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Topic:
How do you get into Dragonlance?
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NYCitygurl
Title: Manager of SFFBC, C&G, and NSWFF
Registered:
Jul '02
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Date Posted:
6/2 8:14am
Subject:
How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I read the first book, but it seemed like a badly written LOTR knockoff in need of some editing. I got through the whole book, but I wasn't able to make myself pick of the second. It has great world-building, and some of the characters are interesting, but I'm having trouble getting back into it.
I really want to (mostly every time I go into a bookstore and see the selves full of Dragonlance books). I hate that there's a huge fantasy series that I haven't read.
What do you guys like about the series? Why should I keep going?
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TheModFavorite
Registered:
Sep '07
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Date Posted:
6/2 11:59am
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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for me, it's mostly nostalgia. when i'd first discovered the series, i was a young mod favorite and there wasn't much out there that wasn't lotr. it offered some variety and was pretty entertaining. now when i read the books, i do note the shortcomings and cliche plots, but it's also bringing me back in touch with some old friends.
i'd concentrate more on the weis and hickman books over a number of the other dragonlance novels. imho, they ran into a lot of the same problems with the star wars eu novels, but fortunately it's not as bad as some of the other d&d novel lines.
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JEDI-SOLO
Title: Former FanForce CR
Lafayette LA US
Registered:
Feb '02
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Date Posted:
6/2 12:52pm
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I have only read the first 3 books but I have ALOT of them just because.........
I must say that I did really enjoy the trilogy. I think that DL is alot better than Forgotten Realms series.
Not that that is really motivating you to read it, lol, but I honestly though DL was pretty cool.
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Raven
Title:
SFF: Books and Comics Mangler
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
6/2 2:48pm
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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The first few books are terrible. They don't really improve until the Legends trilogy, where Weis and Hickman finally develop into good authors. Or something reasonably close. The climax of the Legends trilogy is one of the great moments in fantasy, right up there with scenes like Gandalf on the bridge against the Balrog or Tyrion killing his father.
I started reading Dragonlance when I was about 12 and didn't have access to good fantasy books. I haven't really kept up with the world, though I do sometimes crack them open.
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Despised1
Title: Temp. Comic Draft Commish
Registered:
Jul '05
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Date Posted:
6/2 2:54pm
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I thought the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy was good, but the Dragonlance Legends Trilogy (Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins) was far better IMHO. If you are going to go past the original chronicles, the twins stories would probably be your best value.
Of the new generation stuff the War of Souls trilogy (Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, Dragons of a Vanished Moon) was the best so far, but has gone down hill since. Though the book preceding it was decent, Dragons of Summer Flame, not part of a trilogy or anything though.
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StarscreamPrime
Registered:
Dec '06
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Date Posted:
6/2 4:38pm
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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Despised1 posted:
I thought the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy was good, but the Dragonlance Legends Trilogy (Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins) was far better IMHO. If you are going to go past the original chronicles, the twins stories would probably be your best value.
Of the new generation stuff the War of Souls trilogy (Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, Dragons of a Vanished Moon) was the best so far, but has gone down hill since. Though the book preceding it was decent, Dragons of Summer Flame, not part of a trilogy or anything though.
I'll trace the Weis/Hickman history in reverse. (For a change of pace.)
I can't comment on their recent DL work, because the "Lost Tales" stuff came during a time when I was rather Meh about Fantasy. (I may still give them a shot, just to see how they tie in with the original "Chronicles" material.) The same can be said about the "War of Souls" trilogy.
The "Next Generation" stuff had some great ideas, but the problem was... who was worth passing the torch to? We had such interesting heroes from the "Chronicles/Legends" series, and their biological/spiritual offspring paled a bit in comparison. (Don't get me ranting and raving about the junk deal they gave Tanis' kid! LOL) But I liked the conflicts, and LOVED the concept of the knighthood dedicated to Takhisis.
"Legends"... The classic of the Weis/Hickman run, by far. Best characterizations, best situations, and some durned good action. (Plus, lots more Lord Soth, which gets a pass in my book.  Well, that, and the fact that series featured Raistlin, whom to this day is one of my absolute favorite fictional characters.)
"Chronicles" was weak in some areas, I'll grant the critics that much. But I still enjoy it for being a fun adventure tale, and you could TELL seeds of greatness were in the works, especially in the latter two books of the trilogy. (The first book, and if you read the Annotated version, you can TELL was heavily influenced by writing a gaming campaign into a novel.  )
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PrincessKenobi
Registered:
Aug '00
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Date Posted:
6/12 4:37pm
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I really think it depends on your preference for Role-Playing games or not. Because the first trilogy was written about their characters and what happened in-game for them. I enjoyed the first one a lot. I do mean that. I had to force myself to sit down and read it but once I made it to through the first few chapters it was amazing. I'm finding the same issue with the second one. But once I had gotten into it, I had to return int to the library since the one's Flare sent me are still in storage.
~PK~
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Amon_Amarth
Registered:
Jan '05
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Date Posted:
6/13 7:00am
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I read the Chronicles trilogy ages ago and I didn't care if it was a cliche or not back then. I liked them because they were adventureous and fantasy stuff I guess. Other than that I read Legends and some other novels and they're ok, even though nothing special. Since I guess I want to know what happens, I pick up a Dragonlance book every once in a while, but they're not as good as the Chronicles. I got hooked as a kid and that's it.
I prefer Forgotten Realms novels.
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-polymath-
Title: SFF:F/TV Trivia Host
Registered:
Jun '07
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Date Posted:
6/13 7:18am
Subject:
RE: How do you get into Dragonlance?
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I read the Dragonlance Chronicles series before I had ever opened a Lord of the Rings book. I was 12 at the time I read them, too. So, I immediately fell in love with the formula that is tried and true in all fantasy genres. I was even more enthralled by the Legends trilogy and completely agree with Raven about the climactic sequence of that story.
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