dragonlance | The Obsessive Bookseller

Title: Amber and Ashes

Author: Margaret Weis

Series: Dark Desciples #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Margaret Weis takes up where the War of Souls series left off with the central character Mina. While following her story, this new trilogy also explores the chaos that is post-war Krynn. This is Weis’s first solo trilogy in the Dragonlance world. –Goodreads

The Review:

Seeing as I haven’t picked up a Dragonlance book in over 15 years, this felt like a random read. But I was looking at my collection of the main series by both Weis & Hickman, remembering how much fun I had with it and how awesome I thought the ending of War of Souls (the final trilogy) when inspiration struck to see how the remnant pieces fell in the aftermath.

That’s a lot of history to carry into a spinoff trilogy, and I went in with a weird hodgepodge of high hopes because of how much I loved the main series, and low expectations given my poor experience with Weis’ Mistress of Dragons.

Amber and Ashes was just okay.

A mediocre story spritzed with the a couple of really good scenes – ones that were enough to keep me reading when I’d been considering a DNF. Let’s face it, Mina wasn’t a character I particularly liked to begin with, yet the way she was written here made me like her even less. She came across hollow and one-dimensional with a proclivity for meekness and subservience. More of a figurehead than an actual person. The monk, by contrast, was a bit better. More well-rounded and thoughtful. But it was the dog who ultimately stole the show. No jest.

Overall, I don’t mind that I read it, but I’m in no hurry to pick up the next book. The plot and character lineup were simple enough that I’m sure I can dive in again months, even years later without missing a beat. Those few good scenes were enough to raise my overall rating to 3 stars.

Recommendations: Read this only if you’ve already tackled the main Weis/Hickman series ending with the War of Souls trilogy. If, like me, you thought the conclusion to that saga was superb, this might feel like a letdown of an extended epilogue. If you’re a Dragonlance superfan who plans to read ALL THE THINGS, then not only do I admire your dedication, I’d also say this is likely one of the better ones.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, and Mike! <3

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by Niki Hawkes

Title: Dragonlance: Dragons of Dwarven Depths

Authors: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Series: The Lost Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Tanis and Flint seek out a haven in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin while Raistlin is strangely drawn to the haunted fortress known as Skullcap. Sturm seeks the legendary Hammer of Kharas, and Tika embarks on a perilous journey to rescue those she loves from certain death.

But it is the Dwarf, Flint Fireforge, who faces the most crucial test. The heroes race against time to save the lives of those dependent on them and Flint is forced to make a difficult choice, one on which the future of mankind may rest.

The Review:

Even though the Lost Chronicles are the latest in publication, they actually fall in the middle of the Dragonlance saga chronologically. It is an expansion of some events that happened that didn’t quite make it into the original series. Happy to have anything new from these authors, I was thrilled when it was released, and found it to be an incredibly nostalgic read.

I don’t think the original manuscript was a full trilogy, and so the authors had to add quite a bit of additional scenes to create a more sustainable storyline. This might be the main reason why certain elements were a bit repetitive. The perspective jumps around between about a dozen characters, and unfortunately that means we get the thoughts on certain events and behaviors several times over as we go through each character’s mental assessments. There was also quite a bit of series recap, but that didn’t bother me much – it’s been ages since I read the original story.

The characters are what make this saga so enjoyable, and I must say my favorite in this book was Tasslehoff – he is so delightfully irritating and cheerful that I have to give kudos to the authors for creating such a memorable character (one of many).

Overall, it was a fun addition totally entertaining the whole way through. I highly recommend it for fans of the series.

by Niki Hawkes

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