Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit (Dungeons & Dragons): Destinies: Volume One (Dragonlance Destinies, 1) [Paperback] Weis, Margaret and Hickman, Tracy

Great read been waiting for a long time for this

Many years ago, I stumbled across a book called Dragons of Autum Twilight, book one in the Dragonlance Chronicles. There was a dragon on the front (I’m a sucker for dragons), and characters who looked right out of the cover at the reader, inviting them on an adventure. I opened the book and immediately fell in love with the world of Krynn, the characters, and the writing.Fast forward more years than I’ll admit. I’ve read those books more times than I can count. I have devoured every new novel that takes place in Krynn, seen visions of the world painted by many authors. Each new novel adds to the lore and shows a new perspective. I like the majority of them, but the books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the creators of the world of Krynn, are special. I was ecstatic to hear the news that they were returning to the world they birthed.Dragons of Deceit is the first of the new trilogy, Dragonlance Destinies. It’s been years since the last Dragonlance written by the masters was released, but they didn’t miss a beat. I wondered before reading it if this book would appeal more to new readers or to readers returning and hoping to see the characters they love.The thing that I’ve always loved about the Dragonlance series is that it feels as though the world continues long after you’ve read the last sentence and closed the book. Reading Dragons of Deceit was like catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while. They’ve had new adventures, met new people. The world has kept going, but it happily welcomed me back.The book follows Destina, the daughter of a Solamnic knight. She loves her father, the knighthood, and all it stands for, until the oath all knights take (“My honor is my life”) causes her to lose him. Her life crumbles around her and she hatches a hare-brained scheme: travel back in time and save her dad. Of course, in order to do that, she’ll have to visit a certain well-traveled kender to acquire the Device of Time Journeying. That’s when things start to go sideways, as they always do when kender are involved.Sometimes a long-running series finds itself in a bind. Do you continue with a storyline that new readers might be confused by, but rewards longtime readers? Or do you tell a story that has an entry point for new readers, risking alienating returning readers who want something new (I’m thinking of the multitude of Spiderman origin stories here)?Weis and Hickman cleverly sidestepped this issue and wove a tale that will appeal to new readers and longtime fans alike. There is a mix of old and new characters, and a story arc that leans on already-established lore while still managing to be an entry point. All the important history is given throughout the book, while still somehow avoiding the dreaded info dump. New readers will be able to follow the plot without confusion, although there are things that returning readers will appreciate more.Destina is an intriguing character, one at odds with herself. She is loyal and looks up to her father but is rather snotty toward her mom. She puts a huge burden of responsibility on herself, and it weighs her down until she has nothing left. I can’t say that I liked her in the usual sense; she was distinctly unlikable at times, which sometimes makes for a more complex story. I couldn’t fault her motivation. Wouldn’t we all do pretty much anything to help a loved one if we had the chance?Tas was fantastic, of course. I really love that doorknob of a kender! He’s the perfect blend of innocence and unknowing wisdom. He provided laughs aplenty and a few moments that caused me to choke up a little. There’s a scene involving a helm topped with the hair from the mane of a griffin (if you know, you know) that caused my stone heart to melt.The story was fast-paced and exciting, the sort of adventure I love reading about. It ended with a bang and left me wishing I had a Device of Time Journeying of my own, so that I could travel forward and read book two. Unsurprisingly, Dragons of Deceit was incredible. When I finished the last word, I was stymied: do I immediately reread it, or do I go back to the Chronicles– the original three that started it all- and reread every brilliant Dragonlance book written by Weis and Hickman? Deciding is nearly impossible, and that is the best kind of problem to have.

like the title says, no comment on the content on the book.That said, you'll probably only like this is you're a fan of Dragonlance and have read more of the series about the war of the lance.

As always with these authors I couldn’t put this book down, so wonderfully written but a few things bugs me about this book. The biggest is Tas. His characters has become too annoying and stupid. His stupidity was soon annoying me. I didn’t remember him being so annoying. I confirmed this because straight after I read Dragons of autumn twilight again. If anything he should be more wiser now than before. The main character… which i can’t even now remember her name is also too naive. Very very similar to character from the last margarit weis book. Even with this I still enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the second volume.

Forse l'attesa è stata troppa.Forse le aspettative erano alte.Forse sono invecchiato e più esigente.Forse in lingua originale si sente la mancanza dell'adattamento italiano che, a volte, ma purtroppo poco spesso, rende tutto più armonico e meno piatto.Fatte queste premesse, ho trovato il romanzo sbrigativo, carente di quelle descrizioni così dettagliate, a cui ero abituato, che ti trasportavano nel mondo di Dragonlance con la sua magica ambientazione. La protagonista è una bandiera al vento, più caotica di quanto possa esserlo un kender; nuovi personaggi poco sviluppati, mentre i vecchi non vengono adeguatamente introdotti, per cui o si conosce il background o risultano anche loro poco o per nulla sviluppati. Le divinità poi, anche loro trattate sbrigativamente e con sufficienza, anche dagli stessi protagonisti.Circa 340 (trecentoquarantah!) pagine di nulla, poi la storia decolla nelle ultime 30 (solo trentah!).Ho letto altri commenti di lettori affezionati alla saga che hanno rilevato le stesse problematiche che ho notato io. Temo ci siano di mezzo vili esigenze di mercato, non dimentichiamoci che, fino a due anni fa, MW e TH erano in causa con la Wizard/Hasbro per la stesura di questa nuova trilogia. Se poi ci tiriamo in mezzo l'opinabile crociata etica del politically correct che sta travolgendo il mondo fantasy e del D&D...Come molti, comunque, leggerò anche i prossimi: magari, spero, si riprenderanno...Se poi facessero comparire anche un certo minotauro... :)