Customer Reviews

Dalamar the Dark: Classics Series

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This Dragonlance Classics book tells the story of Dalamar's youth in Silvanesti and his eventual calling to the dark arts. He is cast out of his Elven home and left on his own to pursue his fate. He goes to the Tower to be tested, and is willingly used by the leadership of the Tower to complete a task that would allow more than one person the revenge they seek. Berberick's telling is good although her characterization of Dalamar falls slightly short of his personality from what we know of him from other stories. Her perspective of the fall of Silvanost and Lorac's Nightmare is insightful and well written, and ties well into the Chronicles storyline. This is a good book for someone who has already read the core books of the Dragonlance series.

This is definitely one of Nancy Berberick's best -- which, as a longtime fan of her writing, is saying a lot. The evolutionary years of one of Dragonlance's most intriguing, disturbing characters are finally revealed, taking the reader through the tortuous process of shaping the man he will become. This book is pure delight, from start to finish, and sure to please the many fans of the Dragonlance line!

This story is intriquing and an interesting read if you enjoyt he character Dalamar however there are several flaws that I found to be distracting and disappointing. First of all, the portrayal of te Silvanesti elves was harsh to the point where you could hardly call them "good" at all. The author seems to make the assumption that if you fight the "bad" guys, in this case a number of evil wizards and a dragon Highlord that makes you "good," which is not true at all. The Chronicles series sets you up to realize that the Silvanesti are incredibly snooty and uptight, but not cold and unconcerned about themselves. Yes, they have avoided the outside world and show disinterest there but former authors of the series never through out the belief they walk over each other on a daily basis. It is an assumption i believe this author got wrong. Also, it describes Dalamar's path into darkness in a fairly unbelievable way. Dalamar is potrayed as in intelligent individual who suddenly turns to darkness for reasons that just come with living. Also, at times when Dalamar is portrayed at his darkest, you get the feeling you are reading about Raistlin and not him. In Legends and the Summer Flame, Dalamar has feelings, good ones. He is a dark elf mage not some power hungry warlord.

In short, this portrayal of Dalamar is only believable if you change the character we know as Dalamar from the other books and since you probably pick up this book because you liked the character in the other books, then it is probably not all that worthwhile. However it is not a bad read, just don't expect too much insight into the character in the title. As mentioned in other reviews, this has a lot more to do with events than the character Dalamar and when it does talk about Dalamar, it does so poorly.

Berberick did an excellent job of conveying an evil character, while creating a believable map of Dalamar's descent into darkness. She captured the basic essence of Dalamar, but she didn't reveal so much as to take away the mystery that makes him so intriguing. I enjoyed reading this book, overall. It was a little difficult to get into, but, after a while, it the pace picked up.

I have to say, this is a great book. It really portrays Dalamar's story and struggle well. The only reason why this is not 5 stars, is because it takes a long time to really get into the story. The first half of the book is mostly pointless. If you are a Dragonlance fan, get this book, if you havent read any or many Dragonlance books, don't get it.

Am I the only person that was inspired by this book? Dalamar starts off being a servent and ends up being the apprentice to the most powerful mage that ever lives. I thought the story was great, even the parts that weren't about Dalamar. The way he found his new name and his pledge to the god of black magic, Nuitari, was really cool. I definatly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of dark magic. No matter what other people say about this book, it is really good.

While this wasnt a book that I couldnt put down. It was still a very good story. It revealed a lot about where exactly Dalamar came from and what I liked most was we saw the war of the lance through his eyes. Considering he wasn't in the storylines until the legends trilogy. Anyway, good tie-ins to the main dragonlance story and the book also gives us another good view of how the conclave works, and what the test is like (i've only seen what it was like for Raistlin).

I found this book to be a good source of information concerning Lorac's nightmare and nothing more. This book titled 'Dalamar the dark' centered more on the events transpiring around him than it did on Dalamar himself. As a long time Dalamar fan I found it very disappointing, it left me knowing little more about the mysterious elf than I had known before. A lot of things about this book disappoint me, but all that really needs to be said is..Dalamar deserves far better. Am I the only one that thinks that picture of Dalamar looks more human than elven, besides the ears of course ;)

I thought this book went way too much into description, but other than that the author did a fine job of representing Dalamar and his path towards his test in the high tower. Definately worth reading if you are a fan of Dalamar!!

I have loved Dalamar (almost as much as his Shalafi) ever since he first walked onto the pages of the Legends trilogy. I've walked the dark shadows and lived in the obsidian glory of his black magick, and I've lived to tell the tale. I've used him in many of my own campaigns, and I can never cease to adore this wonderous Dark Elf. To say that his tale was badly written is by far an injustice of our over-expectant society. While they spent far too much time telling us about what was going on in elven society, it was much needed and very helpful. Since reading this wonderous novel my own campaigns have become much more colorful and very spicy. I was given insight on the wonders of the mage-hood, as well as the ways of the elves, beliefs, the caste-system. Not to mention insight on this glorious man, his thoughts, feelings, emotions; things I never would have considered before. I'm more in love with him now then ever I was when first our eyes met......