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Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Book 3)

Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Book 3)

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Engrossing and richly developed
Review: (Review based on the trilogy) It took me a few chapters to become hooked, perhaps more than most books seasoned with thick prose. The language of the author was very eloquent, but almost different. Without being hyperbolic, it was a bit like reading Shakespear in that you must find the rhythm of the writer, but when you do it comes to you in a natural and pleasant fashion.

The characters, especially Mina, are multi-faceted and well-developed throughout the trilogy. I mention Mina because it is tempting to see her initially as flat and unidimensional. But she is not. To demonstrate this, most readers will find themselves rooting for her and fearing her simultaneously. By the end of the trilogy you're concept of her will take another, quite unexpected turn - sympathy or pity. (You'll have to find out why).

I bought this compulsively from a HB bargain bin and it sat on my shelf for more than a year and finally read it when I got bored. I missed out. This has become one of my favorite series and I am willing to try other series from Weis.

This was well worth the purchase and serious fantasy fans should try it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Engrossing and richly developed
Review: (Review based on the trilogy) It took me a few chapters to become hooked, perhaps more than most books seasoned with thick prose. The language of the author was very eloquent, but almost different. Without being hyperbolic, it was a bit like reading Shakespear in that you must find the rhythm of the writer, but when you do it comes to you in a natural and pleasant fashion.

The characters, especially Mina, are multi-faceted and well-developed throughout the trilogy. I mention Mina because it is tempting to see her initially as flat and unidimensional. But she is not. To demonstrate this, most readers will find themselves rooting for her and fearing her simultaneously. By the end of the trilogy you're concept of her will take another, quite unexpected turn - sympathy or pity. (You'll have to find out why).

I bought this compulsively from a HB bargain bin and it sat on my shelf for more than a year and finally read it when I got bored. I missed out. This has become one of my favorite series and I am willing to try other series from Weis.

This was well worth the purchase and serious fantasy fans should try it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The end of the War of Souls
Review: After the slower paced second volume, "Dragons of the Lost Star", I was very suprised at how fast "Dragons of a Vanished Moon" just zipped by. In the final book in the "War of the Souls" series, Mina (who is a little bit of Mohammad, Joan of Arc, and Jim Jones all put together) is preparing for the coming of her One God, who is actually Queen Tarkisis (big shock there, right?). The Solamnic Knights are still unsure of what to do about it all and quarel too often. The Qualinesti elves are exiled and travel through the desert; finally they must ask their distant cousins, the Silvanesti, for help. But Alhana Starbreeze, the Silvanesti leader, is depressed because her weak son, Silvanoshei, will not leave Mina. Yes, there is a lot going on here. "Dragons of a Vanished Moon" has a little bit to say about blind aligence to extreamist religous organizations. There are amazing dragon fights, large scale wars, tense hand to hand fighting. Lots of great action. The characters are pretty well fleshed out, Galdar (a minataur), Gilthis (the Qualinesti king), Gerard (a Solemnic Knight), are the stand out. Tassolhoff Burrfoot is here, and finally makes the hard choice he's been facing all along. And there are special apperences by all the gods (and all their funcions are explained for the first time), Lord Soth (who is finally relesed from his curse), and Raistlin Majere. I only have one complaint with this book; it was edited badly. There are quotation marks missing, words missing (making bad sentences), and wrong or no punctuation marks. But that is a small complaint, really, all things considered.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: more of the same, but poorly edited
Review: I don't think anyone picking up a new Dragonlance book at this point really expects anything too outstanding. Sure, the characters are a little more two-dimensional and the subplots are a little more clichéd than in Chronicles and Legends... but it's still fun to revisit Krynn and see what all the same old characters are up to. For that I'll spend a few dollars and pick up the new trilogy as a break from school/work/etc.

What upset me about this book, and the trilogy in general, is that it seemed like it wasn't proofread at all. First, the books are all needlessly long. With even minimal editorial input, entire chapters could have been removed without impacting the plot at all. So why were they there? One gets the feeling that the authors were being paid by the word. Then, on top of that, there were numerous typos and continuity errors throughout the books that were often so glaring that it was alternately laughable and painful. That kind of carelessness quickly makes an already mediocre book a bad one. The sci-fi and fantasy genres are rich enough now that we can surely find books where the authors and publishers care enough about their work that they actually read it before it goes to press.

The War of the Souls trilogy is fun enough if you're bored, but be forewarned that this is pretty poor writing (even relative to other Dragonlance novels).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The best of the trilogy
Review: I worked through the first two books of this trilogy and it took me a while. They were easy books to take a break from. In fact, after volume two I read four other books before I came back for volume three. This one though, is much better. I read it in three sittings and it left me wanting more. Finally there is more action than talk, more direction than repetitious dialogue and themes. In the other books I could tell what was going to happen, how the battles would go, but in this book I didn't know what was going to happen next and I love that.

No it isn't as good as any of the books in the chronicles or legends, but it ain't that far off. Weis and Hickman juggle many characters, and they do it well bringing many of them together for a final climatic moment which was enjoyable.

This book saved the trilogy for me, and I was getting ready to give up on the future of Dragonlance.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: one of the worst Dragonlance books
Review: If you have read the origial Dragonlance Chronicles you will be disapionted. The current heros have nothing on Heros of the Lance. And the same is true for the villians. Compared to the Chronicles the plot is just about as boring as reading a geometry textbook. If this is your first foray into the world of Dragonlance then please read the Chronicles and forget about this book. This is defenetly not one of Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman's best(infact it isn't even medioker).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dragonlance goes Vegas! The Inuity!
Review: In my youth, I was a huge fan of both Chronicles and (to a slightly lesser degree) Legends. Great characters, great adventures, a lush, vibrant world to sink one's teeth into. To me, it seems that the series post Legends can be usefully paralleled with a popular entertainer during the prime of their career versus their later career (usually in Las Vegas) in which they rehash their old hits over and over again and roll in the dough. (Vegas announcer voice) Remember Tas! Laurana! Goldmoon! The family Majere! How about the Daaaaaark Queen Herself, Takhisis!?! (pause for boos and hisses from the audience) See them all again onstage in the War of Souls! Watch the irrepresible Kender get into all kinds of craaaaaazy mischief in a mostly new environment!

I understand that the authors probably have boat payments to make, so I don't overly resent their tired rehashing. But the whole series is just fried. Has anyone else noticed that monumental, cataclysmic, heaven-and-earth asundering events are occuring in Krynn in 40 year intervals? My disbelief can be suspended when such events occur once per, say, 3-4,000 years, a la Tolkien or the original Dragonlance Chronicles. But this constant one-upmanship, if-it's-bigger-it-must-be-better approach lost me a long time ago.

I hope it's a nice boat.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not many books leave a lump in my throat...
Review: Initially, I had some reservations about this trilogy...I'm not a huge fan of Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and the plot of Dragons of a Vanished Moon seemed to center around him (annoyingly). But along with the story of the tragedy of the elven nations, the metallic dragons' return, the trial of Takhisis, and finally figuring out what the heck had happened to Krynn itself, (and hey, they brought Raistlin back for a bit :) ). What an awesome conclusion to all the confusion that the loss of the gods and the weird moon caused. If you're looking for closure to a lot of unanswered questions, this book gives 'em, Weis & Hickman-style!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Better Dragon Book
Review: So many books out there featuring dragons expect you to make a committment just to get through them, with accompanying maps and glossaries and character lists and the like... I was handed this book without ever having picked up another in the ongoing series and was extremely pleased I was very able to follow the story without having read any of the preceding tales. The action is somewhat cliche with standard fantasy derring-do and evil vs. good and what have you, the magic portions are okay, the creatures are all rather typical and known to us, but what made this book really hold my attention was the delightful use of humor sprinkled liberally throughout the book--especially surrounding the Solamnic knight Gerard and the naively annoying "kender" Burrfoot Tasslehoff. There is a heightened sense of sword and sorcery here that brings a cinematic edge to the tale, but I must admit I was a little lost in the big battle between a Joan-of-Arc type lost soul and a gigantic fire-breathing dragon. The girl's weapon is described a being hardly the length of one of the dragon's claws, yet a teen girl is somehow able to not only pierce what we imagine must be nearly inpenetrable hide with it but also manage to find the dragon's heart and pierce that too... Ah, well...she did have a little divine help in the effort. Aside from that I found the story quite well told and capitivating and will have no hesitation when confronted with another Weis/Hickman title. Good job overall!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GROWTH IS A GOOD THING....NO ?
Review: WAR OF THE SOULS WAS A GREAT SERIES...YES THE STORY LINE WAS DIFFERENT...HAS WHERE SOME OF THE CHARACTERS, WHO SEEMED OUT OF LINE...BUT THAT WAS THE STORY LINE. ALL THE NEW PEOPLE ADDED TO THE WORLD WE HAVE COME TO LOVE AND ADORE, ONLY HELPED IN THE EXPANDING OF "OUR" WORLD ON KYRNN. THINK ABOUT IT IF YOU WILL.....HOW MANY MORE BOOKS DO YOU WANT OF RASTLIN, TANIS AND THAT LITTLE KENDER. THINGS CHANGE, HELL YOU AND I HAVE CHANGED HOW MANY TIMES IN OUR OWN LIVE TIME. I CAN WAIT TO SEE WHERE WE GO FROM HERE, I TRUELY BELIEVE THE NEXT SERIES WILL BE OFF THE CHART. IF YOU DID NOT GET, OR UNDERSTAND THE WAR OF SOULS SERIES....I SUGGEST...AND I MEAN THIS WITH ALL MY HEART...REMOVE YOUR BACK SIDE FROM THE ABYSS...OPEN YOUR MIND AND RE-READ IT FOR WHAT IT TRUELY IS...NOT WHAT YOU WHERE EXPECTING AND YOU WILL GROW TO LOVE THE STORIES.


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