Customer Reviews

The Day of the Tempest: Dragons of a New Age, Volume Two

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book was far better than the first. A lot of important things are now happening in the dragonlance world and everything is going at a break neck pace. I was very pleased to see that the characters from the first book are being given a lot more depth. New characters are entering in from different sources. This pick has a style very simaler to the Chronicles trilogy. There is a LOT that goes on.

This book is likley to satasfy you even more than the one preceding it, The Dawning of a New Age, though not as good as the book following it ,The Eve of the Malestrom. I recomend this book highly and know any of the people reading this would enjoy every word.

The first thing I noticed in this book was Rabe's heavy handed way of recapping the previous book. Presumably, readers will know that this is the second book in a trilogy and will have read the first book. This being the case, Rabe goes into way too much detail in her recounting of what occurred previously. And it wasn't done subtly, either. Authors such as Jordan and Goodkind have taken this type of thing and elevated it to an art. Unfortunately, Ms. Rabe doesn't take that approach here and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Fortunately, by the time we get to around page 100, it seems that Rabe has finally found her voice. The clunky prose and awkward dialogue that plagued the first book have almost completely disappeared by the end of this one. Her narration becomes much more smooth and her characters speak like actual people. Most of the time. There are still a few rough spots to be navigated, but the improvement is definitely noticeable.

The story itself is very engaging as well. The trials and tribulations of the characters and how they deal with them made me want to keep reading. I wanted to see how everything was going to end up. There is a twist or two at the end that I wasn't expecting and those made me want to immediately pick up the third book and start reading. Rabe is able to accomplish, in the last half of the book, what she wasn't able to do in the first book and a half: get me to care about the characters. Not up to the level of Weis and Hickman, but enough that I began rooting for them rather than just following along.

Readers disappointed in the first book in the series have something to look forward to here. Rabe's writing improves immensely, which makes for a much more enjoyable book. Since this is a pivotal storyline in the new Fifth Age and should be read before moving onto Weis & Hickman's War of Souls trilogy, this is important for all Dragonlance fans. If she continues her improvement, the world of Ansalon will have a great new voice to add to the chronicles of the land and its characters.

This book was a little better than the first in the series. However, it was awful. Its too far fetched even for a fantasy, and especially for trying to be a Dragonlance fantasy. I dont see how Palin can teleport himself or others so easily when his uncle Rastlin was the greatist sorcerer of all time and it nearly killed him when he did it.... that is so lame. Palin seems to be this super powerful mage even though he lost his magic. Also, they keep reffering to the lance Rig carries as "Sturm's Lance" and we all know Sturm never used a lance, he used his fathers sword and NEVER learned to use a lance (read chronicles vol. 2, Jean Rabe). These errors and other make this book hard to read.

I would not reccomend this book to those who just want a fantasy adventure to read, but us die-hard dragonlancers have to read it because it is part of the overall series of books in the Dragonlance timeline, which is sad.

Jean Rabe did a masterful job with these books. Not only are they fun any interesting to read, but they don't have many chapters were nothing is happening. The action and adventure is pretty much non-stop. Rabe had a difficult job diving into this new world, after many Dragonlance readers (including myself) were still distraught over the emotional Dragons of Summer Flame. Jean did a great job with this book, as well as the rest of the series.

The Day of the Tempest keeps following the heros of the heart as they search for something to help rid Krynn of the evil overlords. The Dragon Overlords are building their armies and the knowledge of spawn is being passed between them. The heros must band together in search of magical artifacts that will help them gain the upperhand. This book really doesn't resolve much. It is basically centered on the companions searching for these magical artifacts.

All in all, this book is a great read. Jean Rabe has done an amazing job creating a world after the destruction that was caused in Dragons of Summer Flame. Of course there are a few problems and inconsistencies in this book, but it is still worth the read. This trilogy is a definate must read. Not only does it keep you pretty much hooked the entire way through, but it is a great backdrop of knowledge before reading the War of Souls trilogy by Wies and Hickman.

You have to appreciate an author like Rabe. She fills in the difficult void left by Chronicles and The Dragons of a Fallen Son series. She portrays Krynn during a time when the land is twisted in-between wars. It's a difficult task because in Dragonlance at this time a story can't just be a story it has to have chronological significance. The novel does struggle to enrich the characters while still having the burden of linking two wars and still having to reshape Krynns current climate. That's a valid criticism but you have to remember because of this these characters are in a fantasy like "shell shock" and cant express their individuality on a level that the Heroes of the Lance did in Chronicles. Also Rabe has to deal with the old "older is better" mantra that Chronicles and the 4th age wear. Despite the hurdles this novel faces it's a quick interesting read. I am a slow reader and I read this novel and it prequel Dawning of a New Age in a week without ever having a reading binge. It's the type of novel that even if you did not care for it much it's still not a bad read and the happenings in a historical text make it a necessary read. So it's burden becomes it's blessing. A burden becoming a blessing sounds very Jesse Jackson but in this novel it's very Jean Rabe.

I admit that this is my second Dragonlance book, but I think it was fairly good.I especially enjoyed the attack to claim the prisoners from the Knights.Also people complain about Palin's family's names being similar, I should relate you to J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit. A.k.a, Balin, Dwalin (Brothers) Fili, Kili (Brothers) Oin, Gloin (Brothers) Nori, Ori, and Dori (Brothers... I admit there was some flaws but it still was a fairly good book.

i thought after the first book that this would be a very bad book to read, but i urged myself on, i picked it up and withing 2 sentances i was hooked, i didnt put it down for about 23 hours, got an hour of sleep and started up again, i think Jean Rabe rights Palin the best, and then with the addition of Dhamon, i think this to be the best book in the Fifth Age. ThE series itself is awesome, but this books ties it all together.

I looooove dragons. And this writer knows how to portray them. I especially like the Storm Over Krynn. This'd make a neat movie.

WHAT CAN i SAY THIS BOOK IS AN ACTION PACKED MEDIVAL THRILLER. IT IS THE BEST TALE FROM THE CHOAS SERIES.