Customer Reviews

Dragons of a Fallen Sun: The War of Souls, Volume I

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Dragons of a Fallen Sun" takes place some thirty years after "Dragons of a Summer Flame". Most of the Heros of the Lance are dead or very old now; and their children, the next generation of heros, seems to be ineffectual in the new woes of the land. Magic has been steadily disappering from Krynn for a long time now, the clerics are getting weaker all the time. It is starting to look like a repeat of the aftermath of the Cataclysm until Mina shows up after a particularly bad storm. She leads a group of Minators in a crusade to spread the word of the one true god, thus far nameless. But in her way are the Silvinesti, very xenophobic elves who wish to remain isolated at any cost. Also thrown into the mix is Tassolhoff Burrfoot, with a magical time traveling device that has helped him mess up the future events. This book is the start of the "War of Souls" trilogy; which is the story of the beginning of the Fifth Age, the Age of Men. It is so far a fairly solid start, with a lot of forshadowing what is going to happen in the next books (a lot is made of Raistlin and Dalamar's disapperance, also the strange new sky). The character's are not as well fleshed out here as usual; even Tas is not as good as usual. But it has a lot iof mystery, intriege, action, even a few laughs. I can't wait to see what happens next.

It took me a few chapters to become hooked, perhaps more than most books seasoned with thick prose. The language of the author was very eloquent, but almost different. Without being hyperbolic, it was a bit like reading Shakespear in that you must find the rhythm of the writer, but when you do it comes to you in a natural and pleasant fashion.

The characters, especially Mina, are multi-faceted and well-developed throughout the trilogy. I mention Mina because it is tempting to see her initially as flat and unidimensional. But she is not. To demonstrate this, most readers will find themselves rooting for her and fearing her simultaneously. By the end of the trilogy you're concept of her will take another, quite unexpected turn - sympathy or pity. (You'll have to find out why).

I bought this compulsively from a HB bargain bin and it sat on my shelf for more than a year and finally read it when I got bored. I missed out. This has become one of my favorite series and I am willing to try other series from Weis.

This was well worth the purchase and serious fantasy fans should try it.

Love the new story to an excellent epic saga but I was left.... wanting . Which is good but i felt the first 2 books should have been one BIG book. Would have made more sense.

My mother bought me a Dragonlance book when I was 13 years old. The first book in the Elven Nations trilogy. From that first book, I was hooked, through the Chronicles, Legends, Tales, etc. This book came to me sans the "prequel" and I must say that I was bamboozled to see what had happened to our beloved Krynn. Nevertheless, the book is superb and a great introduction to a new age in the Dragonlance saga. I feel like I'm 13 all over again. A good read.

This book isn't as good as the rest of the Weis and Hickman Dragonlance Saga. In the matter of fact, most of the time it doesn't reach the standard of any of their books that I've read. Why 5 stars then? Well, it's Dragonlance and it's Weis and Hickman. They are still great storytellers that make you eager to turn the page, even when the plot is relatively weak. Another thing that's puahing you forward is, as I said, the fact that Krynn is your favorite world, and you enjoy just being in it. I do recommened this book, even if only as a bridge to the other 2 books in the series, which are great.

Let me start by saying that Weis and Hickman are among the best in the genre. The Chronicles and Legends trilogies were landmark, just fantastic reads. So obviously I was excited to check out the War of Souls trilogy.

The setting of DoFS is cold, bleak, verging on hopelessness. The Gods are gone and monstrous dragons hold the peoples in their firm talons. There is no joy on Ansalon. Then a storm hits, and in comes the mysterious Mina.

While all other wizards are losing their power, Mina has plenty to spare. She leads a regiment of the Knights of Neraka and performs miracles a plenty.

Okay, the storyline isn't too bad. But in my humble opinion, the characters leave much to be desired. It is hard to find a hero to root for. The personal character of the heroes are weak. Remember the selfless and strong of heart Caramon? The honorable Sturm? The courageous and bold Flint? No such characters here. Instead we have a small band of whiners, an arrogant knight, and a familiar kender.

On the plus side, this leaves the characters plenty of room to grow in the next two books. Also, the book is predictable. You know Mina is going to be successful in whatever she does. You will find yourself rooting against her, but knowing she's going to win each battle. There are some twists, but fans of Dragonlance will see them coming.

This book is a good one, and I plan to read the next two. But if the first book is any indication, the War of Souls is not going to rock our worlds like the War of the Lance.

I'm sorry, but I used to watch Xena on TV, and I've been there and done that. The gods are dying/dead and there's a new "one god" that's going to come and be good? Oh gee, us modern readers are supposed to assume this is the Christian (or whatever) God, or some parallel, and feel frightened that a magical fantasy world is going to turn into something horribly boring like a Middle Ages Earth where miracles are real. But of course, there must be a plot twist. Just like in Xena, we can count on this "One God" being very evil. Oh wow, how shocking!

If it matters, this "One God" is not revealed as being evil in this book. But I know a tired old cliche when I see one, and I can feel it in my blood... this is going to be nothing but a disappointment. Besides, Tracy Hickman is a fanatic Christian in real life. He would never create a "One God" that isn't the God of the Bible and have it be good. Nor would he allow Weis to do so, at least not over his dead body. It would be blasphemy to him. Hickman is a very predictable author, once you have the misfortune of reading his non-fantasy works.

Anyway, it still IS a Dragonlance novel, and not a horrible one. I would give it 2.5 stars if I could, but I can't, and 2 is just too low. So 3 stars. It is not a bad book, and it's a nice way to kill some time if you're a Dragonlance fan, but I fear the "mystery" over this "One God" will not be a mystery to anyone with half a brain.

I found this book to be a good story. It had the power to pull the reader in and watch the world unfold around you. This was my first Dragonlance book ever.

I must admit, the book was very dry for the first 100 pages. It really took alot of effort to get into the story from the first. As the story progressed it became more alive and entertaining to me. This quite possibly could be due to this being my first Dragonlance book.

In the series this was the slowest. It definitely sets up the remaining books well. I liked this well enough to get the rest of the War of Souls volumes.

A good book, just try and hammer through the first 100 pages as quickly as possible.

I came across dragonlance last year and have devored the books. This book, Dragons of a fallen sun, has much of the loved charm of dragonlance. I would recommend this trilogy to early dargonlance readers of all ages. This brilliant book starts with a horrible storm that leaves its wrath everywhere. Galdar, comes in contact with a human "girl" who gives him back his sword arm. He instantly, along with the small army with him, falls in love with Mina, the fearless girl that is soon to become Lord of the Night for the Nights of Nerka. Weiss and Hickman weave several story lines masterfully, including the stories of both elven nations, the fearful dragons, Gerad(a knight that doesn't do anything...), a HONORABLE kender that changes history, and the main story line,Mina. A great book filled with adventure, heroes, dragons, and the one god, this book is one you will not soon forget.

Having been an enormous fan of the first 2 trilogies and having suffered through some of the shlock that spun off of them, I was thrilled when it was announced that Weis + Hickman were returning.

Sadly, having just finished Dragons of Summer Flame + the War of Souls trilogy, I am sorry to report that this third trilogy is truly awful. There is no sense of drama, strong emotion, or even a believable storyline.

Remember the awe and grandeur that their wonderful writing imbued in Raistlin, Takhisis, Paladine, Alhanna and the Shoikan Grove? Completely missing from their latest work. Worse their writing even diminishes their stature as these characters/entities are treated almost like ordinary beings.

It is incomprehensible to me how W + H could have written this horrible collection after the wonderful stories in their first 2 trilogies.

This sequel was worse than "Scarlett", the little-known sequel to Gone with the Wind, and that's saying a lot. Worse than The Phantom Menace even.

I think that many true Dragonlance fans that loved W + H's earlier work will hold in their hearts that the story of Krynn ended with Test of the Twins, a powerful and emotional book that beautifully capped off an epic tale of sacrifice, honor and pride. (Or perhaps The Second Generation, which was not too bad)

So save your money, don't buy this book and re-read Chronicles and Legends if you miss the world of Krynn.