Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
It's a good job that my expctations for this book were not high, because my very low ones weren't really met. Like most people reading this book (why would you choose this as your first Dragonlance book? Just a small amount of research explains that this really isn't the best place to start!!) I have an unhealthy amount of nostalgia when it comes to Dragonlance, being hooked on the Chronicles - most notably being a Raistlin devotee - in my early teens to such an extent that thinking about Dragonlance takes me to a little "safe place". If I went back to the womb I'd probably be drinking hot ribena and clutching a copy of Tests of the Twins for consumption when I got there. I'd heard about these "Lost Chronicles" some time ago and was quite enthused about the project. There were significant gaps in the story of the Chronicles just waiting to be filled, and whilst I think that they *needed* to be (the original editing decisions were OK, since the saga risked becoming long and convoluted), I figured it could be a fun time regardless, spending a bit more quality time with Tanis, Sturn, Raistlin, Flint and the rest of the gang. I'm older and better read now and well aware of Weis and Hickman's faults as authors (which are many), but having re-read some of their work over the years I'm also aware that they can spin an enjoyable yarn when they want to. I figured that they'd really "want" to make something out of this, their much heralded return to the blockbuster series that made Dragonlance a household fantasy name in the 80s and I was genuinely disappointed at the low quality trash that they've given us, as if they had no ideas and no care to really bother with making this book a love letter to their many fans at all.It's not a complete disaster of a novel. In train wreck terms it's definitely derailed and is now teetering on the edge of quite a high precipice, but most passengers are still just about alive. The characters are still mostly fun, Tas in particular provides some moments of good gumour and for some reason I enjoyed Tanis' broodiness this time around, and the basic plotline can pass muster for a light read; the heroes have to get a group of refugees to Thorbardin, there's some warring Dwarves, a lost hammer to discover and so on. And yet, everything seems so laboured, so heavy of touch and fundamentally so stupid. Weis and Hickman write this tale with no sense of depth, no pacing, no danger and no suspense. It's more A to B than the alphabet and everything is written to be exactly as you'd expect. Many have complained about the "prequel problem" that we know who survives and who doesn't, but that's not really the issue since it's easy enough to introduce new characters and a sense of mystery. Weis and Hickman just can't be bothered to do that, everything is spelled out before we've even started on the journey.There's no sense of character development, no insight, no real adventure. There's just no "fun" in it and that's where I was expecting this book to primarily deliver. For all its faults a series, the Dragonlance Chronicles cares about its characters and what they're up to and we come to care about them. I simply didn't care about the characters in this novel (and don't get me started on the villains, the Draconian duo) This just isn't committed storytelling and it smacks of contractual obligations if any novel ever did.So, am I going to read the second Lost Chronicle, Dragons of the Highlord Skies? Of course I am, I always had a bit of a crush on Kitiara. My expectations, however, will be suitably low.
This was a fun book for me =) I'll preface this review by saying I'm a huge Dragonlance fan. A book pretty much automatically gets 3 stars from me by having the word "Dragonlance" on the cover. The closest thing I could compare this to (with a movie analogy) would be a special bonus DVD from a Director's Cut of a film. It is a nice little tale that fills in some of the glaring gaps missing from the Chronicles (hence the name of this series, the Lost Chronicles).I'd been putting off reading these until Audible just came out with ALL of them as Unabridged Audiobooks so I decided to go for it and listen to them while painting (as a fantasy artist, it's quite fitting). I must say though - I almost gave this a lower rating because the narrator of the audiobook does some really DREADFUL voices. Tasslehoff is really cringeworthy - the audiobook narrator for some reason decided to go with a "Scooby-Doo does a Kermit the Frog impression" sort of angle. Argh. Some of the other characters sound super whiny too (even when they're not whining, hehe).But that's not the book's fault!The book does have some faults though - mostly I think it spends too much time reiterating and recapping what has happened in the previously written books. It gives us the same repeated background information about these well-known characters that pretty much ANYBODY who chooses to read these would already know. The audience for this book should (in my opinion) only be big Dragonlance fans who have read the original Chronicles. In other words (to use the movie analogy again) - for people who have seen the movie a million times and want to see some bonus outtakes! It should NOT be a book for people who have not read the original Chronicles (again, you shouldn't start off with the DVD outtakes/bonus features from a movie you haven't seen, you should watch the movie first and then enjoy the extras).There are also a few minor continuity/nitpicky things that popped up here and there, but it's the sort of thing that would make me roll my eyes about if I were to see them as complaints from others (ie, Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons - trying not to be like that!).All in all, good Dragonlance fun. I'm already starting on the next one (Dragons of the Highlord Skies) ....which unfortunately has the same narrator on the audiobook, ah well.
What do You think about Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths (2007)?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had been awhile since I read a Dragonlance novel and it was quit refreshing to do so again. Its not heavy reading, but being thought out it has just enough to chew on intellectually to satisfy the desire for a fun read. One of the ideas that popped out at me was how non-pagan the gods of Krynn seem to be (other than their multiplicity). I wonder if that is in part to Hickman being Mormon? The gods of Krynn produce a setting quite different from Forgotten Realms or many other modern fantasy novels (that I've read) since there is a morality based value system derived from Judeo-Christian theology that underlies the storyThe main plot of the story places deontology against consequentialism. It asks the age old question, does the end justify the means? Can you commit a wrong to make a right? And with holding to Krynn's idealistic value system it answers it accordingly. In a more Machiavellian world the end justifies the means, and its the strong that survive, and man is at the center of the universe existing for his own gratification at the expense of others. Which accurately describes Queen Takhisis and her minions, as well as Satan.Of course our own world isnt quite that simple, and idealistic values dont work all the time. Still it's good to be inspired and shoot for the stars.
—Louis Vigo
I really enjoyed this book, and it brought back a lot of memories of dragonlance books (which I discovered thanks to you!) it felt like reading the Chronicles again more so than any other dragonlance book has to date.
—August
Having won a small skirmish in the War of the Lance, the companions (with several hundred newly-freed slaves-turned-refugees), are holed up in a valley, hopefully to wait out the bitter, unforgiving winter and proceed to safety with the first thaws. Resourceful and streetsmart, they are aware that defeating a single commander is hardly sufficient to topple a cohesive military unit and throw the remaining draconian and human troops into chaos.Their fears prove true after their nemesis, Verminaard, is resurrected and flexes his muscle over his escaped prizes. And so begins a desperate rush for survival and shelter in Thorbardin.There are almost no rehashings of events that occurred in the trilogy's first third, enabling the authors to leap right into the story, showing us glimpses into the Draconian plots as well as the struggles of the heroes.Sturm and Flint are fleshed out in detail, and they become more mature as well as composite characters, engendering rage as well as pity and sympathy from readers. Reorx himself makes a brief appearance, and shows an unexpectedly playful, almost capricious side to himself. There are references to the Dragonlance Legends saga and these will doubtlessly be of interest to fans of those books as well as new fans who have read Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
—Ayame Sohma
