Customer Reviews

The Rose and the Skull (Dragonlance Bridges of Time, Vol. 4)

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

 

 

I'm new to the entire fantasy Dragonlance series but after accidentally stumbling across Jeff Crook's, The Rose and the Skull, it appears I have some reading to do. Of course, I didn't get all the past references and probably missed half of the inside jokes but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Crook captured me with his sly humor and tongue-in-cheek descriptions but then was quite the craftsman with the plot and character developments. Lady Jessica was a worthy heroine and I would like to see a book with her and Liam. Not much romance but still, a brooding tension that bordered on romance. Sometimes, less is better anyway. I loved the Gully Dwarves, especially Uhoh, but, what do I know? It seems other reviewers hated that plot line but it appeals to the underdog in me, always a chance.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to reading more in the Dragonlance series, both past and future. Especially ones by Mr.Crook.

This is a good solid read. I enjoyed it, and passed it around to several friends, who also enjoyed it. It isn't weis and hickman, but who is? Not even Weis and hickman.

I enjoyed Jeff Crook's Rose and the Skull, so much I finished it in nearly a day. Jeff managed to keep the novel serious and at times preserve the fantasy flavor of previous Dragonlance titles.

Character development is Jeff's strength.. I sympathized with nearly all the characters for various reasons. Particularly likeed the Dark Elf Valian. (Would LOVE to see a future novel with him or Lady Jessica or Liam.)

Glad the novel didn't revert to cheesy romance or stray too far from the Dragonlance mythos.

High Points:

Can't critique this novel without mentioning the cover art. The cover art is great and really attracted me to this book, at least initially. (Recently Dragonlance novel covers have had really bad art....) Not so here... No bulbish-nosed-jaundiced looking-dwarfish-humans grace this cover, thank you. Artist Elmore portrays not one but ten of the books characters in a poignant scene that was really quite emotional. Quite a stretch from the usual 'action' or 'posing swords person' scene. The only bad thing is Valian is on the spine and hard to see! (Sigh).

Back to the Author:

Jeff deserves kudos for his excellent work with a multiple character perspective. I really felt each of the characters had an individual personality and individual thought patterns. Jeff handled the multiple characters without going overboard and getting too hung up on details. Good Job!

The plot was unique and interesting.

I liked the changes in the Solamnics. Sometimes the Knights can be characterized as a little to stern and preachy and Jeff does this well...

Excellent handling of the bad guys. Really enjoyed their chacterization and charm. Nothing like a charming villain and Lord Tohr \was\ charming.

Pet Peeves:

I only have minor peeves with this novel.

Mostly: Ditch the gully dwarves.

Didn't care for the plot thread involving the Gully Dwarf inheriting the Solamnic Castle, (kind of stupid), or the long extended scenes with the gully dwarves going to 'Town'.

With Gully Dwarves.... Less is more.... =-)

Overall, a rousing good read in the realm of Dragonlance with a great new author!! I hope to see many more to come.

While I didn't think this was quite a four star book, I felt it was closer to four than three stars. Crook gives us a very interesting look at the Solamnic Knights and the poor condition they find themselves in after the departure of the gods and the subsequent arrival of the great dragons. It seems both the Solamnic Knighthood, as well as the Knights of Takhisis, have fallen on hard times with the arrivial of these dragon overlords. They are grasping at straws and, in desperation, decide to do something that would otherwise be unthinkable for both sides (don't want to spoil it). The story is told from the point of view of the Solamnics and we get to see their struggle between doing what they commander feels is the right thing and what they feel in their hearts they should be doing. Mixed in among this is the courageous adventure of an unusual gully dwarf and his companions.

The characters populating this story were fairly well developed, including a dark elf that fascinated me. I was disappointed to find that he plays no role in Weis & Hickman's subsequent WAR OF SOULS trilogy. The two or three Solamnics that we get to meet are all different and are loyal to the Knighthood and their commander in their own way. The gully dwarf character has traits that make him more than just a regular gully dwarf: honor and loyalty drive him to attempt a task that no other gully dwarf would ever undertake.

The plot is interesting and action packed, with the aforementioned plan between the Solamnics and the Knights of Takhisis being the main plot device to propel the story. I would be very happy if Crook at some point wrote a sequel series to this book using the same characters so that we can see how they have progressed. Not a great book, mind you, but definitely worth a read if your a Dragonlance fan.

I was very impressed by this book since I have yet to find a fifth age one worth reading. The characters were very vibrant and well written I was especially pleased with the character of Valian Escu. The plot was well chosen and answered a question that many of us fans have been waiting to hear. I would highly recommend this book to any Dragonlance fan, especially those wanting to read about new characters.

The Rose and Skull takes place between the events of the Chaos War and before the War of the Souls. It is a story of political intrigue, dark humor, and good character development. Jeff Cook paints the most interesting portrayal of the Knights of Solmania, adding dimensions and elements to the normally one-dimensional "Knight of Solmania" archtype.

The story centers around the mysterious death of Lord Winston Gunther, a character from the original Chronicles Trilogy. Lord Gunther has been the head of the Knights of Solmania for years, and towards the beginning of the novel he is a man who is becoming senile. Gunther devises a plan to combine the Knights of Takhisis and the Knights of Solmania into one unit to ward of the growing threat of the Great Dragons. Thus, he invites a contingent of the dark knights to his castle where they begin to settle and interact with the Knights of Solmania.

There are many who do not like this plot.

Lord Gunther mysteriously dies, and the events that follow his death are the backbone of the book. As many have said in previous reviews, there were to many chapters devoted to the Gully Dwarf Characters. Gully Dwarfs serve a purpose in the Dragonlance universe, but a third of the book are dedicated the "little ones" This took away from the what could have possibly been a very political novel of intrigue and a excellent murder mystery story that could have taken place in the Dragonlance world.

The beginning of the book has displays and descriptions of dark humor and I found myself laughing at some of the descriptions Cook inks, especially about Lord Gunther. However, towards the end of the novel the book takes a dramatic shift in tone and frankly becomes quiet violent in nature. The plot is not a bad plot, and the characters are somewhat interesting. But the novel deviates to much from the true purpose and does not have a consistent flow to it.

A praise: Cook has done his research with the Dragonlance world. He makes a nice reference to 'Bupu' the gully dwarf who fell in love with Raistin Majere. Cook makes mention that 'Bupu' had become a legend and a great heroine amongst the gully dwarf race.

And there is a nice appearance by Crysania. She makes a speech at Gunther's funeral and then interacts with one of the female Knights of Solmania, who happened to be inspired by Crysania's adventures and passion for Raistlin. Crysania is the cleric on the cover of the book and there is a brief cameo by Tander as well.

Overall the novel gets three out of five stars. Rose and the Skull is an okay/good Dragonlance novel. If you like politics, dark humor, the Knights of Solmania, the Knights of Takhisis or a fan of the Revered Daughter Crysania, this might be a novel you are interested in purchasing.

this is his first novel sheesh give him a break i liked this book except for the fact that the knights of solamnia so degenerated, unlike sturm and huma and vinas and stuff like that and it could have used a little more fighting it was still an interesting book though

Well, i always admire the Knights, and love the part in Dragons of Summer Flame when the two orders of knights, Dark and Light, combine their strength for the sake of the world. Both orders have their unique quality, i just love them both. When i first saw the cover of the book, then the title "The Rose and the Skull", you donno how excited i was !!! It's just like a dream came to reality, a dream that i always longed for. (ever since the Chaos War i have been expecting such stories as the two knighthood merge to fight shoulder by shoulder again) But after reading about half of the book, i was really disappointed ... Such a good idea, if told by Margraret & Tracy it would be way better... but i don't blame on Jeff, since he's still pursuing a writer's career. It's a fair job for a starting writer... still .... it's like my dream has been shattered.. i believe there are thousands of people out there who were touched by Dragons of Summer Flame, when the Dark Knights and the Light rode into battle side by side at the end of the book ... and we would really want to see some good writing based upon this magnificent idea.

(by the way... gully dwarves... among the Knights... who's $%#@ing idea is it ....??)

Don't get me wrong, this book was worth reading but there were a few things that bugged me in it. First of all the Gully Dwarves were in a full half of this book and after awhile the jokes about the number two got old and annoying. And then there were the fight scenes; they really weren't there. When I picked up this book I expected to have some really big battles play out in front of me, but that's not how it worked out. Crook used past tense on the battles so you really didn't get to read about any huge action scenes, just a small fight here or there.

There are pluses to this book however. The Dark Elf Knight of Takhisis Valian Escu was an interesting character and I personally would like to see a Dragonlance book that focuses only on him and his life after the Rose and the Skull. And also it was nice to see some of Pyrothraxus the Great Red Dragon of Mt. Nevermind.

This is essencially a warning to anyone who is a fan of Dragonlance and of the Solamnic Knighthood- If you got emotional when Sturm Brightblade fell at the High Clerist Tower, do not read this book.

While, as I stated, it is well written by a talented author and is fairly engaging and a good read overall, there are plot points and events in this book that are downright absurd when in the context of the Solamnic Knighthood.

I don't want to give anything away with spoilers, so I'll simply say that events nearly lead the Knighthood to doing two things that is simply implausible and downright blasphemus.