The Lake of Death (Dragonlance)

Rating:
Summary: This was a disappointment...
Review: Jean Rabe is perhaps best known in the Dragonlance fan-community for her `Dragons of a New Age' trilogy. The Dawning of a New Age, The Day of the Tempest, and The Eve of the Maelstrom were the first Dragonlance books to come out after Weis and Hickman's Dragons of Summer Flame. Rabe's trilogy ushered the world of Krynn into its new age; the Fifth Age, known as the Age of Mortals. Opinions on these books vary, though none can deny that the changes made to the world were drastic and irreversible. I, personally, was disgusted with what was done to the world I'd been escaping to since I was nine years old. I was horrified by the destruction of Kendermore, and the `Dragon Purge' really irritated me. The writing, however, was quite good. I found myself enjoying Rabe's characters, despite being nauseated by the story. Because of her fantastic cast, I was able to read through all there books without any trouble. However, I could never say that I `enjoyed' them, because... Well, let's face it. Krynn was raped and abused and can never, ever be the same again. Change is good, but the author had trouble with the `global scale' of things. I was very displeased, overall, with these books.

Years later, a new trilogy came out. `The Dhamon Saga', which focused on arguably the main character from Rabe's first trilogy. I picked these books up as they came out with a great deal of hesitation, expecting the chances that I would hate them to be very high. However, I was mistaken. These books, while not the absolute best that I've read, were quite good. Her characters, once again, intrigued me. Her story was original, and -small scale-. No more of those world-changing events she had so much trouble with in the first round... This was a trilogy about a man, not about a world or a grand quest. It was about individual character interactions, progressions, and relationships. It was fantastic, believable, and definitely helped redeem the author's standing in my eyes.

So, when `Lake of Death' came out, I was thrilled. "Yes!" I thought, "Another great Dhamon book!" Wrong. I can't even finish this. It was, quite simply, not worth the money I spent on it. Sure, the story telling is fine. The characters are the same ones I loved before. But the horrible, -horrible- inconsistencies make me want to puke different colors all over the pages. At least then it would be something worth looking at. Despite having written in the Dragonlance world for YEARS, Rabe seems to have forgotten basic Krynn chronology. Sorry, Jean, draconians are NOT `centuries old'. They were created for the War of the Lance, in the year 342 AC. (That's about 85 years before the War of Souls.) Some things just don't even make any sense at all, and left me wondering what the heck Rabe was thinking when she wrote that. Or, what the heck her editor's were thinking. (Compare the description of a certain body of water found in this book to the description of the same lake found in Douglas Nile's new book, `Wizard's Conclave', which hit shelves in June, for an example of this.)

All in all: Jean, I love your characters. I really do. You're a gifted writer, with a lot of talent. (You made me cry over a kobold's death, for god's sake. That character was truly beautiful.) But this book will go unfinished, at least for the time being. I just can't get through it. I've tried. One thing after another make it impossible for me to see it through to its completion. I haven't lost complete faith, but this was a major disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Book by Jean Rabe
Review: This is another fine book, indeed. Jean Rabe has written some of the best of the Dragonlance novels and she does herself proud with The Lake of Death. She's negotiated the many shifts and changes in the world of Krynn with grace and managed to tell exciting stories throughout.

To Ms. Rabe, I say: Way to go!