Rating: 
Summary: Sad & Disappointed
Review: The entire War of Souls Trilogy was a disappointment. Weis and Hickman have written some wonderful books for the Dragonlance saga, Chronicles, Twins Trilogy...but they really fell apart on this one. If you are a fan of Dragonlance, don't read the final trilogy, it'll make you lose respect for the rest of the books.Why couldn't they just leave Tas dead. Sure, we all love the funny Tas stories and problems the little guy gets himself into...but he's like a meatloaf that has been in the oven too long. In Chronicles, Takhisis inspired awe in the reader, as Tanis fell to his knees in dreadful reverence. In War of Souls she makes you want to bake a cake. Also, what's up with Mina's naive behind. Goldmoon, the woman who raised Mina, hates Takhisis and rejects her "gift" yet Mina continues to blindly follow Takhisis. I wish I had never read this trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Dragons Of A Vanished... ?
Review: Ok... I'll get to the point-- Palin looses his magic forever, Raistlin does not get to kick Takhisis' ... and the original companions finally all meet up in the afterlife and go off "adventuring" again. (Sigh...)
Rating: 
Summary: All the bile in all the world isn't enough...
Review: I didn't have high hopes for the conclusion to this trilogy, given the shaky second book. Gotta hand it to W&H, though--whatever expectations I did have, they handily passed under them. I'm not kidding, dudes and dudesses--this may in fact be the worst book I've ever read. And given the number of truly bad fantasy novels I read in my younger days (to say nothing of Like Water for Chocolate), that's saying something. It's hard to know where to begin in talking about so appalling a train wreck of a novel. I expect the massive, ludicrous plot holes are an issue. It quickly became clear to me, as I read, that the authors had, in fact, not plotted out this entire trilogy from the beginning, and thus were utterly unable to conclude it in a graceful--or even coherent--fashion. Thus, they make an utter hash out of continuity, both of the Dragonlance world as a whole and of the trilogy on an individual level Minotaurs just sort of appear, with no rational explanation provided, just to make things harder for the elves (and, most egregiously, they don't actually have any baring on the book's plot--their purpose is, transparently, to serve as the basis for further [] books--I know I'LL be looking forward to the Minotaur Wars trilogy with bated breath!). It is revealed that the tough dragons ACTUALLY come from Sooper Dooper Dragon Dimension X! Odilia is inexplicably required to worship Takhisis because she believes that T exists (there might have originally been some idea of making some sort of deeper religious/philosophical point, but if so, that fell by the wayside)! The day is saved when our heroes are teleported to the previously-unalluded-to Secret Dragon Prison to rescue the good dragons, which for some reason--which, naturally is never explained--is accomplished by Tas just sort of crashing through the ice barrier)! It's all very surreal, and not in a good way. What were they THINKING? How stupid do they think we are? Then we have the characters, of course. To put it bluntly, all of the new characters have the depth of a mud puddle in a dry September. Even ones that had the potential to be interesting in the previous books are here little more than undifferentiated, brown sludge. And the old characters aren't much better, even when they aren't given motivations that are wildly different than anything they would ever have displayed in the previous, good books. And let's not forget the wholly gratuitious single-scene, non-plot-developing appearances of a number of old characters in a time traveling bit (Huma, Lord Soth, Ariakan)! I could go on--but what would be the point? It is painfully obvious that, at this point, W&H take zero pride in their work, and have absolutely no respect for the intelligence of their readers (in all fairness, I suppose it's possible that TSR made some unreasonable demands, but that's an explanation rather than an excuse--it doesn't make it any better). I cannot help but feel angry that they would so willingly desecrate my childhood memories, and, I don't doubt, those of many others. If there's one positive thing I can say about this, it's that the whole affair is so outlandish [] that it's easy to disassociate it in my mind from the Chronicles/Legends. I didn't want to believe it at first, but now there's no way for me to deny it: there will never be another good Dragonlance book. It's clear that TSR is going to keep beating this dead horse for a while yet, what with an insulting (and oh-so-ludicrous) ending that serves as little more than a 'too be continued' sign. No thanks, guys. You've shafted me enough. I'm getting off this train, and I would advise all readers with a scintilla of good taste and critical thinking skill to do the same.
Rating: 
Summary: Dragons of a Vanished Moon
Review: This is the final book in the latest of the Dragonlance series penned jointly by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Many of the characters from the previous books have their parts expanded and their worries solved and many new threads of the plot are opened up. The big revalation at the end of the second book is fleshed out, and in the end Krynn has began to morph back into something that is definately more pleasing to the many fans like myself who did not like the way the newest wave of Dragonlance was headed. I you like Dragonlance as written by Weis and Hickman, buy this trilogy: you won't regret it :)
Rating: 
Summary: Well done.
Review: This book is done differently from the Chronicles, it is realistic in the world of Dragonlance. I wouldn't want the same characters in a world where everything else is always changing and moving, any writer could only reinvent a prolonged life so much and so often. The new characters are different from what I've grown acustomed to. Remember, this isn't Chronicles, it's a continuation of it's storyline. I really enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: An essential book, if nothing else
Review: As has been pointed out in numerous earlier reviews, the best aspect of "Vanished Moon"
and the War of Souls trilogy is that it does an impressive and creative job of restoring the
gaping wound that "Dragons of a Summer Flame" inflicted on the world of Krynn. That said,
I have to go along with some of the earlier reviewers who remind us that we all would have
been best served by concluding our Dragonlance adventures with the end of the Legends
trilogy and Richard A. Knaak's, "The Legend of Huma". (Okay, and mabye a few of the
better stories from the original Tales trilogy). Everything that has been written in the DL world since
then has clearly failed to live up to the awesome standard that Weis and Hickman set with Chronicles
and Legends. I will never forget the impact that Chronicles and Legends had on my friends and I in the few
years prior to becoming teenagers. We used to spend entire recess periods engaged in heated discussions
about the characters as well as the merits of blue dragons over silver dragons. (I still remember this
one annoying friend CONSTANTLY badgering me at the lunch table with ridiculously banal questions like, "who
would win in a fight, Lord Soth on a green dragon or Fizban on a gold?") Never mind that fantasy "authorities"
and "purists" would snicker at the notion of rating Dragonlance on the level of Tolkien or David Eddings; the characters
and themes in Chronicles and Legends resonated in our hearts and took on greater meaning than anything else
we had read in the fantasy world. And in terms of sheer fun, humor, entertainment and readability, Chronicles and Legends beats
the living tar out of Tolkien or any of those other stuffy fantasy books we're all expected to automatically
worship. How many of us would, if given the chance,
drop everything in our current lives and head off to join the original Heroes of the Lance on
an adventure? Twelve years removed from when I began reading DL, I would still jump at the chance.
You kidding? To see Raistlin cast a magic spell in real life, or Tasslehoff (back when he was cool and had
an attitude) piss Flint off with his classic verbal jabs? You think I'd miss that?! The DL books that Weis and Hickmann have written since Legends, while all pretty damn readable and
entertaining in their own right, only offer the reader brief and scattered impulses of the magic that
flowed throughout Chronicles and Legends. Despite the severe distortion of the personalities of our
favorite characters in "Dragons of a Summer Flame" and the foolishness of ridding Krynn of its gods
and magic, we read these post-Legends DL books mainly because they offer us flashes and glimpses of
our beloved original Heroes of the Lance, most notably Tanis, Caramon, Raistlin, and Tasslehoff. We cling
to the relatively few passages that feature their exploits in these books, savoring every moment like a
precious visit with a faraway companion who used to live next door. In the end, though, we have to recognize that our companions have moved on, for better or for worse. Any
small chance they had for meaningful adventures after Legends was destroyed by aging them and changing the focus
to their children, whom, except for Palin, lack any real magnetism or appeal. Of course, you can't blame
Weis and Hickman for wanting to bring in some fresh faces--poor Tanis and Caramon needed rest after the
end of Legends, not to mention Tas, who inexplicably gets called upon to save the world two more times and
unavoidably loses much of his spunk and zeal in the process. The great thing about "Dragons of a Fallen Moon" is that it thoroughly retires all of the original Heroes and
leaves a world that is awash with potentional for new adventures, heroes, wars, magic, etc. This is the
Krynn we need in a post-Heroes of the Lance era. Yeah, it's probably safe to say that the Heroes' exploits will
never be matched, but isn't that the way we want it? In the meantime, Dragonlance has a new direction and we could
see some great books come out in the next few years, especially if Wizards (or whatever the hell the new publisher is called)
sticks with winning writers. Richard Knaak coming out next year with a minotaur trilogy to take place immediately after the
end of the War of Souls is a good omen.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Ending to a Great Series
Review: Weis and Hickman give this series a well thought out ending. The book did seem to take a while but it did end with a pretty logical ending. To balance out evil good had to sacrifice itself. This has no "disappearing storyline" but a strong storyline. I thank Weis and Hickman for keeping me entertained through all nine books.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Dragonlance
Review: I felt this trilogy as a whole was rather disappointing, espicially compared to Weis and Hickman's other fantastic works, where they havent set a foot wrong. This book was the worst in a disappointing trilogy. The tried and true format of the earlier Weis and Hickman novels is thrown out in favour of a narrative that instead of mainly sticking to a single band of heroes, instead jumps all over the place, sometimes between 4 major groups at once. This aside however, the other problems are terminal. The new characters are one dimensional and unlikeable on the whole. When Flint dies in DoSDi must admit that i came close to crying. When one of this sorry cast died (dont want to give away anything) i felt nothing at all for him. Aswell as this the characters that return from earlier novels are at some points almost laughably out of character, as a side note to this i would almost suggest that anyone who is a big fan of Dalamar not read this book all. He is so sickeningly out of character that it made me not want to go on. To add to this the ending was exceedingly weak, and not worth reading the book for. All in all this novel fails to make the grade and reads like a 2nd rate attempt by a poor debut writer rather than Krynn's 2 most experienced authors. Unless you are desperate for some sort of ending after the other 2 books in this trilogy, i would steer clear of this.
Rating:
Summary: A let down.
Review: After reading the first two books in the War of Souls series, I was eagerly awaiting the third and final installment. I should have waited a while longer. At least the feelings of yearning and anticipation I had then was better than the sense of disappointment and loss I have now. Suffice it to say that (without giving away too much) the ending of this series did not follow through on the set up. It was as if they wrote the first book with one ending in mind, then forgot it somewhere along the way and finished the series with another vision. The book feels rushed, as if written at knife point, and beloved characters from the past (Raistlin, the Draconian Doom Brigade, etc) are tossed in without any sense of real purpose or direction. I found myself longing for the end just to get finished. Maybe Weis and Hickman wrote it feeling the same way.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Fantastic Weis & Hickman, unresolved ending
Review: I enjoyed this series immensily but was rather disappointed in the ending. It was anti-climatic compared to the build up the series wove. Specifically, Raistlin is returned to the book but more as a teaser as we don't get to see him in any action magical or otherwise other than a guide. Tasslehoff again goes out of character at the end rather than have him solve problems, kender-wise. I could bring up other examples including Dalamar, Palin and Odilia acting out of character but I hold these to save some of the book. Just remember alot of the characters in this book don't get resolved. For future readers, I say enjoy the ride there, because the destination will lead you feeling rather disappointed.
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