| Title | : | War of the Twins (Dragonlance: Legends, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0786932171 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780786932177 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 411 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1986 |
But for some, those one hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Catapulted forward in time by Raistlin's powerful magic, Caramon and Crysania find themselves aiding the mage's unholy quest to master the Queen of Darkness. To his dismay, Raistlin discovers along the way that the annals of time are not so easily bent to his will.
Neither are the longings of his heart.
War of the Twins (Dragonlance: Legends, #2) Reviews
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You know, for a novel with an evil time-traveling master magician so full of himself that he wants to kill a god to become a god, a twin brother who alternately wants to kill him and protect him, and being dumped in a strange time to just "happen" to lead a huge army to defeat a bunch of dwarves...
This book's best feature is its LOVE STORY.
Huh!!?
Look. It's true. I'm totally on board with the whole evil machinations of Raistlin, how he manipulates everyone and takes on the title of another evil magician in the past and is forced to relive a seemingly unbreakable time-loop. The war stuff is certainly a lot more fun than the previous book's gladiator schtick. Even the brotherly love and the nasty betrayal is pretty awesome.
But what really makes the book is the epic romance. A magician of absolute evil and a cleric of absolute good, an undeniable romance for the ages. Hell, even his most bald-face lies have a germ of truth to them and while he's trying to turn her away from him, she just wants to trust him more. And more. It's a weird thing, this honesty. She KNOWS what he is, and yet she still wants to help him. It doesn't hurt that he wants to kill the Goddess of Darkness and that's kind of her calling. But still. He's DOING it to REPLACE the grand evil. :)
LoL, I'm all getting into a fanboy mode here. These two are a trip. I totally get why these books are classics. -
There is a problem with DragonLance books. They feel amazingly good as long as you're captivated enough to actually enjoy them. But when you no longer enjoy them, all the huge flaws come crashing down on you.
Nothing about this series is particularly great. It is, however, a wonderful and enchanting series when it actually works. And sometimes, it simply doesn't.
War of the Twins is by far the weakest DragonLance book I have read so far. And yet I'm as excited as ever to read the next one. -
I will concede these points: 1. there is some pretty shabby writing in
War of the Twins; 2. the more Tasslehoff Burrfoot, beloved Kender, becomes like a cliched high school girl, the more insufferable he becomes; 3. it's hard to swallow that Raistlin would make the mistakes he makes; 4. so much evil is done by the supposedly "good" characters without any recognition that their acts are evil that I am fairly certain that what I love about the book is not intended by the authors; 5. the authors have a silly conception of "Infinite Good" and "Infinite Evil"; 6. the portrayals of Kender, Gully Dwarves, Dewar and Gnomes are examples of conventional Fantasy racism and are hard for me to overlook.
So, yes, I concede that this isn't the best book in the world. But I love it anyway.
Somewhere, despite all of its many flaws,
War of the Twins speaks to me. There is good in Raistlin, more than even the authors know, and his good is fundamental to the evil he consciously perpetrates. Raistlin does some bad things because he has seen and experienced terrible things in his life, and he never wants those things to happen to him or any of the oppressed again. So he will do what he believes he must for the good of the many (and if that means he will have power, so be it). This is contrasted (and, again, I doubt the authors' intended this) with people who believe they are good, who are appalled by Raistlin's actions, then carry out similar or worse actions through prejudice, ignorance or mere omission. Their evil is unconscious (and I am not convinced it is even recognized as evil by the authors), but if it is consciously undertaken they actively think of it as good.
Whether they meant to or not, Weis & Hickman offer a true representation of one of the muddy aspects of good and evil. We have the "evil" man doing what he does because he thinks it is right, and "good" folks doing evil without even realizing it or rationalizing their actions with ease.
Regardless of its flaws,
War of the Twins is a personal fave for me simply because of the way it stumbles onto something meaningful in the good and evil debate, and because it offers me something that few other books can: license to love the "bad guy" Raistlin, who may not be so bad after all. -
This is the second book of a trilogy and I strongly recommend reading them in order. In this one, Raistlin, Caramon, and Crysania escape the Cataclysm and jump forward to a time where people have abandoned the gods and are desperate to survive a rough world. Meanwhile, Tas has jumped to a place he could never have imagined.
This was an easy five stars for me as I believe this book was amazing. This book is all about the relationships as there isn't much action in this offering. The main relationship is between the twin brothers Caramon and Raistlin. Granted their relationship was delved into in the previous trilogy and the first book of this trilogy. This is the book it is on full display. We get glimpses of what their relationship use to be like and when they were close. But is the gap that is present now too wide for them to bridge or is it that Raistlin can be a complete ass in his quest for power? I do love him as a character though. Throw in a beautiful girl into the mix and you have a complicated but entertaining delve into relationships. I will give that there is nothing new here with brother against brother concept. It has been done many times in the real world and fiction. But for my money this is a wonderful portrayal of it here and one cannot help feel for both brothers throughout this book.
Like I said for a fantasy book it is light on the action. I didn't care as the exploring of the various relationships made sure I kept on reading. Throw in the character growth for the characters and the finale and there is little wonder why this is my favorite of the original six books of this universe. I still have one more so that is subject to change. -
A very high 4
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This one is slightly slower moving and of course sad đą
I find that it's mostly that way for the sad scenes with Tass.
Poor little feller is too full of feels đ -
OK, I know I had read this book (and the entire Legends trilogy) back when they first came out 30 years ago (), but to be completely honest, I didn't remember anything about this book when I started reading it.
And, now having finished it, I think that's because, for better or for worse, it was a quintessential middle novel of a trilogy.
At the end of Time of the Twins (the first volume), Caramon, Raistlin and Crysania, after having traveled 300 years into the past, had skedaddled out of the legendary city of Istar, on account of it was about to be smoten by the Gods as retribution for the arrogance of the Priestking and the other inhabitants. In the second volume, we find out that they skedaddled forward in time about a hundred years, to a time when the world is still recovering from the Cataclysm, but before Takhisis, the Dark Queen, has put into motion the events that will lead to the war of the original Dragonlance Chronicles. Raistlin, you see, has a Plan for dealing with Takhisis. And, being Raistlin, it's not a particularly nice plan ... So he and his brother Caramon (with whom he's had something of a grudging reconciliation after the events of the first book) will recruit an army and march on a legendary fortress, recreating, not by coincidence, events from the life of the legendary dark mage Fistandantilus.
(Oh, yes, and the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot also survives through rather extraordinary means, although he has only minimal presence in this book until he rejoins his friends near the end.)
Although I couldn't remember much of the events of this book after a 30 year gap between rereads, and although as I said it's clearly a middle book (in the sense that it exists mostly to bridge the gap between the first & third books, and ends on a massive cliffhanger), it does tell part of an interesting story about corruption and redemption and love, both romantic and brotherly; and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out in the end (because, TBH, I don't remember much of the third book either). -
This book came to me as a birthday present, from two very good friends who had never read any of the series. They just knew that a) I'm a twin and b) I love dragons. What they DIDN'T realize was that this was the second in this particular storyline, and since I'd never read any of the other Dragonlance books I ended up jumping in with no prior knowledge of the characters, or the world, or the story. And you know what? It worked perfectly. The characters were so wonderfully written that I ended up falling in love with them anyway, even without really knowing at first who exactly they were, why they were in the past, or what Raistlin and Cameron were trying to accomplish. I did end up reading all of Chronicles, Tales, and Legends, and throughout the whole series THESE were the characters I loved best.
It's also probably one of the reasons why I like Tasselhoff, when he annoys the tar out of everybody else. Tas grows up a lot in the Legends storyline, so there's not quite as much of the "Your wallet must have fallen in my pocket and HEY LOOK A SQUIRREL!" that appears in the other series. -
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This is definitely a worthwhile, fantasy, and adventure that I enjoyed very much.
The memories from this long ago tale fill me with f feeling of contentment.
I would definitely recommend it!
. -
Sequels are rarely as goos as the original. The Legends trilogy is actually better than the original. Raistlin is one of my all time favourite characters and I know I'm not alone here. The relationship between the brothers is heart-wretching. If you love fantasy and have not read this book yet do it now. Classic.
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Ha habido algunas escenas que me han gustado, pero en general he sentido este libro mucho mĂĄs inconexo y dando tumbos que los anteriores. Incluso obviando la escena de (TW abuso sexual) , me ha cansado bastante, no ha conseguido ubicarme nada bien () y la mayorĂa del tiempo he sentido que no sabĂan cĂłmo quitarse del medio a tal o cual personaje que segĂșn las exigencias del guiĂłn estorbaba para la trama.
Como resultado, un libro lleno de escenas inconexas y falta de feeling con los personajes en general, en mi opiniĂłn, salvo un par de escenas.
Libro puente totalmente en mi opiniĂłn, pero ademĂĄs regular. Triste porque el primero me gustĂł mucho.
Also falta Tas. Faltan fucking toneladas de Tas. De hecho la estrella de mĂĄs, es por Tas. -
Suffers a bit from middle book syndrome, often feeling like it's setting up for book 3 rather than fully embracing its own story. There is enough going on here still make it a pretty fun ride, though.
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http://delivreenlivres.blogspot.fr/20...
J'ai vraiment adoré ce tome, bien plus que le précédent. La confrontation des deux frÚres bat son plein et résultat ce tome était vraiment chargé émotionnellement.
Nos héros (si on veut) ont réchappé tant bien que mal aux évÚnements de la fin du tome précédent. Les voici à la prochaine étape du combat de Raistlin contre la Reine des ténÚbres. 100 années se sont écoulée depuis la dévastation, le monde est en proie au chaos, chacun cherchant à survivre dans son coin.
Leur but est de trouver le portail pour entrer dans la dimension de la Reine, mais nos amis vont vite se rendre compte qu'on ne peux pas si facilement changer le passĂ©, et qu'ils sont obligĂ©s de suivre le mĂȘme chemin que les personnes dont ils ont pris la place. Et ce chemin les amĂšne Ă la guerre, une guerre dont malheureusement ils connaissent tous dĂ©jĂ la fin ...
Ce qui est gĂ©nial et vraiment mis en avant ici c'est la dualitĂ© de Raistlin, c'est vraiment un personnage complexe. Il ne cesse de changer de figure et nous fait passer par des ascenseurs Ă©motionnels tout du long du livre. Un moment ils est le frĂšre, et toute la complicitĂ© avec Caramon revient, un moment il est digne et bon et fait ce qui doit ĂȘtre fait et Ă certains autres on retrouve le mage noir, celui qui fait vraiment peur et qui ne fait que calculer et sacrifie ses pions sans se soucier une seule seconde de la personne qui va en souffrir par derriĂšre.
On explore vraiment le passé du personnage, l'époque ou il soignait les malade au méprit de sa propre santé, celle ou il était avec sa mÚre et qu'il l'aimait ... Du coup ça ne fait qu'un plus grand contraste avec le personnage noir qui veut devenir le dieu des ténÚbres maintenant.
Et d'un autre cotĂ© on comprends aussi un peu mieux ce qu'il ressent envers Caramon et son amour aveugle qui l'enferme en fait. On peut vraiment dire que sa vie n'a pas Ă©tĂ© facile mĂȘme si ce n'Ă©tait pas non plus un parcours trĂšs sombre, plus un enfant solitaire que personne ne comprenait, pas mĂȘme son frĂšre jumeau.
De l'autre cotĂ© on a Caramon, mais au final si ce personnage est le principal, il est surtout la pour marquer le contraste entre les deux frĂšres. Lui aussi est aussi perdu que nous, il passe par des pĂ©riodes ou il retrouve son frĂšre et tout a l'air d'aller mieux, pour retomber dans la dĂ©pression quand il s'aperçoit que ce n'Ă©tait qu'un rĂȘve et que quoi qu'il arrive son frĂšre ira jusqu'au bout.
J'ai bien aimĂ© aussi toute la rĂ©flexion sur le fait que le passĂ© ne change pas tant que ça mĂȘme si on en a modifiĂ© des choses, et qu'ils sont obligĂ©s de passer par la guerre pour arriver Ă leur portail.
Le livre fini sur un cliffhanger qui donne vraiment envie de lire la suite, bientĂŽt j'espĂšre ^^
17/20 -
This review is also featured on
Behind the Pages: War of the Twins
Narrowly escaping the cataclysm, Raistlin, Caramon and Crysania find themselves one hundred years in the future. Faith in the old Gods has declined and any who dare to openly worship Paladine may just find themselves labeled a witch. With no other choice, Crysania and Caramon must aid Raistlin in his quest to conquer the Dark Queen. But history is not so easily swayed, and Raistlin soon finds he is walking in the exact footsteps of Fistandantilus.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman are masters at creating complex characters. As the story progresses Raistlin, Caramon and Crysania will all undergo tests of faith. They will be pulled to the edge of what they can handle, fighting against the despair and darkness that lurks in each of them. The road is never easy, and some will find themselves thinking and doing things they never imagined.
War of the Twins also explores the complexities of love. Be it the love of a sibling, a friend, or a more intimate relationship. Most novels paint love as an emotion that is easily identified and fought for, even if there are some pitfalls along the way. However, War of the Twins shows how love can be buried within actions and dragged to the surface due to certain situations. It shows all the messy angles of love, and how other emotions and situations can weave together to paint an illusion of love that is confusing to the characters.
And true to style, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman weave in the lore of Krynn throughout the story. As the characters relive history, readers will experience firsthand the actions that lead up to pivotal points in Krynnâs past.
Action, adventure, magic, expert worldbuilding, and extraordinary characters, make War of the Twins a must read for high fantasy fans. -
Another amazing Dragonlance story, exactly like its predecessor!
The first book made me have great expectations about the sequel, and I am happy to say that these expectations were fully met. The action scenes and the general plot kept being interesting, the comic interludes were really cute, and the descriptions vivid and well-written. There were scenes that made me feel awe, there were others that had me at the edge of my seat, and others that made me incredibly sad. However, ok, there were also parts that seemed somewhat boring to me. But they aren't enough to affect my five-star rating.
I tried really hard to understand Raistlin. He had the most complicated story arc, and it was really interesting to see the changes in his mood, the unexpected moments where he displayed affection and happiness, as contrasted to his normal cynic and evil nature. It really made the reader think about whether he is fully evil or if there is still a spark of good in him. While reading, many were the times I felt as confused as Caramon in this matter. Neaning the end, he almost had me give him a second chance... until he It broke my heart and I will never forgive him for that, no matter his troubled past, no matter the small but heart-warming acts of kindness he commited over the years. There really is nothing else that matters to him more than his magic and his powers.
Now, onto the third and final book! In general, I have to say that whatever I've read of the Dragonlance universe so far was fantastic, and with each new book, the series is starting to firmly establish itself in my list of favourite fantasy books :) -
Home. It's a word synonymous for many with love, safety, family, and contentment. For others, it is a hollow word; a single syllable as haunting as an unseen specter and something to flee from and it is that word that becomes the focal point between two twin brothers. One abhors it, while the other grasps desperately to the memories it holds.
I could go on about plot points, but honestly, since these reviews are just for my future me, I'll keep it simple. There comes a point when ties have to be severed, especially the ones that call us away from our best life, but it is not always obvious when threads need to be cut. On the other hand, sometimes when we seek something for selfish gain or something greater than ourselves, we have to stretch the bonds of love and family so they don't drown with us. That's what this entire book supports. Gods, good vs evil vs neutrality, time travel, and all the bits in between support that first and second point.
In closing, I suppose when we all hear the words, 'Come home...' we have to decide what that means. Is it warmed mead and spiced potatoes, served along the side of a fiery-haired wife, and a future of love ahead? Or, is it something unspeakable, because the pain is too great to give words to? For the Brothers Majere, I hope they figure it out.
Recommended for fantasy lovers and the series for anyone that has a heavy burden they want to set down for a while. -
Raistlin is set on a path not of his own choosing. Who is he, Raistlin or Fistandalus and not even his own brother is certain. After his confrontation with Fistandalus not even Raistlin is certain who won for Fistandalus was renown for taking bodies of younger men to house his evil soul. This is magnificently written as Raistlin is forced to follow Fistandalusâ footsteps â going to a doom that will end in his own death. He is convinced he knows better though and will not let Cameron dissuade him from this task. His brother is now his champion, having regained his prodigious strength and fighting ability. It is clear though that Raistlin will betray him, if it serves his purpose. The story swaps between the past and present where Kitiara, Raistlin and Cameronâs sister is forging her own bloody career in the Dark Queenâs army, bringing the world to the precipice of war. Tas finally gets his wish as he finds himself in the Dark Queenâs realm, the abyss. Only a Kender would desire such a fate. An excellent tale, very moody.
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War of the Twins is the second book of Dragonlance: Legends series, which was written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman in 1986.
It is interesting to read a book which was written nearly 30 years ago and it is still a popular book among fantasy fiction readers.
After reading some Forgotten Realms novel, reading a Dragonlance novel is really interesting. Dragonlance world is more epic in style. Ok there are few characters and we are mostly reading similar characters and seeing similar places in Dragonlance but when a book is well written they can be acceptable.
Iâve read my last Dragonlance novel more than 10 years ago and while reading this novel I felt that I miss reading Dragonlance novels.
Iâve reading the first novel in Turkish in 2002 but still remember the plot and what has happened in that book. Main characters are really likeable, maybe they are not great but it is always good to read about Caramon, Raistlin and Tas. -
What a great middle book! Rather than lagging in action, the action builds incrementally until the very strong climax at the end. I can't wait to read the final book in this trilogy. Weiss and Hickman are masters at character building and world building at the same time so that neither characters nor setting suffers. It's unbelievable how deftly they move from place to place and time to time with such detail. I've now read seven Dragonlance books and am nowhere near tired of this world.
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"Dragonlance: Legends" is actually a good series. And that's weird, because game-inspired books do tend to suck big time. I give most credit for complexity of Raistlin's character and for the fact that Caramon suffers from PTSD. And that's just great, because too often fantasy heroes tend to be completely immune to distress and we know that human mind doesn't work that way.
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Weis ve Hickman'ı ayakta alkıĆlamak istiyorum, muhteĆem! Heyecanım bir an bile geçmedi okurken, serinin diÄer kitaplarında olduÄu gibi bunda da kahkaha da attım, aÄladım da. Karakter geliĆimi açısından harika detaylar vardı, hikayedeki metaforlar, göndermeler... hepsi muhteĆemdi; çok çook sevdim :)
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The gods truly picked a naive imbecile to be their champion. I have to start this review with I CANNOT STAND Chrys. She is by far the most loathsome fictional character I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. I suppose that means the authors did an excellent job crafting this character to get some pure emotion from me, lol. This book was a lot more fun than the first, in my opinion. Partly because of the HEAVY religious overtones in the first( and my God, the annottated version of this book goes on and on and on about religion as the one author is a hard-core Mormon I have nothing at all against the religion, but I don't like it shoved down my throat. But that stuff taken care of it really is a good book. The relationship between the two brothers is genuinely heartfelt and so very sad. It was masterfully crafted throughout 5 books, and it's culminated in a breaking that can never be repaired. A lot of action. Tasslehoff, as always, is such a great character, though very sparsely used in this book. Also, the darkest part of the book, revolves around him. A 4 foot kender has truly changed the world. This race for those who don't read this series is considered very loathsome by the people of this world. They're seen as thieves and annoying, and no one takes them seriously, yet that little man made more ripples in his world than almost anyone else in the series. Ripples that reach through time and EVEN DIMENSIONS. I love it so freaking much! This book doesn't drag at all. 4 stars. This review is especially rambly as I finished it only a few moments ago. I will update this review in a few days. One last thing...the character I don't like deals with a lot of emotional abuse also. That IS NOT why I dislike her. It's many other reasons and the abuse she suffers truly is horrible.
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My review of Time of the Twins -
Caramon/Raistlin. Stop it. If you don't pack it in I am going to bash your heads together.
Dwarves - stop it. Pack it in. If you don't stop it I am going to bash your heads together.
Nooooooo, Timely Wimey stuff
My head hurts.
Oooh, Crysania, can't you just see he's using you.
Where's Taz, not enough Taz
Well, didn't see that coming
Oh for god's sake Caramon, just kill him.
Oh, There's Taz. Definitely not enough Taz.
Yeah well, you will go and think he's god's gift won't you.
My eyes, my eyes - stop talking about Raistlin's muscled body.
Raistlin! There was no need for that.
So here we go again. Timey wimey stuff. -
Donde el anterior trataba de las tramas y trifulcas en los templos y torres de hechicerĂa, en Ă©ste nos muestran el camino de cĂłmo se va formando un ejĂ©rcito, con sus alianzas y sus traiciones.
Seguimos con la narrativa mĂĄs pausada y el libro tiene un claro aire a "libro intermedio" donde venimos de X situaciĂłn sabiendo nuestro objetivo y aquĂ cruzamos el camino hasta llegar a Ă©l. AĂșn asĂ, lo he disfrutado y me ha dejado con muchas ganas de saber cĂłmo sigue y termina este viaje.
Raist, yo te querĂa querer, pero me lo estas poniendo muy difĂcil. -
Though I've not finished the twin series yet...but it seems like this book has the biggest twisted plot between the twisted twins. And I just loved it.
Appearance of hourglass constellation in the sky was what made it worth reading till the end.
And shaping of Caramon's character as well as the sad adventure of poor Tas.
Power, magic and prayer - and finally destruction.. altering time and travelling toward future what not!
Full of eccentric events surely deserve 5/5. -
Even though it had some interesting scenes and character moments, this middle book was a bit of a slog - as it was for the protagonists, who were trudging through the footsteps of the historical events they were forced to repeat (because of time travel), trying to find a way to stray from the path and alter the events. And while the Legends are undeniably better written than the Chronicles, there's something to be said about the sense of adventure that comes from a large cast and an eventful quest.
It was still so interesting to follow the development and deterioration of the relationships between the main characters. -
They write so simple yet artistically complicated! I can't wait to see how the twin brothers handle this one!
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**As per all of my reviews, I like to preface by saying that I listened to this book in audiobook format. This does indeed slightly skew my rating. I have found that audiobooks, give me a better "relationship" with the characters if done well, but also kills the book for me if narrated poorly. Also due to the nature of listening to the text, names and places may be spelled incorrectly here as I often do not have the physical volume in front of me.
Also, I have written this review in a "rolling updates" style. In that I basically chronicle my reading as I progress. This may make for a jarring and spoilery review so be warned.**
So honestly, most of last book just seemed like filler...the actual story is minimal there. So we leap another 100 year post Cataclysm but still in the past of from the Chronicles timeline. Raistlin, Crysana, and Caramon are dumped into Raistlinâs âhomeâ. That is the dark, cursed tower of Istar. Itâs in a time thatâs still under the deathly curse of the wizard who flung himself from the window.
We catch up with Tas who was left behind when Raistlin, Caramon and Crysana all went 100 years into the future by Raistlinâs doing. Tas left for dead during the event of the cataclysm, wakes up and finds himself in a dark place...Now we know heâs not dead...but he does on for pages thinking he is, for comedy...itâs funny but it gets old because we know whatâs coming. âyouâre not dead Tas.â Well...sort of. Heâs greeted eventually by who we only assume is the Queen of Darkness who Raistlin is looking to kill. She tells Tas that heâs done her a great favor...nothing really makes sense...
Heâs told that heâs in the Abyss whatever that means...and even more curious, he meets a Gnome in the place where heâs being kept. The Gnome gets to work trying to fix the time travel device that broke in the last book.
Raist, Caramon and Crysana are holed up in the tower but venture out after Raistlin seeâs that the portal to the Queen is no longer there... they leave the tower and stop by an inn. Theyâre beset by a group of thugs led by a half ogre,half man. The group takes Caramon on , and it turns into a one on one duel between he and the half ogre. Caramon proves the better in a long brutal match. They notice that some of group are disbanded and scattered knights of Solomnia. This may have been post cataclysm in that the country was really hit hard causing the knightly orders to disband. Many take up arms with Raistlin and Caramon. The two bros said they were headed south to conquer lands...This seems to give them some unifying brotherhood.
Meanwhile we get one hell of a backstory of the Mountain Dwarves and Hill Dwarf relations. King Duncan of the mountain dwarves is hosting a meeting with the Hill Dwarves who want to share their lands and food and protection. Basically the Hill Dwarves are allied with the humans and want to bring everyone together. King Duncan who is seen as very reclusive sends them away in a stubborn display of inhospitality... the character and world building is great as we see a âclassicâ Dwarf stand off where both leaders stare each other down unmoving...too prideful to be the first to glance away. Itâs only at the knowing intervention of one of the other clans to step in, allowing them both to stand down... Even the Gully Dwarves are present, though laughably shunned to the corner... (is it bad that I love how disrespected they are?!)
The Hill Dwarves are sent away... but itâs only later shown that itâs King Duncan that was the one who was hurting...His kingdom is secretly empty in money and resources...instead of spreading that to all and having the entire race doomed, he sends the Hill Dwarves out in a mock display of venom...to help them survive...Quite an emotional, if not totally Dwarven act of caring.
Raistlin, Caramon and Crysana in some weird D&D side quest get wrapped up in a village of recently dead. Only one man remains,.. Crysana ran away to this place and itâs such a ham fisted way to capture that D&D feel of some a side quest itâs a bit annoying. It serves little purpose...maybe just to further Crysanaâs commitment to Paladine as she ushers the long man off to the other world to join his village. Soon enough they just return to their army camp as if that waste of time didnât happen... The only good outcome of it all was some really nice bonding time and almost a return to the old relationship that Raist and Caramon had. Raistlin laughs and shares in some memories with is bro. When they come back to camp, Raistlin commits himself to have complete privacy in his tent. Heâs about to cast a spell, that if disturbed could kill him and who ever enters the tent....This reminds me precisely of the Game of Thrones moment with the old woman in book one or two...
Iâm really hooked here. Raistlin it turns out is communing with Dalamar the dark elf was calls him Shalafi... Raistlin, in the past is channeling himself into the future to get information from him about the Dwarf-gate wars. This character fascinated me from the start...and he wanders into the great library.. and poor Bertrum, who I feel always gets caught up in the most odd ball situations when the guy JUST wants to read, study and organize the stacks...can a librarian catch a break?? Anyway We get a lot of description about how alone and quiet the library is and Bertrum is enjoying the solitude, so of course it has to be interrupted. Dalamar appears and we see that heâs under orders of Raistlin who contacted him from the past. The coolest character, Astinus appears and helps Dalamar, explaining to him that he, the great recorder of events has event of the Dwarf-gate war chronicled personally. He also gives use the baffling and loopy explanation of events... Fistandantalus carries on this dwarf war with Pax Tharkus eventually did fall and King Duncan (who was still alive then) retreated to the mountain hold of Thorbardin. Fistandantilus didnât care about the war at all and was just after a portal under the mountain fortress. He abandoned the war front and his army soon faltered and crumbled. Very close to entering the portal and challenging the Queen Witch (why on earth is everyone after this bitch??) A gnome that was presently held prisoner in THorbardin, activated a time travel device to escape his imprisonment. The device interacted with the magic of Fistandantilusâ spell. A blast that felled both armies and killed Denubis, Fistâs right hand man. And after this... the mage was only able to cling to life in spirit..and eventually found a new body, in Raistlin...when he made the sacrifice during his trials..hundreds of years later...
What a story... so.. itâs obvious that the gnome is Tas... and this makes the entire story such a loop of events I must give credit where itâs due... Even has weird and hard as it is to follow the motivations itâs damn interesting... Seeing Raistlin act out and âbecomeâ Fistandantilus in almost a self fulfilling prophecy is so philosophically interesting. Raistlin assumes this identity of Fistandantilus, so it begs the question did Fistandantilus ever exist?
Caramon returns to camp, as the entire army (I love how loyal and a bunch of try hards, his new army is...) Theyâve created a barrier around the tent where Raistlin is communing with future Dalamar.
Raistlin gets information from him, about the fate of what happened to Fistandantilus...and...it plays out almost exactly how it did for Fistandantilus. This entire story is really tickling my time travel loop enjoyment... The mountain dwarves spring an attack on the depleted camp ambushing Raistlin... Just like with Fistandantilus of old, he pushed his men too far and left behind the supply wagons so he could greedily get to the tower... he has this moment of such arrogance that he just âknowsâ that he canât be killed because of the saftey of time....so he begins a defense spell..and then it happens. Tas pops into existence... just like with FIstandantilus, he interfered with Raistlinâs spell, interrupting the mage, enough to be stabbed by a Dwarf. Itâs...really well written, and I love how this is playing out. The fact that Raistlin is following the same exact story beats that we just heard about is really neat. Seeing Raistlin at his most arrogant and then finally taken down and laid lo and finally at his brotherâs mercy as he lay dying is such a tragic and mythic story point. I actually feel like the book should end here...seriously. Weâve watched Raistlin get more and more enraptured with this quest to get to the tower and find the portal to challenge Tarkasis and become a god....and in a moment of Icarus like story telling heâs stopped and humbled by the intervention of a Kender and he fulfills the exact story and historical beats needed....
So the armies of the Dwarves, clash, the Plainsmen, and the others abandon the field... Raistlin abandonâs the army in favor of seeking the portal to the Queen of Darkness... All plays out exactly how the history told us it would.
I would love to say the story ends here. Iâm fearing what comes next because I feel that this is such a perfect opportunity to show an complete ending. He flew too high, got too ahead of himself and fell because of it... We donât need to redeem him or make him a protagonist again... I know whatâs coming and thatâs whatâs going to happen sadly, but itâs a shame, I feel this was a perfect end... Anyway onto the next!
