Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book.
Review: What happens in this book? If you know Takhisis, you can guess -- she tries to take over the world, as usual. Lots of insights are revealed, such as where the dragon overlords originated and why they came to Krynn. Additionally, insight is given as to precise events that led up to the current setting. And, as in the end of any book or trilogy, the story comes to a conclusion. I cannot write this book review without including some spoilers in here, so if you would rather not read on I will leave you with the thought that it would not be a wise thing to miss out on the adventure that you might experience by reading this book -- so buy it.This book reminded me a lot of my all time favorite DL book, Dragons of Summer Flame, because of its philosophical insights and lessons on life. In this book, Mina looses it. Some of the main characters begin to really start talking trash about the One God, about how she's simply trying to enslave the world and how that's bad. Odila, acting as a spy, is eventually so convinced in believing in Takhisis that she becomes a priestess second to Mina. Gerard tries repeatedly to bring her back to her senses, which never happens until Takhisis finnally reveals her true nature at the end of the book. Gilthas is forced to make hard decisions for his people and lead them through the Plains of Dust, and then finnaly decide whether or not to have the Qualinesti and Silvanesti fight the Dark Knights in Silvanesti or march on Sanction. The climax of this book is that, despite all the talk among the characters and speculation that the One God's purpose is to enslave the world, Takhisis becomes so powerful that it seemed as though that's exactly what she was going to do. The elves and Solamniacs could march on Sanction, but at what cost? Could they defeat Mina, Takhisis and, additionally, not succumb to the terror induced by the souls -- without the aid of the gods? It leaves the reader concluding that it would be more smart for them to simply run and hide. In the end, however, Raistlin's soul discovers the world, and leads the gods back to Krynn (which means he's saved the world at least four times). All the while Mina, under Takhisis's direction, defeats Malys with a stolen dragonlance. Eventually, Tasselholf is suddenly given the idea that he has the power to bring the Dragons of Good back to Krynn, at which point everything falls into place. The dragons rescue the elves from a surprise ogre attack, and then bring them to Sanction, sacking it. At the same time Mirror, with the aid of Palin's soul, destroys the totem Takhisis had stolen from Malys and used to give herself more power. Finnaly, the gods arrive just when Takhisis is about to enter the world, and Paladine, the brother of Takhisis, sacrifices his immortality to take away that of Takhisis, and she is renedered mortal. In anger, and love for Mina, Silvanoshie, who is present, pierces the mortal Takhisis with the part of the broken Dragonlance, annihilating the Dark Queen utterly. Paladine, although mortal, still remains and the world of Krynn goes back to the state in which it was in before the gods left, which means that the White, Red and Black robed wizards are given their power back, including Dalamar and Palin (who are brought back to life by the magical gods at the request of Raistlin). There is also an appendix at the end of the book which explains the nature of the gods, creation, immortality and so forth, questions that I'm sure Dragonlance fans are sure to want to have answered. All in all, it is a good book and I recommend it (start with Chronicles if you've never read Dragonlance) to anyone with a taste for fantasy. It is an opportunity not to be missed. As for credentials, I've read at least 80 fantasy novels. Dragonlance fans might not like the idea that two of their favorite characters died in this book (and that more may have, I can't remember), but it's so intense that I seriously doubt it would really have a negative effect on the book as a whole..... Besides, they are brought back to life anyway :) I guess Weis and Hickman took heed to their complaints before!
Rating: 
Summary: Dragons of a Vanished moon
Review: great book....would have been a 5 star but, well you just have to see for yourself....returns krynn to its original state though we do loose almost everyone one we have come to love as characters. Some old characters return, hint hint, which is wonderful. All in all this is a keeper. Weis and Hickman are brillant as usual and have corrected a stagnanat world created by Jean Rabe. Buy it you'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting ending or should we say beginning?
Review: After much anticipation, I finally held a copy of Dragons of a Vanished Moon in my hands. Needless to say, I read it cover to cover in one sitting. The book is a wonderful ending to the trilogy. It answers a lot of questions, and doesn't leave you hanging like some other author's have done. The one thing it lacked was a climax. The climax was reached in the second book, and really, this book is just a follow up to the last. I wholeheartedly enjoyed the book, and couldn't think of any other ending that would of fitted better. Long live Dragonlance! Did anyone happen to notice that apparently the editors forgot to check the book for spelling errors? I know some slip through, but this has to be the worst editing job I have seen!
Rating:
Summary: Back in the world of Krynn
Review: Once again Weis and Hickman bring my imagination to new heights in this exciting conclusion to The War of Souls Trilogy. I bought this book the day it came out and finished it in the very next day before I left work. The quality of the story and of the characters are what I have come to expect from the authors, in one word 'Awesome'. We see old favorites shining bright in the darkness of the world and we see new characters develope into heros and villians that rival those found in the original Chronicles Trilogy. My personal favorite returns for a small time but that small time is enough to make that return of vital importance to Krynn and the people and races that inhabit it. I urge anyone who reads this book to not skip to the end as it will take away from the middle, Krynn will be forever changed by the events of this trilogy and I look foward to reading more books that continue to show us the unfolding of the Age of Mortals. I sincerely hope that Weis and Hickman find continued inspiration in telling the story of a world they created that so many have the fortune of getting to immerse themselves in from time to time.
Rating:
Summary: bittersweet agony
Review: I knew, before even finishing 'Vanished Moon', how I would review it. Not the star rating, mind you, in that I would be fair and give the book my undivided attention. Now that I have, twice in fact, I can be honest in my review. Which is this, the Krynn as I grew up reading mired in until way past lights out, is gone. No more did I feel the sorrow as with Sturm and his noble stand. No more was there an elation like that which I felt when the heroes find the disk in that place that sounds like 'throw-up' as Bupu said in the Tower, trembling in front of the council of mages. Gone, all gone. Tas, the best character of the series in my opinion, is no longer that irrepressible 'handler'. In its place is a world where only one god exists, or so it appears. And where the three orders of magic, which is what kept me turning page after page of fourth age reading, is nonexistent. Once again, only for a while. I applauded Weis and Hickman all the way until the last page. They have turned the stagnant Dragonlance world on its ear once again. The result is an undeniably fun adventure. One I would recommend to any fan of fantasy reading. But be warn, if you loved reading Chronicles and Legends, as I did, that this is not the same world as you'll remember. I barely got a chill even at Raistlin's return. Then I reread it as a book away from the War of Lance era. Let's just say that my tremors went rampant. Pick it up Vanished Moon. You'll scream at the authors for messing with a perfectly fun formula. Then you'll praise them for doing something different. Trust me, you'll love the journey all the while.
Rating:
Summary: Stirring conclusion caters to fans...
Review: This is it: the book that is supposed to bring the Fourth Age back to devotees of classic Dragonlance while at the same time maintaining the fans of Fifth Age. Since Dragons of Summer Flame, Weis and Hickman have left the world of Dragonlance to the less-than-capable hands of other authors and creators. This, then, is their attempt to right the wrongs perpetrated by those authors and return the world to the way it was...or rather, the way it was supposed to be. Without giving too much away, I think the authors succeeded in bringing back the flavor of the setting, and an appendix in the back explains the various timelines visited by Krynn. In addition to being a knock on the direction TSR took with the world, by implying that the Fifth Age was the result of a skew in the timeline, this book, and this series, rewrites history, so to speak. Dragons of Summer Flame was a conclusion of a sort, that in a way, ended the opportunity for the parent company to create a gaming world set after its events. TSR did so anyway and the result was the loss of many fans. Dragons of a Vanished Moon promises a beginning, and indeed, this novel, as well as a line of game products to be published by Sovereign Press, seem to show that the authors wish this world to be viable once again for adventures and gaming. However, this novel is good enough on its own merit, even to the non-roleplaying reader. Though the "big" mystery as to the identity of the One God was revealed in Lost Star, nevertheless, there are questions to be answered as to what exactly happened, and what can be and will be done to fix it. In this regard, however, the mysteries are not as deep, or maintained as long. The reader is not left hanging after every chapter, wishing to devour the next, but rather, they have a vague idea about what will happen, and are anticipating a grand climax. As a result, they must toil through the first 400 pages or so, of which, there were some moments, but overall, the storytelling is good, but not gripping. The conclusion may be worth it. That would, really, depend on the reader and how he feels about the direction taken by the author. This book was written seeking the approval of fans. It ties up several loose ends but remains open enough to allow possibilities to remain. It is not a book that stands on its own so much as it stands on the opinion of the public. That, I fear, will remain as divided as ever. But Krynn...Krynn is whole once more.
Rating:
Summary: Dragons of a Vanished Moon (A fresh new Krynn)
Review: SUMMERY Go and get this book now. This is with out a doubt the best DL novel yet (Opinion). So here is my review as spoiler free as I can make it.
(IF you have not read the first 2 books in the series do not continue, it will spoiler them for you.) Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the kender continues his journey in the 5th age of krynn. Complete with the Magical Time Traveling Device. Becoming a thorn in THE ONE GOD'S backside. Conundrum the gnome continues his attempt to repair the device. (Just like it was repaired by a gnome in the LEGENDS TRILOGY. The elves of Qualinesti continue their dangerous journey toward the land of their cousins the Silvanesti. But they do not yet know it has fallen to the one god (We now know to be Takhisis)and the knight of nereka (formerly knights of Takhisis). Gerard and the Knights of Solamnia plan their next move to attempt to thwart the army of souls led by Mina in the name of the one god. What happened to the rest of the gods of Krynn? Who was the man on the boat? The return of somebody long departed... And the begining of a fresh new Krynn, which leaves it open for many more great stories to come. All in all it had a great Story, great characters, great battles, and some great surprised (as well as some saddening losses) Margarette Weis and Tracy Hickman do it again in the conclusion to the War of the Souls! P.S. I am the first Customer Reviewer...YAY! (06-18-02)
Rating:
Summary: Not many books leave a lump in my throat...
Review: Initially, I had some reservations about this trilogy...I'm not a huge fan of Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and the plot of Dragons of a Vanished Moon seemed to center around him (annoyingly). But along with the story of the tragedy of the elven nations, the metallic dragons' return, the trial of Takhisis, and finally figuring out what the heck had happened to Krynn itself, (and hey, they brought Raistlin back for a bit :) ). What an awesome conclusion to all the confusion that the loss of the gods and the weird moon caused. If you're looking for closure to a lot of unanswered questions, this book gives 'em, Weis & Hickman-style!
Rating: 
Summary: more of the same, but poorly edited
Review: I don't think anyone picking up a new Dragonlance book at this point really expects anything too outstanding. Sure, the characters are a little more two-dimensional and the subplots are a little more clichéd than in Chronicles and Legends... but it's still fun to revisit Krynn and see what all the same old characters are up to. For that I'll spend a few dollars and pick up the new trilogy as a break from school/work/etc.
What upset me about this book, and the trilogy in general, is that it seemed like it wasn't proofread at all. First, the books are all needlessly long. With even minimal editorial input, entire chapters could have been removed without impacting the plot at all. So why were they there? One gets the feeling that the authors were being paid by the word. Then, on top of that, there were numerous typos and continuity errors throughout the books that were often so glaring that it was alternately laughable and painful. That kind of carelessness quickly makes an already mediocre book a bad one. The sci-fi and fantasy genres are rich enough now that we can surely find books where the authors and publishers care enough about their work that they actually read it before it goes to press.
The War of the Souls trilogy is fun enough if you're bored, but be forewarned that this is pretty poor writing (even relative to other Dragonlance novels).
Rating: 
Summary: A Better Dragon Book
Review: So many books out there featuring dragons expect you to make a committment just to get through them, with accompanying maps and glossaries and character lists and the like... I was handed this book without ever having picked up another in the ongoing series and was extremely pleased I was very able to follow the story without having read any of the preceding tales. The action is somewhat cliche with standard fantasy derring-do and evil vs. good and what have you, the magic portions are okay, the creatures are all rather typical and known to us, but what made this book really hold my attention was the delightful use of humor sprinkled liberally throughout the book--especially surrounding the Solamnic knight Gerard and the naively annoying "kender" Burrfoot Tasslehoff. There is a heightened sense of sword and sorcery here that brings a cinematic edge to the tale, but I must admit I was a little lost in the big battle between a Joan-of-Arc type lost soul and a gigantic fire-breathing dragon. The girl's weapon is described a being hardly the length of one of the dragon's claws, yet a teen girl is somehow able to not only pierce what we imagine must be nearly inpenetrable hide with it but also manage to find the dragon's heart and pierce that too... Ah, well...she did have a little divine help in the effort. Aside from that I found the story quite well told and capitivating and will have no hesitation when confronted with another Weis/Hickman title. Good job overall!
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