Rating: 
Summary: A good new concept from the best in the business...
Review: It was a hot, stuffy afternoon in late August of last year (2001) when I entered my local book store. I was browsing, looking for something new and intersting to read. I bid my mother good bye and hurried to the Science Fiction and Fantasy section. Low and behold there was something brand new all right. A whole new era of fantasy had entered the book store that day. A brand new work by two of the most innovative authors in the rapidly growing field of Fantasy.
These guys are good. There is no doubt about that. But how would this new, Sovereign Stone Trilogy hold up against the likes of Margaret and Tracy's other works? Would it have a whole new level of world and character detaail and development or would it just be a 'meh, it could have been better' reaction from their thousands of fans. I would think after finishing reading this book after all but one week that it does and more. The characterization is phenomenal! The characters are real! They leap out from the pages and you as a reader become entagled in their daily lives. The story starts off innocently enough, with the main characters being children. We become acquainted with them at an early age and as they grow we grow with them and share their pain, joys, desires and temptations that will later define their fates. The characters are well developed, the story is rich with believable history and traits of the different races that habit Loerem have realistic yet frightening goals that they hope to achieve. This, by far lives up to both fan expectations of where imagination can take you if given a chance. Pick up this series, it is well worth it. You will be mesmerized by the flowing detail in its pages that bring this book to life. If you have never read fantasy this is the best place to start. It represents all that is so enthralling about the genre.
And if you have enjoyed the extensive repetoire of these two wonderful authors than this novel will surely quench your appetite of imagination. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: New world,new adventures,fantastic plot
Review: Ok ok, I am fed up with these two.Will they never something that will be even a tiny weenie bit less than excellent?Of course I should give congrats to Larry Elmore too,for a very intriguing world he has come up with . Loerem is a world with great potential and I will be happy to travel it with Elmore,Weiss and Hickman . (I even wrote a short story taking place in Loerem ,but even I dont like it much :-) ) Oh,and Weiss,Hickman,thanks for the autograph in the book.Rest assured that dragons will ever fly in my dreams!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The worst of Weiss and Hickman
Review: The Well of Darkness falls well below the bar for Weiss and Hickman. Having read nearly all of their other works I can assure you that this book does not even come close to any of their previous works. From the start, the book follows the only character with any real depth, the whipping boy Patch. Unfortunately, Patch's character is such that he is absolutely incapable of standing up for himself or any of his morals when faced with the whims of his playmate, prince Dagnarus. Right in the beginning Dagnarus bullies Patch into doing everything he wants and at every step afterward Patch obeys because "he has already made his choice". This leads to the feeling that Patch is nothing more than a secondary character supporting the distasteful and bland prince. Somehow during the entire story Dagnarus is described as loved and respected by all that see him despite the fact that he seems to be very obviously selfish, disrespectful, uncaring, and eventually evil. He is not even a villain with great intelligence and depth, he simply succeeds at everything he tries to do regardless of whether his conversations with other characters or his plans justify it. The races of the world are all very different from standard fantasy, but the logic behind them and their actions are entirely lacking. The elves (which are the most important of the nonhumans in the story) are described as just as long lived and skilled as always, but also as militant, honor-bound, and with a high birth rate. This leads one to question why they haven't driven the rest of the races into slavery or extermination already. One might think their chivalry would prevent that, but the elves in the story seem to be willing to ignore their morals and honor at the drop of a hat. They loudly proclaim their disgust and hatred of void Magi and soldiers of the Void, but are perfectly willing to follow someone called "Lord of the Void". In the end though it seems that the good guys (which are not the subject of the book) have a powerful well-defended kingdom and good plans that simply have no effect on the events of the story. It truly seems that the authors wanted certain events to happen but could not figure out a way to string them together without completely ignoring racial tendencies and character personalities. Halfway through the book I read the reviews here and assumed that it picked up and became interesting but it never did. I finsihed it primarily so I could feel capable of relaying my dislike of the book. I'm a long time fan of Weiss and Hickman and have a hard time believing this is one of their books at all.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good - but feels too short!
Review: I have read all of Weis/Hickman's work, including most of their solo books as well. "Well of Darkness" is another brilliant piece, showing that even after 15+ years of writing together, this duo shows NO sign of wearing down. This book is Fresh, bold, and VERY thought out. The first half of the book is mostly setup. Yes, it is slow. But, once you get to book to, you will look at all that set up like it's gold. It *really* adds to the story. While lacking action, the first half of the book goes into great detail, taking you along the journey or Dagnarus and "Patch" as they are young boys. This half of the book is really what makes the *entire* book shine. Once you get through it, you realize the true gravity and depth of what you just read. The second half of the book really picks up. With the groundwork firmly in place, Weis/Hickman are free to really get things going. This is where the action takes place. There is alot going on here, it becomes very interesting. The book does things that few books I have read dared to do. One thing I want to mention though, is that the book feels like it was PRUNED... alot. The paperback weighs in at 576 pages... but you feel like it should have been closer to 800. I honestly think that the editors made them chop out a good 300 pages, replaces with a few paragraphs of summary. There were at least 3-4 occasions reading this book where this happened: I would read 3 chapters of setup and foreshadowing, getting all excited for what was building up.. and then then thing I was waiting for is summarized in 2 paragraphs. I don't know if this is intentional, but I was a little let down, I wanted MORE!! Don't let it scare you though, the entire book is good, it just EASILY could have been 800+ pages and still be interesting the entire time. If you like serious, dark fantasy, read this book. If you are coming to this straight from the Dragonlance books... be warned, this is the "new" weis/hickman, much more polished, deep, dark. It's a 4 out of 5 stars, for sure. (sorry, I can only give 5 stars to the "Star of the Guardians" :)) Oh, and painting on the cover... I don't think the artist even read the book. Please ignore it.
Rating:
Summary: Starts slow, picks up steam and blows a gasket!
Review: This well written novel started out with great character development although the plot pacing was rather slow. It laid the groundwork for the motivations and relations among the key characters and also seemed to try to build in much of the background and working of the world itself. While not painful to read I found it difficult in the first part to hold my continued interest (took it in smaller doses) and considered it slightly over written. Thankfully I kept at it and soon into part 2, the story really kicked in and the main characters began fulfilling their obvious yet very interesting (from a potential storytelling standpoint) destinies. It was nice to see the antagonists have some (but not many) redeeming values and to blur the line between villains and heroes - but still to a much lesser degree than Martin's Game of Thrones series. At this point of the story, the book's setting alone would have be enough to fill a trilogy with the possibilities. A world with rival factions (the necromantic void versus the light-bearing, god-faring humans) mixed with four diverse and somewhat-neutral kingdoms all looking out for their own interests was great! Alas, that's where my disappointment arrived. The climax of this setting and it's characters was quickly wrapped up and solved with a high degree of finality that leads me to believe the sequel will take place in a much altered setting in the future. I never really felt that I had the chance to enjoy these great characters in this unique and interesting setting. Overall this is still much to recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for the fantasy reader!
Review: I have been reading this book for about a year taking big breaks for months at a time. I was only taking breaks because I was getting school credit for reading.It has an excellent storyline and plot. The main characters are both easy to relate to as well as realistic. For anyone who enjoys fantasy books should read this one for sure!
Rating:
Summary: Great book but not a paint by numbers.
Review: I have read many things by MW & TH since the time they started modules for D&D back in the 80s. I completed this book in 3 days reading while I was in Non-Comissioned Officer course "just couldnt put it down". It's not a piant by number, as many others have stated it is a bit slow at the start but I enjoyed getting all the background on each character. I was even drawn in by one of the characters I thought would become one of the main characters and was crushed when they disposed of him. It is a book well worth the reading. And for the few that seem to be overly dissapointed maybe you need to step back away from the book and look at it as the new series and type of book that it is.
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Summary: An Aura of Magic
Review: Weis and Hickman, in my opinion, are among the best writing partners I have ever read. This story, like so many of their others, involves believable charactors, wonderful plotlines, and the aura of magic that few other authors can emulate. This story has the potential to be their best story in years.
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Summary: Give it a chance, folks!!!
Review: ...[seemed] to be that people couldn't relate to the heroes of the book. I'm glad they couldn't relate. There are no "heroes", only victims. Victims of an elemental force wanting to be remembered as a rightful part of the whole, using any tool necessary such as fallen priest, a lonely child, a loving King, and a Prince's uninhibited ambition. I LOVED THIS BOOK. It is the first book I've read that shows the COMPLETE origin of its villain and the forces and pains he is willing to release and endure to reach his goal. READ THIS BOOK FOR YOURSELF AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.
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Summary: Standout Novel in Fantasy Field
Review: A brilliant blend of conspiracy, war, philosophy, murder, sex, drama and magic all wrapped up in a neat little package. Yet amazingly enough even while incorporating these Hollywood aspects of entertainment it doesn't lose any literary value. The plot is sensible and enthralling. It is amongst the few books that I have read that manages to use 1st and 3rd person narration successfully to allow the reader just enough information to keep him enthralled but not enough to allow him to predict the plot. It contains multiple twists and turns allowing you to learn exactly what you need to know and feel to get the full effect of the book. Get this book. If you love fantasies, if you're into conspiracies or stories about the human condition this is the book for you. You wont be disappointed! Get it today!
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