Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance: Chronicles, #2) by Margaret Weis

Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance: Chronicles, #2) Reviews

• 
  Markus

  This is not the rating this book deserves, but I suppose it is the one it needs right now.
  
  All evidence suggests that the old gods are finally returning to Krynn after centuries of exile. The Dragon Highlords and their armies of darkness are marching all over the world, conquering everything in their way. Meanwhile, our band of heroes is split apart in a search for the lost dragon orbs, which may be the key to turning the tide in the war…
  
  Imagine reading a version of The Lord of the Rings where Elrond turns away the hobbits because they’re inferior to the proud elves; where the Council of Rivendell is on the verge of becoming a massacre when every single nation and people claims possession of the One Ring; where Gondor and Rohan go to full-scale war over a petty grievance while the armies of Mordor invade from the east; where the Fellowship is broken apart by constant quarrelling between everyone and everything. Then you can probably understand how frustrating this book was to read.
  
  This second volume of the Dragonlance Chronicles was in many ways a disaster. Almost the entirety of the book was one-star material. There was a huge amount of repetition (with this book repeating both the first book and itself), most of the characters were frustrating on a throw-book-in-wall level (including fan favourites and some of my own favourite characters), and last but not least it was really, really, really, really boring.
  
  And all that leads to even more problems. Even the first book had plenty of weak points. But because of the fascinating parts of that one, I was perfectly willing to ignore them. Unfortunately, those parts are all gone in this book, which in turn makes it virtually impossible to overlook the flaws. Dragonlance is at best mindless entertainment, and when the entertainment is gone, it is, logically, just mindless.
  
  Luckily the book did improve in the end. Weis & Hickman managed to introduce a great character and re-introduce an amazing character. And there is actually a character dying! So far, “death” in this series has been a minor setback where a character is removed from the plot for a short period of time only to return heroically later on. So this was actually a welcome addition to the plot, even though I rather liked said character. These reasons are what made me give the book two stars instead of one, and they also made me quite a bit more hopeful for reading the last book in the trilogy.
• 
  Mayim de Vries

  “I saw two roads stretching before us. If we take the easiest, it will appear the best at the beginning, but darkness will fall at the end, never to be lifted. If we take the other road, it will be hard and difficult to travel. It could cost the lives of some we love. Worse, it might cots others their very souls. But only through these great sacrifices will we find hope.”
  
  The Queen of Darkness and the Warrior constellations are missing from the sky because the gods returned to Krynn and are locked in the ultimate fight of good against the evil. Our protagonists won a battle but they are a long way from winning the war, and it seems that their odds turn from bad to worse. Please note that my rating disclaimer* still holds for the second volume of the Dragonlance Chronicles.
  
  The forces of darkness command armies of draconian and the hosts of dragons, the forces of good are essentially reduced to a band of companions including half-elf Tanis; Flint the dwarf; Sturm, a paladin aspiring to the knighthood in the ancient order of Solamnia; twin brothers Caramon and Raistlin combining the strength of muscle of the former and the power of magic in the frail body of the latter; Tika a feisty ex-tavern girl; an elflord Gilthanas and his sister Laurana (badly infatuated with Tanis); Elistan, a cleric of Paladine, and a cleric of Mishakal Goldmoon with her husband Riverwind, and, last but not least, Tasslehoff Burrfoot of the kenderfolk.
  
  The main argument against the Dragonlance Chronicles, frequently repeated in several reviews, implies that since the whole plot was conceived during a RPG session, it renders the whole thing worthless or, in the best case, it places the series on the level of bad fan-fiction. I’d like to remind you that the
  Malazan Book of the Fallen, which many believe to be the best contemporary epic fantasy, also resulted from hours of game-play between friends. Thus, it is not the about where the ideas of the book comes from, but rather about the idea and how it is executed. The truth is that the Dragonlance Chronicles are badly written. The main characteristic feature of this prose is the absolute abuse of adjectives and adverbs that does not leave a shroud of doubt whether given character is good or evil. All the good ones are gentle, have strong albeit delicate arms, soft and sweet voices, grieved faces, are lithe and delicate with quiet gallantry whereas all the bad ones laugh in an unpleasant way, have sinister looks, rasping voices and so on and so forth. I will be the first to admit, that compared with Malazan the Dragonlance is like a child’s drawing juxtaposed with the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Still, it has it charms.
  
  Arguably, the first book was very character driven and told us how the adventuring party was formed. What do you do once you compose your adventuring party? You break it up, of course (even Professor Tolkien knew that). The companions separate pursuing the new quests; they need to find the dragon orbs – three of those artifacts survived the Cataclysm and need to be recovered if the dragon armies are to be defeated. There is also the mystery of the fabled dragonlance to be uncovered.
  
  While the tale is more plot-centred this time (clumsily, as huge chunks of the story are omitted and readers will be lost, particularly at the beginning of the book, and then again when starting part II), there is still character development, especially when it comes to Sturm and Laurana. We finally get to meet Kitiara (overall, the romance subplots are much more pronounced in this instalment), have the chance to visit fascinating new locations – the elven city of Silvanesti, a city of Tarsis the Beautiful, the gnome mountain of Nevermind, and an ancient tower of Palanthas. You will also, undoubtedly, be thrilled to read about “the first, last, and only time” when Tas was struck speechless and sad to say goodbye to some for whom fighting for things bigger than your life is worth more than life itself.
  
  The Dragons of Winter Nights is my ultimate guilty pleasure: a gripping adventure, not too profound, some melodrama mixed with silly humour and a heart-warming message. You can always ask for more but sometimes this is enough.
  
  
  *Disclaimer: My rating is purely sentimental. Dragons of Winter Night is a read down the memory lane. If I were to rate it on the basis of my current standards and preferences, it would score 3 stars the most.
  
  Also in the series:
  
  1.
  Dragons of Autumn Twilight
  3.
  Dragons of Spring Dawning
• 
  Carrie

  Have you ever had nostalgia for a place you have never been?
  
  Well for me it was nostalgia for a book I had never read before. I don't know if it's because it was written such long ago but reading it made me miss something as well as long for something that I never experienced.
  
  Something I never knew I needed.
  
  The characters are ones you will want to know and want in your life. They can bug you but you love them regardless. Watching them grow and become better versions of themselves will make you happy well it made me happy because I do love good character growth and Dragons of Winter Night has some wonderful growth. I have favorites from Dragons of Autumn Twilight that I still love and some that I have come to respect so much more after the journey that has taken place in book 2.
  
  We have heart and we have sadness.
  Despair and hope,
  New friends and old.
  
  There are moments in this book where my stomach was hitting the floor and my heart was in my throat. Times when I wanted to shake people and times when I was got so excited & giddy.
  
  I cried, I laughed.
  I also felt anger and betrayal.
  
  I adored the first book, and I loved this one even more. The storyline, the cast, the emotions I felt, to the writing it's self.
  
  But I have questions, serious questions and I hope they get answered in book 3. Tanis I'm looking at you!!!
  
  I feel like there is such a web of twists and turns in the making and I'm scared yet excited to find out.
  
  In closing I just wanted to say there is something special about this world, I'm sure
  Margaret Weis &
  Tracy Hickman know that all ready. If not I hope they do. I completely understand why people revisit this world over again, I know I will.
  
  
  Actual rating is a high 4.5 stars so rounded to 5
  
  You can find me @
  I Can Has Books?
• 
  trina

  i read this in secret, because i was embarrassed, but now i am embarrassed that i was embarrassed and basically it's a vicious and hideous neverending cycle of guilt and shame. there are far more important books i could and should be reading. there are works of Great Literature on my shelf, glaring at me balefully while i devour these dragon books like a geeky ten year old boy. whatever, man. anyone who doesn't see the appeal of dragons and adventure and elves and dragons and shit just has no soul. or something.
  
  this one was far better written than the last, though there were still points where i giggled uncontrollably because of the rampant corny cliches. the characters are far better drawn as well, and i am ashamed to say that i actually shed a tear when sturm died. he was a good guy, and so much more fully bad-ass than the whining hero of the story, it's ridiculous. i also stick by my initial evaluation of really liking the kender, who reminds me of me at my annoying best, and the wizard fizban. i, um, am reading the next one mainly to find out what happens to them. the very ambiguous wizard kid is also pretty intriguing, actually. anyway! the third one will be the last one for me. until i move in with chris, because he has like a whole bunch more of them or something. it's like, um, you know, candy is good for your soul!
• 
  Marc *Dark Reader of the Woods*

  If you read this as a teenager and have fond memories and/or nostalgic feelings about it, DO NOT RE-READ. You don't want to spoil that experience now that you have more refined faculties like 'taste' and 'judgment'. The same advice applies to watching The Neverending Story. Sorry, but it's true.
  
  I saw the nostalgic appeal of the first book in its characters. I don't think I would have had the same experience if I tried this second book first (and why would I do that anyway?). Don't get me wrong; I'm totally still Team Raistlin, even if he did, briefly, find happiness in being a traveling circus performer. And Tasslehoff is still delightfully impish and klepto. Flint is, uh, he's seasick. That is it for Flint in this entire book.
  
  It's so, so dreary, except for some late Gnomish goofiness inserted that provided some much-needed levity, but went sharply against the mood of the rest. The plot is scattered. Very. The party splits up, and many of them are abandoned, story-wise, by the end. There are two separate insta-loves that were just the worst. And how about those dragonlances? You know, the things that the entire book series and RPG campaign setting are names after? The things that are way less important to this story than Dragon Orbs? They get thrown in, finally, and basically here's how it goes:
  

  Some PCs: "We have Dragonlances! Hope for all the forces of good against the darkness that threatens us all! We can teach you how to use them! Who wants to learn?"
  
  Everyone: "Nah, we're good."
  
  Later . . .
  
  Some PCs: "We brought Dragonlances to this fortress, the last desperate defense against the invading dragon army! Who will learn how to use them?"
  
  Desperate defenders: "Meh."
  
  Still later . . .
  Desperate defender prime: "A Dragonlance would be a great boon in my upcoming battle to decide the fate of all I am tasked to protect. Alas, I don't know how to use it."
  
  Even later . . .
  
  Multiple defenders finally use the Dragonlances. How? They use them to... stab a dragon. The same as using any lance.

  
  
  My high point in this reading had to be this passage, at the start of 'Book 3', following 250 pages of character misery, nightmares, and depressing quests:
  

  Shadows crept across the dusty tables of the Pig and Whistle tavern. The sea breeze off the Bay of Balifor made a shrill whistling sound as it blew through the ill-fitting front windows—that distinctive whistle giving the inn the last part of its name. Any guesses as to how the tavern got the first part ended on sight of the innkeeper. A jovial, kind-hearted man, William Sweetwater had been cursed at birth (so town legend went) when a wandering pig overturned the baby's cradle, so frightening young William that the mark of the pig was forever imprinted on his face.
  
  This unfortunate resemblance had certainly not impaired William's temper, however. A sailor by trade until he had retired to fulfill a life-long ambition of keeping an inn, there was not a more respected or well-liked man in Port Balifor than William Sweetwater. No one laughed more heartily at pig jokes than did William. He could even grunt quite realistically and often did pig imitations for the amusement of his customers. (But no one ever—after the untimely death of Peg-Leg Al—called William by the name "Piggy".)

  
  
  At this point I was like, what the hell am I reading?
  
  Anyway, I'd better post this photo again of the book being put to good use, since it was my most popular update:
  
  
• 
  Krell75

  Secondo romanzo delle "Cronache di Dragonlance". L'avventura continua.
  
  Questo è stato il mio primo romanzo fantasy. Ricordo di aver scorto la sua copertina in una vetrina di una piccola libreria e come catturato entrai a comprarlo. L'immersione immaginifica che ha prodotto in me, reduce già dei favolosi librogame di Lupo Solitario, ha causato una vera e propria dipendenza dal genere in tutte le sue declinazioni.
  
  Seguire le avventure del gruppo dei protagonisti attraverso le terre di Krynn è stato un bel viaggio. La scrittura, seppur molto semplice e ingenua, è adatta allo scopo di divertire e il legame che si è instaurato con questi personaggi è rimasto inciso in me per oltre 30 anni.
  Tuttora indimenticati.
• 
  Brad

  I have read
  Dragons of Winter Night a number of times since it was first published, and it has always been my favourite of the Chronicles.
  
  This time I just finished reading it out loud to my four year olds. A long undertaking, and one that was necessarily sporadic. Some nights we read, others we didn't, and how much we read was dependent on levels of sleepiness, focus and interest. But it was well worth the effort because my kids loved the story, and I can see it helping to expand their imaginations.
  
  This time through I also nailed down the main reason I love the Chronicles, and why it is still one of the best fantasy series ever inspired by Dungeons and Dragons -- the way in which it undercuts fantasy's usual racial hierarchies.
  
  One of the major problems I have long had with fantasy is the inherent racism that fantasy perpetuates. Fantasy generally entrenches the concept of "good" and "evil" races (which even Dragonlance can't entirely escape), and this, in turn, leads to a hierarchy of races with the Elves as the "superior race" and some of the monstrous humanoid races as the "inferior races."
  
  This scares me. It scares me because when I bring this flaw up in discussion of Tolkien or Lewis or other "great" fantasy writers, people fight me passionately and refuse to recognize that a problem even exists. It frightens me that most people who recognize the issue don't see anything wrong with racial hierarchies in fantasy (usually tossing out the old confection "it's only a story" as an argument). It scares me because all of this also entrenches a frighteningly simplistic vision of good and evil. A black and white world view that simply doesn't exist and makes us capable of evil because we are sure of our own goodness.
  
  But
  Dragonlance makes race an issue, and no race is immune to evil deeds. We have bad knights, bad Qualinesti elves, bad Silvanesti elves, bad and good dragons, heroic but racist dwarves, a bastard half-elf that no one can accept, tribal barbarians fighting through their prejudices towards the civilized world, a lover and friend of the heroes in charge of the Dragonarmies, and a pseudo-evil wizard who saves them all.
  
  There is very little black and white in
  Dragonlance, although it still appears in the forms of Paladine (Fizban) and Takhisis, and unlike other fantasy series -- even the great ones but particularly others in the D&D ouevre (see the Drizzt Do'Urden series) -- it is filled with far more shades of gray.
  
  It may seem like a pulpy little distraction, but the
  Dragons of Winter Night, and the entire Chronicles, is more than that. It is series that can help to shape a new vision of ethics in fantasy literature. And I hope that's something my kids take away from the experience. I will do my best to make sure they do.
• 
  Jim C

  This is the second book of a trilogy and the first book must be read before this one. In this one, we have a little bit of a time jump. The conclusion of the first book was the rescue of the humans by our companions. This one starts off with those humans residing with the dwarves and everything is not okay. Good might have won the battle against evil but the war is far from over.
  
  I have read this trilogy several times and this easily gets a five star rating from me just for the nostalgic factor. I will admit that this book does suffer a little from middle book syndrome but it more than makes up for it with its emotional impact. Seriously, every time I read that finale I get choked up. It might be the best scene in the whole trilogy and it is the one scene I would love to see if these books were ever made into movies. The one problem this book has is that our main companions take a back seat to others. Don't get me wrong. The stories of others are terrific reads especially the character growth of Laurana. It is a departure from the first book as Tanis, Raistlin, and Tas really don't have much character development in this book. But this book does delve into other aspects like racism, love, and politics and it all works.
  
  I am probably being a little generous with my rating. This is still an excellent read after all these years but it might be the weakest book of the trilogy. That being said it put many smiles on my face with the adventures and also kicked me in the stomach with the feels.
• 
  MissBecka Gee

  This book has a lot more melancholy than this first of course, but I still love it!
• 
  Beatriz

  Esta segunda entrega de las
  Crónicas de la Dragonlance supera ampliamente al primer libro. No sólo los personajes se van definiendo y evolucionando (destaco la caracterización de la Orden de los Caballeros), sino que la historia también toma su rumbo propio. A diferencia del primer libro en que daba la sensación que se habían pegado un montón de episodios, sacados de aquí y de allá, y que en su conjunto no convencían, en La tumba de Huma se logra esa consistencia necesaria para sustentar el relato.
  
  Toda la novela mantiene un ritmo ágil, con diálogos muy bien elaborados, momentos épicos muy emocionantes y aventuras que se disfrutan muy bien, algunas un poco predecibles y otras, en absoluto! Se presentan personajes entrañables como los gnomos, especialmente Gnosh y su Misión en la Vida, así como un final digno de una novela de este género, no pude detener la lectura hasta acabarla.
  
  Muy recomendable para los que gustan de la literatura fantástica, aunque obviamente hay que pasar por el primer libro por la continuidad de la historia. Por mi parte voy por el tercer y último volumen de estas Crónicas.
• 
  nat.

  still wonderful to read. great character development. Laurana is my favorite so far, you can tell how much she's grown since the last book. and Sturm... why?!!!!
• 
  Asword

  Continúan las andanzas de los Héroes de la Lanza a lo largo y ancho de Krynn. Más trasfondo, más personajes, más aventuras en su lucha por derrotar a la Reina de la Oscuridad.
  
  Conocemos más y mejor a nuestros protagonistas originales, pero lo mejor es que se le suman otros personajes que o bien ya aparecieron en
  El retorno de los dragones con importancia limitada (para aquí ganar protagonismo), o bien directamente son nuevos.
  
  Aquí voy a destacar a la magnifica Laurana. Si en la novela anterior lo mejor para mí fue la caracterización de Raistlin, en ésta es la evolución de Laurana, la princesa elfa. Al principio la conocimos como una chiquilla consentida, mimada y caprichosa, centrada sólo en el amor, y en ella misma. Aquí vemos cómo poco a poco las circunstancias la convierten en una mujer valiente, luchadora, fuerte, y al mismo tiempo descubrimos cuan inteligente y compasiva puede llegar a ser. Una líder y una heroína. Un personaje enorme que destaca por encima de todos los demás.
  
  Y como digo, en esta novela se van ampliando los límites de lo que conocemos de este universo. De lo que aquí descubrimos, lo que más resalta para mí sería la sociedad de los gnomos y su particular forma de vida, la jerarquía y política interna de los caballeros de Solamnia, y los conflictos y prejuicios raciales de los elfos entre sí mismos y hacia los demás habitantes de Ansalon.
  
  No sé cuantas veces me he leído esta saga, pero sigo encontrando en ella lo que siempre busco: entretenimiento, distracción, fantasía sencilla pero épica y heroica. Leer un capítulo de vez en cuando es olvidarme del mundo real durante un rato.
• 
  Traci

  Okay. Yes, I still love these books. But at the same time I am not blind to their faults. It's like loving your husband of twenty years even though he now has a beer belly, has lost most of his hair, leaves the toilet seat up and chews with his mouth open.
  
  Every stereotype of fantasy is here. Every gaming class. The battles are bloodless. The deaths heroic. And only bad girls have sex. (Although apparently it's fine for male heroes.)
  
  It won't be the best series you've ever read if you're over twelve. (Maybe even younger the way our culture is going.) But in their own way they are one of the most iconic and important contributions to modern fantasy.
• 
  Shobhit Sharad

  3.5 stars
• 
  Laura

  RTC
• 
  Helen

  Why is everyone so down on Raistlin? He consistently saves everyone every time they're in danger. They'd be dead (well, Dragonlance dead, which is dead until they're needed again for the story) 100 times over if it weren't for him.
  
  The raging sexism is also starting to annoy me. It's a fantasy world, why do the elves have to stick to old-school European rules too? Why are all the women appraised on how beautiful they are?
  
  And I really wish the authors hadn't tried to put romance in, it's instalove so badly done it makes me angry. Laurana needs to leave Tanis in the dust.
  
  Last thing I want to moan about - the massive time skips where characters go off and have adventures and come back with wondrous objects are annoying. I think most of them are filled in with later books but it seems like a bit of a cheap way to keep us reading the Dragonlance series. If I hadn't already read the first in the Lost Chronicle series I would have been convinced I'd missed a whole book. I can't imagine how annoyed people who read them in the 20 years before the Lost Chronicle's were published must have felt.
  
  Other than that, these are fun, fluffy fantasy adventures. If you can ignore the fact that they're aimed at teenage boys and were written in the 80s they are good escapism, and I'm finding them a bit addictive.
  
  Like chocolate digestives in book form, these are comforting and fun but not necessarily good for you.
• 
  Ralph Pulner

  This book is a triple layer chocolate fudge cake of Fantasy, with fresh raspberry compote and a side of small batch vanilla bean ice cream. The ice cream has a thin wafer with a sprig of lemon zest.
  
  Everyone stepped up to their destinies and their character shined. Gut wrenching drama interspersed with the right touches of humour to keep the reader from going mad with grief.
  
  The traveling magic show really sat well with me. It was a glimpse of what might have been in a happier time. If there is a William the pig story I will scream!.
  
  
  
• 
  Olethros

  -Continuación de este éxito del marketing cruzado.-
  
  Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
  
  Lo que nos cuenta. Nuestros queridos aventureros de distintas razas, orígenes y personalidades siguen luchando contra el mal. Los detalles son lo de menos, créanme. Segunda parte de la trilogía Crónicas de la Dragonlance.
  
  ¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
  
  
  http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Lesa Divine

  4 🌟
  The adventure continues as the group keep on with their journey with enemies on their tail But picking up others on their way can they be trusted.
  
  Dragons, gnomes, goblin, elves, dwarfs, kenders, mages and more on this journey.
  
  I'm totally going to continue on to book 3.
• 
  Stiby (María MV)

  MADRE MÍA ME HA GUSTADO TANTO.
  
  Son tan cuquis que awwww (Tanis, tú no).
  En serio les quiero demasiado. Ha sido precioso verles felices cuando lo estaban y este libro básicamente ha destruido mi corazón.
• 
  S. Bavey

  This book continues the adventures of the group of friends we were introduced to in Dragons of Autumn Twilight as they fight against the evil Dragon lords who are destroying cities in the land of Krynn. The book is full of positive messages of loyalty, bravery and honor amidst adversity. There is plenty of humour, romance, betrayal, plenty of fantastical beasts and magic. I am looking forward to reading the third book of this trilogy next month!
• 
  LiteraryCat

  The second book in the Dragonlance Trilogy series is a book that can not be put down! The story picks up with the companions after they have escaped Pax Tharkis and killed one of the Dragon Highlords. They fight their way across those country searching for answers to their questions, and find a way to win the war. The companions split up whilelooking for the mysterious dragon orbs and the long lost Dragonlances of children stories. Rasitlin continues to mysteriously get stronger as a strange voice whispers to him. Strum fights for his right to hold the title of being a knight, and Tanis struggles between his love for two women.
  
  As with Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night has a great balance of humor, romance, mystery, action and suspense. While the book may be considered long, it is far from boring. You are thrown into the action from the beginning of the story, while the backstory is being told, just in case you forgot or didn't read Dragons of Autumn Twilight. One of the intriguing parts is the animosity between the races even the sub-races such as the Qualasti Elves, Silvanisti Elves and the Wilder Elves. It helps show one of the pitfallsto humanity and society. We get more of a background to the history of the world including the tower of High Socery and how the dragon orbs came into existance. The story progresses emmensly in this novel.
  
  The companions learn a lesson in friendship, trust and love amidst the battle between good and evil. The continue to search for the answer to the Disks as well as the reason why the Dark Queen is looking for the Green Gemstone Man, what power does he hold and what could his power mean for the companions if they find him? This novel develops the characters more (mainly Tanis and Laurana) through their interactions. People across Anaslon prepare to fight for their homes, their freedom and their lives. Will the races be able to come together and work to fight the evil within the world and save themselves?
  
  Hickman and Weis knock it out of the ball park with this one again. There is so much that happens within the novel that you don't want to put it down. Old favorite characters return and new ones are introduced as the companions make their way to their destination to stop the Dark Lady, a dragon highlord with a repuation. If the companions fail then the world is lost to the Dark Queen and her evil minions. Can the party put aside their own fears and insecurities to be able to save the world? Or will they crumble under the pressure?
  
• 
  Allison ☾

  "Why was I different? Sturm wondered. But he knew the answer… It was because of the dwarf, the kender, the mage, the half-elf… They had taught him to see the world through other eyes: slanted eyes, smaller eyes, even hourglass eyes.
  Knights like Derek saw the world in stark black and white. Sturm had seen the world in all its radiant colors, in all its bleak grayness.”
  
  
  This was at times hilarious and heartbreaking. The group is splintered and it’s obvious that they work better when together, but they must face certain things alone. Tanis annoyed me in this book, and so did the Knights of Solamnia. But I won’t say too much.
  
  
  The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is because there were 2 cases of insta love and I just don’t like that very much in any situation. However this book was better than the first, because we are already emotionally involved with our characters. The story can just take flight from the beginning.
  
  
  My favorite parts:
  - Flint being overdramatic with seasickness
  - Fizban acting like a hilarious Gandalf with short term memory loss
  - The Gnome flingers
  - Laurana being a bad-ass
  - Silvara’s secret and the tomb
• 
  Κωνσταντίνος Τσουρέκης

  Καλύτερο από το πρώτο. Πιο ώριμοι οι χαρακτήρες. Ο χωρισμός τους σε τρεις ομάδες έδινε μεγαλύτερο ενδιαφέρον στην παρακολούθηση. Είχε σασπένς του τι. Το τέλος ήταν ανατρεπτικό. Η Λοράνα άλλος χαρακτήρας σε σχέση με το πρώτο. Περισσότερη εμβάθυνση στον κόσμο του Κριν γεγονός που σε εντάσσει καλύτερα στο έργο.
• 
  Yoly

  The fourth time’s the charm?
  
  So many things happen in this book, so many things that even though this is my fourth re-read I had forgotten. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or that I needed to go back to Krynn or what, but this read felt amazing. I could hardly put it down, and I don’t remember feeling this way the previous times I read it. Maybe because I’m older (and hopefully wiser) I was able to appreciate everything that was going on. I also think this book has more depth than the previous one. If I remember correctly, TSR needed the first book to be self-contained, in case in didn’t sell, so the story felt a little “lite”. But after the success of the first book, they decided to do a trilogy, and it shows they had more room to develop the story and the characters.
  
  We finally get to see Kitiara on the page, my favorite character not only in Dragonlance, but in all of fantasy. I cheered every time she showed up (yes, I literally cheered. I’m that type of reader). I don’t know what it says about me that my favorite character is a villain, but I think the Dark Lady is awesome! :)
  
  In this book I also came to appreciate Tasslehoff a bit more. I found him kind of annoying on the previous book, but he has earned my respect in this one. Laurana is another character that I felt matured a lot in this book. I didn’t remember her being such a badass.
  
  2020 was the best read of this book for me.
• 
  rosshalde

  Serinin en iyi kitabı diye bahsedildiğini çok duymuştum. Bence hakkını veriyor. Yalnız aklıma yatmayan bazı konular var tabi.
  
  
  Raistlin Majere gibi bir büyücü ejderha küresini kontrol etmek için kendini paralarken nasıl Laurana bu ejderha kürelerine hükmedebiliyor böyle kolayca?
  
  
  Bazı karakterlerin hikayedeki rolü bana abartılı geldi. İlave olarak Tanis'in de sevgi kelebeği olması dışında pek bir vasfını göremiyorum fakat kendisinin iç dünyasını okumanın biraz insanı bunalttığını söyleyebilirim. Raistlin gibi bir karakter varken Tanis'le ilgili bu kadar şey okumak beni biraz sıktı açıkcası.
  
  Kitabın Solamniya ve Silvanesti'de geçen bölümleri benim okurken en zevk aldığım kısımlardı. 3. kitabında bu şekilde devam etmesini unuyorum.
• 
  Olethros

  -Continuación de este éxito del marketing cruzado.-
  
  Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
  
  Lo que nos cuenta. Nuestros queridos aventureros de distintas razas, orígenes y personalidades siguen luchando contra el mal. Los detalles son lo de menos, créanme. Segunda parte de la trilogía Crónicas de la Dragonlance.
  
  ¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
  
  
  http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Malum

  Middle volumes in trilogies are usually a time for the writer to kick the crap out of the heroes, and this novel is no exception as the story gets a lot darker. The action also ramps up to include huge armies facing off.
• 
  Tammie

  I was glued to this one just like the rest of this series. I loved Laurana as the Golden General. This was one of those books that made me cry.