The Gates of Thorbardin (Dragonlance: Heroes)

Rating:
Summary: An exceptionally well told story!
Review: I hope that Mr. Parkinson will write many more Dragonlance novels. While his characters weren't too developed, they were also not overkilled with detail (such as the details of 4 generations of their families, etc.). The story itself ran smooth as silk, no contradictions in itself, just the right amount of humor too.

Chane Feldstone, an orphan dwarf with no traces of his lineage, has a dream. Not like that of great men, but a dream that reoccurs constantly about an old helmet. He loves a dwarven woman who's father hates him (such as in-laws are, lol), and when Chane reveals that his dream is actually fate calling him... her father plans to have him "taken care of"... thus beginning Chane's quest and his adventures. Along the way he meets 'Chess' a kender, Bobbin- an insane gnome (you'll understand when you read it, lol), a human that goes by Wingover, and some others... then along the way Chane and his friends have to face armies of a Highlord (goblins, Hobgoblins, and a few Ogres).

The whole "concept" in the synopsis of "uniting Thorbardin" is barley skirted upon... instead its about the finder of Grallen's helm bringing Thorbardin to a time that it once was...

Very descriptive in battles, features and other things, and the combination of Kender and Gnome (insane remember) is a thoughtful added spice of humor. I highly recommend this book to Dragonlance fans.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Volume 2....
Review: I own the Heroes books from when there was two three-volumes series: Heroes I and Heroes II. Needless to say, the books in Heroes II built upon the books in Heroes I. Anyway.... This book was written to build on 'Stormblade,' which is a very sad book. 'The Gates of Thorbardin' kept me interested until the very end; I truly enjoyed this book.

It is a very interesting story that combines a dwark, a kender, a gnome, and a human. Although the kender in Volume 2 was irritating, this one was funny. I am pleased that I bought this book, and I enjoy occasionally rereading this book. The characters are well-place and well-written. The storyline seems to actually have a purpose.

I reccomend this book to all, but it doesn't make a good book with which to start the Dragonlance series. Try the 'Chronicles' books first; that trilogy started this whole thing!

Rating:
Summary: Blah
Review: I was disappointed with this book because I was expecting it to be as good as Stormblade, which it was not. I could definitely see Dan Parkinson's Western (as in "spaghetti" and "wild") influences from the moment the story began. This lent a different feel to the book than the other Dragonlance books that I have read. Parkinson's descriptions of place were very detailed and interesting to read. The main character was hard to get into, and I found myself hoping that this would be a story that ended with the good guy's untimely demise. Oh well. Can't have everything. Read Stormblade instead.

Rating:
Summary: Gates of Thorbardin (Dragonlance Heroes, Volume 5)
Review: In my opinion this book has problems from the get go. The main character of the book, Chane Feldstone seems very hard to get into, and I believe if it wasn't for his supporting cast, this book would be unreadable. The kender, Chess, while not Tasslehoff, is always a good edition to a Dragonlance book, providing a fun-loving aspect to any story. Jillian, the dwarven woman, is annoying as far as I can tell, but even she adds good depth to the story. Wingover, the human (ranger i think), at times i believe adds to much to the dourness of the dwarves. (DL Fans, wasn't the name Wingover used in Darkness and Light for one of the gnomes that went to the red moon with Sturm and Kitiara?).
All in all I find the book difficult to get into, and though I was not a big fan of Stormblade until the 3rd time I read it, I believe that to be a much better book.
I believe this to be only good for completionists who absolutely must read every Dragonlance publication that comes along, or dwarf fans, who would like to know a bit more about the mysterious Thorbardin.

Rating:
Summary: Should Have Been a 5 Star Book
Review: This book was great!

The frist chapter kinda dragged on. It does begin with the hero of this book "Chane Feldstone" about to kill a panther who has been chasing him through the wilderness outside "Thorbardin".

Despite the action sequence right in the very begining, it took the book about 3 chapters to get good. This book was a great page turner after that. You almost couldn't wait to see what was gonna happen next...

Now, the reason it was a 4 star and not a five was (1) The beginging that I allready mentioned.. and (2) The ending. No Im not gonna give that away, but, Despite this being a great book, the ending left an opening for a sequal. Thats ok, not great, but the way it ends leaves allot of questions, which is bad.

Overall this was a pretty good book. Depsite the Flawed Beingings and Endings, I enjoyed this book and and Really looking forward to the sequal. If your a DL fan, dont miss this one, but look out for the stuff I've talked about, but if you are new to the Dl Saga...Don't start with this one.