Before the Mask (Dragonlance Saga, Villains Series, Volume 1)

Rating:
Summary: Before the Mask - hautingly beautiful
Review: The first two words that come to my mind when I think of Beforethe Mask are:hauntingly beautiful. That probably sounds weird, butit's the best way I can think of to describe it. It created imagas both horrible and wonderful. True, there was not as much action and adventure as in most DL books, but over all, I loved it. It did what it was supposed to do - show how Verminaard became so twisted and evil. They created the perfect story line (I really enjoyed how they tied Verminaard and Ember together, creating a strange love/hate relationship between them). The Voice was really creepy, always hiding in the darkness, waiting to distort the way Verminaard thought. If you want a book with tons of action, adventure, and magic, then this isn't for you. But if your looking to read a book that's all around dark and gothic and very well written, consider this a must. Loyal DL readers should read it to.

Rating:
Summary: Strong Start. . . but a downhill journey
Review: This book had a lot of promise and potential but any experienced reader can tell that the writer rushed the ending and left to many items poorly explained. Verminaard was not the Fearless warrior that I had pictured him to be at first (which gave me a low opinion of him from the first confrontation). It was only when he was consumed by evil did he fight without fear. It wasn't horrible but it could have been a lot better.

Rating:
Summary: Strong Start. . . but a downhill journey
Review: This book had a lot of promise and potential but any experienced reader can tell that the writer rushed the ending and left to many items poorly explained. Verminaard was not the Fearless warrior that I had pictured him to be at first (which gave me a low opinion of him from the first confrontation). It was only when he was consumed by evil did he fight without fear. It wasn't horrible but it could have been a lot better.

Rating:
Summary: Not the greatest, but not bad.
Review: This book really didn't get going. It seemed things were just thrown on top of each other. It is an acceptable boog for the begning of Vermnard's life, but it could have been alot better. Plus, It is kind of hard to get into a character if you know he is going to fail and die.

Rating:
Summary: The tradgedy of Verminaard
Review: This book tells the tale of the life of Verminaard, the Dragon highlord of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I have to say that I liked this book, to a degree. It starts very slowly and I had a hard time keeping focused during the boring beginning. But the book does pick up and become more interesting when Verminaard begins to fall from grace. The characters aren't the greatest, but the the ending is good. I see this book as a regular Greek tradgedy. Many people die and Verminaard cannot be saved from the hand of evil. But the most sad thing was that through this story, the Dark Queen gets her revenge on Huma. I won't say how, but to a person who's first Dragonlance novel was the Legend of Huma, it can seem really devastating. Read it, and you might enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: DragonLance????
Review: This is absolutely the worst DragonLance book I have ever read. It is confusing and there isn't much of an apparent plot. I am probably one of the biggest DragonLance fans ever and I buy everything that has the DragonLance logo on it simply because I like to collect the stuff. Unless you are like me and buy it because it says Dragonlance, do NOT buy this book. It has no literary value whatsoever. If I were TSR, I would be ashamed to have DragonLance on its cover.

Rating:
Summary: DragonLance????
Review: This is absolutely the worst DragonLance book I have ever read. It is confusing and there isn't much of an apparent plot. I am probably one of the biggest DragonLance fans ever and I buy everything that has the DragonLance logo on it simply because I like to collect the stuff. Unless you are like me and buy it because it says Dragonlance, do NOT buy this book. It has no literary value whatsoever. If I were TSR, I would be ashamed to have DragonLance on its cover.