Dragons of a Lost Star (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume II)

It's been a while since I've read any of W&H's older work, so I'm not entirely certain: are my standards just going up, or has their writing style deteriorated considerably since the Deathgate Cycle? Because, I have to say, here it's...well, pretty bad. Not unreadably so, but still not at all good. That aside, though, this one still has its share of problems.
So, we learn the identity of the One God. Ooh! Suspense! Yeah, fine, except that, when it's finally revealed, a few pages from the end, it's hard to avoid laughing at the sheer banality of it all. It had briefly crossed my mind before that this might be it, but I quickly banished such thoughts from my mind--"they wouldn't do something that cheap," thought I. But they did. Oh yes they did. I won't give it away; I'll just say, think of the single most obvious and unimaginative answer you can possibly come up with. Yes, that's who it is. Pathetic.
Also, let's talk about the characters. When you come right down to it, a lot of them are kinda...well, boring. Gilthas, for instance. Who *is* he, exactly? He seems to have no personality other than 'gosh, I'm concerned about the fate of my people' (incidentally, does his wife even have a name, or does she really *always* go with the cheesy nick? It's silly. Very silly. And I doubt they even *have* lions in Qualinesti, so it doesn't make much sense, either. Unless it means 'mountain lion'. But I doubt it. Hmph). And Gerard. Well...he started out with a fair amount of potential, but I think they've more or less blown it. And the grim inevitability of his becoming romantically involved with that Solamnic chick (which, in one of the book's more ludicrous scenes--pp 352--the authors make him SPELL OUT, as if it wasn't obvious enough already). And--I REALLY hate to say this, BUT--Tas has become annoying. He's just not at appealing anymore. Back in the day, he had a bit of an edge to him (one of the very first things we ever saw him do, back in Autumn Twilight, was kill a goblin, remember), but now he's just really boring. He grates. When they try to make him into comic relief, it doesn't work. When they try to give him pathos it doesn't work. It just doesn't. I dunno...given the authors' pathological obsession with killing off all of the original DL characters, it is perhaps ironic that the only one still alive is the one you WISH were dead. Bah. I did think Medan was kinda cool, but of course...sheesh. And I did like the idea of the silver dragon reduced to a blind beggar, but they ultimately do very little with the concept.
I'm just scratching the surface, of course--there are plenty of other things that irked me, but many of them would involve major spoilers, and in any case, I think I've said enough. In spite of all, though, I'm giving the damn thing three stars. Why? I don't know. I just can't help it, I suppose. I'll grant you, it was compelling. In places. I just wish it was better. Or, better yet, that it--along with Summer Flame and Fallen Sun--had never been written.
One final note: although I can't deny that I'd *like* to see them completely obliterate everything that happens here via the time travel schtick, in all honesty, I have to admit that that would be the ultimate in cheesiness. You dug this hole yourselves, guys; you can't just fly out of it because it finally dawned on you that it wasn't such a good idea after all.

I thought this book was actually very good, and for me that was a surprise, because after what they and Rabe did to Dragonlance, it just doesn't look all that interesting anymore, y'know? Taking away magic?! I mean, what's left? You gotta have that. And after reading reviews for some of the "filler" books that they were throwing out for the Dragonlance series, I gave up for a few years.
But with this book, and it's predecessor, they've dug (or I should say, "are still digging") their way out of the trenches. The first one set the tone, (a grimmer, darker book then they have written in the Legends or the Chronicles) and this one fit smoothly into place, continuing exactly where the other one stops, at a point of certain doom.
When I first read this book, I was literally shocked. I mean, yeah, they have death and destruction in all Dragonlance books, but in Lost Star, boy, they really wipe Krynn clean. You'll see when you read it (FOOL, GO READ IT NOW!! :)
One of the bad things about this book, I saw in a previous review and I totally agree: it keeps you wanting a LOT more. After every chapter ends, you HAVE to keep reading or else you're going to go insane; you'll literally snap. You'll also find yourself yelling at people to stop make noise so you can just finish your darn book. The ultimate evil of this book, however, is the end, where you're left just cringing, NEEDING to know what happens next, because it's such a dramatic point (dramatic but unfortunately not resolved). And that's why this is different from the Chronicles. Those were the best, because if you bought one book and read it, it's complete in itself. There's insanely good writing, a climax, and then a good resolution of the events.
This book, unfortunately, doesn't have that and that's the reason for the 4 stars and not 5. It's a good book, don't get me wrong, but it, of course, can't have the glory of the first set.
Some of the "secrets" of the book are pointedly obvious, and that's a shame. They really could have done a lot better. But, still, it's not finished and they have their reasons, I'm sure.
This book is very, very short. The type of suspense just forces you to keep reading. I read it and I wished I hadn't, God, I wished I hadn't, cause at that point, I would've had to wait more than a year for the next one. But, time is slowly creeping toward April....every so slowly......
You'll find the book finished in just a couple of days. But, don't worry, if you read , it'll be a good couple of days.

If you read my review of "Dragons of a Fallen Sun" you know what I thought was lacking in it: a bit sparse on plot and weak characters you couldn't identify with.
I am pleased to admit that "Dragons of a Lost Star" has thoroughly exceeded my expectations. Not only are the old characters (Tas, Goldmoon) written better in this book (In Fallen Sun, they seemed strangely unlikeable) the new characters, like Mina and Silvanoshei become more fleshed out and appealing (though not Gilthas. I fear poor Gilthas is doomed to remain a static character for the rest of eternity).
Without giving away any spoilers (when people give away spoilers in Amazon.com reviews it just irritates me like all hell) I thought the scenes with Mina, her followers, and the One-God were done much better than in the first book. In the first book, the only event that provided any dynamic was her meeting with Mirror. In this book, the reader sees more than simpy "Ah Mina! I worship you and the One-God!" To cut it short, it's less religious-fanaticism-by-the-numbers than the first book.
We get to see more about Tasslehoff and Goldmoon, and Goldmoon's big secret and mystery, which I was expecting to be a letdown, was rather interesting, if not entirely original.
But for those of you who seek action, the wars with the elves are good... but not Hickman-Weis great in my opinion. Beryl and Qualinost does not measure up to, say, The Attack on Neraka in Spring Dawning, or the High Clerist Tower's Final Stand in Summer Flame. But it does nicely change the pace of the book from early on. The real strength of this book lies with Mina, Tasslehoff, Goldmoon, Silvanoshei... and a few others who I may not name.
If you're still doubting whether you should read this book, I have one more thing to remind you of:
What about Dalamar?

First: why did I give this book only two stars? Well, if 'Lord of the Rings' gets five stars (true literature), then 'Dragonlance Chronicles' would get four stars (a good story, but it won't go down in history), then 'Dragonlance Legends' would get three stars (not as good as 'Chronicles'), then this book gets two stars (not as good as 'Legends').
Weis and Hickman tell a story that does keep one turning the pages. However, the characters are weak. I find I don't care about any of them. This is very different from my reaction to the characters in the original 'Chronicles,' whom I liked and cared for very much. That the authors had to bring back characters from the earlier works makes a strong negative comment on how weak the characters created for this book and this trilogy are.
Also, the repeated plot device of killing off characters to add 'depth' or 'maturity' or whatever to the story has gotten really old. What was shocking back in 'Chronicles' has become so common with these authors that it no longer touches one's heart; it is simply expected. It gets really hard to care about characters when you are quite sure that they are going to end up dead.
This book strikes me as less of a fantasy novel than a 'whodunit' mystery story, where the reason I keep reading or watching is that I simply want to find out what happens. In a 'whodunit' the question is: who committed the crime? In this book, the questions are: who or what is the One God? Where are all the dead going? What is Dalamar up to? I want to find out these answers, but I don't care what the answers are, because I don't care about the characters.
When answers do appear, they tend toward being simplistic. When we (apparently) discover the identity of the One God, the answer is so obvious it seems trivial. The resolution of that question reminds me of the most famous 'whodunit' in the history of television (you have to be pretty old to remember this): the 'Who Shot J.R.?' episode of the old 'Dallas' series. When the culprit was finally revealed, it turned out to be the most obvious suspect. The reaction that I felt when I read the identity of the One God in 'Lost Star' was the same: 'You gotta be kidding...' It was too easy.
I will undoubtedly buy the final episode of this trilogy to find out all of the 'whodunits.' But I can't imagine returning to this work over and over, as I have reread Tolkien and 'Chronicles' and 'Legends.' Once I find out the 'whodunits,' there isn't much left to bring me back.
As a final note, I find the cover art of this trilogy much inferior to Larry Elmore's work for 'Chronicles' and 'Legends.' One of the best parts of the original 'Dragonlance' books was the art that appeared on the covers, in the calendars, and so forth. That quality is greatly lacking with this trilogy, and that lack of quality is one more reason to rate this book below the other Weis-Hickman 'Dragonlance' books.

Man, there are some opinionated people out there is cyberspace. What qualifies one to be a book critic? (this question is intended to provoke thought, not to give me a definition)
I give it as my opinion that TSR, before WotC saved them, was bent on destroying the Dragonlance Saga with the 5th Age. With Peter Adkinson at the helm of Wizards, I believe he intended to bring DL back to where it belonged. TSR in pre-WotC days also had some poor authors write for the Saga. I have a personal short list that on one hand I can count the number of people I would have write DL novels.
At the top of that list is obviously Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The War of Souls trilogy is the authors opportunity to fix nearly irrepairable damage done to Dragonlance. I won't spend the time here verbally sparing with individuals who have a poor opinion of the book. I will however say that in a day when there are few modern fantasy greats (a short list where I include Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman), the authors once again write a masterpiece of Krynn. In an age when most modern fantasy authors have to describe every gory detail of a battle or atrocity, it is refreshing to have the music of words written by such as these. I can only compare them with J.R.R. Tolkien in the imagery and imagination they conjure. In an age when popular fantasy authors are humanocentric, meaning there are only humans in their worlds, it's refreshing to read about dwarves and elves and those ever humorous kender (again I draw comparison with Tolkien). The strength of these two, in my opinion, is characterization. The characters in this book are alive in my mind. Tasselhoff will always be Tasselhoff and Gerard happens to be my favorite character followed closely by Marshal Medan. Another aspect that I have always admired about the authors is their sometimes subtle and not so subtle theme of good versus evil. This book has you thinking of the grey in between the extremes, but each character must, and does, choose one side or the other. For in this war there are no neutrals.
If any who has found adventure and the magic of Krynn and wants to find it again, read Dragons of a Lost Star. Dragonlance is alive and coming back with a vengence. In short, buy it, check it out or borrow it, but just read it.

This book is a much better book than its predecessor, Dragons of a Fallen Sun. I finished the book in a day, that's how engrossing it is so I urge you not to get this book if you don't have the time to commit to it. The writing is similar to that of Weis/Hickman books of the past by writing the events that occur to different characters intermittedly (i.e. Chapter 1 about character "a", then chapter 2 about character "b", etc.). The one problem I have with it is that it always wants me to read more because they always end the chapter at the most interesting part only to pick it up later. Other than that, the storyline is somewhat predictable if you are an avid reader of fantasy (particularly of Weis/Hickman). The identity of the One God was so obvious......But the book does have it's moments and there is more than enough action to satisfy readers. Perhaps the most annoying thing in the book is Tasselhoff, he was okay back in the day but he has been steadily annoying the hell out of me in the last couple of Weis/Hickman DragonLance books; he should definitely die (and stay dead) in the next one (I hope). All in all a great book; I eagerly await the release of the last book, Dragons of a Vanished Moon. If you are into Fantasy at all, pick up this book and it's predecessors (CHRONICLES, LEGENDS, Dragons of Summer Flame, and Dragons of a Lost Star) for they are some of the best. Once you read them, you'll know what I mean.

Dragons of a Lost Star is a winner. The story continues weaving a web of beauty and mystique. As Mina continues to triumph over the peoples of Krynn, Palin begins to understand the mysteries surrounding a Kender named Tas. By far the most moving strand is that of Laurana and her son, and Goldmoon and Mina. But as the darkness overwhelmes the light, new heroes rise up to challenge the darkness. Dalamar's mysterious disappearance is revealed, the true origin of the bloated dragons that now rule Krynn is discovered and my heart is once again satisfied. Weis and Hickman are able to do something that no other authors can do, take us back to a place we love, and cause us to love it even more. I highly recommend this book. It is another masterpiece of writing. Thank You Margaret and Tracy for taking us home.

Some have stated that the new Dragonlance novels are not as entertaining or as well-developed as the originals. I have long been an opponent of the "old-codger" viewpoint in which the original is glorified and the new condemned. Perhaps it is nihilistic of me to say so, but I think that part of what makes a series like Dragonlance so amazing is the continued flow of quality work. This novel is every bit as good as Dragons of Winter Night, and one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. Granted, if you do not know what has come before, it would fail to have that effect, but I think those who claim that Weis and Hickman have lost their flame (or is that star?) need to desperately reread this novel.

This book ,the whole trilogy will become a classic ,a must for the fantasy fiction readers,or I am a bearded gnome , a doorknob,and so dumb that even Tass cant find a suitable enough taunt for me!!!!!Thank you Margaret and Tracy ( I think that after having read so many books by you,I can refer to you this way :-) )Cant wait for the final book..READ THIS STUFF!!!!!!!

When I first read Dragons of a Fallen Sun I had never previously read another Dragonlance novel, so I was immersed into a world of the unknown creatures, where Kender were something completely new to me, and the idea of dragons and sorcerers and warriors brought a surprised smile to my face. As I went back to the Chronicles and Legends, and the Second Generation of characters, and then to the finale, The Dragons of Summer Flame, I realized that Dragons of a Fallen Sun wasn't anything new, but an add-on to Dragonlance and its Legends.
The redundancy of Weis and Hickman could drive you away from their work, repetitively mentioning how a bored kender is disastrous, it tends to draw you away; along with the constant typographical errors, which I found three in the span of four pages. Although minor, it remains in your mind, and takes away from your enjoyment. Other than their constant redundance, and their editors abilities to pass over errors, this was a fine book.
Starting off with Morham Targonne, the leader of the Dark Knights of Nereka, sitting at his desk examining his, pardon me, their profits. Constant at his work, he is still aware of his surroundings, as the book mentions. He is brought up to date by two runners of the fallen shield of the Silvanesti, and of the attack on the Citadel of Light.
For the first 350 pages we progress, along with various characters, slowly and evidently through various governmental problems, and little action takes place. This has been the trend in the last two novels by Weis and Hickman, little action, and increasing governmental issues. Mina moves and takes over Silvanesti, not taking over Martial Law, living on the outskirts of the city, and letting the elves remain as they were, peaceful and considerate of their needs.
The elevating seriousness of the book foreshadows the forecoming events. In the first part of the book, jokes - corny, and brought only a cheap laugh - were constantly thought of by our two valiant authors. But, as we descend into the deeper portions of these minds, we see their actual ability.
Read this book for the last one hundred pages. This is when the action starts. I am not a crazed man for action and gore, and so forth and so on. I expect in a Dragonlance novel action here and their, and a small battle, no matter who wins, as I am sure we all do. The fight for Qualinesti begins on page 371 I believe. A very well thought out battle, and a the reader will find an unexpected ending to it. But, as for the One God, their should be no surprises, go with your first instinct, and you should manage it. I'm not sure who I was expecting; a new god would have brought no satisfaction, because I would not have known who, or why he decided to show up. We cannot blame them for their lack of choices, bless them for giving you choices at all.
We see the progression of Weis and Hickman as authors in this book, whether they are progressing for the worse, or for the better. Personally, I choose the latter. I can wait for the Dragons of a Vanished Moon, in April of 2002. For this reason, I don't see how much farther they can go on with writing Dragonlance novels, I fear, and I might be wrong, that this may be the last 'good' series by Margaret Weis, and Tracy Hickman. I would love to be proved wrong, because I thoroughly enjoy reading their work. I encourage all those who haven't yet; to buy, or borrow from you local library, Dragons of a Lost Star.