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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman return to the world of Dragonlance with Dragons of Deceit, the new start to a new trilogy.
Storytelling
Weis and Hickman have done it again, delivering such a fantastic story. But, I will admit, after the Lost Chronicles, I was left a bit heartbroken by these two. When Wizards of the Coast stopped publishing Dragonlance novels, these two went out with a whimper instead of a bang. The Lost Chronicles was disappointing.
However, Dragons of Deceit was everything I wanted and more.
I have yet to forgive them for what they did to my precious Tahkisis, but maybe with this series, I’ll get there. It was so wonderfully done and structured, going back to before the War of the Lance to introduce a new set of characters. But do not worry, the companions have returned here. But they come in much later in the story.
Dragons of Deceit follows Destina in her journey to carve out a place for herself in a society that limits women’s choices after her father’s death. Destina is Solamnic, and the Solamnic knights have the code “my honor my oath.” However, they take chivalry to a whole other level of rigidness. I have never really been a fan of Solamnic Knights, and this novel continued to reinforce my bias against them.
Weis and Hickman have an extraordinary talent for highlighting good versus evil and what it means to be one or the other. We see here that being a knight does not make one “good” and that they are just as capable of evil. We see Dalamar the Dark, mage of the Black Robes, do good things. And then there is Destina, who is, unwittingly, the agent of Chaos. Is what she is doing good or evil? She wants to unravel time to save her father and her future and right the wrongs done to her. Her heart is in the right place, but her acts will determine her alignment.
Characterization
Destina is not as charming as the original companions, so this may be a hard sell for some readers. I was never a massive fan of Sturm because I always thought of him as stiff. But he was a Solamnic Knight. Her stiffness, and her self-righteous attitude, fit her background. She is strong-willed but lacks the dynamics that Sturm had that made him tolerable.
However, once she begins to make her encounters, her voice loses some of that stiffness. Her relationship with Tasslehoff and the Bronze dragon soften her up. She is unlikable at times, but the journey she takes, her encounters with the Dwarves of Thorbardin, the mages, and the companions, make it so enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
Dragons of Deceit was everything I could have hoped for and more. I loved every minute of it. Bringing back some of my favorite characters, such as Tas and Raistlin, and taking the readers back in time, is an incredible start to a brilliant new trilogy in the world of Krynn.
Storytelling
Weis and Hickman have done it again, delivering such a fantastic story. But, I will admit, after the Lost Chronicles, I was left a bit heartbroken by these two. When Wizards of the Coast stopped publishing Dragonlance novels, these two went out with a whimper instead of a bang. The Lost Chronicles was disappointing.
However, Dragons of Deceit was everything I wanted and more.
I have yet to forgive them for what they did to my precious Tahkisis, but maybe with this series, I’ll get there. It was so wonderfully done and structured, going back to before the War of the Lance to introduce a new set of characters. But do not worry, the companions have returned here. But they come in much later in the story.
Dragons of Deceit follows Destina in her journey to carve out a place for herself in a society that limits women’s choices after her father’s death. Destina is Solamnic, and the Solamnic knights have the code “my honor my oath.” However, they take chivalry to a whole other level of rigidness. I have never really been a fan of Solamnic Knights, and this novel continued to reinforce my bias against them.
Weis and Hickman have an extraordinary talent for highlighting good versus evil and what it means to be one or the other. We see here that being a knight does not make one “good” and that they are just as capable of evil. We see Dalamar the Dark, mage of the Black Robes, do good things. And then there is Destina, who is, unwittingly, the agent of Chaos. Is what she is doing good or evil? She wants to unravel time to save her father and her future and right the wrongs done to her. Her heart is in the right place, but her acts will determine her alignment.
Characterization
Destina is not as charming as the original companions, so this may be a hard sell for some readers. I was never a massive fan of Sturm because I always thought of him as stiff. But he was a Solamnic Knight. Her stiffness, and her self-righteous attitude, fit her background. She is strong-willed but lacks the dynamics that Sturm had that made him tolerable.
However, once she begins to make her encounters, her voice loses some of that stiffness. Her relationship with Tasslehoff and the Bronze dragon soften her up. She is unlikable at times, but the journey she takes, her encounters with the Dwarves of Thorbardin, the mages, and the companions, make it so enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
Dragons of Deceit was everything I could have hoped for and more. I loved every minute of it. Bringing back some of my favorite characters, such as Tas and Raistlin, and taking the readers back in time, is an incredible start to a brilliant new trilogy in the world of Krynn.
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a difficult book for me to review. Dragonlance was my favorite series for so much of my youth. The main stories and characters hold a sacred place in my heart. The best parts of Dragons of Deceit are when we see these classic characters or references to the wider world and people. It just felt awesome to be back in this universe.
Sadly, there are a lot of issues outside of that nostalgia factor:
First, the book has way too many typos. There was at least half a dozen that stuck out. That is way too many for a finished, edited book. It almost felt like an ARC.
Second, there is a lot of repetition in this book. I am not even talking about the repetitive nature of this being a time travel story with Tas. Certain phrases and descriptions are repeated several times over throughout the story. I have a problem with those types of things when it feels like the author thinks the reader is dumb. That is not the case here. It just felt like the editors did not catch that these descriptions had been done prior and could be cut from the text. It brought down the overall quality of the writing.
Lastly, the main character is so annoying and wishy washy. The way her personhood is described in the beginning seems to fly in the face of her actions at the end. It was frustrating. Not to mention Tas being a large part of the book. He always makes me anxious and frustrated.
I do not want to end this on a sour note. The tension in the third part of the book is incredible. It had me on the edge of my seat. And it leaves things in an interesting place for the second book of the trilogy (this is definitely one of those books that is setting up the next more than giving a complete story on its own). I will definitely pick up the rest of the series despite the flaws. But that is because of my fandom. This is not a good book for someone to start in Dragonlance. Possibly not a good book at all. I cannot really tell. And I guess I do want to end this on a sour note.
Sadly, there are a lot of issues outside of that nostalgia factor:
First, the book has way too many typos. There was at least half a dozen that stuck out. That is way too many for a finished, edited book. It almost felt like an ARC.
Second, there is a lot of repetition in this book. I am not even talking about the repetitive nature of this being a time travel story with Tas. Certain phrases and descriptions are repeated several times over throughout the story. I have a problem with those types of things when it feels like the author thinks the reader is dumb. That is not the case here. It just felt like the editors did not catch that these descriptions had been done prior and could be cut from the text. It brought down the overall quality of the writing.
Lastly, the main character is so annoying and wishy washy. The way her personhood is described in the beginning seems to fly in the face of her actions at the end. It was frustrating. Not to mention Tas being a large part of the book. He always makes me anxious and frustrated.
I do not want to end this on a sour note. The tension in the third part of the book is incredible. It had me on the edge of my seat. And it leaves things in an interesting place for the second book of the trilogy (this is definitely one of those books that is setting up the next more than giving a complete story on its own). I will definitely pick up the rest of the series despite the flaws. But that is because of my fandom. This is not a good book for someone to start in Dragonlance. Possibly not a good book at all. I cannot really tell. And I guess I do want to end this on a sour note.