Debauchery and Dragons (Dragonlance Series in general)

Member Name: jamesdean1981

Product:	Dragonlance Series in general
Date:	10/11/01 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great plot, Wonderful characters

Disadvantages: None

Note: This review is confined to the original trilogy, ‘Dragonlance Chronicles’ by Tracy Weis and Margaret Hickman. I’m hoping to get a couple of the other trilogies added to the section, because there are at least five or six which certainly deserve in depth reviews.

The three books which make up this trilogy, ‘Dragons of Autumn Twilight’, ‘Dragons of Winter Night’, and ‘Dragons of Spring Dawning’, are among the best works of fantasy ever written, in my opinion. Set in the land of Krynn, a fairly standard fantasy world (with elves, dwarves, gnomes, and, as the title suggests, dragons), the books tell of the War of the Lance, as nine companions try to defend their world against the reborn dragons, led by the Queen of Darkness, the evil goddess Takhisis. To do this, they need to study the legends of the Third Age of Krynn, in which the knight Huma defeated the Dragons, and obtain the magical Dragon Orbs and the Dragon Lance.

So far, so standard, you might think. It’s true that it’s hardly the most original plot in the world… but the characters in the trilogy are fantastically well fleshed out. From Tanis Half Elven, the unlikely leader of the companions, born after his elven mother was raped by a human warrior, to Raistlin Majere, the gold skinned mage with the hourglass eyes whose loyalties are unknown, his brother Caramon, the strong man who fiercely guards his weaker sibling, their sister Kitiara, a former lover of Tanis who is now a commander in the Dragon Queen’s armies, to Sturm Brightblade, the noble member of the once revered, but now despised, Knights of Solamnia, everybody in the books feels real. The reader is constantly trying to work out who’s side certain characters are on, with very few of the people the companions meet – and certain of the companions themselves – being completely open about their motives, and the endings of the firs
t and second books will leave you rushing to find the sequels.

Another thing which sets the books apart from your standard fantasy novel is the humour invoked by Weis and Hickman. From the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, typical member of a race reminiscent of a cross between Tolkien’s hobbits, but braver – and more adept at stealing, to Bupa, the gully dwarf who’s looked down on as one of the lowest of the dwarves by all except Raistlin, who finds in her one of the only creatures he ever pities, to Fizban, the blundering old magician who pops up in the most unexpected places, there’s a rich vein of humour which adds to, rather than distracts from, the main story.

However, it shouldn’t be taken to mean that this is a laugh a minute series. There are moments of real tragedy here; at one point, when the companions split up, Raistlin exits saying ‘some of us are fated never to meet again’, and is proved right. At least one death scene is among some of the best written, saddest, prose I’ve ever read, due to the affinity you develop for each of the characters involved. And the love stories which are intertwined with the main plot, as Tanis tries to choose between Kitiara and his childhood sweetheart Laurana, while other characters love lives are equally confused, are as good as those you find at the centre of many romance novels.

Highly recommended to all, especially fantasy fans.

Summary: