12. 1987 (Jun.) - Greyhawk (Gygax) - Gary Gygax - Artifact of Evil (Gygax #1)

Series: Gord, the Rogue #3

So Gary Gygax after having created D&D eventually leaves TSR. This leaves a problem, he had started writing novels for TSR, with his character of Gord the Rogue, set in the Greyhawk world which he also created. He leaves TSR who retain the rights to D&D and takes with him his character from the novels, publishing them elsewhere. This is the first volume of the non-official Greyhawk series, which is actually the third volume of the Gord series, and the 4th in the Greyhawk series, but not really... see?

Gygax will continue to publish these things over the next couple of years until he tires of it as we will eventually see. All that being said the book isn't amazing, really. It is clearly a way for Gygax to flesh-out his world and that's fine. Some elements here such as the Drow love-interest, cloning, the Cat World etc. are interesting and Gord himself is a compelling character, however many of the secondary characters are one dimensional and the plotting is all over the place, confusing and often boring. So... not really essential reading, it will impact nothing in the official line, and isn't great.

TL;DR: 4/10 Not great. 

11. 1987 (May.) - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - Douglas Niles - Darkwalker on Moonshae (Forgotten Realms #1)

Series: Moonshae Trilogy #1

First of all I must apologize to my 0 readers the long hiatus I had here. But I'm back! We've already had books from several other D&D universes, namely Dragonlance and Greyhawk. However, the longest running, and still ongoing novel universe in D&D is Forgotten Realms, this is due in large part to the popularity of the Drizzt novels, which will start coming up soon here and are still coming out today!

We start the universe with the first of the Moonshae Trilogy, originally intended as a stand-alone work, it left enough of an open door... actually a wide-open door to sequels at the end of it, so it is only natural that with the success of the Dragonlance trilogies they would eventually turn this into one. Moonshae is not the most interesting of territories, basically it's a version of some Druidic British Isles, with pretty traditional monarchy and some dwarfs, elves, unicorns and firbolgs for good measure... also a fairy dragon. It feels quite a bit like a mix of Arthurian Legend and Tolkien and for this reason quite standard fantasy. This is true even in the D&D context, with the interesting anti-heroes of both the Dragonlance setting and Gord in the Greyhawk setting. All that being said it is a fun and light read, there is a sense of threat pervading the book, the titular Darkwalker, and it is always good to see the female member of the party save the day. So not the most auspicious start to the Forgotten Realms, but mindlessly enjoyable read anyway.

TL;DR: 5/10 Easy read but very unoriginal.

10. 1987 (Apr.) - Dragonlance (D&D) - Various - The Magic of Krynn (Dragonlance #7)

Series: Dragonlance Tales Volume 1

At the end of the Legends trilogy, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman told us that this was it for those characters, and if anyone else wanted to pick it up they'd be welcome to. A few months later we get a new Dragonlance book and we learn that Weis and Hickman are liars. Not that I'm complaining.

Here we get a mix of short stories and one novella, near the end. Many of the stories return us to familiar characters like Tas, Laurana and Tanis but the real highlight here is the final novella by the creators of the Dragonlance series. 

It's no surprise that this is the most enjoyable story, Weis and Hickman know these characters inside-out, particularly seeing as it is a story based on Caramon and Raistlin. We see what happens some years after the events of the Legends series, and start seeing a new generation growing up to take the place of their parents. In this case we get Caramon's son, Palin, who follows in the footsteps of his uncle as a spellcaster. 

It's fun to dip back into the universe through these short stories, with the big pay off that is the novella at the end.

TL;DR: 6/10 A bit hit and miss, but a fun read.

9. 1987 (Mar.) - Greyhawk (D&D) - Rose Estes - Master Wolf (Greyhawk #4)

Series: Greyhawk Adventures Volume 3

This book has a kind of bad reputation, but I wasn't minding it at all for at least the first three quarters of it. It is a pretty standard Outcast Barbarian story, but there are elements which add some interest to it. The main character is a likeable rogue, the fact that he was trained as a magic user, but really just wants to netflix and chill, the fact that he is a great fighter but dislikes fighting and is actually a bit cowardly, as well as his close relationship to his wolf. These elements make the book quite likeable, the writing itself is nothing to write home about, but it isn't bad, not in a way which distracts from the plot at least.

However it feels like this was a kind of rushed book, by the time it ends it feels like there is a lot to go still, and the ending just feels rushed and tacked on, leaving all the questions unanswered and feeling very cheap. This involves a cheap death, a too quick resolution and what actually ends up being a bittersweet mix of comedy with tragedy which actually feels kind of jarring. It's like what a highschooler would write during an exam if he realised that there were 5 minutes to go on the clock. Still I actually want to read more about Mika, the main character. 

TL;DR: 5/10 Ok book, crappy ending.

Coming up in 1987

Mar. - Greyhawk (D&D) - Rose Estes - Master Wolf
Apr. -  Dragonlance (D&D) - Various - The Magic of Krynn
May - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - Douglas Niles - Darkwalker on Moonshae
Jun. - Greyhawk (Gygax) - Gary Gygax - Sea of Death
Aug. - Dragonlance (D&D) - Various - Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes
Aug. - Greyhawk (D&D) - Rose Estes - The Price of Power
Sep.- Greyhawk (Gygax) - Gary Gygax - Night Arrant
Nov. - Dragonlance (D&D) - Various - Love and War
Nov.- Greyhawk (Gygax) - Gary Gygax - City of Hawks

8. 1986 (Aug.) - Dragonlance (D&D) - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - Test of the Twins (Dragonlance #6)

Series: Dragonlance Legends Vol. 3

So we come to the end of the Legends series in Dragonlance. Actually it is more of a landmark than that, the plot-line concluded here is a direct continuation of the Chronicles, so it is easy to see this as a 6 book series, rather than a 3 book one. 

This is not to say that you can't read Legends if you didn't read Chronicles, you can, but it will not have the impact that the 6 books do. In fact it would be a much inferior experience, because the empathy and knowledge of the characters you create in the first trilogy enrich Legends a lot. You might actually be a bit lost with all the references to events and characters from the first books.

When it comes to this conclusion, though, it is a pretty satisfying one, neatly wrapping up a lot of plots while keeping the door open to future adventures. As the titles indicate, the story is mainly about the twins Caramon and Raistlin, with Tas and Crysania thrown in. In this last volume Crysania is pretty absent, except for the ending, but the story of the twins is engaging enough to keep you excited throughout. It's the tale of how Caramon becomes a complete person, and Raistlin manages to kind of redeem himself. It's about accepting one's self, and accepting death as part of the whole process. It ends up being a more profound, less "actiony" series than Chronicles, and probably better for it. 

I hadn't read the Legends series before, they don't have the nostalgic feeling I get from Chronicles, so these are probably, objectively, better than the first series. Raistlin is such an engaging, evil yet sympathetic character, that you really want to always see what he does next. Caramon, who was a dead weight for most of the time, has an arc through this trilogy that make his progress from drunk wreck to full balanced person believable. If you liked Chronicles there's really no reason to skip this, read it.

TL;DR: 8/10 Great ending to what really amounts to a 6 book series.

8. 1986 (Jun.) - Dragonlance (D&D) - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - War of the Twins (Dragonlance #5)

Series: Dragonlance Legends Vol. 2

On we go with the Legends series, this time the twins and Crysania travel to the future... well future in relation to the Cataclysm at the end of the first book of the series, but it's still the past in relation to what happened in Chronicles and their own original time. I think one of the interesting things they do with this series is precisely the exploration of important events in the world of Krynn through time travel, with familiar characters.

This is kind of a less interesting read than the first chapter, focused as it is almost exclusively on the 3 main characters, with Tas only coming in at the end. Raistlin continues to be one of the most interesting characters in the universe, being at the same time evil, a really evil at that, while being basically the hero and having some moments of humanity which are really quite touching. This is also a sign, however, that he is by far the most complex character in the series, Caramon isn't that developed, he's stopped being a drunk, and towards the end of this there seems to be real growth as he realizes what Raistlin actually is. However, this has seemed to happen before without much coming from it. 

Where we face problems is with the only female character here, Crysania. I don't know if she's just naive, but if she is that, she is it to the point of absolute stupidity. I know love makes people do silly things and look at their beloved through rose-tinted glasses, but this is really too much. Come on, Raistlin is literally wearing black robes, how she never seems to see through him, or to dismiss anything negative she finds about him, makes her kind of a weak character defined by "her man"... which is pretty bad when she's the only female character here. I hope the third volume will turn her character around, really. Also, again this is an all white novel, which is only to be expected, unfortunately. 

All this being said, I'm looking forward to the third volume, the story is compelling, and I want to see if they fix the problems present in this volume, also after a while you spend so much time with these characters that they become part of the family, which is cool.

TL;DR: 6/10 Not a bad read, but can really improve, looking forward to the third volume.