Dragons of the Highlord Skies (Dragon Lance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 2)
The Chronicles retold--from evil's point of view.The story starts in Neraka, where Kitiara uth Matar and Emperor Ariakas hatch a plan to retrieve a dragon orb and thereby destroy Solamnia and the Companions in one fell swoop. But the guardian of the dragon orb, Highlord Feal-Thas, disagrees with this plan. Kitiara must go to Ice Wall to force him to accept Ariakas' will, but her journey does not end there. Thrown out of favor, she conceives a daring plan to enlist the aid of the most feared beings on Krynn--Lord Soth and the Dark Queen. Meanwhile, Laurana and the Companions retrieve the dragon orb and take it back to Solamnia--not knowing that they bring their allies' doom with them.
The second volume of a new trilogy from celebrated authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, The Lost Chronicles details the famed War of the Lance from the perspective of the evil that menaces Krynn. The books are written in such a way that they will be marvelous complements to the original Chronicles, while at the same time accessible and exciting to new readers.
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this enterprising second volume of the Lost Chronicles (after 2006's Dragons of the Dwarven Depths), Emperor Ariakis pressures Dragon Highlord Kitiara uth Matar into a plan to make sure the Solamnic knight Derek Crownguard hears about, then quests after a dragon orb recently discovered by Dragon Highlord Feal-Thas. As Crownguard's will is weaker than the dragon essence inside the orb, he will become enthralled to it and compelled to do the bidding of Ariakis. Loathing the task but having no choice, Kitiara treks to Feal-Thas's Ice Palace in the dangerous land of Icereach. As Crownguard and his companions join up with the group of renegades led by Kitiara's rival, Laurana, Kitiara's path takes an unexpected turn, leading her to Dargaard Keep to face the dread Lord Soth. Weis and Hickman have once again produced an entertaining high fantasy adventure. (July)
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About the Author
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman published their first novel in the Chronicles series of Dragonlance, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, in 1984. Over twenty years later they are going strong as partners with over thirty novels as collaborators, and alone or together with other partners, over one hundred books, including novels, collections of short stories, role-playing games, and other game products. Tracy Hickman is also the editor of a new "Tracy Hickman Presents" line of Dragonlance novels for Wizards of the Coast, while Margaret Weis is in the midst of her own, popular, solo Dark Disciple trilogy for Wizards of he Coast.
From AudioFile
The Lost Chronicle series continues filling in the background of the Dragonlance with this second installment in the trilogy. The quest to recover a dragon orb in a distant land falls to Kitiara Uth-Matar, who is on the dark side and who is destined to confront Laurana, the leader of the forces of good. Sandra Burr draws on the large store of characters she has developed in past productions. She deals with the expository passages with a light touch that keeps them moving at a good pace and skillfully brings out the humor and comic relief. While this is well done, it may not be the best point for newcomers to begin this multi?layered series. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Customer Reviews
I love Dragonlance
I love the Dragonlance series anyway, but this book was one of the best. I like stories about Raistlin and the rest of the heroes of the lance. I can't wait for the "Hourglass Mage".
Thanks
Tim
A Good Addition to the Saga
"Dragons of the Highlord Skies" comes off a bit as Hamlet without the Dane. Without some of the leading characters in the saga taking the stage (namely Tanis and the twins), Weis and Hickman are able to bring other characters to the front; namely Kitiara and the too often ignored Laurana. Throw in a detailed look at Derek Crownguard and a fascinating villain in Feal-Thas and, surprisingly, the book survives even without Tanis and Raistlin. There are some problems. The characters of Aaron and Brian seem undefined and the authors focus too much time and attention to them. Even worse, instead of focusing on the Companions, the authors spend too much time on the almost byzantine politics of a knighthood. Having said that, the battle at Icewall and the adventures of the companions more than makes up for these problems. Be warned; unlike many of the Dragonlance books, the start is slow-going. One other caveat, while he may be on the cover, Lord Soth is barely in the book. Nonetheless, this is a rewarding addition to the series.
Don't judge a book by it's cover, especially not this one...
If you are interested in a return to the old characters and world of Krynn, this is about as good as your are going to get nowadays, without re-reading your old novels or buying the annotated collections (which may actually be a better investment if you don't like Knights). The story is not at all awful and at no point did i want to stop reading, but it certainly isn't one of the best of the series.
I find myself bored with the Solmanic Knights stodgy rhetoric and constant huffing and puffing. They spend most of their time justifying their most recent transgression of "the measure", and then they hardly ever get into any worthwhile battles anyway. The two story lines sold on the cover of the book really only come to bare in the last 70 or so pages! The rest is somewhat boring lead up to the money shot.
I kept reading and reading and as there grew to be less and less pages I was wondering if Kit was even really going to get to Nightlund in this novel. I really would have like to have seen more time devoted to the actual battle for the dragon orb as well as Kit's encounter with Lord Soth instead of the mundane lead up. The book glances over the significance of things like the Star Jewel (or whatever it is called, the gem from Alhana given to Sturm) and spends pages upon pages delving into a love story involving one of the other knights; that never really goes anywhere or means anything to the story.
I could go on, but I'm not being paid for this. Let's just hope the last of this trilogy, "Hourglass Mage," doesn't spend 90% of it's pages on a story leading up to meeting Raistlin, and then hurridly telling his turn to the Black Robes in 60 odd pages of a 600 page book.
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