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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I finished reading Dragons of Deceit three days ago. I started reading Dragons of Deceit a month ago.
First, I must acknowledge that this is the first Dragonlance novel I have read, or even considered reading. In the past, I would have recognized that this was part of a decades-spanning series and immediately made the decision not to read it. With so many books in this series, and my limited reading time, I find it difficult to commit to such an undertaking—especially considering there are literally over a hundred books out there in the Dragonlance setting.
I must also acknowledge how much I loathe time travel stories. The only piece of media that I think got time travel right has been Back to the Future. Anytime time travel is used, I always feel like it is lazy and a cop out (Avengers: Endgame).
So, why did I decide to read this new book? The initial interest is, of course, due to my recent hobby of playing Dungeons and Dragons. I decided to do some light research and found that Dragons of Deceit is described as part of a new, standalone series and that there was no need to have read the previous entries. That was enough to encourage me to pick up this book when Barnes and Noble had their year-end, half-price sale on hardcovers. I was quite excited to start this book. After Wizards of the Coast “fixed” their major mistake, which was the OGL debacle of 2023, I was finally in a space to pick up Dragons of Deceit.
(Light spoilers ahead.)
Overall, Dragons of Deceit is a mess, much like its main protagonist, the unoriginally named Destina Rosethorn. The book is broken into three parts. The first part of the book is a boring slog of an info dump to establish the time, place, and context of the story, as well as introduce the main character and her motivations for the remainder of the story. This part of the book is like reading an overly in-depth summary of what happened over the course of six-ish years. While some of this information is important to the overall plot, the execution is bland and lacks inspiration. The whole time I was reading the first 80-something pages, I was thinking, “Why aren’t they just alluding to this over the course of regular conversations between characters?” It took nearly a third of the book for the main plot to start, which resulted in me regularly stopping for days at a time until I reached the second part.
My next issue with Dragons of Deceit is that I find the main character to be completely unlikable. From the way she treats here mother (“I love my white dad and hate my black mother”), to her flippant disregard for how her actions will negatively affect others (and even time itself), Destina is just a horrible person. I understand that this is the first installment of a trilogy, and there is obviously a lot of room for her to have some character building, but I feel like Destina lacks any redeeming qualities that endears her to the reader. I literally don’t care about what happens to her and am far more interested in some of the side characters.
Speaking of side characters, most were boring, one-dimensional, and obviously used for nostalgia. Even the copper dragon, Saber (another unoriginal name), was under-utilized. However, the real issue I take with the supporting cast is that they are all characters from the Chronicles and Legends trilogies from the 1980s. Remember when I said this book was marketed as a standalone? Well, it isn’t. It would help immensely to have read at least Chronicles and Legends (six books), and probably even more. How do I know this since I haven’t read any Dragonlance prior to this book? I watched a two-hour video on YouTube so I could understand what was going on. While there is some explanation as to who these characters are, it feels more like we are having them shoved down our throat because Weiss and Hickman can’t let go of the characters that made Classic Dragonlance so popular. Instead of pushing the series/setting into new territory, they relied upon established characters to win over the hearts of long-time fans. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work with the new readers. This is especially evident in the character of Tasslehoff.
The kender Tasslehoff Burfoot is right behind Destina for worst character in this book. I understand that he was a major character previously, and that a lot of people like him, but his schtick is exhausting. I’ve read other reviews that this version of Tas has been diminished compared to previous iterations, so I can’t speak to what he used to be like. However, I found myself in a constant state of being ready to move past his part of the story, only to be horrified to find that he will be in the next book.
Though most of the side characters were duds, I did like Dalamar the elven wizard, and Wolfstone the dwarf. I don’t think they were particularly well written, but they were more palatable than the rest. It was really a shame that Wolfstone wasn’t more prominent.
Though I was massively disappointed in this book, there were things that I did like, which is why I’m rating two stars instead of one. Mainly, I thought that the lore of Krynn was interesting. Anytime the gods were discussed, or the War of the Lance, I was invested.
In the end, this feels like the writers are trying to force a new narrative into an already dense timeline, as well as alter the timeline in a soft-reboot kind of way. While I will likely read the next installment, I can’t say that I’m at all excited for it. I am considering reading the “Holy Six” of the Classic Dragonlance novels (Chronicles and Legends), but after finishing Dragons of Deceit, and finding those books are only available in mass market paper back, I can’t say with certainty that I will. My perspective is that Weiss and Hickman, as well as Wizards of the Coast, lost out on a major opportunity to make Dragonlance a big deal again.
(sidenote)
I despise the cover art for Dragons of Deceit. While the background is truly lovely, the choice of this kind of lighting for characters in the foreground is a poor one. It is far too dark and difficult to see the interesting details that one would normally look at in a traditional cover illustrated like a heroic fantasy.
First, I must acknowledge that this is the first Dragonlance novel I have read, or even considered reading. In the past, I would have recognized that this was part of a decades-spanning series and immediately made the decision not to read it. With so many books in this series, and my limited reading time, I find it difficult to commit to such an undertaking—especially considering there are literally over a hundred books out there in the Dragonlance setting.
I must also acknowledge how much I loathe time travel stories. The only piece of media that I think got time travel right has been Back to the Future. Anytime time travel is used, I always feel like it is lazy and a cop out (Avengers: Endgame).
So, why did I decide to read this new book? The initial interest is, of course, due to my recent hobby of playing Dungeons and Dragons. I decided to do some light research and found that Dragons of Deceit is described as part of a new, standalone series and that there was no need to have read the previous entries. That was enough to encourage me to pick up this book when Barnes and Noble had their year-end, half-price sale on hardcovers. I was quite excited to start this book. After Wizards of the Coast “fixed” their major mistake, which was the OGL debacle of 2023, I was finally in a space to pick up Dragons of Deceit.
(Light spoilers ahead.)
Overall, Dragons of Deceit is a mess, much like its main protagonist, the unoriginally named Destina Rosethorn. The book is broken into three parts. The first part of the book is a boring slog of an info dump to establish the time, place, and context of the story, as well as introduce the main character and her motivations for the remainder of the story. This part of the book is like reading an overly in-depth summary of what happened over the course of six-ish years. While some of this information is important to the overall plot, the execution is bland and lacks inspiration. The whole time I was reading the first 80-something pages, I was thinking, “Why aren’t they just alluding to this over the course of regular conversations between characters?” It took nearly a third of the book for the main plot to start, which resulted in me regularly stopping for days at a time until I reached the second part.
My next issue with Dragons of Deceit is that I find the main character to be completely unlikable. From the way she treats here mother (“I love my white dad and hate my black mother”), to her flippant disregard for how her actions will negatively affect others (and even time itself), Destina is just a horrible person. I understand that this is the first installment of a trilogy, and there is obviously a lot of room for her to have some character building, but I feel like Destina lacks any redeeming qualities that endears her to the reader. I literally don’t care about what happens to her and am far more interested in some of the side characters.
Speaking of side characters, most were boring, one-dimensional, and obviously used for nostalgia. Even the copper dragon, Saber (another unoriginal name), was under-utilized. However, the real issue I take with the supporting cast is that they are all characters from the Chronicles and Legends trilogies from the 1980s. Remember when I said this book was marketed as a standalone? Well, it isn’t. It would help immensely to have read at least Chronicles and Legends (six books), and probably even more. How do I know this since I haven’t read any Dragonlance prior to this book? I watched a two-hour video on YouTube so I could understand what was going on. While there is some explanation as to who these characters are, it feels more like we are having them shoved down our throat because Weiss and Hickman can’t let go of the characters that made Classic Dragonlance so popular. Instead of pushing the series/setting into new territory, they relied upon established characters to win over the hearts of long-time fans. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work with the new readers. This is especially evident in the character of Tasslehoff.
The kender Tasslehoff Burfoot is right behind Destina for worst character in this book. I understand that he was a major character previously, and that a lot of people like him, but his schtick is exhausting. I’ve read other reviews that this version of Tas has been diminished compared to previous iterations, so I can’t speak to what he used to be like. However, I found myself in a constant state of being ready to move past his part of the story, only to be horrified to find that he will be in the next book.
Though most of the side characters were duds, I did like Dalamar the elven wizard, and Wolfstone the dwarf. I don’t think they were particularly well written, but they were more palatable than the rest. It was really a shame that Wolfstone wasn’t more prominent.
Though I was massively disappointed in this book, there were things that I did like, which is why I’m rating two stars instead of one. Mainly, I thought that the lore of Krynn was interesting. Anytime the gods were discussed, or the War of the Lance, I was invested.
In the end, this feels like the writers are trying to force a new narrative into an already dense timeline, as well as alter the timeline in a soft-reboot kind of way. While I will likely read the next installment, I can’t say that I’m at all excited for it. I am considering reading the “Holy Six” of the Classic Dragonlance novels (Chronicles and Legends), but after finishing Dragons of Deceit, and finding those books are only available in mass market paper back, I can’t say with certainty that I will. My perspective is that Weiss and Hickman, as well as Wizards of the Coast, lost out on a major opportunity to make Dragonlance a big deal again.
(sidenote)
I despise the cover art for Dragons of Deceit. While the background is truly lovely, the choice of this kind of lighting for characters in the foreground is a poor one. It is far too dark and difficult to see the interesting details that one would normally look at in a traditional cover illustrated like a heroic fantasy.
Couldn’t do it. Wasn’t bad, so I don’t know if I’ve outgrown this or what. Wasn’t feeling Destina, she was kind of dumb and spoiled, and we’re clearly just using this all for another reboot. Just not for me at this time.
This book brings back some familiar characters from the War of the Lance and relies on nostalgia.
The story starts during the War of the Lance. The main character, Destina comes up with a plan to time travel and stop her father from dying. However, when Tasselhoff tags along, things go very wrong.
The heroes try their best not to change the past but things didn't go as planned. The story ends when our characters return to the present but things have changed.
This is a great book set in the world of Krynn. A must read for long time fans and those new to Dragonlance.
The story starts during the War of the Lance. The main character, Destina comes up with a plan to time travel and stop her father from dying. However, when Tasselhoff tags along, things go very wrong.
The heroes try their best not to change the past but things didn't go as planned. The story ends when our characters return to the present but things have changed.
This is a great book set in the world of Krynn. A must read for long time fans and those new to Dragonlance.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m really torn on this book. It’s a new entry into one of my favorite worlds from when I was a kid, Dragonlance, and we get to interact with a bunch of my old favorite characters, and there truly were some charming moments in it. However, I found the main character of this novel to be stupid and selfish and stubborn and one-dimensional, and the story revolves around a ridiculous plot trope that I found to be wholly uninspiring. I don’t really want to put any spoilers, but the main character Destinia actively makes the worst possible choices at every single turn, and I found her justifications for doing so to be severely lacking. I found no empathy for her and about halfway through the book began rooting against her, though I knew she would ultimately succeed.
The parts of this book that I enjoyed were almost all purely because of nostalgia and for that I’ll give it three stars, as I feel like the writing was not amazing, but consistent with the series and the old characters that return for this book are done true to form. I’ll likely read more in this series once it comes out, in hopes that our “heroine” grows the fuck up, and for more hopefully good nostalgia, but I really hope I enjoy the rest of this series more than this first book. The final redeeming quality is that this book has likely set the stage for an interesting story, but I don’t care for the way it go there.
The parts of this book that I enjoyed were almost all purely because of nostalgia and for that I’ll give it three stars, as I feel like the writing was not amazing, but consistent with the series and the old characters that return for this book are done true to form. I’ll likely read more in this series once it comes out, in hopes that our “heroine” grows the fuck up, and for more hopefully good nostalgia, but I really hope I enjoy the rest of this series more than this first book. The final redeeming quality is that this book has likely set the stage for an interesting story, but I don’t care for the way it go there.
I will probably get the test of the trilogy. But the book was difficult to read. A lot of the writing was very immature, the characters were not great. It seems to think foreshadowing is the main character thinking “oh now that would never happen” and then that thing happening.
I did enjoy it as a respite from modern fantasy. Nobody was raped l, it wasnt endless exposition. Nobody swore or said anything overtly edgy.
I did enjoy it as a respite from modern fantasy. Nobody was raped l, it wasnt endless exposition. Nobody swore or said anything overtly edgy.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Starts slow and tedious, main character seems underdeveloped in her personality. Name drops heroes from the War of the Lance to spice things up, gets good in 2 and 3rd act if you can make it through the first 100 pages.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I normally don’t write many reviews, but I have way too many thoughts to let brew in my mind. First off, I am definitely in the minority of readers who have *not* read any of the original Dragonlance books. Everything was brand new for me; setting, characters, etc. Dragons of Deceit is marketed as a standalone for new and old readers alike. When I saw it in the store, I thought the concept sounded like something right up my ally; time travel and D&D high fantasy setting. A young woman acquires a device that allows her to go back in time and save the life of her father and restore her family honor. Stories like these are some of my favorites so I knew I had to pick it up.
However, it became quite clear only partway through the book, that this does not work as a standalone. Even on the first couple of pages there was a massive amount of info-dumping in such a way that it did not feel like it was welcoming me into the world. I was thrown so much information about characters and events that I am unfamiliar with, that I quickly found myself becoming bored and restless. This continued for at least the first quarter until the action finally started to pick up. However, it isn’t until around the 50% mark where we were finally getting somewhere plot-wise.
The authors clearly are passionate about the world that they have created and wanted to share it with new readers, which I can appreciate. But our main character, Destina, was not very likable in my opinion. I’m aware that this is book one and things will most likely change, but she came off as very whiny and immature which didn’t seem to waver until MAYBE the very end. The only side character I enjoyed was Tas. He was charming and a welcome relief from everyone else who I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like or not. (But even he too, I could only take in small doses.) I wish the authors wouldn’t do so much telling rather than showing. I don’t want to be told how characters are feeling, for example, I want to see examples of it.
Needless to say, I will not be continuing this series. Which is a shame because I really did *want* to like it. I normally don’t have a problem with DNFing books, but I challenged myself to continue and finish in the hopes that it would get better. And when I found myself relieved after every reading session, I knew that it was not the book for me.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Destina is the daughter of a Solamnic knight who died at the battle of the High Clerist Tower during the War of the Lance. Her father’s will, naming her as the inheritor of their family castle and lands was also lost during the war, but since his wishes were common knowledge, she concentrated on rebuilding her family’s home—until her cousin petitions the knights for her land and win on the merit of him being a man. As Destina watches everything she loves being taken from her, she seizes on a desperate plan to travel back in time and save her father. Unfortunately, she trusts the wrong wizard. When the red wizard Ungar tells her she’ll need the Grey Gem in order to change anything, Destina sets out on a quest to find the lost gem, and leaves a trail of chaos in her wake.
As much as I loved revisiting this world and story, there was a LOT of rehashing the story of the trilogies that preceded this book. Every Easter egg had to be explained every time it was mentioned, and there was a lot of re-explaining what had happened in earlier chapters. I also noticed characters would reflect on the past, then speak the EXACT SAME THING aloud to whoever just entered the room. It was very annoying and slowed the pace of the story immensely.
That said, I was delighted with Tas’s reappearance. The story picked up when he was around—though it slowed back down when Dalamar poked his head back in. But I am immensely excited for book 2, because RAISTLIN IS BACK, BABY!
*Note: I really hate how the audiobook pronounced “Majere.” It was gross.
As much as I loved revisiting this world and story, there was a LOT of rehashing the story of the trilogies that preceded this book. Every Easter egg had to be explained every time it was mentioned, and there was a lot of re-explaining what had happened in earlier chapters. I also noticed characters would reflect on the past, then speak the EXACT SAME THING aloud to whoever just entered the room. It was very annoying and slowed the pace of the story immensely.
That said, I was delighted with Tas’s reappearance. The story picked up when he was around—though it slowed back down when Dalamar poked his head back in. But I am immensely excited for book 2, because RAISTLIN IS BACK, BABY!
*Note: I really hate how the audiobook pronounced “Majere.” It was gross.