Customer Reviews

Dragons of a Lost Star: The War of Souls, Volume II

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It took me a few chapters to become absolutely hooked, perhaps more than most books seasoned with thick prose. The language of the author was very eloquent, almost ethereal at times. Not wishing to be 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.

The second volume in Weis & Hickman's newest pure dragonlance trilogy, The War of Souls, finds us deep in Silvanesti, Qualinesti, the Citadel and Solanthus as we follow the four plot threads. By the end more and more reader suspicions are clarified as the authors begin let us understand what is truly happening here and it comes as no surprise to find the hand of Takhisis amongst it all.
The novel focuses on Tasslehoff and Palin's fleeing of the green dragon's, Beryl, sack of the Citadel and rescue by Dalamar who has literally uprooted the Tower of High Sorcery and transplanted it in Lord Soth's old residence. There is stands, surrounded by a forest inhabited by the souls of the dead who crave magic. Magic, in return for release to the next life as promised by the The One God, so naively championed by Mina, Goldmoon's foster daughter.
Meanwhile in Qualinesti the besotted General Medan converts truly to the elven cause, in no small part due to his love for Laurana and sets about organising the fleeing of the Qualinesti elves through the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin. This they achieve after a titanic battle with Beryl, but the cost is high - the destruction of Qualinost and Laurana has her own sun shattered on a parapet with a dragonlance.
Over in Silvanesti, with Cyan Bloodbane dead, the shield gone, Mina enters the capital, eagerly welcomed by the besotted Silvanoshei and is 'murdered' by the framed king only to arise again with a Death dragon-like phoenix from the ashes as she appears to be one of the few able to wield magic in a world that is absent of it.
With Silvanesti under attack the plot gathers inexorable pace as Mina storms Solanthus, ably defended by the luckless Gerard and his new partner, Odila (who brings fresh breath of character life whilst all around are dying), Tasslehoff escapes the Tower after thinking Dalamar and Palin want to kill him but then returns with Goldmoon in tow for her confrontation with Mina in front of the portal to the Abyss - the same portal that Weis and Hickman return to so often as it really is the key to all knowledge.
By the end we have a denouement of sorts as the truth behind the One God comes out (but not to the parties that really need to know) and more established characters are removed from the board, leaving Tasselhoff as the key to it all.
It is difficult to praise Weis and Hickman in a manner that they haven't rightly heard before. Over the last twenty years Dragonlance has become a huge phenomenon with lots of spin offs and development of the world of Krynn on a scale that is truly exhilarating. However, one thing that is noticeable is that, amongst all the necessary surrounding dragonlance novels, a book from the pens of the creators stands head and shoulders above the rest and it is perhaps right that it should do so. Dragonlance has defined a generation of fantasy fans and any book produced by this peerless duo deserves six stars and beyond.

The 2nd book in the "War of Souls" continues. New characters are fleshed out (Gerard, Mina, Medan) and old characters are included (Tasselhoff, Palin, Laurana, Dalamar, Cyan Bloodbane). All this and no intrigue. This book bored me, much the way part 1 did. Mina's knights continue their amazing success in battle and the origin of the Silvanesti shield is revealed. Mina defeating the Solamnics by scaring them with the dead souls was lame in my opinion, and the revelation of who the One God is was so very predictable. Not my favorite by these 2 authors.

It took Weis and Hickman some time to warm up in the first book, but now they're all back. The characters that lacked depth in the first book, are now a lot better, and the plot is good too. I enjoyed this book almost as I enjoyed the original DL series.

If you are a Dragonlance fan, you know you have to read anything by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. They are the core novels, and generally the best (not always).

Volume 2 of the War of Souls Trilogy does two things well. First it brings much needed depth to the characters from Volume 1. The knight Gerard and the elf Gilthas in particular have been given a lot of space to really become the heroic types that you find yourself admiring.

Second, it reads more like the Chronicles. Volume 1, in my opinion, was not on par with the work I'm used to from Weis/Hickman. Dragons of a Lost Star gets closer.

There are a lot of slow moments. Throughout the first two volumes there is a great deal of characters not believing other characters. A few chapters here and there wouldn't be so bad, but there is a bit much here. Tasselhoff is never believed. You would think someone would catch on that he says important things. In Vol. 2 Gerard suffers a similar fate. I think this slows things down too much.

This book is better than the first, but still not what I think diehard Dragonlance fans were praying for.

THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE WAR OF SOULS TRILOGY, DRAGONS OF A LOST STAR, IS THE LOW POINT IN THE TRILOGY BUT STILL A PRETTY GOOD BOOK. TAS IS STILL REALLY FUNNY BUT HIS HUMOR IS AT A ALL TIME LOW. THE ELVEN KING, SILVANSHI(FORGIVE THE SPELLING)IS JUST PLAIN STUPID(HE TRAILS MINA AROUND LIKE AN IDOIT) AND GOLDMOON IS RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO FOLLOW THE DEAD. BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG, YOU SHOULD READ,AND ENJOY,THIS BOOK. AND MAKE SURE TO PICK UP THE THIRD BOOK AS WELL. ANYWAY... THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK IS WHEN THE ELVES TAKE ON BERYL. MARSHAL MEDAN AND LAURANA(SORRY IF I SPELLED THAT WORNG!!!!) HAVE A FOOL PROOF PLAN THAT TURNS...NOT SO FOOL PROOF. THIS TRAGIC(BUT GREAT)ENDING CONCLUDES THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. I HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT ANY FAN OF FANTASY PICK IT UP TODAY.

Fans of the Dragonlance series might have bittersweet experience reading this book. It is excellent and true to form but looking back I can't help but feel some resentment because of how awful and disapointing the last book was. I would almost reccommend stopping here and leaving the world of Krynn just to avoid the awful ending.

Weiss and Hickman are in their usual form here but the book lacks the great characters of other trilogies. Tas's schtick is starting to get old and not and I'm sorry but Palin is a poor man's Raistlin. Mina is mysterious at first but starts to get a little tedious. What works is the political intrigue among the elves, the final battle, the dragon hieracrchy and two Solamnic Knights. This makes for a page turner that is hard to put down.

Curious fantasy readers who haven't read the fist one or the Chronicles and Legends series should stay away.

To Start with.. We open this book with Beryl moving in on the citadel of light. Goodmoon was transformed into a beautiful maiden on the night of the Magic Storm, which, has yet to be explained. I know that this is some kind of metaphore to herald Mina's coming, but it doesn't work. It took me all three books to figure that one out.

In this one, Prince Silvan of the elves has fallen in love with mina and took off on Mina's horse. The elves really anger me in this book because of their sheer stupidity. Beryl Dies in this book, but, sadly, so does Laurana, the once famous Golden General.

Mostly This book was pretty good. I became fond of the Knight Gerard, who appeared as a stuffy blockhead in the first book. This one is worth reading, though at some points, the antics of Tas grew increasingly annoying. Dalamar pops up, as Does Raistilin.

I know that this is a all in all pretty good book, but lets face it folks, W@H Just seemed stretched to their creativity. I hope that I am wrong on that one. To sum up, Some pretty damn spectacular action sequences, Tas still annoying, Goldmoon Desperate, Gerard More Likeable, Beryl Dies, Great Elven Migration, Silvan Idiot, Some boring filler material, 4 stars. Its a good book, just don't attempt this badboy unless you are a certified DL Veteran.

This whole series is creepy as hell!! DOSF showed W&H's ability to insert bone-chilling curiosity into their fantasy but they take it to the extreme in this trilogy. And I love it.

While not as great as DOAFS, contrary to Amazon.com's reveiw, it had nothing to do with the elven parts of the story. I love Medan's character & everything else with that plot(although I would've liked to have seen more of The Lioness).

I didn't care much for Gerard & there was way too much of him(about 30+ pages straight at one point). There was one other thing I didn't like. Malys made only a small appearance. While I was repulsed by her in SOTW & the 5th Age trilogy(what I could stand to read of it)you'd think she'd be more involved. I expected more of 'The One God'. The last time we saw her she'd gained a little honor & respect but now she's back to her destructive ways(if you think Thordardin got hit hard in the Chaos War wait until you see what happens to Qualinesti.)

Mina was still as intriuging as ever, Dalamar has shady as ever(just not enough of him - & Palin) & Tas as entertaining as ever. The revelations that made DOAFS so great are still as unpredictable & bone-chilling in this one.

This is one that I would recommend any fantasy readers. This is a great series by two great authors.