Murder in Tarsis (Dragonlance Classics, Vol. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

John Maddox Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classics Series | Publication Date: October 1, 1999

Who killed Ambassador Bloodarrow?

When the Lord of Tarsis finds himself with a politically volatile murder on his hands, he turns to the three most expendable inhabitants of the city of a solution. A mercenary, a poet-assassin, and a thief might not be everyone's first choice for detectives. But they find they're quite good at bringing murderers to justice.

Perhaps a little too good . . .

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786915870
• ISBN-13: 978-0786915873
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Maddox Roberts has written numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. He lives in New Mexico with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great story, but the ending dissapoints., June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder in Tarsis (Dragonlance Saga) (Hardcover)

Roberts has created some vibrant characters in this mystery about three misfit's given the responsiblity to solve a murder in the midst of a near-siege of Tarsis. The personal history surrounding Ironwood, the mercenary, and Stunbog, the former mage, is especially rich. The book leaves the reader guessing at the identity of the murderer all the way to the very end of the novel. And this is where I felt the book failed. A good mystery novel should present all the clues and motives needed to solve the crime before it reaches the last few pages. 'Murder in Halruha' and 'Murder in Cormyr' serve as very good examples of this. But 'Murder in Tarsis' dissapoints, because it presents key clues and most importantly the murderer's motive at the very end of the novel. The reader never has a chance to deduce who the killer is or why he/she did it. That's why someone will read mystery novels versus other type of novels after all. Because they want to test their powers of deduction. This book never gives the reader the oppurtunity to do so. An even better mystery novel will redirect or mislead the reader subtlely to suspect other characters of being the culprit. But without any real clues, save at the ending of the novel, the reader doesn't even know who to suspect in this story. The ending also lacked the excitement many have come to associate with suspense stories. Roberts has a good writing style and he knows how to create interesting characters, but his ability to create mystery novels is sorely lacking. If you are looking for a good fantasy mystery novel I highly suggest either 'Murder in Halruha' or 'Murder in Cormyr". Better yet, read them both.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, but not Great either!, June 15, 2004

By 

L Gontzes (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder in Tarsis (Dragonlance Saga) (Hardcover)

Slightly better than both Murder in Cormyr and Murder in Halruaa, but still a bit of a disappointment! Well written, but not the kind of book that you'll have trouble putting down. The plot and setting are ok, but that's it, mediocre; nothing more, nothing less. It is very unfortunate that the Murder Series came to an end before the writing of Murder in Ravens Bluff and WotC should reconsider their decision now that years have gone by and maybe resurrect the project, but considering the poor work included in these books I can at least understand why they did so back then. In conclusion, the heroes are average, the villains are very weak, the plot is ok and the writing is good. My advice, read it only after you're done reading most of the other Dragonlance books such as in authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies, and you are still in need of more Krynn related material; at least you'll get a slight hint/taste of Ansalon.
PS What was the point of including Badar in the book? The character's contribution to the plot is nil.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but definetly not great., November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder in Tarsis (Dragonlance Saga) (Hardcover)

This book was good, but as I said, not great. The ending was just too abrupt. It was as if a god just came down and whispered the answers in their ears, and *POOF*, so-and-so killed so-and-so because of such-and-such. The rest of the book was quite good, though.