a blue crystal staff in the hands of a beautiful barbarian woman. The promise of hope, as fleeting as smoke upon the autumn wind, forces a group of long-time friends into the unlikely roles of heroes.
Knight and barbarian, warrior and half-elf, dwarf and kender and dark-souled mage; they begin a perilous quest for-
the legendary Dragonlance.
I loved this series when I was like fourteen, and was wondering how well it held up. Eh, not bad for tie in fiction, I guess. Very of its time.
I finally finished reading this. I am not saying that as a bad thing. Just that every time I borrowed a library book I kept putting this one aside since I own a copy. I actually found an old copy in a used bookstore, very cheap. I wanted the whole trilogy, but they only had this one and the second volume in the old edition. Had to settle for the 3rd volume in the newer edition (still dirt cheap; covers do not match. Oh well).
Anyhow, I did play D&D when I was younger for a brief time, but I never read the novels, so this is a discovery for me. Yes: it is a light piece of fiction, and it has its share of cliches, but it is fantasy. In a way, it is supposed to be like that; it's escapism. I can definitely, as a librarian, see the …
I finally finished reading this. I am not saying that as a bad thing. Just that every time I borrowed a library book I kept putting this one aside since I own a copy. I actually found an old copy in a used bookstore, very cheap. I wanted the whole trilogy, but they only had this one and the second volume in the old edition. Had to settle for the 3rd volume in the newer edition (still dirt cheap; covers do not match. Oh well).
Anyhow, I did play D&D when I was younger for a brief time, but I never read the novels, so this is a discovery for me. Yes: it is a light piece of fiction, and it has its share of cliches, but it is fantasy. In a way, it is supposed to be like that; it's escapism. I can definitely, as a librarian, see the appeal factor for teen readers. I think it can probably work well as a good book for reluctant readers. Not too difficult, pretty entertaining. As a reader myself, it was a bit slow at the beginning (main reason it only got the 3 stars), but it picked up the pace towards the end. I did like that, while it is setting up for the rest of the series, it stands on its own. So I don't have to rush to the next volume. I will read the rest of the series in time though. I liked it well enough.
On a final note, it is also interesting to look at this book, which is the publiher's first effort in this type of work and compare it to later works. For instance, I read the Minotaur Wars novels (they are reviewed here on my lists), and they are clearly much better in terms of quality of the prose. True, different authors, but one gets the sense that they have been refining the world of Krynn and the events over time. Overall, if you are looking for a light escape, if you are in the mood for dragons and knights, and nothing too heavy, this is a good book for you.
