Customer Reviews

The Magic of Krynn (DragonLance Tales, Book 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading the previous reviews of this particularly intriguing collection of DragonLance tales I felt that it might be a waste of time to read through them. Having that thought in mind, I dove in anyway. Having now finished this first tales novel, which of course follows the theme of magic, I can definitely say that it was well worth the time to read. Granted, the leading story, a poem about Riverwind the Plainsman wasn't all that intriguing and a couple of the other stories weren't real page turners. Overall though, I would definitely recommend this book of tales to any DragonLance fan, especially for the final story, "Legacy" which serves quite well in furthering the grand DragonLance epic begun by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

DragonLance Tales Volume I

Riverwind and the Crystal Staff by Michael Williams ** - This is the story of Riverwind and his quest to find the staff that plays such and important role in "The Dragons of Autumn Twilight." Some may find a tale told in the form of a poem fascinating, unfortunately I'm not among them and I found myself trying to get through this as quickly as possible to get to the rest of the tales.

The Blood Sea Monster by Barbara and Scott Siegel **** - This is a fairly well written tale of a young and mischievous elf who steels away aboard a fisherman's boat, only to be found by the fisherman. Upon their fateful meeting, the young elf strikes a bargain with the old fisherman in the hopes of profit. After they've set off though, the old man has a terrifying surprise for the elf.

A Stone's Throw Away by Roger E. Moore ***** - I cannot give enough praise to the author for this wonderfully well written tale of Tasslehoff Burrfoot and his run in with a powerful wizard. It seems that one of those stories he kept telling everybody during "Chronicles" and "Legends" wasn't too tall a tale after all!

Dreams of Darkness, Dreams of Light by Warren B. Smith ***** - In this exceptionally well written tale, the author reintroduces us to Pig Faced William Sweetwater, the owner of the Pig and Whistle in Port Balifor which was the bar the Heroes of the Lance stayed in and earned the money to move on in their quest.

Love and Ale - by Nick O'Donohoe *** - This a story of Otik and a young Tika Waylan, running The Inn of the Last Home, well prior to the events in the "Chronicles" and the things that can go wrong when there is a Kender involved. While the premise of this tale is well thought out, the story dragged way too much and seemed to be bogged down in the details.

Wayward Children by Richard A. Knaak ***** - This is another of the stories in Tales Volume I that cannot receive enough praise as this exceptional author puts us, the readers, in the eyes of the enemy, the Draconians and their strange encounter with a village of elderly elves.

The Test of the Twins by Margaret Weis ***** - Co-DragonLance creator Margaret Weis does her usual high standard of work in this tale that gives us the back story of Par-Salian's decision to invite Raistlin to take the test and what happened when Caramon and Raistlin traveled to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth.

Harvests by Nancy Varian Berberick ***** - Given the number of DragonLance novels written by this exceptional author, it's easy to see why she has written so many. This is a well constructed and thought out short story about a Tanis and Flint adventure that happened prior to the events of "Chronicles."

Finding the Faith by Mary Kirchoff ***** - This author has also been quite deservedly prolific in the DragonLance world and it's easy to see why with this extraordinarily well written tale. Although this tale should've been part of "Chronicles," I'd imagine Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman didn't include it to save time. "Finding the Faith" is the story of Laurana's quest to find the fabled Dragon Orb in Icewall, told from the viewpoint of Raggart Knug, High Cleric of the Ice People.

Legacy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman ***** - What can one expect when these exceptional authors team up for a DragonLance story; nothing less than perfection, which is what is delivered in "Legacy." It is now twenty five years since the events of "Legends" and Caramon is summoned to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth along with his three sons Tanin, Sturm and Palin. The leaders of the three different mage orders believe that Raistlin is still alive in the Abyss and planning on using Caramon's youngest son Palin to make a comeback from the Abyss... {ssintrepid}

This book is worth reading for the stories of the Majeres alone. At last, in "The Test of the Twins", the story of what Raistlin went through during his Test! In another story, twenty-five years later, we are asked, is he truly dead? Questions are raised- but not exactly answered- in "The Legacy."

Remember Flint telling Tas to quit telling those wild stories? In "A Stone's Throw Away" we get to listen in on his adventure involving a cursed teleporting ring. What kind of curse? You'll have to read and find out for yourself

The Magic of Krynn is the first in a series of books with short stories about the lives of the characters in the previous two trilogies of DragonLance. Some of the stories are about the main characters (the Majere twins) and some give background to some of the more popular side characters that we grew to love as we read the earlier books. This is a set of short stories that can be read as a stand alone, but having read the previous books does enhance all the tales. The short novella at the end written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is a great story. We visit Caramon and his family, his wife and 5 kids. We get a small glimpse into how his life is effecting the relationship with his three sons as they become adults and go to have their own adventures.

My favorite story is probably the one about Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the curious kender who is incapable of fear. Hearing about one of his crazy little adventures is always a treat.

3.5/5

The book looked really good for being used. I would strong buy my used books from Amazon.

This was the first Dragon Lance book I had read. When I read it, I found these stories to be a lot like the Amazing Stories series on telivision with unexpected endings. It didn't take me long to realize that the same writers wrote for both. I was surprised when the main character died in the story, "The Blood Sea Monster". Making that story a first person point of view was a stroke of genius... I never expected the main character to die. "Wayward Children" was another stroke of genius... Where the dragons truly came from was a big surprise. This book should be read!

The Magin of Krynn is a compilation of short stories 10-40 pages long by variouse ameteur authers that help develope the Dragonlance universe. As the title suggests, the common theme throughout the book is the use of magic for good or evil yet each story is unique it's own way. In my opinion, The Magic of Krynn is truly an *ameteur* work. The writing is second rate and the styles just don't compare to that of Marget Weis and Tracy Hickman. Yet these writers have great immaginations and really have some nice imput into the fantasy genre. The Magic of Krynn is a good book to have around the house when you just need a quick shot of Dragonlance action, but for the seriouse fantasy reader, it is nothing great at all.

I have to give all the short story novels 3 stars. There are some stories you won't like but they'll 2-4 really great ones that will make the books worth the price.

Wonderful collection of short stories, including key tales that link the original trilogies with the newer settings.

I found this book quite good. It is filled with a compilation of short stories written by come of the more well known Dragonlance authors. All of them are pretty good, like Palin's test, depicted on the cover. This is a must read for anyone into the dragonlance saga.

Well most of the stories were good but some were boring.... Anyways there were some great ones like the legacy which is a novella. If you just want to read the best stories out of all the tales then you should buy the book the best of the tales.