-The Lost Chronicles, Book 3-
(Renton: Wizards of the Coast, 2009)
Hardcover, 336 Pages, Fiction
ABCD Rating: ACQUIRE
From the Cover: Into the heart of the Dark Queen’s empire. The Companions are back and the balance of Krynn is at stake, in the magnificent conclusion to the Lost Chronicles. The world celebrates Spring Dawning. The War of the Lance is nearing its end—for good or ill. The wizard, Raistlin Majere, has become a Black Robe and, using the dragon orb in his possession, he travels to Neraka, the lord city of the Dark Queen. Raistlin ostensibly plans to work for her, though in reality he means to further his own quest for power. Takhisis plans to destroy the gods of magic on the Night of the Eye, when all the wizards will be congregated at the Tower of Wayreth. Raistlin has to find a way to thwart the plot, even though this means doing battle with his own sister, the Dragon Highlord Kitiara, and her terrifying ally, the death knight Lord Soth. And still he must overcome his final foe: the archmagus Fistandantilus, who seeks to kill Raistlin and steal his soul. Krynn’s future has been written. People think they know how the story ends. But one night and one fateful decision by Raistlin Majere may change it all.
My Review: As I have said before on this blog, I am a big Dragonlance geek. It was a solace (no pun intended … there’s a joke only other Dragonlance geeks will get) when I was in middle and high school (I didn’t have a lot of friends … books were my friends), and they became such an escape from my regular life that I still read them and they are still a very special part of my library and now, with the release of Dragons of the Hourglass Mage my geek-ness comes to the forefront again.
For a long time, it looked as if this book would never see the light of day (as I understood it) due to conflicts between Wizards and Weis and Hickman. However, about two weeks ago I was in my local bookstore and perusing the shelves, imagine my surprise to see Dragons of the Hourglass Mage staring up at me from a shelf. I was honestly floored. I could not believe that it had made it to print without my knowing that it was coming (I watch the Wizards’ website pretty closely for upcoming Dragonlance novels and I can only guess that it snuck in under my radar as we moved preparatory to my entering my Masters’ program).
So, I immediately picked it up at my local library and as soon as I had finished with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I dove into Hourglass.
At the risk of sounding like a fawning fan boy … I loved it. Absolutely and completely. It felt as if I had never left the world of Krynn, and I was immediately engrossed with the tale of Raistlin Majere’s journey from the red robes of neutrality to the black robes of evil. (Am I sounding like a geek yet?) It is a fascinating story that is never fleshed out in the original Chronicles Trilogy, Raistlin disappears for a number of chapters, reappears briefly, then disappears again, only to show up again at the end (playing a critical role in the final action of the novel). His character is further expanded in the Legends trilogy which tells the story of the twins Raistlin and Caramon after the events of the Chronicles, but again, that lost time from Dragons of Spring Dawning is never fully fleshed-out. Now, finally, Weis and Hickman have consented to tell that story, and it is a true tribute to the fans of the series that they finally do so.
Okay, I’ll try not to geek-out too much more, but I am really excited about this book. What Weis and Hickman have done is quite remarkable given that the inaugural book in the series, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, debuted nearly 25 years ago. Hourglass is as fresh as that original novel and feels every bit a part of world of Krynn as if it had been written with the first novels. It is truly an amazing feat, especially given that there are legions of fans (myself included) ready to pick apart every word and nuance. I know … it’s a sickness … but I can’t help it, I love these characters.
Raistlin’s story is quite compelling, really, and one that I am glad they have finally told. I know, that sounds incredibly nerdy, but it’s the truth. Raistlin’s story is one of the seductive power of evil and the quest for power, and he was an underserved character in the original novels, so it is nice to see his role in the War of the Lance finally expanded and told. There are also some great supporting characters introduced in Hourglass, Iolanthe the Sorceress, the Innkeeper Talent Orren, the kender Mari … wonderful additions to the World of Krynn. All-in-all I loved this book, it’s a great read … and I don’t think that you have to be a Dragonlance fan to enjoy it, it helps, but it is not necessarily essential to reading the book.
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