Rating: 
Summary: 3 and a HALF stars
Review: I read this book, and the rest of the series when it first came out and I was about 14 years old. (About 10 years ago I think). Back then, I thought it was the best series ever, etc etc. Now that I am re-reading it, I see it in a different light. I love the overall story, and the journey that the elves and humans take together, both literally and figuratively, is great to read. I enjoyed learning how this "World of Fire" worked, and was fascinated by the concept that everyone lives in the treetops (except the dwarves) Like the first book, this book was interesting and intriguing. The mystery that takes up most of the series gets deeper here and I was always eager to learn more. My biggest issues though were two fold: first, the end of the book was heavy with exposition. It fit the story, but I felt as though everything was just dumped on me in the last 10 pages. Everything is explained in a few pages in a very direct and straight-forward manner. Haplo literally walks into a room and summons the spirits of those long dead to explain all the mysteries of this book. Secondly, I was disappointed in how the humans and elves were basically shoved off to the side near the end of the book. I was enjoying their journey to the Dwarven Kingdom and the journey home. But once they get there, they become much less important and I don't really get the closure with them that I was hoping for. My memory could be wrong, but I seem to recall that they are only briefly mentioned later in the series, but not actually part of the story. Zifnab's character is a mixed bag for me. I've read most of the other Weis and Hickman books, and am well aware of his role in those books. I got a kick of his jokes and references to Gandalf and Raistlin and even Star Wars, but I did feel it was a little TOO out of line for this story. Again, I don't remember how much of a role he plays later in the series, but I think he returns with the same type of role. In Dragonlance, he had an explanation: he was one of the "Old Gods". But in this series, he's just an all-powerful, crazy man and never acknowledged as a god or anything else. It ruins it a bit for me, but I got over it faster than I thought I would. In the end though, I liked this book and I am looking forward to re-reading the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: The hit that addicts you
Review: I see others giving low ratings to this splendid novel becausethey do not know where it "goes" or it doesn't"explain" enuf. It may seem open-ended through the first 4 books, but the series falls together so wonderfully that you will find it worth the reading. After reading this book, I knew I was hooked. This is a well written, suspensful, and creative story that really entangled me in the lives of the characters. Fizban, um Zifnab, was splendid humour, and of course his dragon, Haplo and his dog, etc. And about me? Future children? Aleatha and Paithan! What an honor to be named after such a wonderful novel. So stop reading this and star reading Elven Star!!!!!! Peace
Rating:
Summary: This book was AWESOME!!!
Review: I think it was a grat book, even though some people didn't seem to like the fact that Zabnif was in it. The ONLY thing (and it's a VERY small only) i find wrond with this book is that I couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the world. Was it a largew amount of worlds or what?
Rating:
Summary: Good side dish while waiting for Jordan... ^_^v
Review: I went throught the whole trilogy of this one while waiting for Book 8 of wheel of time, and let me tell you, after reading this trilogy, I didn't care much how long Jordan would take to get to book 8. This piece by the duo really got me into fantasy, yeah before this it was only Narnia n The Dragon Reborn, Tolkien was later, but honestly Tolkien made me ZZZzzZZZZ most of the time until I watched the movie recently( to much landscaping in my opnion of ze book ) Anyways The Death Gate Cycle was new to me, runes, and I mean serious runes. The construct of every detail was very original in my opinion, with the laws of the four worlds, its people, their mentality, the scenarios, the plots, the evrything... and how two characters with a past survived it all only to realise that it was all a mistake their own kind created out of misuse of power, and at the same time not playing their part as... demigods? this book is trully about responsibilities of power and thingking beyond the veil of the past. It was fun going through the whole series and witnessing how the two main characters evolved... yup I consider Hugh The Hand was another plus only to bridge the plots properly. You'll see how easily he evolved to that point in the final book. Basically if youre into those intriguing "...whats happens next.. ?" thingy and having your heart beat at differant rates during the read, then this is a good catalyst. I could understand why some would not understand the certain why's you might find from the reviews before this, but to highlight properly the reason... The duo expects you to experiance the situation... "what would u do if u were in the labirynth.. ?" huhuhu, I doubt if u don't piss in your pants just thingking of its consequances. Trully a great one for simple me, and glad the series is finally over coz I could read from 1-7 without a pause. Recommended for first timers who enjoy fantasy, but for those who consider Tolkien as the bible or the masterpiece beyond anything else... ermmm... like i said, this is just that extra cookie you're tempted to try but unfortunately said to yourself... " I'ld prefer the apple pie" ... heheh never know till you try, and I haven't regretted not choosing the apple pie. After that, I ate all sort of cakes and enjoyed em' all. The good side of not being to attached to one menu ;-) hihihi
Rating:
Summary: Gotta read it!!
Review: I'm a starter in the Fantasy genre, and let me tell you, this is a pretty good welcome home party! I haven't read the first one in the Death Gate Cycle yet, but the author does a good job of filling an amature in. You don't even have to read the first four books in order! I really enjoyed this book, and I suggest it to both green-backs and seasoned veterans in this field
Rating:
Summary: Extremely underrated!
Review: I've always felt this was the best book of the series (and that alone says something!). It is quite different from the other books (which is why some may not like it), but is very gripping. A real masterpiece that is very tragic but also contains great action and humor. The setting is also quite unique.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely underrated!
Review: I've always felt this was the best book of the series (and that alone says something!). It is quite different from the other books (which is why some may not like it), but is very gripping. A real masterpiece that is very tragic but also contains great action and humor. The setting is also quite unique.
Rating:
Summary: Elven Star and Zifnab
Review: I've been a great fan of fantasy series ever since I was a little kid, and like many, after reading the Lord of the Rings and going through many other series, I could never find anything that matched Tolkien's epic trilogy (Jah rest his soul, thanks to his story, RPG's were created). I was recommended the Death Gate Cycle, and by the time I was fifty pages into Dragon Wing, I was hooked in every way of the term. When I got to Elven Star, it was a bit rough at first to get used to an entirely new world and characters, but after going through the first few chapters, I was even more hooked than I had gotten to Dragon Wing in the first place. Elven Star is a masterpiece of fantasy, bringing together not only great plot and character development, but mostly an element that Tolkien himself included in his works but other authors failed to bring about in other fantasy series: humor. I will not start to summarize these stories and characters, as any given information would be a spoiler to the beautiful world of Pryan that awaits Elven Star's readers. Though I could only give 5 stars because that is the limit, I'd give this book an extra 6th one simply because of the presence of Zifnab, my personal favorite character of the Deathgate Cycle. Though some may not enjoy the fun style of this book, Elven Star is as perfect as every other book in the series, though I'll go ahead and say it is the best, just because of that crazy old Zifnab.
Rating: 
Summary: 2nd Book in a Very Good Series
Review: In all probability, people who read the first of the Death Gate Cycle books and like it, are going to want to read all of the books in the series (regardless of any flucutation in the individual books' ratings). Ditto for the reverse: if people don't like the first book, then they're probably not going to want to read any of the other books in the series. Thus, instead of individual book ratings, I've rated the whole series and given a short blurb on any specifics for each book. Overall, this is a very good series. The authors were amazingly creative in coming up with this concept and the books are well-written, extremely interesting, and internally consistent (mostly -- see below for some exceptions). I highly recommend this series of books for everyone. My comments for the indidual books follow: Vol. 1 -- Dragon Wing: This book covers the exploration of Arianus: the realm of Air. It introduces us to the two main characters (Haplo and Alfred) and many of the recurring characters throughout the series. It's a well-paced, well-written book that's an excellent reresentation of what to expect in most of the rest of the series. Essentially, if you like this book, you'll like the other six books. If you don't like this book, then there's no sense in reading any of the others. Vol. 2 -- Elven Star: This book covers the exploration of Pryan: the realm of Fire. Alfred is entirely missing from this book, and Haplo isn't really the centerpiece. Instead, the book is mostly written from the perspective of the mensch and of the newly introduced (and recurring) Zifnab. The one possible weakness in the book is that Weis/Hickman wrote it such that the structure of Pryan itself is more of a mystery than Arianus was in the first book. Vol. 3 -- Fire Sea: This book covers the exploration of Abarrach: the realm of Stone. Once again, both Haplo and Alfred are present. The characters and areas presented in this book are key elements for the entire series. An interesting book, but not a very happy one at all. Vol. 4 -- Serpent Mage: This book covers the exploration of Chelestra: the realm of Water. Both Alfred and Haplo are on this world. But, for the most part, they follow separate plot lines. There's a lot of action taking place throughout the book and Weis/Hickman introduce some actual Sartan (besides Alfred). They also bring in an ancient evil to balance the ancient good introduced in the previous book. The most irritating thing about this book is that it ends in a cliff-hanger. The previous books tied up their worlds' activities fairly nicely. Not so in this book. It ends at a very inconvenient spot. Vol. 5 -- Hand of Chaos: This book returns Haplo to Arianus and the people he met there earlier. Whereas the first four books of the series cover the exploration of the four realms, this book starts the synthesis of the various threads from those books into a movement towards closure. It's a good book, but, unfortunately, it doesn't do anything with Alfred. The previous book left Alfred heading towards a bad end. This book doesn't do anything with that. So, while reading the book, you constantly have this little voice in the back of your mind going "what's happening with Alfred?" Irritating. Vol. 6 -- Into the Labyrinth: This book ranges across just about all of the worlds of the Death Gate. It brings all of the various threads from the other books to a head. Most importantly, it finally does something with Alfred. The unfortunate thing about this book is that it contains a lot of technical errors (or, more specifically, contradictions). For instance, in Dragon Wing, we're told that a person needs to be familiar with an area to use a transportation spell to get to that area. Yet, very close to the beginning of the book, one of the characters uses such a spell without ever having been to her target location. There are also several instances where the characters COULD have used such a spell, but don't. Likewise, there are problems with replication spells. In Fire Sea, Haplo and Alfred use such a spell to replicate enough food for a large group of people. Yet, in this book, no one seems to consider using a replication spell to produce more of some food. But, later on, those same people are using that same spell to replicate weapons. Plus, at one point, Xar uses a spell to just materialize both food and drink for a party. But, if such a thing is possible, why do the Patryns hunt and, apparently, farm in the Labyrinth? Also, the size of the Labyrinth seems wrong. From the previous books, it's taken hundreds (if not thousands) of years for various Patryns to traverse the hundreds of Gates in the Labryrinth. Yet, in this book, from the very beginning of the Labyrinth they can see the results of things happening at the Final Gate. There's also the problem of how people at the center of the Labyrinth would know anything about the Final Gate. Vol. 7 -- Seventh Gate: This is the conclusion of the Death Gate series. Unforunately, I didn't much care for it. Basically, it comes across as being pretty sappy. All of a sudden, Haplo and Alfred are best buds and want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Most of the various threads are tied up adequately (if not very satifyingly). But, the sudden push towards liberal "peace, love, and harmony" is trite. Of the seven books in this series, this one is the least good. Once again, I didn't much care for the tone of this book. But, since it adequatly ties up most everything that needed tying up, I'm not going to downgrade the whole series because of that.
Rating:
Summary: A source of comedy but moreover a pluthera of entertainment
Review: In Elven Star you discover the second brilliantly concieved world in the Death Gate Cycle. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman create the ultimate blend of mystery and comedy. The world is unlike any we've ever perhaps imagianed in our wildest dreams. Everlasting light provides this world with lush growth(understatement). The trees are hundreds perhaps thousands of feet in the sky. The thick moss growing between the trees provide a type of land that the humans and elves live on. Finding the dwarves in areas dug well beneath the moss. Once again the Patryn(Demi-God like magic user) whom you meet in Dragon Wing is exploring the world to find evidence of the Sartan's existance. Instead he finds a new force of great power that challanges even his own. The foreshadowing is excellent, The comedy is unbearable at times,(especially if you've read J.R.R.Tolkien or DragonLance) and once again you find that the need to read on in the series is not an option, its an requirement to satisfy your growing addiction for more Weis and Hickman brilliance
|
