The Kagonesti (Dragonlance: Lost Histories, #1) by Douglas Niles

The Kagonesti (Dragonlance: Lost Histories, #1) Reviews

• 
  nimrodiel

  I have a love of the Dragonlance saga. However some of the books are written much better than others. Because I have been disappointed in this series before I have picked up and set down this copy several times without getting past the prologue. I am very glad that I continued with it this time around. The Lost Histories series is a group of books set in the Dragonlance world which probe the historical roots and records the struggles (sometimes epic) of some of the lesser known races of Krynn. This book looks at the Kagonesti - the wild elves. It starts with their founding as a separate people from the more civilized "house" elves. The wild elves with their black hair aand dusky skin still live in the wilderness as the Silvestri led by Silvanos are retreating from the wilderness to live in their crystal cities. Kagonos and his people are beloved of the silver dragon Dalannar who gifts Kaganos with a mystical rams horn which can call his "people" to help them if they are able.
  
  The book is written in three parts. The first shows Kagonos as the first pathfinder and wielder of the mystic horn at the end of the First Dragon War, As he and his people withdraw from the other Elves to retreat deep in the forest of Ashalon.
  
  The second story follows Ashaway as he leads his people during the third dragon war (During the time of Huma). Ashaway has the role of Pathfinder thrust upon himself suddenly when the previous Pathfinder is killed in a raid by the bakali, lizardmen who serve the dragon queen. Ashaway has to find safety for his people while helping the Knights of the Rose travel through the deep forests and mountains to the Dragon Queen's stronghold of Sanction. Even as helping the humans goes against the traditions of the Kagonesti, Ashaway is urged to help the Solamnic knights by the current silver dragon who carries the match to the hown he carries.
  
  The third and final story of the Kagonesti elves takes us to the years before the cataclysm. We see the struggles of young warrior Iydahoe as he witnesses the destruction of the four tribes of the Kagonesti. He and his father struggle to keep their small band of survivors hidden and alive as the Humans from the city of Ishtar and the Silvenesti build a massive road through the forest homes of the Kagonesti tribe. Iydahoe seeks vengeance upon the men who killed his people. A raid on a caravan leads the capture of himself and a young warrior under his care. They are in the caravan wagon of a cleric of Mishakal when the cleric is pulled away by magic - a signal that the thirteen days before the end of the world is to arrive. Iydahoe and his tribesman escape with the help of a priestess Vanisia and return to his tribe. They are led to go up into the mountains by the mystic Grandfather Ram and are saved from the water that rushes in and destroys Ishtar and created the Newsea as the Cataclysm breaks the world of Ansalon.
  
  I really enjoyed how this fills in some of the history to events before the cataclysm.
• 
  Aaron

  One thing I've learned from reading this book is that the Kagonesti love to run. While that got old after a while, amongst other reoccurring aspects, the book as a whole was pretty good.
  
  It plays out three different time periods of Krynn, following three significant stories of the Kagonesti timeline.
  
  The first story, who follows their founder Kagonos over 3,000 years before the cataclysm, was a good base to build the story. (I mean, there would be no Kagonesti otherwise.) However, I felt it was rather boring and thought Kagonos was pretty dry in character and lacked any development. This story is mostly told to fill in historical facts that regular Dragonlance readers will most likely appreciate.
  
  The second story takes place a little over 1,000 years before the cataclysm and follows Ashtaway. Although he also loves to run and frolic trough the woods, his story was much more satisfying. Not only was there character development within the main character, but he also changed the ways of his ancestors for the better. I very much enjoyed this one.
  
  The third story takes places shortly before the cataclysm and follows the awesome Kagonesti named Iydahoe. Though his name annoyed me at first, this story and character was my favorite. The author did a fantastic job building up the epicness of the story till this ending.
  
  FINAL COMMENTS:
  
  Very good book if you're looking to gain ancient knowledge of Krynn and the Kagonesti. It moves somewhat slow at first, but builds up as the stories continue.
  
  Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this book to those who are not familiar with the series. However, if you're an avid reader of Dragonlance, I would suggest it. This is only my third Dragonlance book I've read, and it was readable, although there was not much original about it. Most of the morals or themes were average and had been overdone before.
  
  So I give this a 3 out of 5 because it does offer much historical information on Krynn. The characters and stories did get better, but it did take a while to get interesting.
• 
  Kal Locksley

  Fantasy lovers can never go wrong with #DragonLance! And The Lost Histories Trilogy is no different! Pure adventure and magic! What made this trilogy different was that each is written by a different author.
  
  The Kagonesti was a little difficult to get into, but the action is gripping with characters you fall in love with.
  
  
• 
  Todd R

  Part of my reading Dragonlance in Chronological order challenge...
  Not a bad read overall. This book covers almost 4000 years of Pre-Cataclysm DL history, and because of this the novel is broken up into three parts. Each part could easily be read separately - the novel suffers due to continuity problems because of these breaks and one of the reasons fro my low score. This novel discusses the Pathfinders within the Kagonesti lineage of Elves...one of the more annoying things about this novel was the constant need the author had to equate the Kagonesti with Native Americans through dress and titles...and later there is an obvious parallel between Istaran 'progress' and the violent efforts of European colonization.
  Overall this book had a few good bits of historic DL knowledge, primarily the legacy of the Ram Horn and again, as in most of these Dragon War era books some good references to the DRagon Gems. For more on Kagonos and the Pathfinders:
  
  http://www.dlnexus.com/lexicon/22301....
• 
  LordSlaw

  The Kagonesti, a D&D novel by Douglas Niles, tells three milestone stories about the wild elves of Krynn: The founding of the people, the part they played in the Dragon Wars, and their struggle to survive in the years right before and leading up to the Cataclysm. Each of the three tales is robustly told with vigorous, engaging writing. Dragons and magic and battles and wonders are plentiful throughout the book. The one thing I found most unfortunate about the tales told is that the protagonist of the final story is named Iydahoe. This is silly, even for a fantasy-fiction name, and significantly distracting. But despite his ridiculous name, Iydahoe's story is as entertaining and compelling as the other two. This first volume in the Dragonlance Lost Histories is a very good read indeed.
• 
  Sarah Ehinger

  This was more of a series of short stories outlining the history of the wild elves. As such, it didn't such me in the through my investment in the characters. It did fill in some interesting back story.
• 
  João Batista

  Beginning my journey into the Lost Histories of Krynn.
  The book starts in 3811 Pre-Cataclysm (PC), when we see Kagonos wildelf and Silvanos (of the House Elves); there is also an encounter with the Grandfather Ram and a bond is made.
  3357 PC: Armies of Takhisis, the Dark Queen, formed by dragons, white, red, blue, green and black ones; this is called the First Dragon War; here, we can finally understand why there are three moons in the skies of Krynn, Lunitari, Solinari and Nuitari, the gods punished for stealing the magic...; Kagonos fighting to recover the bluestone lost by the House Elves; silver dragons and wild elves make an everlasting bond; and the making of a clan, the Kagonesti.
  1019 PC: Ashtaway and the red dragons returned to Ansalon, as well as the 2nd Ram's Horn; Huma is mentioned as having the power of Paladine...; the confrontation with the bakali at the wild elves village; a promise of help from Ashtaway to human knights; the battle of Sanction: white dragons - spit frost, the blue ones -spit lightning bolt; strong friendships made even with some losses... Sir Kamford Willis and Highbulp Toofer.
  14 PC: Iydahoe is horrified at the destruction of the Silvertrout village; Istarian legionnaires attacking Kagonesti leaving only a small band of survivors; Silvanesti allied with humans? The Wrath of the Gods = The Cataclysm is described, and I have finally understood why so many of the future characters mention so reverently this mark in the history of Krynn.
• 
  Jim C

  A book that is set in the world of Dragonlance. This one tells the story of the wild elves. It is actually three short stories in one book and they tell the story about the Kagonesti during specific events and how these events affected them.
  
  I enjoyed this book as it was different from your normal everyday book. The three stories dealt with different time periods and each had its own set of characters. This read like a history book but detailed that history with anecdotes. The first one dealt with how the wild elves received their name. The other two stories dealt with two major events that happen in this universe. I loved how the author linked this book with these events.
  
  The aspect that I really liked about this book was just not the portrayal of the wild elves but it also detailed other races and their interaction between races. It showed how some races handle this interaction with dignity while others do not. I have always enjoyed this faction of the elves and this book strengthened my beliefs.
  
  If you are looking for a fantasy book that gives an inside look to one race and how they survive this is a book I would recommend.
• 
  Dark-Draco

  I really enjoyed this, although I probably would have had more benefit from it if I had read a few more of the Dragonlance novels first and I would have liked to understand the events in the wider context of the whole saga. But they were good stand alone stories too and I really felt for the wild elves, their struggle to stay free and wild was really poignant. Very sad in places too, but overall they left you with a good feeling. My favourite was probably the last one, as the battle to stay independent from the other races of Krynn is so more important.
• 
  Lana

  A book which I thoroughly loved reading, I am such a fan of the elves and the kagonesti are so beautiful, wild and free and so in tune with nature!! hated reading of the encroachment of the humans on the free lands in the forest and the massacres they brought about in the tribes of elves and the roads they built through the forest cutting down trees haphazardly, puts me in mind with the mindlesss devastation of today's environment by the same greedy and unscrupulous humans! but in the end the courage of a few saved them, loved the feel good ending!!
• 
  Tom

  Niles has completed a huge story in a few pages with this novel. The time covered is amazing in itself, but the great thing about it is that it is like getting three short novels in one book. A very fun read! The only thing I would like to have seen is three books instead of one. The individual "Pathfinder" stories were good but a longer more in depth story would have been even better. Still, a great, easy, read.
• 
  Anne

  A slow start, but a good book. It follows elves and their descendants through three major times in their history, the last being apocalyptic. The first third had me wondering if I should continue reading it. Right around the end of it, I wanted to know more, which propelled me into reading the second and third parts. Over all, a good read. I would read it again.
• 
  Joel

  There's something about the Dragonlance Lost Histories novels, and this one in particular, that arrests my attention. The story of a people from the beginnings of their unique culture through connections to broader events in the history of Ansalon and a particularly captivating apocalypse survival story, The Kagonesti is a great example of fantasy world building and myth-making.
• 
  Lawrence

  Another book about elves (yes they are one of my favorite races). This one chronicles the lost race of elves known as the Kagonesti. Find out how their history differs from their cousins the Silvanesti and the Qualinesti.
• 
  Kyle K

  From the time of Silvanos, the Wild Elves have separated themselves and have been led by a Pathfinder through the wilderness. This story follows a group of these leaders over the ages up to the time of the Cataclysm.
• 
  Philana Walker

  For those of us who love elves, this book gives us insight into their struggles and triumphs. A very detailed history. Great fun to read.
• 
  Stella BeMo

  Lo tengo en formato PDF, aún no lo leo. Me encantaría poder conseguirlo impreso. La pena es que no esté traducido al español!! :(
• 
  Tawni Dean

  I liked this book a lot the relationships and struggles in it are inspiring
• 
  Mariana

  Good story. You kinda dislike the main character because he is so abnoxious.
• 
  Joel Norden

  Not the best book I've read from Niles, but a great info novel if your curious about The Kagonesti.
• 
  Elaine Reinhard

  awesome great read.