Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles

[superdoug]

Is anyone else reading these books? Well, okay, there are only two of three currently out, but they've been very good. Written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, they fill in the gaps around the original Chronicles books.

The first, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, deals with Thorbardin and the search for the Hammer of Kharas, which appeared in the final book of the original series, but was never explained properly. This book does it well, with the same fun and excitement that was found in the first three books. Something I'd thought they lacked in Dragons of Summer Flame and the War of Souls books.

The most recent, which I read while out of town this weekend, was Dragons of the Highlord Skies, and deals nearly exclusively with Kitiara, the lost Companion who was seduced to the side of Takhesis' army in the five years the Companions were gone from Solace. Accused of complicity in the assassination of Lord Verminaard, she travels to several parts of Krynn both familiar and new. It was a good side of the story that we didn't have before, and while I'm still not the biggest Kitiara Uth Matar fan in the world, this is easily one of my favorite books, with a clear explanation of her motives.

Also enjoyable in the book was the development of Derek Crownguard, a Knight of Solamnia. A minor and mildly unlikeable character in the original series, he is a completely irredeemable character in this one. His slow, single-minded march into oblivion is both fascinating and infuriating all at once.

Definitely can't wait for the final book of the series, Dragons of an Hourglass Mage, which according to Weis and Hickman, will be the last Dragonlance novel they ever do together.

If you're a Dragonlance fan, I definitely recommend this new trilogy. I haven't been disappointed yet.

[Teague]

Originally Posted by superdoug

Is anyone else reading these books? Well, okay, there are only two of three currently out, but they've been very good. Written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, they fill in the gaps around the original Chronicles books.

The first, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, deals with Thorbardin and the search for the Hammer of Kharas, which appeared in the final book of the original series, but was never explained properly. This book does it well, with the same fun and excitement that was found in the first three books. Something I'd thought they lacked in Dragons of Summer Flame and the War of Souls books.

The most recent, which I read while out of town this weekend, was Dragons of the Highlord Skies, and deals nearly exclusively with Kitiara, the lost Companion who was seduced to the side of Takhesis' army in the five years the Companions were gone from Solace. Accused of complicity in the assassination of Lord Verminaard, she travels to several parts of Krynn both familiar and new. It was a good side of the story that we didn't have before, and while I'm still not the biggest Kitiara Uth Matar fan in the world, this is easily one of my favorite books, with a clear explanation of her motives.

Also enjoyable in the book was the development of Derek Crownguard, a Knight of Solamnia. A minor and mildly unlikeable character in the original series, he is a completely irredeemable character in this one. His slow, single-minded march into oblivion is both fascinating and infuriating all at once.

Definitely can't wait for the final book of the series, Dragons of an Hourglass Mage, which according to Weis and Hickman, will be the last Dragonlance novel they ever do together.

If you're a Dragonlance fan, I definitely recommend this new trilogy. I haven't been disappointed yet.

Cool, thanks for the rec. I was a HUGE Dragonlance fan back in the day (still hoping for a good film version one of these days...), but got sort of tired of the spin-off books. I'll see if I can pick these up, though.

[superdoug]

Originally Posted by Teague

(still hoping for a good film version one of these days...)

There's actually an animated film in the works, with some big-name talent attached to it. I wasn't sure about animation, but I realized with things like dragons, centaurs, draconians, and everything else, that animation was probably the more cost-effective way to go.

I don't have -high- hopes for it, but I am looking forward to it. (Michael Rosenbaum is voicing Tanis! Keifer Sutherland is Raistlin. Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon. Jason Marsden as Tasslehoff.) It sound like it's either going to be brilliant or a complete mess.

[Teague]

Originally Posted by superdoug

There's actually an animated film in the works, with some big-name talent attached to it. I wasn't sure about animation, but I realized with things like dragons, centaurs, draconians, and everything else, that animation was probably the more cost-effective way to go.

I don't have -high- hopes for it, but I am looking forward to it. (Michael Rosenbaum is voicing Tanis! Keifer Sutherland is Raistlin. Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon. Jason Marsden as Tasslehoff.) It sound like it's either going to be brilliant or a complete mess.

Huh. I'd heard about the animated film, but wasn't getting my hopes up. Will this be released, or straight-to-video? (Or are they waiting to see how good or bad it might be?)

[superdoug]

According to the official site, it's supposed to be a worldwide theatrical release. So I don't know what that means. Hopefully, it'll be more like a Pixar/Disney film and less like a Bakshi production.

Official Site: http://www.dragonlance-movie.com/

[Kdawg59]

I am currently about 350 pages in to the "dwarven depths book" pretty damn good so far too...

[scott]

I will have to check these out.

[Wayne Industries]

I just read the first book this week and it was a pretty good read. Can't remember the last time I have read a Dragonlance novel but this was worth it. Can't wait to get the second book.

[mwf6171]

I loved the DL books back in the day.........will definately check these out.

[Lizard King]

I read Dwarven Depths, but wasn't aware the new one was out yet. I'll need to add that to the list along with Harry Potter and the new Harry Turtledove. Thanks.