Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 1) (v. 1) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–In Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Wizards of the Coast, 2006), authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman attempt to fill in some of the gaps in their popular Chronicles Trilogy series. The story picks up after the Companions of the Lance have helped a group of slaves escape from the mines of Pax Tharkas. The group takes refuge in a mountain valley, where they hope to be safe from their former masters. When the illusion of security is dispelled by the appearance of one of their old enemies, the heroes take action. They seek out the lost dwarven stronghold of Thorbardin, hoping that the dwarves that still remain within will give shelter to the refugees through the winter. However, this sanctuary comes with a cost. The Companions are forced to take up a quest for the fabled Hammer of Kharas. The story is weighted with exposition that drags down what has the potential to be an exciting plot. While the characters may be old friends to returning readers, those new to the Chronicles will find them flat and underdeveloped. Sandra Burr's clear, melodic voice guides listeners carefully along the journey. While she skillfully provides distinct voices for a large cast of characters, some of them grate on the ears. This recording will be in demand by fans of the previous books, but it will not draw in new listeners.–Heather Dieffenbach, Lexington Public Library, Beaumont Branch, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The Companions are back!
In an untold story from the War of the Lance, the companions have saved the refugees of Pax Tharkas and led them to a hidden valley. For a time, they are safe, but the forces of the Dragon Army are in pursuit.
As Tanis and Flint seek out a haven in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, the rest of the companions face their own challenges. Raistlin is strangely drawn to the haunted fortress known as Skullcap. Sturm seeks the legendary Hammer of Kharas, the forging tool of the fabled dragonlances, while Tika Waylan must make a perilous journey to rescue those she loves from certain death.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 435 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast; First Printing edition (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786940999
• ISBN-13: 978-0786940998
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,456 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting old friends, July 15, 2006

By	Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is the first novel in the Lost Chronicles trilogy. For fans of the Dragonlance universe, the Lost Chronicles represent time between the original Chronicles books. In this case, this book takes place between the events of Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Dawning. So, those readers who have read those two books will understand the story very well. Before I go further, if this book interests you at all, I think you should read the Dragonlance Chronicles before you read this book. Why? Well, for one those are he first stories involving these characters, but more importantly you will have a deeper understanding of some of the things that happen in this book.

The plot itself is typical Weis & Hickman. It's well laid out and concise with not a lot of extra stuff thrown in. I liken this book to putting on your favorite pair of old shoes. No matter when you last wore them, they still feel great when you put them on again. The story of the hammer of Kharas has long been talked about in Dragonlance circles and finally it has come to fruition. As I was reading this I could tell that Weis and Hickman had long thought about this plot line as it was just so well done and fleshed out.

The characters in this novel and exactly what Dragonlance fans would expect. All the familiar faces are present. In terms of character development there is not really a whole lot, except for Flint's character. This is for a couple reasons. It's had to develop characters that have been through several series and then come back to them at a point in the middle of the first trilogy and develop them a little without throwing something off down the road. So, I really wasn't expecting too much in this area, but what I got I was pleased with.

Now, I do have a bit of contention with the characters and this happened more than once. First, I need to say I am a huge fan of the Chronicles and the characters. I have read the Chronicles several times. Yet, when I was reading this book something felt `of' to me. It took me about fifty pages to realize what it was. There are several instances during this book where the dialog of the characters in no way matches how they spoke in previous books. I am not talking about little `oops' in dialog. I am talking whole sections that in no way fit what the characters have always sounded like and said. At times it was so glaring that it made me stop reading and I had to re-read the section to make sure I read it right. Now, some people may not think this is a big deal, but to the traditional Dragonlance fan will understand exactly what I mean when they read this book.

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed this book, the dialog just really through me off at times. If you are a new fan to the Dragonlance universe and want the most `complete' experience. I may suggest reading the Dragonlance Chronicles book 1 first and then reading this book, followed by the Chronicles book 2. That would give you the complete story without having to `go back' so to speak.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am eagerly looking forward to the next one to be released in July, 2007. Fans of fantasy should all read the Chronicles books. They are truly a great story and one that has endured the test of time over and over again. I, for one, am happy to revisit the characters that I grew up with.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Travel Once Again With The Companions, August 15, 2006

By	Keith J. Kraemer "A fiend for horror" (Sheboygan, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

It felt good to read another tale of the Companions, years after I thought their saga had wound down. I was extremely excited to see that Weis and Hickman were going back in time and finally filling in the gaps that were left when the Chronicles were first written.

This book picks up right where Dragons of Autumn Twilight left off, and bridges the gap right up until the first page of Dragons of Winter Night. We follow Raistlin, Sturm, and Caramon (as well as tag-alongs Tas and Tika) to the ruins of Skullcap as they search for the keys to the gates of Thorbardin. The latter half of the book sees Flint accepting his destiny and venturing to recover the legendary Hammer of Kharas.

As one might expect, this book does a good job of foreshadowing events from the second 2 books of the Chronicles. We're given some interesting sights into Flint's aging mind, as well as some of Raistin's confused inner-dialogue. The first half of the book also does a good job of portraying Tika's feelings for Caramon.

At points, I felt as if the book lagged somewhat. Although some chapters do a great job of furthering character development, some of the sidebar storylines seem like a bit of wasted time, and some of the narrative feels more like an AD&D dungeon crawl than a novelization by experienced writers. Above all else, I would have liked to see more substance come out of the trip to Skullcap.

My biggest complaint with this novel is the fact that it was plagued with terrible editing. Hopefully this will be corrected in later editions. At times names are spelled incorrectly, and grammer errors can be found in nearly every chapter.

Although this book had it's flaws, I would still recommend it to anyone who wishes to complete their collection of the core Dragonlance novels, and I look forward to the next two books in this series.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More "War of Souls" than "Chronicles", August 13, 2006

By	Richard Pierson (California) - See all my reviews

I know some enjoyed the War of Souls, but it wasn't my favorite trilogy in the DL world, nor do I rank it anywhere near the original Chronicles that "Dragons of the Dwarven Depths" is trying to emulate. It felt slightly whiny, the characters argued nonstop about every little detail, and the characters themselves were shallow despite what could have been an interesting plot. I really feel the same thing happened here for a good chunk as well.

It's a good plot, a plot that has the horrible prequel feeling because you know how it all ends, but a good one. The old companions that we know and some of which we love are back, but are stuck between novels and worse, stuck in a valley with a few hundred starving friends and nowhere to go. Thus, they decide to journey to the ever sealed dwarvish kingdom of Thorbardin and ask if they can stay over, sleep on the couch, you know...just until they can get a job and get their own place...what are friends for, little buddies? But the dwarves don't like freeloaders, so they tell Tanis and company to go do some chores: mow the mushroom fields, clean the chainmail, feed the giant worms, find the legendary Hammer of Kharas that has been lost for 300 years, stuff like that.

So good plot and, !surprise! a good villain actually. Dragons and draconians provide for some nice menace and action despite the fact we already know that no one can die and the general boringness of hero versus six goblin fights. The main villain, an Aurak magic using draconian called Dray-yan that is pretending to be the presently very dead High Lord of the Red Dragon Army has probably the best scenes in the whole novel since we don't have any preconceived perceptions about him (the worst go to Riverwind who does the most among out whiny).

And THAT is really where this novel hurts. The characters are hit or miss and they just don't seem like the OLD companions. If you don't hit the old beats exactly, then you're in trouble, and Weis and Hickman missed them many times. Raistlin isn't enigmatic but is more spoiled brat. Caramon isn't a trouble brother but a complete moron. Sturm is a jerk, Tika a jealous girlfriend that doesn't like the fact her possible boyfriend dares to have other responsibilities, and Tasslehoff...well Tas actually has a little bit of Jar Jar Binks going.

But, luckily for you and for me, the vast majority of those misses happen in the first "book" or first 200 pages. That was a drudge to read through but the last 200 are a complete joy. The characters are mostly on, the action is nice, the villains are around, Raistlin is smart and pained not a jerk, Tas is funnier than his Jar Jar beginnings, and everyone generally does something interesting to see that the quest succeeds.

Final Thought: Its fun to remember and to see those old characters when they shine through. Don't expect a whole slew of wild adventures and you should come out of the novel pleased with what you read. If you get through the whining and praying for the gods to save them in the beginning, you'll find some of the old Chronicles at the end. Hopefully the second novel of the trilogy continues how this one ended.

Added Thought: Please do not tell new DL readers/friends to read these chronologically. "Chronicles", "Legends", then they can come back for these. It contains a great deal of "Legends" info for some reason that would help ruin them.