Customer Reviews

Dragonlance Reader's Companion: The Odyssey of Gilthanas

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I never liked Gilthanas very much and this 'reader's companion' didn't make me like him any better.

This isn't to say that the quality of the writing was bad or that the book itself didn't read well. Quite the opposite actually, as Doug Niles, et al did a pretty standup job here: I just couldn't find myself developing a rapport with Gilthanas nor any of the book's other major characters.

The saving grace was the appearance of Linsha Majere, a character that I've seen little about except the Clandestine Circle.

Other than this, not much else to say, other than I'd say only for the dieheard Dragonlancer!

I do NOT recomend this book to ANYONE. Gil and Silvara never found eachother and it ends with them both unhappy and apart still. Spoiler yes but I sure hope there will be a second part to this book. That will end it one way or the other atleast...
feel very let down by this book.

I could not wait to read this book but when i got it i was very disappointing. They tried to combine the card game and the book and it just took all the entermaint out of it. And even worse then the whole card game thing is the ending of this book. It just left you with a empty filling. I would not reomend this book to anyone. But i do hope they wright another book about Gilthanas becouse i am a big fan of his.

The novel was alright in the sense that it told the adventures like a journal of Gilthanas search for Silvara. I understand why so many of you would be dissapointed at the ending. I could have burned the novel because of it but knew it had to continue elsewhere. Surely, the ratings are unfair because you simply did not have the complete story yet. They do meet and if you're interested go pick up Jean Rabe's first trilogy to find out. I must admit though, it'll be a rough reading as Jean has a different style of writing. A style that does not catch my attention.

With that aside and a place to find your conclusion, I recommend the book. The 3 stars is because the conclusion itself (...) and in a sense made the beginning or journal worthless. Jean should have done a better job knowing the ending of Gilthanas story. (...)

It was very good and interesting, but it should have been longer. Unless there is a second book to this, it will forever be incomplete.

Alright, seeing as how I'm a reader that sympathizes with the characters this book is one I would love to ban and wish I never read. I mean, dont get me wrong, it was well written but... If your a true Gilthanas fan or a true DragonLance fan then you may find this book a bit disappointing. Gilthanas, yes, made the mistake of giving up on Silvara which was a punishment all in itself but what happens in his journeys is just plain torture. Im a romantic so I highly believe in love and all that good stuff. This book just took it too far and I know that Gilthanas was just a character in a book but imagine what happens to him happens to you. In my opinion it was a bad book, you might have a different opinion though. Just let me warn you, if you like Gilthanas then do not read this book.

Reading previous reviews, I have to wonder what sort of Dragonlance fans wrote them. The book itself starts out telling you that Gilthanas and Silvara don't get together, and Weis and Hickman swore to us a long while back we'd not find that bit out anyhow. Granted, the type setter was asleep when they printed this book, and the cover art is the worst I have ever seen on a Dragonlance book. They should have had Larry Elmore, the true artist when it comes to Gilthanas, do the cover, but perhaps it didn't hit the deadline so they had a sixth grader do it for them. And this time Gil's eyes aren't brown (The Chronicles), green (Kindred Spirits), or even hazel (Tales of the Lance), but have become for some unknown reason blue. I have not yet read Dragons of a New Age but look forward to finding out his eyes are gray or violet by then. Still, they start it off as any Gilthanas tale should be started, with a head injury. Our impulsive and impatient elf hero manages to get in his requisite concussions with great style this time. With Gil and his search for his love as a thread, we are then taken through a series of adventures and characters, some new and some familiar, with a mix of emotion and style worthy of our three authors. Gilthanas' complex personality is given more light, and for once, a bit more of an even treatment, than in previous stories where he was only there to move the stories along with tantrums and wounds. As a Gilthanas fan, I was fully satisfied. As for the writing, there are few books, even Dragonlance, which I can't put down. I stayed glued from the opening paragraph until I'd finished it the first night I got it. Then the next morning I picked it up and read it all over again. Of Elves and Adventures is one of the funniest stories I've ever read. As a roleplayer, the Appendix information on places that previously have been only mentions and not places to adventure was both entertaining and informative. I like the new format, and Niles, Miller, and Stan! have delivered on their promise of a great project on my favorite Dragonlance hero. Great work guys.

This book was meant more to fill in parts of Gilthanas' life than to provide an interesting story. It really gave you a lot of information on the life of Gilthanas, which is what it was MEANT TO DO. I believe that Doug Niles did a great job on this source book for the Dragonlance SAGA and ADND campaigns.

I am sorry to say, but this book makes me sick!! I was awaiting the arrival of Silvara towards the end of the book. And what Happens!!?? They leave a clifhanger!! Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, if you are out there, please start making ALL of the books. You guys are the masters of Dragonlance. And for the guys who made this book, you need to think of a part 2 to this book!!

This book was somewhat of a disappointment. The ending of this book was rather abrupt and not satisfactory. I was expecting more of a novel (or at least a novella). Disjointed as it was, I found the story line easy to follow. However, I did not get a sense of closure to the story. It was definitely open-ended enough to encourage a game of D&D, but it did nothing to sate any desire for further understanding of this story. I do hope another novel (or novella) is being written as a sequel to this.

The book was well-written, but I would not recommend it to someone who is expecting a novel of Gilthanis' journey to find Silvara. I feel I learned nothing. Gilthanis is still in the same situation as before...