Rating: 
Summary: Great book..but your left with an empty feeling
Review: I really enjoyed this book a lot, but I just wish that the ending would have better. You really get wrapped up in the story-line and as you are nearing the end of the book you find yourself truly hoping that Gilthanas finds Silvara. But once you reach the last page you realize that the story ends right where it began. On the upside though, the plot is excellent and the appendix of this book proves valuabe to anyone who is role-playing using the Fifth Age Rules. Overall, a great book, I can hardly wait for the continuation!
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it... and I recommend it.
Review: I think the first problem is that many seem to be reading this book like it was a novel. It isn't. It's a collection of short stories that share the thread of Gilthanas' quest to first get home to Qualinesti and later find Silvara. I clued into this after the third story/chapter. I think it was a huge mistake that TSR called it a "novella" on the back cover copy. That aside, I think Doug Niles, Steve Miller, and Stan! (weird name that last one) did a great job of giving us insight into the "new" Dragonlance world of the Fifth Age. I also really liked the Knights of Solamnia characters that appeared in the book and how we got to see how they view the world now that that gods are gone. I give the book Three Stars only because I wish there had been more about Silvara in it, eventhough the story in whcih she appears is one of my favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Finally more about Gilthanas and Silvara!
Review: I've been looking forward to reading about these characters for years! Douglas Niles, Steve Miller, and Stan! have delivered in spades, even if I wish there had been more of Silvara. (The one story withher that was included was excellent, however, and made her appearance in "The Day of the Tempest" make a lot more sense.) Other stories I liked were the one in Kalaman, the one with Linsha Majere (I've been wanting to know more about her ever since I read "Citadel of Light"), and the one set in Missing City. The main character of that one was delightfully creepy. The source sections about the locations Gilthanas visited during his search for Silvara are also excellent and I think they should be interesting whether one plays roleplaying games or not. I think both gamers and readers will like this book equally well. (Oh, and the card game included in the back is a lot of fun.)
Rating: 
Summary: Dragonlance novels are slipping...
Review: It has been about one year since I have picked up a Dragonlance novel, the last being "Dragons of Summer Flame." I used to be a huge fan of this series, but I slipped. After reading this novel, I don't think I could have made a better choice. I saw this book and thought that this would be an interesting story, I always wondered what happened to Gilthanas after the chronicles, so I picked it up. The authors of this novel apparently didn't care what kind of story they brought out, as long as their deadline was met. Come on, if you can't write something that meets the standards of the past, don't drop them for money! This book was boring, never really focused on a plot, and basically drawn out. I am in awe how the Chronicles and Legends series kept me in suspense, even at 1,000 pages, but this book had me sleeping by page 30! Keep the standard, or don't write. It's that simple. Don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book, just disapointing.
Review: It was very good and interesting, but it should have been longer. Unless there is a second book to this, it will forever be incomplete.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, Gilthanas gets his due, if not his girl
Review: Reading previous reviews, I have to wonder what sort of Dragonlance fans wrote them. The book itself starts out telling you that Gilthanas and Silvara don't get together, and Weis and Hickman swore to us a long while back we'd not find that bit out anyhow. Granted, the type setter was asleep when they printed this book, and the cover art is the worst I have ever seen on a Dragonlance book. They should have had Larry Elmore, the true artist when it comes to Gilthanas, do the cover, but perhaps it didn't hit the deadline so they had a sixth grader do it for them. And this time Gil's eyes aren't brown (The Chronicles), green (Kindred Spirits), or even hazel (Tales of the Lance), but have become for some unknown reason blue. I have not yet read Dragons of a New Age but look forward to finding out his eyes are gray or violet by then. Still, they start it off as any Gilthanas tale should be started, with a head injury. Our impulsive and impatient elf hero manages to get in his requisite concussions with great style this time. With Gil and his search for his love as a thread, we are then taken through a series of adventures and characters, some new and some familiar, with a mix of emotion and style worthy of our three authors. Gilthanas' complex personality is given more light, and for once, a bit more of an even treatment, than in previous stories where he was only there to move the stories along with tantrums and wounds. As a Gilthanas fan, I was fully satisfied. As for the writing, there are few books, even Dragonlance, which I can't put down. I stayed glued from the opening paragraph until I'd finished it the first night I got it. Then the next morning I picked it up and read it all over again. Of Elves and Adventures is one of the funniest stories I've ever read. As a roleplayer, the Appendix information on places that previously have been only mentions and not places to adventure was both entertaining and informative. I like the new format, and Niles, Miller, and Stan! have delivered on their promise of a great project on my favorite Dragonlance hero. Great work guys.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, not so good continuation
Review: The novel was alright in the sense that it told the adventures like a journal of Gilthanas search for Silvara. I understand why so many of you would be dissapointed at the ending. I could have burned the novel because of it but knew it had to continue elsewhere. Surely, the ratings are unfair because you simply did not have the complete story yet. They do meet and if you're interested go pick up Jean Rabe's first trilogy to find out. I must admit though, it'll be a rough reading as Jean has a different style of writing. A style that does not catch my attention.With that aside and a place to find your conclusion, I recommend the book. The 3 stars is because the conclusion itself (...) and in a sense made the beginning or journal worthless. Jean should have done a better job knowing the ending of Gilthanas story. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Source book, not novel
Review: This book was meant more to fill in parts of Gilthanas' life than to provide an interesting story. It really gave you a lot of information on the life of Gilthanas, which is what it was MEANT TO DO. I believe that Doug Niles did a great job on this source book for the Dragonlance SAGA and ADND campaigns.
Rating:
Summary: Source book, not novel
Review: This book was meant more to fill in parts of Gilthanas' life than to provide an interesting story. It really gave you a lot of information on the life of Gilthanas, which is what it was MEANT TO DO. I believe that Doug Niles did a great job on this source book for the Dragonlance SAGA and ADND campaigns.
Rating:
Summary: Good...but not good enough!
Review: This book was somewhat of a disappointment. The ending of this book was rather abrupt and not satisfactory. I was expecting more of a novel (or at least a novella). Disjointed as it was, I found the story line easy to follow. However, I did not get a sense of closure to the story. It was definitely open-ended enough to encourage a game of D&D, but it did nothing to sate any desire for further understanding of this story. I do hope another novel (or novella) is being written as a sequel to this. The book was well-written, but I would not recommend it to someone who is expecting a novel of Gilthanis' journey to find Silvara. I feel I learned nothing. Gilthanis is still in the same situation as before...
|
