Lord Patrek Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Dragonlance was my gateway into the fantasy genre. I have fond memories of Weis and Hickman's early works and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Dragons of Summer Flames and everything that came after totally failed to recapture the magic of the first few books. Halfway through this new one, it appears that it will be the same again. Hopefully I'm wrong. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 21 hours ago, Lord Patrek said: Dragonlance was my gateway into the fantasy genre. I have fond memories of Weis and Hickman's early works and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Dragons of Summer Flames and everything that came after totally failed to recapture the magic of the first few books. Halfway through this new one, it appears that it will be the same again. Hopefully I'm wrong. . . To be honest, the earlier books weren't very good either. We just rated them at the time because we were like 10 when we read them. I reread the Chronicles trilogy recently and it has really not withstood the test of time, at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 I'm sure you're right, which is why I haven't reread them in years. I'd rather keep my fond memories of the characters and their stories. Which is also why I figure I never could get into Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance works that I've read as an adult. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 (edited) Oh I don't know. I still do re-reads of the first two trilogies semi-regularly...I mean, Wert is correct, Chronicles isn't great, but we remember this is when Weis and Hickman were still learning the craft. And the story is just a travelog (there are some shining moments in Winter Night that aren't repeated in the subsequent book). Legends isn't spectacular, but it is well done. Much better than the first trilogy. Summer Flame has always suffered because of the retconning of so much other material that you kinda had to know to fully understand the book...I didn't read all the extras, so there were bits and pieces that didn't make sense. It got worse with the War of Souls and trying to rewrite the awful 5th Age stuff... I enjoyed the Lost Chronicles much more than I should have. I am actually looking forward to the new one. Edited August 11, 2022 by Jaxom 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 Chronicles is okay. Legends is still awesome as an adult as it was when I was a teenager, if not more so. Jaxom 1974 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 11, 2022 Author Share Posted August 11, 2022 Ready to start the book. Just now looked at the back cover and saw the cover blurb from Joe Manganiello. Teng Ai Hui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Please tell me that I'm not the only one who had to look up that name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 12, 2022 Author Share Posted August 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Teng Ai Hui said: Please tell me that I'm not the only one who had to look up that name. You weren’t a Magic Mike fan? Teng Ai Hui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Rhom said: You weren’t a Magic Mike fan? No, Magic Mike is completely off my radar. Previously, I had only known him as Mr. Vergara or that werewolf guy from True Blood. Now I will also know him as the guy who reads nothing but Dragonlance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 13 hours ago, Rhom said: You weren’t a Magic Mike fan? I know him from HIMYM and Big Bang Theory...much better stuff there...True Blood what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 About 250 pages into it and still not feeling it. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felice Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 On 8/9/2022 at 10:55 AM, Chataya de Fleury said: Also - how did they breathe while going through atmosphere, much less while on the moon? Things the young teenage Chataya never thought to ask herself. Because all objects have a gravity field, the size of which (but not the strength) varies depending on mass, and that gravity holds an envelope of air. A human's individual air pocket is too small to last long, but a flying machine would trap enough to last a decent amount of time, and a moon would have plenty. (If two objects are close enough that their gravity planes overlap, the gravity of the larger object takes precedence.) </Spelljammer> Lord of Oop North 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 I just reached the end of part 1. It’s definitely not Tas/Flint/Tanis get attacked by a Hobgoblin outside Solace as an opener, huh? My one positive, it does make the world feel more “lived in.” I don’t think any of the books have made me think there were farmers and small town mayors out there in the vast open spaces on the map. C.T. Phipps and Madame deVenoge 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 About 50 pages to go and I can definitely tell you that this is not the book/series that will put Dragonlance back on the map. Early on, I would have said that it's YA through and through. It's not. It's more Y than A. I kind of hoped that nostalgia would kick in and make me overlook all the flaws and the juvenile plot and dialogue. Sadly, it hasn't happened yet. Not even the appearance of Tas, Caramon, Tika, and Dalamar helped. Would have quit 200 pages ago if this wasn't Weis and Hickman's latest Dragonlance offering. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 Finished it… and I have to say that I understand much more clearly now why WotC or whoever tried to shelve it. It’s not awful… but it’s kinda all over the place and honestly reads as the longest Prologue in the history of mankind. I have to say, while slow, the part I enjoyed the best was Part 1 with life at Castle Rosethorn. It felt like it could have built to something. This line was where it all fell apart for me (even though it happened well after all the dumb stuff.) Spoiler “The days went by and he waited expectantly for Destina to return, bearing the Greystone and the Device of Time Journeying. He was confident she would come back.” So wait… the girl who pissed herself in fear at some goblins and then was out maneuvered by her idiot cousin? The girl who had never met a mage before stumbling into the worst renegade mage shop on Ansalon? The girl who had never met a Dwarf before deciding to wander into Thorbardin and just up and ask to meet the king? You think that girl is going to show up with two of the most elusive artifacts known to Krynn. I read CTs review and he says there is comedy in Destina… sadly, I don’t think it was written that way. She was clueless and just flat dumb. But that wasn’t written as comedy. Then Reorx just sends her on her merry way with the Graygem he has damaged? I liked Tas’ introduction to the story at first but the more I think on it; he seemed too dumb to be the Tas I remember. He did give it some comedy at least. He probably should have been introduced to the story sooner as the impetus to go on the trip. Have him meet Destina in Palanthas or send her to the High Clerist Tower where she runs into him. So anyways, I’m a sucker and I will read the next two when they come out regardless of how bad this was. Long story short, they should have left this thing shelved. But I’ll read it anyways. If they wanted to truly reboot DragonLance; they should have gone back to Jim Butcher with enough money to make him forget his scruples about not having W&H’s blessing. C.T. Phipps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Just finished it, too. And yeah, it's pretty dumb. And bad. Not sure if I want to read what comes next. Destina is by far the worse character ever created by Weis and Hickman. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 6 minutes ago, Lord Patrek said: Just finished it, too. And yeah, it's pretty dumb. And bad. Not sure if I want to read what comes next. Destina is by far the worse character ever created by Weis and Hickman. . . The thing is… there could have been some good comedy there of a clueless Solamnic caught bouncing from place to place. But even that wasn’t done… C.T. Phipps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Even Tas is bad. . . Rhom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Lord Patrek said: Even Tas is bad. . . Tas was always bad. I spent much of the original trilogy actively wishing for his horrific death and being flummoxed when they offed Sturm instead. Oddly, he was the character best-improved by the animated film, where depicting a kleptomaniac sociopath with no sense of fear, preservation or basic empathy resulted in a clearly deranged lunatic of a character who was very entertaining. Edited August 17, 2022 by Werthead IlyaP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 Given the legal kerfluffle surrounding this new series, I know this book very obviously wasn't put together in a board room... but man, there are parts of it that really feel like a bunch of people sat around a conference table with polling data and said "Lets do this..." Spoiler Suit 1: Okay folks... its been a while since we had a Dragonlance book. Lets talk ways to get back on the shelves. Lets brainstorm here. What do you have? Young Suit: What if we get a trendy author to basically just rewrite the original trilogy but with an edgier modern flare? Suit 2: We tried that with Jim Butcher a decade ago. Won't work. Suit 1: Come on people. Who are our most popular DragonLance characters? Stats Carrying Suit: Our metadata says people like Sturm, Raistlin, and Tasslehoff. Suit 1: Okay. Lets make a series of books about them. Skeptical Suit: Ummm... one problem sir... two of them are dead. Suit 1: Dead you say? Are you sure? Skeptical Suit: Pretty sure... in fact, Sturm's death scene was the thing the fans liked the most about him. Suit 1: Details. I've heard people like when dead heroes come back to life. Suit 2: Okay. What else do people like? Young Suit: People seem to like the Huma story... Suit 2: Okay perfect. We will write a book about Raistlin and Sturm and their adventures with humans. Skeptical Suit: Sir... its not humans... its Huma... Huma Dragonsbane... Suit 1: Exactly. Get the AI to write that and we'll get it out next week. Good work people. Lord Patrek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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