I love this book despite the fact that about half of it is steeped in serious suckiness. The fact is, at least for me, that the excellent bits in Time of the Twins are far more excellent than the excellent bits in the three Dragonlance books that preceded this one (and those books had some excellent bits), making Time of the Twins a favourite of mine.Sucky Bits:Sucky -- This story hinges on the corruption of the Kingpriest of Istar. The Kingpriest arrogantly (and weakly) calls on the gods to come down as peers and help him wipe evil from Krynn (the World of Dragonlance for the uninitiated). This is a solid idea for fantasy fiction, and it allows Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman to express their idea about the need for equilibrium between good and evil. The problem is that we never see enough of the Kingpriest, his court, his "good/bad works" or anything else related to him to fully accept the Cataclysm he brings to Krynn. The authors rely on our Dragonlance-fed understanding of Krynn's history to fill in the Kingpriest-gaps rather than giving us the time we need in Istar to damn the Kingpriest ourselves. We know he's arrogant and foolish because we're told he is, not because they make us believe it. And that is sucky.Suckier -- Something similar happens with the other important characters in Time of the Twins. The gladiators, Kiiri and Pheragas, the priests, Quarath and Denubis, and the slavers, Raag and Arack, aren't given anywhere near the time they need to fulfill their potential as characters -- not even as supporting characters. Kiiri and Pheragas are supposed to be important to Caramon, but we're left to assume and accept their importance based on some barely developed camaraderie. Quarath, Arack and Raag are supposed to be the story's supporting villains, but they never movie beyond the Sneak, the pseudo-Mobster and the Muscle. Denubis (who returns later in the series) is the one true cleric left for Crysania to meet, and just as we are beginning to like him he disappears with an old, father-time style, Elven cleric. And all this is suckier. Suckiest -- Tasslehoff Burrfoot. Tas is a favourite from the Dragonlance Chronicles. He is the lovable kender from who befriended a god and imbued the original stories with a sense of wonder. The authors lost their way with his character, though. He was designed to be a full-grown adult from a race cursed with insatiable curiousity and no fear. He is touched by the War of the Lance, and he learns how to fear for the lives of those he loves, which should make for a more mature character, a wiser more sober character. But Weis & Hickman blow it. They turn Tas into a little boy. He feels like an insufferable, annoying, spoiled four year old. And that is the suckiest of all.Excellent Bits:Excellent -- All those sucky problems are offset by some cool stuff, though. One excellent element of Time of the Twins is Lady Crysania. She's second in commmand of the newly revived Order of Paladine -- cold, haughty, and utterly convinced of her natural superiority. But all that changes when she meets and is challenged by Raistlin, the dark wizard who has become the "Master of Past and Present." Her intellectual awakening at the hands of Raistlin is excellent.Excellenter -- Caramon Majere, twin brother of Raislin, has his own struggle, but his is more a recovery than an awakening. He's a broken man when the story begins: broken by war, broken by being unnecessary when there's none left to kill, broken by his love for his brother. His story is the simplest, but also one of the most emotionally satisfying. Not a false note is struck in Caramon's rebirth, and there is even a promise of something more to come. This is even excellenter.Excellentest -- Nothing compares to the opening chapter in Raistlin's journey to become a god, however. Time of the Twins is Raistlin's tale, and when he's onstage the story is better than any other thing Weis & Hickman have collaborated on. Raistlin does terrible things, it's true; he wears black robes (the mark of an evil wizard on Krynn), he murders people, he hungers for power, he manipulates and controls, he lies, and the god he wants to replace is Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness. He is a bad ass extraordinaire. But he also cares. He cares about dignity, he cares about the poor, he cares about the meek, he cares about his friends, he cares about his brother. He shows mercy, compassion and wisdom that no other character in all six of the core Dragonlance books possesses. He may be a badass, but he's also a hero, making him one of my all time favourite Fantasy characters. Raistlin's story is the excellentest part of Time of the Twins.The biggest problem with Dragonlance Legends, then, and the main reason for the suckiness in Time of the Twins, is that each installment of the three part series needed three parts to be fully realized. This series should have stretched over nine volumes, only then could it have achieved its full potential. But that's okay. I love it anyway. Even with all its flaws (yeah...I know...it's probably a nostalgia thing).
Hope AdamsShaw Humanities II5 October, 2015Time of the Twins Book ReviewtTime of the Twins is a fantasy novel, the first book in the second series called the Dragon-lance series, written by Margaret Weis and Trent Hickman. The setting is in a mythical world called Krynn, and which this world has different races, cultures, mythical beings, and even the stars are all made up. This book is one of a kind and is so amazing. It not only captures the thoughts of the characters, but the mind of the author who created this world and gives the reader information throughout the book in an exciting way. Although the genre of this book is mostly Fantasy, it has a suspense feel throughout it and has a lot of added mystery to it. Because of this reason, the book is very interesting and has little to none of the boring parts. It’s a fast pace read and keeps the reader enthralled and wanting to turn more pages at their fingertips. However, if Fantasy, Dragons, and the world of magic is not your forte, this is not the book for you. In this series, this is the author's fourth book. It’s very vivid, and captures the thoughts of the main characters. The main characters in this particular book are Raistlin and Caramon, who are twin brothers although vastly different, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, which is a Kender, Crysania, who is a true cleric of Paladine, and some other characters that play important roles in the plot. Those characters would include some various wizards, clerics, bandits, and gladiators of the past. Even the smallest of characters who might not be the greatest or the most exciting, hold almost the most important roles. One character would be Bupu, who is a gully dwarf. One of the most unimportant, filthy, and least intelligent of the dwarves, Bupu is of great importance because she holds the key to Raistlin’s humane side. She was one of the first to be actually cared for by the mage, and therefore, is the key to saving him.. Raistlin has decided to be in the black robes, and has a mad plan to defeat the Dark Queen, goddess of evil, and take her place instead. His plan is to go back in time, in which his brother, Caramon, follows him, and along with the true cleric of Paladine, Crysania. The Kender, Tas, ends up back in time with them. The time that the go to is before the cataclysm, and Raistlin plans to defeat a very powerful wizard named Fistandantilus, one of the most powerful dark mages in Krynn and beyond. From there, these characters undergo many hardships to get to Raistlin’s plan, but there was a plot twist at the end that added some excitement to the story and had a very different ending than I thought it would.My reactions to the book are very positive. I loved every aspect of it and was wanting more. One of my favorite characters is Raistlin, and he proved to be a very shady person and was unpredictable. I’m not going to spoil how much he truly surprised me, because it plays a major role in the plot. All the other characters are fascinating to read about too, but there seems to be more going on with the dark mage. I didn’t really dislike any characters, for the most part, they all played in the world like they would in real life. It was like they were alive before my eyes. There wasn’t anything negative about this book to record.I honestly liked this book very much because of the fact that it’s so original and has a way of writing things on it’s own. It was a very good book and I give it 5 stars because it was a good read and always left me wanting more on the book. There were more than a few plot twists, and the characters like Raistlin and Crysania surprised me time and time again. They did not act like I thought they would at all. It’s a very good read and I Recommend it to everyone who likes the fantasy genre of books.
What do You think about Time Of The Twins (2004)?
La Guerra de la Lanza ha terminado, y la Oscuridad ha desaparecido. ¿O tal vez no? Porque hay quien ansía reinstaurarla en Krynn. Raistlin, el mago de los ojos como relojes de arena, quiere ser más poderoso que su Reina de la Oscuridad y propagar el Mal en el mundo. El hechicero goza de un desmesurado poder porque Fistandan tilus, el archimago más perverso del orbe, se ha encarnado en él. Sólo dos personas pueden detener a Raistlin. Una es Crysania, una bella sacerdotisa, Hija venerable de Paladine, que no tiene en cuenta la flaqueza de sus sentimientos al enfrentarse al hechicero. La otra es Caramon, quien todavía sufre por no poder proteger ya a su hermano. El guerrero debe, ante todo, aceptarse a sí mismo para luego redimir a su gemelo. Crysania y Caramon junto al impetuoso kender, Tas, son catapultados al pasado gracias a la magia, para que vivan la reencarnación de Raistlin, y contemplen el agónico acontecimiento del Cataclismo, que hundirá la orgullosa ciudad de Istar en el fondo del Mar Sangriento. Las autoras Margaret Weis y Tracy Hickman han creado esta segunda trilogía, Leyendas de la Dragonlance , tanto o más interesante que la que formaba las Crónicas de la Dragonlance . En las Leyendas aparecen algunos de los personajes que intervenían en las Crónicas y se incorporan otros protagonistas, produciéndose nuevas y apasionantes situaciones tanto en el Presente como en el Pasado. Selección de novelas de la Saga de la Dragonlance
—Ana Elena
"It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it.”That line is unfortunately not from this book, nor even from this universe. However, in addition to being a favourite of mine, it describes this book perfectly.The War of the Lance is over. The Queen of Darkness and her Dragon Highlords have been defeated against all odds. But Krynn is devastated by the conflict, and new dangers lurk in the shadows. In solitude in the Tower of High Sorcery, a familiar wizard is setting his master plan into motion…With the beginning of the second trilogy of DragonLance novels, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman take the leap from classical, cliché-ridden, D&D fantasy, to something much more interesting. Time of the Twins is the first real step on the path to this universe getting an identity of its own.In some ways, this is more of the same. In others, it’s a vast improvement. Characterisation has changed a lot. For the better. But the setting and storylines are similar to what we see in the first trilogy.Overall however, this is definitely my favourite DragonLance book so far. And look, it even has good writing!"It is easy to have hope in the spring, warrior, when the weather is warm and the vallenwoods are green. It is easy to have hope in the summer, when the vallenwoods glitter with gold. It is easy to have hope in the fall when the vallenwoods are as red as living blood. But in the winter, when the air is sharp and bitter and the skies are gray, does the vallenwood die, warrior?""Who spoke?" Caramon cried, staring around wildly, clutching his sword in his trembling hand."What does the vallenwood do in the winter, warrior, when all is dark and even the ground is frozen? It digs deep, warrior. It sends its roots down, down, into the soil, down to the warm heart of the world. There, deep within, the vallenwood finds nourishment to help it survive the darkness and the cold, so that it may bloom again in the spring.""So?" Caramon asked suspiciously, backing up a step and looking around."So you stand in the darkest winter of your life, warrior. And so you must dig deep to find the warmth and the strength that will help you survive the bitter cold and the terrible darkness. No longer do you have the bloom of spring or the vigor of summer. You must find the strength you need in your heart, in your soul. Then, like the vallenwoods, you will grow once more."
—Markus
At some point later, perhaps I'll rant on about how much I love this series - at least the early Hickman-Weis core narrative. (The first 6 books, plus a later seventh, about 10 years later.) So much of it might be mired in nostalgia and newness; it was the first true adult fantasy stuff I had ever read. I was 11 years old. I got fully immersed. The characters are so compelling, from archmage Raistlin (perhaps the best fantasy character of all time, up there with Drizzt D'Ourden) all they way down to the impish Kinder, Tasselhoff. And it's adult - there is violence, sex, heartbreak, war and betrayal and sacrifice. I realize more and more how this work shaped my early views about writing... Like I said, perhaps I'll wax more nostalgic on these later. Just know that in my heart, the first six books are a 6 on a scale of 1 to 5.(Same review posted to each of first six books for now. IF YOU LOVE FANTASY, READ THESE)I'm sure most people love the first trilogy - Chronicles - more than this second one, centred around the twins, sickly magician and enormous warrior Caramon. But I love this part of the epic tale. The twins are deserving of the focus, and it's not like the other key characters are pushed into the corners either. The war of the lance is far from resolved when this trilogy starts, and the way it all turns out is mesmerizing.
—Blair
