Series: Dragonlance Legends Vol. 1
We go on with the Dragonlance series, and this is quite a nifty start to a new trilogy. It starts a few years after the end of the Chronicles and we get to catch up with the characters from the previous books and we get to know what they have been doing in the interim, until we get started on the adventure proper.
The adventure proper focuses on three characters that we already know, Raistlin, Caramon and Tas, and there is quite a bit of character development for them happening here, particularly Caramon, who ends this book a transformed man. Actually Caramon starts this book transformed as well, as a disappointed man, who has gone fat and alcoholic making life hell for poor Tika. By the end of the novel, he is angry, determined and finally seems to stop being the puppet in Raistlin's hands that he has been for most of his life.
Another character that is introduced here is Crysania, and while it is always good to have new female characters in these books, she seems a bit silly to be honest, she falls in love with Raistlin for no particularly believable reason, she seems to be obsessed with him above all else, and again we get a female character that is more defined by the man she loves than by herself. Which is kind of a lost opportunity, however there are still two books to fix this, so we'll see. Also this is a pretty white book, there is one character of colour who commits a self-less act of sacrifice, but really doesn't show up that much in the book. Oh well.
On the other hand this feels like a third of a story, it ends in a cliffhanger and everything, so we have to wait for the next chapters to see if it redeems itself. Nonetheless it is a fun read, and you get back to characters you already know, which makes it familiar while throwing them into a different time and place.
TL;DR: 7/10 Nice, but not without its problems
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