The Odyssey of Gilthanas (Dragonlance Reader's Companion) [Mass Market Paperback]

Douglas Niles (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dragonlance | Publication Date: July 20, 1999

Gilthanas, legendary Hero of the Lance, has loved and lost. He drove his beloved away, unable to accept the fact that Silvara is not an elf, but an ancient dragon. Too late, he realized that she is the only person who can make his life complete.

Now the elven prince quests to find his lost love. Assassins dog his trail as Gilthanas travels across an Ansalon scarred by Chaos and the coming of the Great Dragons, searching for his heart's desire.

Will Gilthanas find Silvara, or will death find him first?

This novella explores for the first time the fate of the DRAGONLANCE Saga's most famous lovers. An appendix in the tradition of Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home provides details on Gilthanas's Odyssey, as well as the complete rules to the DRAGON WARS card game.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (July 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786914467
• ISBN-13: 978-0786914463
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Miller lives, writes, and watches way too many movies in Washington State. He started his professional writing career doing feature articles and reviews, but soon detoured into writing roleplaying games. With a little luck, he'll be balancing criticism and more creative writing in the years to come.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Gilthanas gets his due, if not his girl, December 18, 1999

By 

LysKitsune "Cavy owner and breeder" (San Jacinto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Odyssey of Gilthanas (Dragonlance Reader's Companion) (Mass Market Paperback)

Reading previous reviews, I have to wonder what sort of Dragonlance fans wrote them. The book itself starts out telling you that Gilthanas and Silvara don't get together, and Weis and Hickman swore to us a long while back we'd not find that bit out anyhow. Granted, the type setter was asleep when they printed this book, and the cover art is the worst I have ever seen on a Dragonlance book. They should have had Larry Elmore, the true artist when it comes to Gilthanas, do the cover, but perhaps it didn't hit the deadline so they had a sixth grader do it for them. And this time Gil's eyes aren't brown (The Chronicles), green (Kindred Spirits), or even hazel (Tales of the Lance), but have become for some unknown reason blue. I have not yet read Dragons of a New Age but look forward to finding out his eyes are gray or violet by then. Still, they start it off as any Gilthanas tale should be started, with a head injury. Our impulsive and impatient elf hero manages to get in his requisite concussions with great style this time. With Gil and his search for his love as a thread, we are then taken through a series of adventures and characters, some new and some familiar, with a mix of emotion and style worthy of our three authors. Gilthanas' complex personality is given more light, and for once, a bit more of an even treatment, than in previous stories where he was only there to move the stories along with tantrums and wounds. As a Gilthanas fan, I was fully satisfied. As for the writing, there are few books, even Dragonlance, which I can't put down. I stayed glued from the opening paragraph until I'd finished it the first night I got it. Then the next morning I picked it up and read it all over again. Of Elves and Adventures is one of the funniest stories I've ever read. As a roleplayer, the Appendix information on places that previously have been only mentions and not places to adventure was both entertaining and informative. I like the new format, and Niles, Miller, and Stan! have delivered on their promise of a great project on my favorite Dragonlance hero. Great work guys.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally more about Gilthanas and Silvara!, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Odyssey of Gilthanas (Dragonlance Reader's Companion) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've been looking forward to reading about these characters for years! Douglas Niles, Steve Miller, and Stan! have delivered in spades, even if I wish there had been more of Silvara. (The one story withher that was included was excellent, however, and made her appearance in "The Day of the Tempest" make a lot more sense.) Other stories I liked were the one in Kalaman, the one with Linsha Majere (I've been wanting to know more about her ever since I read "Citadel of Light"), and the one set in Missing City. The main character of that one was delightfully creepy. The source sections about the locations Gilthanas visited during his search for Silvara are also excellent and I think they should be interesting whether one plays roleplaying games or not. I think both gamers and readers will like this book equally well. (Oh, and the card game included in the back is a lot of fun.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, not so good continuation, November 27, 2001

By 

Fong (St Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Odyssey of Gilthanas (Dragonlance Reader's Companion) (Mass Market Paperback)

The novel was alright in the sense that it told the adventures like a journal of Gilthanas search for Silvara. I understand why so many of you would be dissapointed at the ending. I could have burned the novel because of it but knew it had to continue elsewhere. Surely, the ratings are unfair because you simply did not have the complete story yet. They do meet and if you're interested go pick up Jean Rabe's first trilogy to find out. I must admit though, it'll be a rough reading as Jean has a different style of writing. A style that does not catch my attention.

With that aside and a place to find your conclusion, I recommend the book. The 3 stars is because the conclusion itself (...) and in a sense made the beginning or journal worthless. Jean should have done a better job knowing the ending of Gilthanas story. (...)