Rating: 
Summary: Rather Dissapointing
Review: Though a good fantasy novel, Summer Flame was nothing compared to the original DragonLance Chronicles. It lacked the action, adventure, and magic that made the first three as popular as they are today. It was hard to grow attached to the characters, probably because the book centered more on the Second Generation then it did on the original Companions of the Lance. It was Very depressing and frustrating. Any loyal DL fan should read it, though, because, despite what some people say, there are going to be other DL novels, and having read Summer Flame will make things a lot easier to understand. A simple warning before starting this book: don't expect it to be as good as the original three, or you'll finish it quite displeased and depressed
Rating:
Summary: Slightly disappointing, but worthwhile reading nevertheless.
Review: Although Dragons of Summer Flame disappointed me, it was probably due to the excellence of the previous two series: Chronicles and Legends. Dragons of Summer Flame takes the reader through too many events and as a result, fails to create an emotional bond between the reader and the characters. Nevertheless, given that books concerning intervening events that took place in Dragons of Summer Flame will be published, Dragons of Summer Flame is a "must-read."
Rating: 
Summary: A can't miss for any Dragonlance fan...
Review: This book wound up the saga very nicely. After a couple
years of reading the Tales, Heroes, Preludes & a multitude
of side-areas, it was great finally getting back to the meat
of the story. The story itself takes so many unexpected turns throughout the World of Krynn that the reader never loses interest. I finished this 500+ page book in a matter
of 2 days. A definite must for any Dragonlance fan.
Rating:
Summary: A great story, but not quite the Dragonlance style.
Review: This conclusion to the Dragonlance saga is ok. In and of itself
I found this to be an entertaining, if not captivating story. But, it doesn't quite round out the saga of Dragonlance, at least
not with respect to the first three Chronicles. I found there to
be too much focus on the second generation. I would've liked to have
seen more nostalgic encounters with old characters. But perhaps I am looking at it
all wrong. As the first Dragonlance book I'd read in 6-7 years, I was
surprised that it did whet my appetite enough to go back and reread the
six original Weis/Hickman books. All in all, a great story.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book is mostly wonderful. My one small complaint is that W&H did the same thing they kinda did at the end of the Death Gate Cycle -- that is they tried to turn the world into Earth (Remember Alfred babbling over "God"?, same sorta thing).I think they were trying to kill the series. Then Jean Rabe comes along and messes it all up and then had to come and fix it again with the War of the Souls. Jean Rabe == Worst Fantasy Author Ever. But for the characters... I read every single DL book published before this one. The end of this one made me cry, and I still cry thinking about it. There is no way I cannot fully recommend this book to any Dragonlance reader.
Rating:
Summary: Seemed a little short and rushed, but thoroughly enjoyable
Review: Although it's not mentioned on the cover, this book is considered to be volume 4 of the DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES. It follows the adventures of the "second generation of heroes", the sons and daughters of the Heroes of the Lance. If you read SECOND GENERATION by Weis & Hickman first, you'll get a lot more out of this book. Weis & Hickman live up to their normal levels of excellence. This book is chock full of vivid characters, brilliant storytelling, and plenty of action and suspense. The dialogue and character interaction are still top notch and believable. The characters from the original trilogy that are seen act consistently with how they've been written before. Weis & Hickman do an excellent job of immersing the reader in the land of Krynn. The one shortcoming, I felt, was that it seemed to be rushed, especially after the halfway point. Battles seemed to be over too quickly or simply referred to as something that already happened (there was one particular scene I would have loved to have read directly) and the resolutions to the numerous confrontations seemed to be too simple. I think it would have taken a minimum of two, and preferably three, books to do justice to this story. My only other minor gripe is that, between this book and SECOND GENERATION, we never even meet some of the offspring that are referred to (I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't read these books). We also don't get to see Riverwind and Goldmoon. A character that was introduced in SECOND GENERATION (which made me think they would play a pivotal role in this book) is never directly showed to the reader, but rather referred to by other characters. Finally, there are a couple of characters whose destiny we never find out at the end of the book (and I'm assuming they won't be around in the WAR OF SOULS trilogy). Other than these two things (which were actually minor, despite the amount of time I spent writing about them), this was a thoroughly enjoyable book for Dragonlance fans. While obviously a setup for THE WAR OF SOULS, it was still a satisfactory read. I enjoyed revisiting the characters I've come to know so well from the other books and Weis & Hickman do not disappoint in their return to the world of Krynn. Definitely a must read for any fan of the Heroes of the Lance.
Rating: 
Summary: A rush into the 5th age...
Review: Since I read the sneak preview in "The Second Generation" I have been waiting for this book. But I got really disappointed when I finally read it, the sole purpose of the book seems to be making room for the 5th age by killing the old characters as well ending the world of Krynn as we know it. Killing the old characters may have been unavoidable but the drastic changes to whole Dragonlance universe destroys the whole balance in the previous books. If TSR wanted a new world why couldn't they have made a new one instead of destroying a old one? The whole book have a "rushed" feeling about it and the character development is very weak. The old characters seems to be missing some of their charisma, especially Raistlin which return but without his magic which was very much a part of him and without it he's only half the man he used to be. Even the villian, Chaos seems very flat and boring so if you liked the other books in the DL series DON'T buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: best of the series
Review: It seems a lot of people hate Dragons of Summer Flame... because of what happened to Dragonlance afterward. When I read the book, I wasn't aware there was going to be anything afterward. When I finished, I was amazed, and I read it again right away because I enjoyed it so much. To this day, Dragons of Summer Flame remains my favorite novel, and I've read quite a few since 1995. This is how Dragonlance should have ended; this was Weis and Hickman wrapping up the storylines of all the characters from their previous books and leaving us on the note of an ending that is really a new beginning. This book took me on a ride that I was sad to get off of, but very satisfied nonetheless. What could be better? ... Of course, Wizards of the Coast simply couldn't let a good thing rest in peace, and promptly hired Jean Rabe to continue the story from where Weis and Hickman left off. (I read those three Fifth Age books simply because they were Dragonlance and I was in high school with nothing better to do... by far the worst three books I've ever read in my life.) Then they got Weis and Hickman back to salvage that debacle, and we got the War of Souls... I still haven't made it to the last one, I lost interest after the "big revelation" at the end of book 2. Summer Flame, though, was Weis and Hickman in their element. Read the first 7 books of the series (Chronicles trilogy, Legends trilogy, Second Generation), then read this and enjoy the awesome, "real" conclusion to one of the greatest fantasy series ever =9.
Rating:
Summary: An End or Just the Beginning
Review: This book is a fiting part of the Dragonlance world. However, it is a little inconsistent with some of the latter books. Outside of that, the book was great. It raises some interesting questions about good and evil and whether evil can be honorable. It is an easy read even at over 500 pages. The characters were great and the use of both old and new characters allow a casually fan it enjoy as much as a Dragonlance veteran. Hickmen and Weis are a great one-two punch in the fanasty genera. They both are creative and work well together. I really don't have any negatives to say about this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: It has been many years since the Dragonlance Wars. Raistlin is still missing. Krynn is at peace, but it is strained at best. On the fringes of the world, Queen Tarkisis has created a new army out of fallen soldiers, called them the Knights of Tarkisis. Elsewhere, the Irda (a hidden race of Dwarves on a distant island) plan to use the Grey Gem, but unwittingly unleash Chaos, father of the gods. Then Queen Tarkisis uses this event to her advantage, and establishes martial law with her Knights as the authority. Meanwhile, the older Heros of the Lance and their children go about the world trying to right the great wrongs in Krynn. Now all of them face the greatest disaster since the Cataclysm. I liked this book quite a bit. It has action, romance, magic, dragons, war, and a not so happy ending. The characters are really the only flaw (but that's a pretty big problem, isn't it). Palin the red mage is alright; but he never really interested me anywhere near as much as his uncle, dark mage Raistlin. He is here too, and as usual cold, distant, and always ploting something. Usha is all right as well, though she seemed to be missing something, like a real personality. Steel Brightblade is by far the weakest character, just a new version of his father Sturm. On the positive side, Tassolhoff Burrfoot is back, and he is my favorite character in the Dragonlance books. Some people think he is the worst thing to hit sci-fi before Jar-Jar Binks, but I liked his child like curiosity. I felt his death deeply (at least he's in a better place with his old friend Flint Fireforge). I was a little alarmed at the deaths of Tanis, Caramon, and other Heros of the Lance; but I guess it is nessesary to continue the series as a world, and not a personal story. Dragon Lord Kitiara is back, but she's not as visible as usual. And the vengeful god Chaos was a just the Ansalon version of the Greek Titian Chronos (Zues's father). I am once again happy to see that the story didn't end happily. At the end, while the current threat (Chaos) is quashed, the world is still under the control of the evil Knights of Tarkisis, and they say that magic has left the world, so I guess we'll see what happens in the Fifth Age, the Age of Mortals. All in all, good effort, though a little long (over 600) and some of the characters were a little too thin. Also if you haven't read any of the other Dragonlance books first, you will be horribly lost, like I was the first time I read it.
|
