Rating: 
Summary: The essence of successful writing
Review: What makes a book good reading ?
For each individual, each and every book is an unique experience because it serves as a mirror in which we see ourselves and the people around us. In reading a book we see our own happiness and sadness reflected back to us
as well as the ups and downs of everyday life.
Dragons of Summer Flame manages to capture
the essence of life with its little ups and downs
perfectly in such a way that the main theme of
this title is that it doesn't matter if you win or
loose but how you play the game. The book
continues in the same trend as the previous
Dragonlance titles by truly breathing live into
the characters in such a way that you truly
feel their pain and happiness as you read through the book. Throughout the dragonlance series the authors managed to create memorable characters and this title is no exception.
The only problem that creeped in is that this novel is way to short to develop the characters to their full potential as human beings to which we can really relate to. Previous characters were developed over a series of novels and this led to the characters becoming truly human and memorable to all the Dragonlance fans out there. Reading the novel is very enjoyable but more time should have been spent on dealing with all the plot elements and different characters. This should have been another trilogy like the Chronicles and Legends
series in order to wrap up all the loose ends.
(Krynn is a pretty big place after all !).
Credit has to be given to the authors for the way in which they handled the established characters from the previous novels as well as their bold decision regarding the ending of this epic novel. After all, each beginning has to have an ending and each ending is a new beginning. A beautiful novel by two very talented writers.
Rating:
Summary: Seemed a little short and rushed, but thoroughly enjoyable
Review: Although it's not mentioned on the cover, this book is considered to be volume 4 of the DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES. It follows the adventures of the "second generation of heroes", the sons and daughters of the Heroes of the Lance. If you read SECOND GENERATION by Weis & Hickman first, you'll get a lot more out of this book.
Weis & Hickman live up to their normal levels of excellence. This book is chock full of vivid characters, brilliant storytelling, and plenty of action and suspense. The dialogue and character interaction are still top notch and believable. The characters from the original trilogy that are seen act consistently with how they've been written before. Weis & Hickman do an excellent job of immersing the reader in the land of Krynn. The one shortcoming, I felt, was that it seemed to be rushed, especially after the halfway point. Battles seemed to be over too quickly or simply referred to as something that already happened (there was one particular scene I would have loved to have read directly) and the resolutions to the numerous confrontations seemed to be too simple. I think it would have taken a minimum of two, and preferably three, books to do justice to this story. My only other minor gripe is that, between this book and SECOND GENERATION, we never even meet some of the offspring that are referred to (I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't read these books). We also don't get to see Riverwind and Goldmoon. A character that was introduced in SECOND GENERATION (which made me think they would play a pivotal role in this book) is never directly showed to the reader, but rather referred to by other characters. Finally, there are a couple of characters whose destiny we never find out at the end of the book (and I'm assuming they won't be around in the WAR OF SOULS trilogy). Other than these two things (which were actually minor, despite the amount of time I spent writing about them), this was a thoroughly enjoyable book for Dragonlance fans. While obviously a setup for THE WAR OF SOULS, it was still a satisfactory read. I enjoyed revisiting the characters I've come to know so well from the other books and Weis & Hickman do not disappoint in their return to the world of Krynn. Definitely a must read for any fan of the Heroes of the Lance.
Rating: 
Summary: Personal Fav. Dragonlance Novel
Review: This is undoubtedly my favorite Dragonlance novel. I can see why some people may think that because the ending completley throws how you once knew Krynn upside down doesnt mean you should hate it. Anyways the basic plot is that Chaos, father of the gods has escaped and plans to destroy Krynn. Charachters such as Palin Majere and Steel Brightblade must stop him. The story ends very climatically in a huge final battle. Oh to one of the reviews on here that I read I have some things to say. Number 1 they DO explain who Usha's parents ARE she is NOT an Irda girl but is infact Human. And the Raistlin's Daughter short story is told as a Myth(at least where I read it in The Next Generation). Also Raistlin wasnt the OLD Raistlin because he had no magic, wouldnt have made sense otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Dragons of Disappointment
Review: Dragons of Summer Flame: a Return to Krynn after 10 years (I have never really gotten into the DL books other than Chronicles and Legends, with the occasional exception, such as the great "Legend of Huma"). I was eagerly awaiting this book. I have read it twice now, since it came out. The story is very well told (Weis and Hickman ARE master storytellers), but it is a very shallow story. Chaos, Father of All, is angry and wants revenge for being trapped for so long. The forces of Good and Evil unite to fight him and preserve their world. The scope is just too grand; it would have been appropriate if this had been a superhero book, or a novel about the adventures of Paladine and Takhisis, but it seemed ludicrous to have very human, and thus very limited characters, take on the almighty Chaos. His inability to devine the heroes' plan to conquer him is even more ridiculous. Tanis' demise and Raistlin's escape from the Abyss remain very compelling parts of this book, but you can't help being disppointed about the book's conclusion... Let's see what "Dragons of a Fallen Sun" will turn the Dragonlance World into...
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book is mostly wonderful. My one small complaint is that W&H did the same thing they kinda did at the end of the Death Gate Cycle -- that is they tried to turn the world into Earth (Remember Alfred babbling over "God"?, same sorta thing). I think they were trying to kill the series. Then Jean Rabe comes along and messes it all up and then had to come and fix it again with the War of the Souls. Jean Rabe == Worst Fantasy Author Ever. But for the characters... I read every single DL book published before this one. The end of this one made me cry, and I still cry thinking about it. There is no way I cannot fully recommend this book to any Dragonlance reader.
Rating:
Summary: Dragonlance's 2nd Generation Shines
Review: It has been many years since the Dragonlance Wars. Raistlin is still missing. Krynn is at peace, but it is strained at best. On the fringes of the world, Queen Tarkisis has created a new army out of fallen soldiers, called them the Knights of Tarkisis. Elsewhere, the Irda (a hidden race of Dwarves on a distant island) plan to use the Grey Gem, but unwittingly unleash Chaos, father of the gods. Then Queen Tarkisis uses this event to her advantage, and establishes martial law with her Knights as the authority. Meanwhile, the older Heros of the Lance and their children go about the world trying to right the great wrongs in Krynn. Now all of them face the greatest disaster since the Cataclysm. I liked this book quite a bit. It has action, romance, magic, dragons, war, and a not so happy ending. The characters are really the only flaw (but that's a pretty big problem, isn't it). Palin the red mage is alright; but he never really interested me anywhere near as much as his uncle, dark mage Raistlin. He is here too, and as usual cold, distant, and always ploting something. Usha is all right as well, though she seemed to be missing something, like a real personality. Steel Brightblade is by far the weakest character, just a new version of his father Sturm. On the positive side, Tassolhoff Burrfoot is back, and he is my favorite character in the Dragonlance books. Some people think he is the worst thing to hit sci-fi before Jar-Jar Binks, but I liked his child like curiosity. I felt his death deeply (at least he's in a better place with his old friend Flint Fireforge). I was a little alarmed at the deaths of Tanis, Caramon, and other Heros of the Lance; but I guess it is nessesary to continue the series as a world, and not a personal story. Dragon Lord Kitiara is back, but she's not as visible as usual. And the vengeful god Chaos was a just the Ansalon version of the Greek Titian Chronos (Zues's father). I am once again happy to see that the story didn't end happily. At the end, while the current threat (Chaos) is quashed, the world is still under the control of the evil Knights of Tarkisis, and they say that magic has left the world, so I guess we'll see what happens in the Fifth Age, the Age of Mortals. All in all, good effort, though a little long (over 600) and some of the characters were a little too thin. Also if you haven't read any of the other Dragonlance books first, you will be horribly lost, like I was the first time I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome! My favorite!
Review: This was the best Dragonlance book yet! I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: As a longtime fan and follower of the Dragonlance Saga, I can only call this 4th and heavily belated installment of Chronicles to be a major disappointment. Gone is the sense of purpose and adventure that made the original Chronicles and Legends trilogies so gripping. In its place is this, which almost reads like a comic book, with characters coming back to life and being taken away just as quickly. Most of the "offspring" characters developed in the Tales stories are killed off rather quickly, and other characters like Palin and Steele are not dealt with well either. Add to that the almost total destruction of the Krynn we all know from prior novels, and this is one fantasy disaster. For my part, I've tried to forget this was ever written, and until better comes along am sticking with the Legends trilogy as the final major chapter involving the heroes of the lance.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a REAL WINNER! Of the worst dragonlace book...ever!
Review: If you have ever read a dragonlance novel, then you know what to expect. I am a Weis & Hickman fan. I own 10 of their books, and this is the book that took a flop. It has no plot, and it is not relevant to the rest of their books. Except Palin Majere is introduced, who is Raistlin's nephew. That is ALL you need to know. I promise. But this is the most plot depressing book i have ever had the nerve to read. I gave the book away. If you are looking for a book that will let you down read this. If you are looking for a good epic fantasy series, read the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams. It is Better than Tolkien,....seriously.
The main reason i would not recommend this to anyone is, compared to great stories like The Lord of the Rings and Memory Sorrow and Thorn, this book was written by a 9-year old neanderthal boy. This book has poor sentence structure, no mysteries, nothing exciting, and no plot!
Rating:
Summary: Depressing.
Review: I think I know what bothers most of the people who gave this book low rating, especially the ones who have been long time fans. for us geeks and dragonlance lovers the ending is quite upsetting, silly as it may sound. We feel like everything we know and love in/about Krynn was was taken away from us and it's hard to judge the book objectively after that. Like many here said, this book is enjoyable but not as enjoyable as the earlier Dragonlance books like Chronicles and Legends. It's sort of an anemic version of them, it's a bit lacking. some things I found unconvincing- like Palin and Usha falling in love after spending about 5 minutes together. I guess it's convincing if you believe in love at first sight, I don't.
And Raistlin... ok I didn't read the Raistlin chronicles and I don't know just how much ol' Fistie was affecting him but he just didn't seem himself- again, like an anemic and dare I say boring? version of the old Raist. Some questions were left unanswered. Is Usha Raistlin's daughter or not? If she's not, how can the author's explain the short story "Raistlin's daughter"? Funny, that. There's this rumor going around about this yellow eyed Irda girl who is Raistlin's daughter and though the story is NOT true, one yellow eyed Irda girl does indeed exist only she's not the one from the story. I guess yellow eyed Irda girls are pretty common these days.
if she is his daughter after all, why did Rustlin lie to her? (That would also add the ewww factor to the Usha and Palin
storyline.)
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