Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes Dragonlance Tales, Vol. 2

Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes
Dragonlance Tales, Vol. 2
Copyright 1987

Snowsong by Nancy Varian Berberick
Tanis, Sturm, Flint, and Tasslehoff are returning from a mission when they are snowbound on a mountain. They find a meager shelter and Tanis and Sturm go out to hunt firewood. They get lost and are attacked by wolves. Meanwhile, Tas annoys Flint to no end trying to coax music from an old recorder given to him. Suddenly, Tas “finds the music” in the recorder and his song calls to the creatures stuck in the storm and invites them to the refuge. Tanis and Sturm, who have given up and are resigned to dying, hear the song as well.

I do not ordinarily like characters like Tasslehoff Burrfoot. I generally like my fantasy fiction heavy and without the comic relief. Tas is an exception. I love the character Weiss and Hickman created and the light comedy he brings to their tales. Berberick captures the Weiss and Hickman characters and humor wonderfully and tells a serious tale with light, comedic breaks without being silly. I’ve not read any of Berberick’s Dragonlance fiction. But I have to believe it is up to par judging by the way she stayed true to characters not of her making.

The Wizard’s Spectacles by Morris Simon
The elf, Dalamar, who will go on to be Raistlin’s apprentice, flees to a dwarf’s mine to hide from Sylvanesti pursuers. He brings with him a box of scrolls and spectacles made of gems of true seeing. When Dalamar is abducted, the dwarf begins using the glasses to read the scrolls to smite his enemies and impress his friends.

This story worked well. An old gaming cliché is to use the fireball spell for amusement and it was just as tiresome here. But the characters were well developed and the plot moved along nicely.


The Storyteller by Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel
A story teller is arrested by the local dragon lord for telling stories that bring together humans, kender, and dwarves. He tells his cellmate his story then relates to the reader how the races came together again to rescue him.

Starts out sort of light. Then it develops into your typical fantasy combat tale. But the end made the whole story worthwhile reading. This is one of the best short story entries in the Dragonlance canon.

A Shaggy Dog’s Tale by Danny Peary
Tasslehoff Burfoot tells a group of children about Gorath, a general in the Dragon Lord’s army and his lust for revenge against a woman who escaped slavery and her warrior boyfriend. Gorath confronts them in the clearing and begins his assault. But that assault is interrupted by a shaggy dog with a lust of his own.

A children’s tale told to fictional children is what this is. Children’s tales are usually written with dialogue that contains perfect grammar. This can be – and is – annoying for the adult reader. Not the kind of fantasy fare I enjoy, but a worthwhile tale for children.

Lord Toede’s Disastrous Hunt by Harold Bakst
Lord Toede, former Dragon Lord of Solace goes hunting for game. Instead, a pair of Kender arrange for him to meet a much more fearsome creature.

I continue to admire the way the Dragonlance contributors can keep the Kender entertaining without making them silly. I don’t like silly fantasy.

Definitions of Honor by Richard A. Knaack
A Knight of Solamnia travels to a remote fishing village to lay waste to a Minotaur that is terrifying villagers. He confronts the Minotaur, prepared for battle, when the member of a fierce and proud race instead engages him in a conversation about pride, honor, and dignity and how one achieves them.

Not nearly as boring as perhaps I made it seem. Still, it was a little light on action and quite heavy on philosophy.

Hearth Cat and Winter Wren by Nancy Varian Berberick
A cat and wren inhabit the house of an evil magic user. But they are not what they seem to be. The wren flies off to get help while a caged squirrel ponders his future of escaping and getting eaten by the cat or living out his life in a cage.

The author constructed this story nicely in that we are not led by the nose to the hook. Again, Berberick makes good use of the Dragonlance characters and keeps them true to form. A nicely done story.

Wanna Bet by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Caramon and Tika’s sons – two fighters and a magic user lose a drinking contest to a dwarf. They find themselves shanghaied on a Gnomish ship with the dwarf. He has recruited them to find a lost jewel legendary to the dwarfs. They arrive on the island where the jewel is secreted away and find the natives dispirited by the loss of all their women. They press on to the castle where the jewel is located and find themselves bewitched by its siren song.

This story had wonderful character development. But the story was a bit of a cliché and the climax fairly predictable. The creators of Dragonlance certainly could have contributed a more worthwhile story to the collection.

Into the Heart of the Story by Michael Williams
A gnome sets the record straight regarding the role and important part the race played in the War of the Lance.

This story was unreadable. Foolish footnotes, lousy poetry. Not worth the effort to read and therefore, I didn’t finish it.

Dagger Flight by Nick O’Donohoe
A enchanted and living dagger provides a different point of view on the attack on Solace and the flight of the companions as they fled Solace. Ostensibly Flint’s dagger, it is evil and longs to be fed blood.

This was the second weakest story in the book. This collection started out strong, but finished just horribly with the last two stories.

The War of the Twins

The War of the Twins
Dragonlance Legends, Vol. 3
By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Copyright 1986

The War of the Twins picks up in the aftermath of the Cataclysm and the destruction of the world above. Raistlin, Caramon, and Crysania are in the Tower of High Sorcery. Raistlin establishes his dominance over the ghosts who live there and is deemed master of the tower. He sets out to find the portal to the Abyss that will allow him and Crysania to travel there. The portal has moved.

After dispatching Caramon to reconnoiter the nearby city, Raistlin goes to the library where Astinus tells him the portal has moved to the great Dwarven city of Zhaman. Raistlin knows his history and knows there is going to be a great war fought there between Hill Dwarves, the Dwarves of Tharbodin, and an army of humans under the leadership of Fistandantulas. History is repeating itself.

As they leave the city, they are ambushed by a group of ruffians led by a half ogre creature. While some of the brigands discuss what they plan to do to Crysania, Caramon decides to challenge the big man to a fight. He beats the ogre and impresses the men who were once members of the now-discredited Knights of Solamnia. They agree to join him and start to call him general.

This suits Raistlin’s purpose. To travel safely, an army is a good escort. It will also help if they have to fight to get into Zhaman. Caramon picks up many followers along the way.

Meanwhile, poor Tasslehoff Burfoot ends up in the Abyss. He finds it to be a desolate place with no jails needed because there is no place to go. While there, he meets the gnome Gnish who fixes the time travelling device and lets them escape the Abyss.

The Army of Fistandantilus moves south toward the dwarven city. Meanwhile, the dwarves are trying to form an allegiance with their cousin Hill Dwarves to stop the human invasion. The bullheadedness of the respective leaders makes it impossible. The Hill Dwarves leave the negotiations and prepare for war against their cousins as food and gold supplies dwindle for both.

The Hill Dwarves join Caramon’s army and the group attacks Pax Tharkas, the fortress outside the Dwarf kingdom. With the help of the treacherous and traitorous Dark Dwarves, Caramon and his forces are able to secure the fortress.

The Dwarven hero, Kharas, leads a mission into Pax Tharkas to assassinate Raistlin. Kharas approaches Raistlin and delivers a dagger blow deep into Raistlin’s bow. Raistlin was defenseless because a Kender and a gnome show up in the middle of the struggle and distract Raistlin. Raistlin is taken to a chamber for his wounds to be assessed. Tasslehoff and Gnish are jailed.

Crysania is able to heal Raistlin. Meanwhile, Tas and Gnish both fall ill with a debilitating and killing disease in the dungeons. Raistlin is eager to talk to Tas and learn from his experiences. He goes to the dungeons and is able to save Tas. However, he lets Gnish die.

With the information he has from Tasslehoff about the Abyss, Raistlin is ready to access the portal and Crysania is ready to accompany him. They head there, with Caramon and Tasslehoff providing cover. Raistlin directs Caramon to return to his own time and resume his life. Caramon has resolved to do just that and let his brother go off on his quest for godhood alone. Then the group is attacked by rebellious dark dwarves. Raistlin and Crysania enter the portal. Tasslehoff activates the time travelling device to send them home. The explosion that results throws both groups off track of their desired destination.

The book ends up there as Raistlin and Crysania embark on their search for the Dark Queen Takhasis. Caramon and Tasslehoff will pick up their lives at home before the whole adventure started.

This book was like many second books in a trilogy. The characters are already introduced and developed. The plot has been put in motion. Now, the plot has to advance substantially to allow the third book to steadily bring about the climax. War of the Twins fulfills all those roles adequately.

One character develops substantially in this book and that is Caramon. Through the first entire trilogy and the first book of this second trilogy, Caramon has always been a bit of a muscle-bound doofus. He’s bound to his brother and endures his emotional abuse stoically, never letting it alter his loyalty.

Caramon climbs a steep slope in his character arc. He emerges as a leader as he builds and leads the Army of Fistandantulus. He plans logistics, supply lines, troop placements, and training. All this he does without soliciting advice from his brother.

He is also finally able to separate his fate from his brother. He accepts he can not, nor does he want to follow his brother into the Abyss. Raistlin’s dreams are beyond him. He resolves to take Tas and go home to live out his life with his wife.

Raistlin is revealed as fallible. He is susceptible to love. He constantly has to fight his feelings for Crysania to keep his eyes on his prize. He also makes a critical mistake that almost costs him his life when he loses his spell when Tas and Gnish arrive. We also see that it is not only dark thoughts and goals Raistlin harbors. When he allows Gnish to die, we see he is indeed, evil.

Tas is Tas is Tas and while he did develop emotional complexity in the first trilogy. However, he’s the same character now that he was at the beginning of the first book and, in fact, plays but a minor role in War of the Twins.

What this novel lacked was a great deal of action. The war, treachery, and double dealing were all interesting and the interactions on and off the battlefield were complex. However, the march, as they often are, was boring. The novel really lagged in the middle before arriving at the battle.

Like all second novels in a trilogy, it ended with a cliffhanger that indicated something is going to go wrong with either Raistlin and Crysania or Tas and Caramon.

The book served its purpose as part of the trilogy. Raistlin is in his final pursuit of the Queen. Caramon is on his way home with Tas. Something has gone wrong. It moved the plot along and developed the characters. Now, on to the Test of the Twins and the final installment.

The Time of the Twins: Dragonlance Legends Vol 1 By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

The Time of the Twins
Dragonlance Legends Vol 1
By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Copyright 1986

Raistlin Majere aspires to be a god, supplanting the legendary mage, Fistandantilus and take his place in pre-cataclysm Istar. Crysania, the heir to the title of High Priest of Paladine has made it her mission to stop him.

It has been several years since the end of the War of the Lance. Raistlin has disappeared to the Tower of High Sorcery and his twin brother, Cameron, has fallen on hard times of his own making. Cameron is an obese drunk, despondent over the rejection of his beloved twin. His wife, Tika, is embarrassed to have their old friend, Tanis Half Elven see him when he visits the Inn of the Last Home while escorting Crysania to meet their old friend, Tasslehoff Burrfoot who was to find a special person to aid Crysania in her quest to save Raistlin.

Tika has had it with the slovenly Cameron and kicks him out of the house, demanding that he find Crysania who has struck out on her own to head to the tower and plead her case for Raistlin before the council of mages at the Tower of Wayreth. Cameron leaves grudgingly with Tas and the gully dwarf, Bupu to whom Raistlin had once showed a great kindness.

Cameron and Tas eventually catch up to Crysania and they head for the tower. Just outside the grove that leads to the tower, they encounter the death knight, Lord Soth who is under the command of Raistlin and Cameron’s half-sister, Kitiara who aspires to usurp Raistlin in his plans and establish her own dominion. Lord Soth nearly kills Crysania before Paladine intercedes and takes her soul to safety.

Cameron and Tas arrive at the Tower of Wayreth where they learn of Raistlin’s plot to travel back in time to supplant Fistandantilus and make his bid for godship. The council resolves to send Cameron and Crysania back in time for a twofold purpose. Crysania’s soul can be restored to her there and together they can thwart Raistlin’s ambitions.

The spell is prepared and Cameron and Crysania are sent back in time. Tas accidently intervenes and is transported with them. Upon their arrival in Istar, Cameron is arrested, believed to have raped and/or assaulted Crysania who is unconscious. He is sold into slavery and made a gladiator. Tas is sold as well to the same owner and used as an errand runner.

All has transpired according to Raistlin’s design. He has Cameron sold into slavery so he can regain his strength and stamina to assist Raistlin later. Crysania is taken to the Temple of Paladine and is accepted as one of the priests. There, she meets the Kingpriest of Istar, a holy man of incredible power bestowed upon him by Paladine himself. She and the other priests live in awe of the Kingpriest.

Cameron adapts well to the life of a gladiator and comes to enjoy it because all of the deaths are fake and the matches are staged as pure entertainment. However, when he kills one of his opponents with a real weapon that was supposed to be fake, he is convinced that Raistlin, who has already supplanted Fistandantilus and taken his life force is behind it. Cameron decides he must kill Raistlin.

Meanwhile, Crysania’s new mentor and the other true clerics of Istar have been taken away to be spared the wrath of the gods coming in the cataclysm. She finds Raistlin in the High Priest’s chambers and Raistlin reveals the all powerful High Priest is nothing more than a scared but power hungry man. Crysania now knows that it is not within the Kingpriest’s power to prevent the cataclysm.

Storms and catastrophes start to sweep Istar in prelude to the coming cataclysm. Cameron tries to convince his friends to leave, telling them the city is about to be destroyed. Meanwhile, Tas has acquired from Cameron’s trunk the time traveling device with hopes of preventing the cataclysm. He goes to the Kingpriest’s chambers. He hears the Kingpriest’s pleas to the gods to give him the power to wipe out evil in the world. Crysania is there also. She is asked by the elven priest, Loralon to join him and the other true clerics of Istar to depart to safety. She refuses, hoping to save Raistlin.

Raistlin is forced to fight his friends in the arena using real weapons. To his dismay, he must kill them. As the cataclysm builds around him and the city starts to crumble, he races off the Kingpriest’s palace to kill Raistlin. He and Crysania, with Tas trailing them, have fled underground to Fistandantilus’ secret chambers beneath the palace. Cameron finds them there and is going to kill Raistlin when Crysania intervenes and allows Raistlin to complete his spell that rescues them all from the cataclysm and sends them to another point in time.

I first read The Time of the Twins upon its release in 1986 and immediately recognized it as superior to the earlier trilogy, The Dragonlance Chronicles. Weiss and Hickman, who had a long and fruitful writing partnership with TSR Hobbies, matured as writers between the first trilogy and the second.

While both are written at the level of young adult, Time of the Twins is more complex in its character development and subplots. Tas, who was often employed as little more than comic relief in the first trilogy, is developed as a much more noble creature. Also, great nuance is given to his natural desire to acquire objects that don’t belong to him. Cameron was pretty well developed in the Chronicles, but we get a better feeling for the man’s intellect rather than blind love for his twin. Crysania is a newer character who enjoys the most development in the first book. Her motives are quite complex and not entirely revealed to the reader.

Raistlin is the star of the first book even though little of it is written from his point of view. His character also becomes much deeper. The most poignant moment in the Chronicles was Raistlin’s charm of the gully dwarf, Bupu. This was the first hint that there was more to him than a grumpy, withered mage. The whole trilogy centers upon his lust for power. But, we find that even that lust for power and rejection of all human emotion can be cracked by affection and perhaps love for Crysania.

The city of Istar is presented wonderfully in its culture. Its imminent destruction is laid out nicely as a backdrop to the action centered on the characters. Too often, writers will ignore developing a suitable backdrop to their rising action to add to the excitement. Bravo, Weiss and Hickman.

I was disappointed in some of the unexplained actions in the book. No real reason is given for Tanis just giving up his mission to escort Crysania. An explanation would have been nice. The inn that was there and then wasn’t when Tas obtained the clues as to Crysania’s whereabouts was never explained. While Kitiara’s actions are sure to be covered in the second and third books of the trilogy, she is introduced, then dismissed for the rest of the book. The trilogy as a whole would have been better served to have woven her into the first third of the story.

To many fans of the swords and sorcery subgenre who enjoy Tolkien, the exploits of Elric, the turning of the Wheel of Time, or the Princes of Amber, Dragonlance is dismissed as lightweight Dungeons and Dragons tie-in and promotional material. That is too bad. While the works of Weiss and Hickman and the other authors who have written in the world of Dragonlance have created stories much lighter than those deep and weighty tomes, they are good stories that can be enjoyed for their wonderful storytelling.

Dragonlance Tales, Volume I The Magic of Krynn

Dragonlance Tales, Volume I
The Magic of Krynn
Edited by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Copyright 1987

Riverwind and the Crystal Staff
By Michael Williams

This is a narrative poem telling the life story of Riverwind up until he found the magical blue crystal staff that restored the power of clerics in Krynn.

I don’t evaluate poetry because I have not read enough poetry to know good from bad. I’d rather have read this as a story.

The Blood Sea Monster
By Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel

An outcast elf flees from a baker from whom he stole a loaf of bread. He hides in a fishing boat and ends up accompanying the fisherman to sea. The fisherman’s goal: to catch the monster that lurks at the center of the maelstrom in the Blood Sea.

This story is so atrociously bad because it breaks a fundamental rule of fictional writing that even high school students know: you can’t write a first person narrative if the narrator dies at the ending. It just doesn’t work. You may think I threw you a spoiler, but I didn’t spoil anything for you. This would be a B- paper for a high school fiction writer.

A Stone’s Throw Away
By Roger E. Moore

Tasslehoff Burrfoot acquires a magic ring that transports him to a citadel of a powerful magician. The magic user imprisons Tasslehoff, determined to acquire the ring, but neither he nor Tasslehoff can remove it from his finger. So the magician summons a demon whom he has enslaved to learn what the ring does and how it can be removed. The demon provides the answer, much to the chagrin of the magic user.

I liked the premise of this tale a lot. The story is well told and true to the Tasslehoff Burrfoot character. However, this guy writes some of the most stilted, silliest dialogue I’ve ever read in print and it hurts the story a great deal.

Dreams of Darkness, Dreams of Light
By Warren B. Smith
William Sweetwater is a short, pig faced man who runs a tavern in a port city occupied by the Draconian army. (in the Dragonlance Chroncles, it is at Pig and Whistle that Raistlin and his troop perform for patrons to raise money). William has heroic dreams of adventure. Real adventure comes his way when his friend, Tom the tailor is capture by the Dragonians. He combines forces with a Minotaur that owns another tavern in town to rescue Tom.

This was a mildly engaging tale with a fair amount of action. I liked the character of William Sweetwater in the Chronicles, so it was pleasant to visit with him again.

Love and Ale
By Nick O’Donohoe
Before the war against the Draconians, the Inn of the Last Home was just another inn in a remote town. Its owner, Otik and his barmaid Tika, brew their own ale, of which Otik is quite proud. But when a kender stops by and spills a little magical dust into the brewing process, the patrons of the Inn of the Last Home become more aggressive and more amorous. . .

This 40 page story was about 20 pages too long. Credit the author for a decent story. Criticize the editors for not lopping 8,000 extraneous words from the text.

Wayward Children
By Richard Knaak

A patrol of Draconians wanders into an uncharted village of elves. They brutalize the town and are determined to occupy it. But they soon find that the town is actually inhabited by their cousins – the dragons, whose eggs were stolen and used to create the Draconian race. The dragons get their revenge for the loss of their children.

This story was well crafted and is the best of the stand alone stories in this collection (not being linked directly to any characters or actions in the original Chronicles). It reveals the origins of the Draconians.

The Test of the Twins
By Margaret Weiss

This tale recounts Raistlin’s test at the Towers of High Sorcery and how he was made to kill his own twin and loving brother to pass that test. Raistlin’s trial and how it left him a physical wreck is frequently mentioned in the Chronicles, but never fully told. Here it is, wonderfully told by one of the architects of the series.

This is one of the stories left untold in the Chronicles that begged for at least a novella, if not a full blown novel. So much more could have been done with it, but credit Weiss for honing it down and still making it worthwhile reading.

Harvests
By Nancy Varian Berberick

This story is set before the Chronicles takes place. Tanis and Flint are journeying in the mountains when they encounter a young woman determined to find her brother and boyfriend who have been whisked away to the castle of an evil magician determine to harvest the essence of their life to prolong a life. Tanis and Flint risk life and limb to help her find her missing men.

It relies on the handsome heroes helping the distressed maiden cliché, but is a well crafted story nonetheless with a halfway decent twist at the end.

Finding the Faith
Mary Kirchoff

Another of the untold tales of the Chronicles was the journey to Ice Wall to recover the Dragon Orb and Dragonlance. The elf princess, Laurana lead the party that includes Sturm Brightblade and his rival knight, Derek; the cleric of Paladine, Elistan, and Tasslehoff Burrfoot to a remote glacial region. There, they find a false cleric who is willing to aid them in crossing a glacier and entering a cave that is a portal to the home of a magician who keeps the two artifacts. In the end, the party recovers the powerful, magical artifacts to aid in the war against the dragon armies.

I never knew if it was laziness on the writers’ part or bad editing that omitted this story from the chronicles, for it should have been included. I like the narrative device of the old cleric, recounting the tale of how he discovered the true god, Paladine and telling the tale to youngsters. Still, the story comes up short because Tasslehoff Burrfoot appears near the end with the Dragon Orb with no telling of how he acquired it. It seems we’ll never get the full story.

The Legacy
By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

This novella by the creators of the Dragonlance saga serves as a capstone to the Dragonlance Tales trilogy which I have not yet reviewed. It chronicles the evolution of Raistlin from a great magician of the red robes to a powerful mage of the black robes aspiring to dethrone the Dark Queen herself and take her place as a god.

Raistlin’s twin and his wife Tika have settled down, own and inn, and have raised three boys. Two, Tanin and Sturm, are young warriors with growing reputations. The third, Palin, is a magician. Cameron and the three boys are summoned to the Tower of High Sorcery to learn that there is evidence that Raistlin, supposedly dead in the Abyss, is still alive and searching for a way out. The only person, according to the mages, that can find out for sure, is young Palin. Cameron fights hard to avoid having his son get involved with the tower’s lords and his wayward twin.
Perhaps it is because they are the creators of the world that is Dragonlance that Weiss and Hickman authored what is, by far the best tale in this book. I regret having read it before having reread the Legends series because the Legends Trilogy is as good, if not better than the chronicles and I had forgotten its story and how it ended.

Nonetheless, Weiss and Hickman bring out the best in the characters and the world they created and in the end, provide a twist that the reader doesn’t see coming. For all the fun that Dragonlance is, it contained no clever twists. In this novella, we see Weiss and Hickman have developed their story telling ability even more after the publication of their second trilogy.

In reading this anthology, it is clear that Weiss and Hickman are masters of their domain and others are just pretenders. The Chronicles and the Legends lend themselves to so many tales that could be told and told well. Unfortunately, few of them are told well here.

Dragons of Spring Dawning By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

The Dragonlance Chronicles Volume 3
Dragons of Spring Dawning
By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Copyright 1985

Book three of the Dragonlance Chronicles finds the party of heroes spread out across the continent of Ansalon in the world of Krynn. Tanis is in Flotsam, in the company of his old flame Kitiara, half sister to the twins and currently serving as the Dragon Highlord in this region. Also in Flotsam are Caramon, Raistlin, Tika, Goldmoon and Riverwind who are waiting to book passage on a ship.

Flint, Tasslehoff, and Laurana are in Palanthas, which is the seat of government during the war. There, Laurana is feted for her bravery in battle, having rallied the fragmented Knights of Solomnia in the defense of Palanthas. She is appointed commander of the Knights and is given the sobriquet “Golden General.”

Tanis waits for Kitiara to leave for her ill-fated attack upon Palanthas where Sturm Brightblade will fall, and slips away to find Cameron and the others so he can get out of the city. They set sail on a ship upon the Blood Sea of Istar. At the helm of that ship is the object of Kitiara’s desire for power, the mysterious Everman, or Green Gemstone Man – a man of deep sadness and a green gem embedded in his chest who goes by the name of Berem.

Through her spies that followed Tanis, Kitiara learns the Everman is aboard the ship. She and her dragon, Skie, attack the ship. In his panic to flee the attacking dragon highlord, Berem sails the ship into the Maelstrom, a whirlpool in the center of the treacherous sea. As the ship goes down, Raistlin uses the Dragon Orb to teleport off the disintegrating ship, abandoning his brother and his friends. Raistlin has his own interests to pursue.

Tanis and his friends awaken in the underwater city of Istar – Once the capital city of Ansalon, now ruined and the domain of the sea elves. The sea elves are reluctant to allow the heroes to return to the surface until they hear of the arrival of the dragons. Feeling their need to contribute to the fate of the world, the sea elves take Tanis and the gang to the surface and deposit them in Palanthas where they soon find Tasslehoff who brings them up to speed.

Meanwhile, Raistlin, weakened from having used the Dragon Orb, finds the Great Library of Palanthas where the chronicler of history since the dawn of time, the librarian Astinus sits daily, writing down events as they transpire in the world. Raistlin, nears death, requests access to the great library, where the greatest and most powerful spells ever devised by magic users, are recorded.

Raistlin finds that he can not access the spell books without the key which is long lost lore. Frustrated and dying, Raistlin strikes a deal with some dark power, saying, “Save me and save yourself!” Raistlin now wears the black robes of an evil mage.

Galthanas and Sylvara arrive in Palanthas with the good dragons. With a fleet of dragons and the powerful dragonlances at their disposal, the Knights of Solomnia with the elven princess, Laurana at their command, set out to liberate the entire kingdom of Solomnia. Flint and Tasslehoff join the battle, mounted on a dragon and capture Kitiara’s second in command; a man named Barakas.

Kitiara, lusting revenge on Tanis for his betrayal, conceives a plan to trade Tanis, who she tells Laurana in a letter, has been gravely wounded, for Barakis. She plans to capture the Golden General, destroy the morale of the troops in Solomnia, and sweep in with a superior force.

Laurana agrees to the swap. She, Flint, and Tasslehoff sneak Barakis out of the city and are betrayed by Kitiara who takes all three prisoner. She and Barakis take the three back to Dargaard Keep where the forces of the Dark Queen are garrisoned. Barakis is determined to have his way with Laurana, but the kender makes quick work of him with a small pocket knife, saving Laurana the indignity. Just as they are about to escape, they are captured by the undead Knight of Solamnia, Lord Soth. Soth is Kitiara’s powerful servant and a thoroughly evil creature. Flint and Tasslehoff are set free, but Laurana is taken to the city of Nereka where the Dark Queen herself will preside over a meeting of the dragon highlords. Kitiara flies to Palanthas where she tells the assembled masses, including Tanis, Flint, Tasslehoff, Caramon, Riverwind and Goldmoon that the Everman is to be delivered to her within three weeks or she will kill Laurana. Her plan is to lure Tanis to the city where she can have revenge upon him.

Tanis prepares to lead Flint, Tasslehoff, Caramon, Tika, and Berem out of the city to rescue Laurana. Goldmoon and Riverwind, who are expecting a child, are left to start the rebirth of the old gods in the new world in Palanthas.

Along the way, Berem reveals his sad tale. Born before the Cataclysm, he tried to steal a jewel from an ancient, evil temple and in the process kills his beloved sister. It was the removal of that gem that embedded itself in Berem’s chest, that allowed the Dark Queen to reenter the world. The man has existed for hundreds of years, dying repeatedly, only to be reborn as a man with a green gem in his chest. Berem and the gem he carries must be returned to that temple to seal the door before the Dark Queen is powerful enough to enter the world in her corporal form and establish herself as master of the world.

As the heroes enter Nereka, the dragon highlords and their troops prepare to enter the city with great pomp and circumstance. They quickly draw suspicion from watchful guards and are taken prisoner. Spotting Kitiara entering the city, Tanis decides to divert attention from his companions and approaches her. Kitiara takes Tanis with her into the city as Cameron, Tasslehoff, and Berem are taken prisoner and placed in the dungeons.

While in the dungeons, Berem slips into insanity, hearing the voice of his dead sister beckoning him to the temple to join her. His mania and Cameron’s muscle helps the heroes effect an escape. Berem flees, following the voice of his sister. Caramon follows, hoping to catch up to the Everman and save him from certain death. Tasslehoff and Tika take off in the opposite direction, drawing troops away from Caramon and Berem. They come to a dead end sealed by a locked door.. As Tika wields her sword, fighting draconians, Tasslehoff fumbles his attempt to spring the poison needle trap and is pricked. The poison works its way through his body as Tika is struck down by Draconian swords.

Meanwhile, Kitiara implements her plan to break Tanis and increase her status with the Dark Queen. The highlords gather in the temple and the Dark Queen makes her appearance along with the Emperor Ariakas who rules by virtue of the fact that he is the wearer of the crown to which all highlords have sworn allegiance.. Kitiara presents Laurana as a gift to the Dark Queen and suggests that Tanis swear fealty to the Dark Queen and become an officer in her army.

A dark wizard stationed nearby suggests that Tanis attack Ariakas and seize the crown, promising him aid against the Emperor’s magic. Tanis makes his move and gains the crown. Insanity ensues as the highlords scramble, now held to Tanis’ command. Tanis tries to trade the crown to Kitiara for Laurana, but Laurana rejects the deal, believing Tanis to be evil and corrupt for having consorted with the likes of Kitiara. She escapes in the chaos.

Meanwhile, Caramon and Berem make their way toward the temple, but find their way blocked by Raistlin, now clad in the black robes of an evil sorcerer. Raistlin explains that the path he has chosen will lead him to great knowledge. First, he must allow Berem to replace the jewel and seal the Dark Queen in the Abyss. Berem flees into the temple and impales himself on the temple, returning the stone to is rightful place.

The Dark Queen is gone from the world and her minions are rioting. Tanis, Kitiara, Lord Soth, and Laurana are caught up in the rioting in the city. Tanis pursues Laurana and Kitiara pursues Tanis. Meanwhile, having seen Berem to his end, Caramon pleads with Raistlin to allow him to accompany him. Raistlin tells him he can’t, but promises to repay the debt he owes Caramon for taking care of him while he was weak and frail. They find Tasslehoff and Tika and Raistlin uses his magic to restore them. He sees them safely out of the city. He summons his dragon from the dragon orb and leaves his brother and his friends behind.

Tanis and Laurana are reunited as they flee through tunnels under the city. Kitiara catches them and offers Tanis one final opportunity to join her as she tries to take command of the Draconian armies, telling Tanis that Lord Soth is on his way to claim Laurana as his own. Tanis rejects the deal. Kitiara, knowing the heart of a woman, exacts her revenge on the pair by letting them go, telling Soth that her act of mercy will always exist in Tanis’ heart and Laurana’s mind. Tanis and Laurana escape the city and are reunited with Caramon, Tika, and Tasslehoff and the absent minded mage, Fizban who the heroes learn is really the god, Paladine in disguise.

In the end, the heroes go their separate ways. Tasslehoff returns to Kender to celebrate with his people who slew the Dragon Highlord, Fewmaster Toede. Caramon and Tika return to Solace to marry and start a family. Tanis and Laurana return to Kalaman to start their formal courtship.

Dragons of Spring Dawning is fast paced and moves the story to an exciting conclusion. Of the three, it is easily the strongest of the books and you can observe Weiss and Hickman maturing as writers through their first three books.

The primary weakness of the trilogy is too much is left out. As noted earlier, the fight to gain the Dragonlance should have been told in full. The adventure Gilthanis and Sylvara experienced in bringing the good dragons into the fold was dismissed as too long to tell. It could have been a great story in the trilogy. Top notch story tellers tell their tales in full. For all of the fun and excitement, the Dragonlance Chronicles is hurt by these omissions.

The problem may have been the introduction of too many characters. A strong story melds character backstories into subplots. In this trilogy, there were just two many important characters to develop as much as was needed. Too many subplots were introduced such as the doomed and short passion between Sturm and the Sylvanesti elf princess, the tragic tale of Sylvara and her sister and Gilthanas’ heartbreak upon learning the true nature of the wilder elf with whom he fell in love. Also, it seemed in the beginning that Riverwind and Goldmoon would have major roles to play, she being the bearer of the talismans of the old gods returning again. But they are minor players in the second and third books. Fewer characters needing substantial development may have allowed Weiss and Hickman more room to fully tell their tale.

Raistlin and Tasslehoff are exceptionally entertaining characters. The physically weak, but mentally powerful Raistlin is always scheming beyond winning a just war. Tasslehoff, like Tolkien’s hobbits, is a diminutive and unlikely hero who provides comic relief and humorous misadventures.

The groundwork is laid in the end of this trilogy for the trilogy that followed, Dragonlance Legends which tells the tale of Raistlin’s quest to become a god and Caramon’s efforts to save his brother with the help of Tasslehoff. It is no coincidence that these characters were selected for the next trilogy.

The Dragonlance Chronicles are not great literature and are not worthy of mention among great fantasy epics such as Lord of the Rings or Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. But they are a fun, amusing diversion when one has a desire to get away from weighty tomes and enjoy some pure, fun adventure.

The Dragonlance Chronicles, Vol. 1 Dragons of Autumn Twilight By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

The Dragonlance Chronicles, Vol. 1
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
By Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
Copyright 1984
TSR

Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the first in the Dragonlance Chronicles which also includes Dragons of Winter's Night and Dragons of Spring's Dawning

These three books, published by the same publishers that published Dungeons and Dragons, spurred a publishing boon for TSR. 190 Dragonlance books would be authored by more than a dozen writers.

The epic quest for the Dragonlance begins with the meeting of five friends at the Inn of the Last Home in the village of Solace in the world of Krynn. Each has been on a five year quest to find evidence that the true gods, forsaken by the people who found them too demanding, had returned to the world hundreds of years after the cataclysm.

The novel is populated with thin, but entertaining characters. Tanis is a half-elf who can find comfort with neither humans nor elves. Twin brothers Caramon and Raistlin are as different as two people could be. Caramon is a muscle bound fighter. Raistlin is a frail but powerful magician. Flint Fireforge is a surly dwarf fighter who is the unlikely best friend to Tanis. Then there is Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a Kender which resemble hobbits to a degree. Small in stature and merry in nature, they are natural born thieves who steal without malice.

They return to find their former home uneasy. Rumors of invasion and war are rampant. Tales of strange lizardmen roaming the countryside are told by fireside. They are forced to flee when soldiers come looking for these “stangers.” They flee with a human couple, a man and a woman who carry with them a strange staff with the mystical powers of the old gods.

They are pursued by Draconians, dragonlike men who are the footsoldiers for the invading army. They learn that they must travel to an ancient city, destroyed in the Cataclysm, to return the staff to where the plainsman Riverwind found it while on a quest to win the hand of his beloved.Goldmoon.

They find out that the staff they carry is an instrument of the ancient old gods and that they, both good and evil, have returned to Krynn to battle for it. They also find that dragons, thought to be creatures of myth and children’s stories, have returned.

The first installment of the tale ends with the defeat of the Draconian Highlord – an evil priest who commands dragons and draconians – and his red dragon mount. The true gods have returned to Krynn and the companions are to be footsoldiers in a war between the good gods and the evil gods.

Being written by two Dungeons and Dragons game developers for the publishers of Dungeons and Dragons, the books read like a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Much of the dialogue is the stilted stuff Dungeons and Dragons players speak to each other when playing. The character classes – fighter, thief, cleric, magic user – are all clearly delineated just as they are in the game.

This is because the books sprang from a game setting and set of modules (adventure games) developed in 1982 by Hickman and Weiss. Hickman was one of TSR’s most prolific developers of games and wrote some of the best known titles in Dungeons and Dragons history including Ravenloft which was ranked second of all time behind Queen of the Demonweb Pits.

As fantasy literature goes, this story has the intellectual nutritional value of a gummy bear. The tale is simple and simply told. There are simple backstories for the characters. Their motivations are singular.

However, the story is epic in its scope if not in its telling. While one would not want to make gummy bears the staple of one’s diet, sometimes its fun to eat a handful of them. Just as, sometimes, its fun to visit a simple tale and just revel in the joy of the story. Dragonlance is fun and I’ve enjoyed this trilogy several times since I bought it upon its publication in 1984. Occasionally, light reading is good reading.