Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not fantastic
Review: I found the book to be fun to read, and basicaly liked it. However the second half wasn't as good as the first. And I saw no logical reason why the girl loved the guy or why he would like her. Also the relationship between the whipping boy and the prince fell flat once they reached adulthood. Overall I would say a fun read, but not their best.
Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic introduction to an exciting new world!
Review: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have been telling stories of fantastic worlds for over 15 years. WELL OF DARKNESS gives us another kind of world, where the Tolkienesque races and concepts are not quite what we'd expect. Elves are concerned with honor, face, and distrust magic. Orks are a sea-faring race whose superstitious predictions have an eerie habit of coming true. The gods, who take such an active role in the worlds of Dragonlance and Rose of the Prophet, are distant and uninterested in this new world.This is a story of love, loyalty, and difficult choices. Gareth is brought to Vinnengael as the Whipping Boy for young Prince Dagnarus -- and fills his role both literally and figuratively, absorbing the emotional impact of Dagnarus' choices while the Prince grows more selfish and ambitious. Gareth is torn between his love for Dagnarus and his admiration for the king's oldest son, Helmos. The two princes become polar opposites--Helmos striving for ideals impossible in the real world, while Dagnarus becomes increasingly amoral in the pursuit of his own goals. This book is slightly darker and a bit more political than some of Weis and Hickman's other efforts--but this book stands out as one of the best fantasy novels in recent memory. The world is fully realized, from the gardens of the elves to the waterfalls of Vinnengael, with characters who are not black and white--but rather varying shades of grey. Readers will each put this book down with a different view of the characters and events described, and may find themselves drawn back to read it again to understand how chance, fate, and choice lead to the novel's unsettling conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: First New Fantasy Series in Ten Years
Review: The Sovereign Stone novels and RPG products were created from a world designed by fantasy artist Larry Elmore. One day, Larry sat down and told Tracy and me a story about a world where paladins fought soul-stealing knights of evil, ork pirates roamed the seas, nomadic dwarves set out to conquer the world, elves held to strict codes of honor and duty, humans of all races and colors came together in peace and fought each other in war. This first book details the rise and fall of Dagnarus, Prince of Vinnengael, a man of lofty ambition who will fight the gods to achieve his desire. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at mweis@sovstone.com.
Rating: 
Summary: The Renaissance Of Void Magic
Review: Well Of Darkness, the first book of the Sovereign Stone Trilogy, is yet another fantastic foray into grand world-building by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The authors' previous worlds, in books like The Death Gate Cycle series, were constructs of enchanting architecture and unsurpassed wizardry and Well Of Darkness is no less a contender in this respect. In the book the time-honoured humans, elves and the dwarves co-exist with the superstitious Orken on the world called Lorem. The complexity is heightened given the schemes and conspiracies rampant among the elf and human races which build up to betrayal, war and the unchaining of dark and magical forces which eventually destroy much of the human civilization by the blackened prince, Dagnarus.
The setting, action and intrigue go a long way in giving the book a rich texture, but flaws in character development and questionable reactions - an elf who abandons his post at the height of victory, an army commander who uses his reserve forces to quell fires instead of fighting invading enemy forces or a cunning prince who is amazed by a magus' most elementary magic - are the book's major shortcomings.
Well Of Darkness is appealing enough to stand tall among books of fantasy and invite the reading of book two of trilogy, but will never be considered the authors' magical high point.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable,unorginal
Review: I discovered Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman when I was 14 and read the Dragonlance Chronicles. I have read every single book of them since. And I have noted a downwards trend since the dragonlance chronicles, but this is the worst of all of them.
For me it started with Dagnarus. I mean how many 9 year olds do you know that act like that? Is this an example they want to have for their kids or something? Do they want their own kids to act like that? This book was so predictable. I could see it coming a mile away. Especially the part, where Helmos letting his brother go because of his father's dying wish. That's not original fantasy. That's stupid fantasy. It seems that Weis and Hickman seem to delight in writting about books where the evil characters are strong and enduring and where there has to be a "balance". And where good and likeable characters like Gareth become perverted and evil. When I read a book, I went to be entertained and have a good feeling about it when I finish it. I hated the end, and I hated the book. This is the last Weis and Hickman book I'll ever read, my love affair with them is over. It would seem that they became just like Patch.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely not their best work....
Review: I have to say I agree with some of the other reviews here that say this is not classic Weiss and Hickman talented writing.
The basic premise is to follow the lives of the evil prince, Dagnarus, and his wimpy whipping boy Gareth (Patch). You are also subjected to ho-hum sibling rivalry between Dagnarus and his good brother Helmos. This has been done time and again and definitely been done better. Throw in a valuable artifact, a diamond pyramid called the Sovereign Stone. Who will own the Stone in the end? There is also an introduction to the dwarven, Elven and Orken politics and their ways of life. LOTS of history lessons. These are actually a bit different than the norm but not enough to make a difference in a way that I actually cared about. Maybe I'm a purist, but I like the good old definitions of those races. If you want to make new race traits, why not just make new races? Oh, that's right, it's because they are making this with the debut of a pc/roleplaying game. Probably one of the reasons the writing is so stilted, it is not based from their own creations.
To be fair though, I enjoyed it enough to start reading the second in the series and I find myself to be more entertained by the second book. Therefore, I will be reading the third. However, I will check them all out of the library. Also remember, Weiss and Hickman at their worst are better than a lot of fantasy writers at their best.
I really do enjoy the work of Weiss and Hickman, but if you want to see them at their best, read the Dragonlance or Deathgate series.
Rating:
Summary: Good start to a promising fantasy series
Review: Weiss and Hickman have written some wonderful fantasy novels before this series but they have also had a few misses as well. I am happy to say that this series (at least the first book as it's all I have read so far) is in the former category. It's not your typical fantasy novel in the sense that all the races are "redesigned", example; while elves are still long lived they procreate fast and are a warlike culture, Orken (Orcs) while still "barbaric" seeming are mostly found on the Ocean sailing, and Dwarves are all accomplished Horsemen and roam the land.
The story is fairly standard fantasy fare, complete with Gods, Mages, and magic stones but Weis and Hickman make the characters interesting and the villians even more so. Everything is not so black and white in the world and you never can tell which way things are going to fall. I recommend this book to all fantasy readers out there. While it's not groundbreaking and isn't in league with G. R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, it is a good read. I am pleased Weis and Hickman are still into world creating and not clinging to Dragonlance (although I do so love when they dip back into it as all other Dragonlance authors stink...)
Anyways, I liked it and you probably will to.
Rating:
Summary: Really awful - I'm disappointed
Review: I've read nearly all of MW&TC's classic books: Darksword, Rose of the Prophet (probably in my top 5 series ever), etc. I took a break from reading for a few years, but this year I read the George RR Martin Saga - Song of Fire and Ice - on a friend's recommendation. My love of reading was rekindled; what a great, great series with brilliant plotting and characterization, and above all: writing style. Last week I just went to the library to try out a new MW&TC book while I wait for George RR's latest, and picked Well of Darkness up. I'm not sure if its the fact that I've just read an incredibly skillfully written trio of books, or that MW&TC are totally off their game, or even that they were never very good to begin with, but everything points to this book being simply awful. I couldn't finish it, and I finish almost everything. I won't illuminate the storyline in this review - if you want to know who the characters are, what they do, etc. read the book. The problems are numerous. The first is too much wordy, poorly written narration. Much of the time we are told what Prince Dagnarus or Gareth do or say, rather than reading the actual dialogue. In other words, it reads like a history book, rather than a work of fiction. And when MW&TC do deign to write some actual dialogue, it is laughable. Do people really talk this way? The way the characters are written reminds me of stuff I did high school creative writing - amateur. It seems like the authors don't have a very clear vision of what the characters should do or say. Very inconsistent and above all inconsistent with quality of writing I remember from past MW&TC books. The narration has a tendency to jump all over the place. In one chapter we are treated to a very boring exchange between the Prince's tutor and his wife, and the very next paragraph stuffs in totally irrelevant narration regarding the whipping boy Gareth. All in all, after reading one particularly poor bit of dialogue, '"The well-fed dog eats tamely from one's hand," observed Silwyth suddenly from the window. "The starving dog will bite off that hand. That is an elven saying."' I put down the book in disgust. This is the dialogue that a high-blooded, intelligent, 100+ year old elf is spouting? "That is an elven saying." ? What completely wooden and talentless garbage. I wouldn't waste your time with this. Maybe the next books in the trilogy improve in quality, but personally, my reading time is to precious too squander on whole series' of books that just might get better.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning of one of their best
Review: If you like their work you will love this trilogy. I was unable to put the second book down and was sorry to finish the third. I did not want the epic to end. One of their best!
Rating:
Summary: Really Good Book
Review: I've got only two small nits with this book. First, the characters seem to be somewhat stilted in behavior. However, it's very possible this is just a function of the genre. It's not all that bad, but it is noticeable. Second, throughout the book, Good is usually depicted as being somewhat stupid, and Evil is not necessarily portrayed as bad, but instead is portrayed as somewhat clever. I guess it's a philosophical difference between me and the authors (or what they're trying to do with this series). Overall, though, the book is still very well done. I enjoyed it.
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