The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

The Dragonlance Chronicles: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman

Let me just say up front that I am not a fan of fantasy novels, especially those you could call “dragon books.” You know, the ones with the elf-lords running around with swords, mages calling up spells with capes, all that stuff. It’s a bit too much D&D for me. Okay, a lot too D&D for me. You might wonder why in the world, if I dislike fantasy so much, I would have ever read these books. I never would have on my own, but my husband has insisted for years that I read them since they were his favorite books when he was younger. I broke down. I’m a little embarrassed. Never had I believed that Tolkien influenced fantasy writers more than I do now, because boy, he sure did with these two.

The trilogy starts out with a group of friends meeting at an inn. There is an evil spreading, and they by chance join up to help Goldmoon, a barbarian woman and her lover, escape from the bad guys. They want her magical staff, so of course, our life-long friends jump to her aid. They must travel the land of Krynn to find its owner and keep it from the forces of evil. (Sound familiar? Yeah, me too.) This group of friends includes Tanis, the half-elf with a past, torn between two loves, Laurana the beautiful elf maiden and Kitiara the swordswoman. There are the two brothers, Caramon, the big warrior with a head of mush and a heart of steel, and Raistlin, the mage who could be evil or could be good but of course has a growing power and lots of magic. Flint Fireforge, the crusty dwarf, and Tasselhoff Burrfoot, the kender, who pick peoples pockets and provides comic relief, supposedly. There’s Strum Brightblade, the knight who still believes in valor, and the flighty old magician that shows up and wrecks havoc, but naturally has a secret that we will only discover at the very end. Once they journey on, find out about the staff and the war has broken out, the group of friends is separated (Two Towers? What do you think?) You meet more elves, learn a bit about the dragon lances and dragon orbs, and find out there is more to Laurana than you thought and wonder if Tanis is really turning to the dark side. The third book finds the friends fighting a hard battle, brothers being separated, and some friends are lost. The friends meet the evil Queen of Darkness, Takhisis, and the big battle begins. Will Tanis choose Laurana or Kitiara? Will good beat out evil? Why do they want the Everman? Will the metallic dragons help the people of Krynn fight the evil dragons?

I found this trilogy to be difficult to read, especially at first. I really enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so this just felt like a cheap rip off. I must admit, to be truthful, I did get caught up wondering if Raistlin would end up a bad guy. It was actually the only reason I kept reading the trilogy all the way through. Everything else just felt like I was watching the TAMS kids larp back in college.

Rating: Hiss, for making me read all three books and then taking the easy way out.