Rating: 
Summary: Awesome
Review: Let me start with this. I hate it when people expect so much out of these books. People seem to look to deep into these books and judge them as they would judge life. It doesn't matter how good of an authur is at writing or what they write. It's all about another world in another time, so nobody has a right to judge this world. This book is one of the best I have ever read. I will admit it makes eveything in Dragonlance seem dismal. But you have some outstanding characters new and old. This book really brings out why magic has disappeared not to mention a wondering if there are other gods other than the One-God which I can garuntee there is. After reading this book I was in so much shock at what I found out that I literally could not speak for an hour, because all I could think about was how surprised I was with the ending. I look back in the book and can now see the clues to the true identity of the One-God, now that I think about it. It has some really good action as well. And I'm willing to bet you'll see my hero emerge in the final book. Raistlin will be back and I'm pretty sure so will his best friend. I may ruin this but oh-well Raistlin had one good friend, Fisban.
Rating:
Summary: Won't disappoint
Review: I must say, I really wasn't too sure what this book would be like when I first got it. But it being straight from Weis and Hickman I kept all doubts suppressed.The story starts pretty much right where it left off with Tas and Palin. They make their daring escape and meet up with an old friend. Mina did what she claimed she'd do in Silvanost and now has her eyes set on another location. The only thing about this book that got annoying was how everything just seemed to be given right to Mina by her "One God." Nobody could struggle against her for more than five seconds and it really got somewhat aggrivating. Don't let that stop you though. Aside from her, the storyline with the Elves in Silvanost and Qualinost is very absorbing, especially at the end, which is worth getting to even if you had to read 1000 pages of boring stuff, which you WON'T. The battle here is something not seen in quite some time. The entire story is actually quite entertaining all the way and you'll find yourself getting through this book in 2-4 days. I really don't want to say too much to spoil anything for you,which is why I've kept this short. You're in for a real shocker and thrill at the end, so don't make the mistake of passing this book up.
Rating:
Summary: No longer lost...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Fallen Sun
Review: This book is a much better book than its predecessor, Dragons of a Fallen Sun. I finished the book in a day, that's how engrossing it is so I urge you not to get this book if you don't have the time to commit to it. The writing is similar to that of Weis/Hickman books of the past by writing the events that occur to different characters intermittedly (i.e. Chapter 1 about character "a", then chapter 2 about character "b", etc.). The one problem I have with it is that it always wants me to read more because they always end the chapter at the most interesting part only to pick it up later. Other than that, the storyline is somewhat predictable if you are an avid reader of fantasy (particularly of Weis/Hickman). The identity of the One God was so obvious......But the book does have it's moments and there is more than enough action to satisfy readers. Perhaps the most annoying thing in the book is Tasselhoff, he was okay back in the day but he has been steadily annoying the hell out of me in the last couple of Weis/Hickman DragonLance books; he should definitely die (and stay dead) in the next one (I hope). All in all a great book; I eagerly await the release of the last book, Dragons of a Vanished Moon. If you are into Fantasy at all, pick up this book and it's predecessors (CHRONICLES, LEGENDS, Dragons of Summer Flame, and Dragons of a Lost Star) for they are some of the best. Once you read them, you'll know what I mean.
Rating:
Summary: Excited about Dragonlance once again!
Review: I have to say that in my opinion "Fallen Sun" is still Weis and Hickman's most well-written book to date, overall, but "Lost Star" really is thrilling. In general, War of Souls is in my opinion their greatest series to date, and that includes their original Dragonlance six and Death Gate seven. COMPLAINTS FIRST: Way too much time is spent on the Elven nations. Enough already! I had to plow through chapter after chapter of Silvanoshei and then chapter after chapter of Gilthas. Not that they weren't well-written, mind you, but the story wasn't balanced. I wanted to get back to Palin! So it feels imbalanced in that sense--many boring chapters interspersed with occasional *awesome* chapters, but more on that below. The other imbalance was that it is too dark throughout. Yes, the theory is that the second act is supposed to have a sort of feeling of the triumph of evil, and good does have a minor victory of sorts at the end, but throughout there was a feeling of things getting worse and worse with no hope. There was not even any humor to lighten things--maybe a little with Tasslehoff ("Fallen Sun" had me rolling with laughter in parts), but he's mostly a tragic character now--bring back Fizban ("Elven Star" REALLY had me rolling) and Dougan (just my favorite character)! WHAT I DID LIKE: As I alluded to above, there are several chapters in the book that just make it for me (though here I must remind the reader that the other chapters are well written in their own right and do build up to said awesome chapters). In the beginning when Beryl attacks the Citadel of Light, and Palin and Tas must flee with the Magical Device of Time Journeying--that chapter is awesome. The parts with the dragons Skie and Mirror just rocked! And the last chapter and the epilogue had me reeeeeeling, no, running around the house crowing like a rooster with glee! Bravo, Margaret and Tracy! I am behind you 100%. You bring new life to Dragonlance!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing and richly developed
Review: (Review based on entire trilogy). 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.
Rating:
Summary: No longer lost...
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely not enthralling
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: They're Back!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Trilogy is slowly getting better (slowly)
Review: 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.
|
