Showing posts with label Dragonlance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dragonlance. Show all posts

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Book review: The Cataclysm shows hope lives in dark times

Hallo. I am back, and today I am review another Dragonlance book, The Cataclysm:
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Plot:
The Cataclysm. The event when the gods of Krynn threw a fiery mountain (or meteor, if you want to get technical) upon, the world, shattering it and ending Istar forever, and ushering in The Age of Despair. Here, we are given a series of short stories depicting how the people of the world survived the aftermath, surviving in a world that has been changed. With darkness reigning not only in the corners of the world, but in the hearts of the people as well, it will take special, strong heroes to find the light in a world without gods, a world without faith, a world of despair.
Like The Reign of Istar, this book has multiple plots from containing different stories written by different authors. Some where humorous and well written, while others were touching. The highlight of this book has to be the novella depicting the rise of Lord Soth, and how in a surprising twist he shows how darkness isn't a physical manifestation but an inward choice.
Caution:
Characters in peril, with some blood and broken limbs. Uses of h-word and d-word.
Lessons:
A person's true worth isn't found in their outer appearance, their rank, or their nationality, but in their heart and soul. We should strive to have faith even when those around us choose not to. Even when it doesn't appear so, light and goodness still abound.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Book Review: The Reign of Istar shows life before Krynn's darkest moment

Good day everyone. I'm back with another book to review. Today I'm reviewing The Reign of Istar:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Story:
This is actually a collection of various tales instead of a single plot, but each one shows what was going on in the world of Krynn while the city of Istar was in power. It was not the best of times, for the Kingpriest of Istar was ruthlessly persecuting the people and races of the world, trying to force them to his way of thinking. Intolerance reigned throughout the land, with some races being looked down by the rulers of Istar as pestilences that should be exterminated. Not just races, but people of certain professions, from the robed wizards of Wayreth to the Knights of Solamnia, all faced problems with Istar. Through the different stories we can see just how deadly and dangerous persecution and intolerance can be, and how everyone had to deal with it before the wrath of the gods fell upon the world.
After reading about the days preceding the Cataclysm in Time of the Twins, it was interesting to see more of how difficult life was for other races and people at the time. Often it could be hard to continue with certain stories because of the different characters being followed, but it's good because it shows that things that go on in the world affect many different people instead of a select few. Often I could see similarities between the events of this book with times of religious intolerance and persecution in our world, and people managing to overcome them. If you enjoyed the War of the Lance or the Dragonlance Legends trilogy, you might want to consider picking up this book.
Caution
Blood and gore appear in some of the stories, and some are killed. Some uses of the d-word.
Lessons
When men are proud, they distance themselves from God. Just because someone is different or thinks differently than we do doesn't mean that they are wrong or bad. The world is full of diversity, and we should take the time to appreciate how wonderful our world is because of it.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Book review: Dragons of Summer Flame signals beginning of the end

Hi everyone. I know it's bee a while, but I'm back. To signal the advance, I'm going to be doing a review for a book I finished this morning: Dragonlance: Dragons of Summer Flame.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Story:
The War of the Lance is over. The heroes who have survived have moved on with their lives, started families of their own. However, things aren't peaceful in Krynn. Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness is still at work trying to rule the world and is sending her forces out to find strategic points. Among these locations are the island of the Irda, a race of beautiful beings who want nothing to be left alone. To do so, they turn to a mysterious item called the Greygem, believing that by cracking it open they will be able to keep themselves from being conquered by anyone. That turns out to be a huge mistake, as they end up releasing Chaos, the Father of All and None. Angry at having been imprisoned for so long, Chaos decides he will punish all his children by destroying the world of Krynn, pulling it back into the void from whence it came. Stopping Chaos will require something that has not happened in the history of the world: The complete alliance of everything. Good and evil. Light and dark. Every nation, every race, they must all put aside their differences and work together or the entire world will be erased from existence.
I've been enjoying reading the Dragonlance series ever since I picked up Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I did enjoy the story and the plot because it was an interesting idea to bring everyone together to fight against something that will destroy all of them. I did enjoy reading about how many of the characters I had spent the last few books reading about moved on with their lives. However, I had to deduct a star because I found the ending lacking. I just wasn't pleased with it like I was with the other books. I won't give away spoilers, but I'm not sure I'll be continuing the series into the new age of Krynn.
Caution:
Some uses of the d-word and h-word. One use of the g-word. The appearance of Chaos may be in written word, but the description given to fuel the imagination might create the stuff of nightmares. People are killed, and blood is mentioned.
Lessons:
We must honor our parents, but we must also be allowed to choose our own paths in life. Learning from the examples of our ancestors can help us make tough decisions. People can still be redeemed from poor choices they made in life.