Customer Reviews

Tanis The Shadow Years (Dragonlance: Preludes Volume Six)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As an avid Dragonlance fan, I was severely disappointed with this novel. It had absolutely no bearing on any of Tanis' further adventures and didn't even begin to answer Tanis' questions about his father. ( BTW, for an EXCELLENT view of that tale, read "The Inheritance.) Tanis had stated in the Chronicles that he'd been in lands not friendly to elves, but this was set in an Elven village; the Red Robed mage was part human, part elf, and the only acceptable mages to elves are White Robes; and to add insult to injury we get bogged down in a sappy love story and end up in the place of Death, where apparently silver dragons get to breathe fire instead of the breath weapon of cold that they're born with! Makes you wonder if the authors read the original works at all. I'd love to see a well-written book about what happened to Tanis in the five years prior to the Chronicles, but this wasn't it.

As with quite a few of the Preludes and Meetings books, this seemed out of tune with the Chronicles view of Tanis. There is a certain way the Tanis talks and acts, but these authors couldn't quite seem to grasp it.
The plot was slightly ridiculous. I find it difficult to believe Tanis would even consider starting on this adventure just to find news about his father.
I don't usually object to a bit of love mixed into a story, but when it becomes the story to the exclusion of all else, I start to worry.
The whole thing about Death was stupid. This, along with the rest of the happenings in the book, is never mentioned by Tanis in the Chronicles series. A lot of the Preludes are a bad conclusion to a good idea.
In saying all this, I still enjoyed the first half of the book. The rest really set my teeth on edge.

This book was utterly disappointing. I would have given it no stars if I could have in this rating. The way Tanis was portrayed, the way he acted and thought, have already been addressed in previous reviews and I must concur with them that his character was awfully represented. Still that wasn't the worst part of it for me. It was the little things, like having a wizard with powers to defeat an entire human army by himself, and Brandella accepting to travel with Tanis so easily when his idea made no sense at all, as well as the village of elves acting like humans. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect all elves to act with the arrogance the elven nobles are portrayed in some of the other DL books, but at least they should have some dignity in their actions and dialogs with one another. Then there is Huma and Fistandantilus in "Death". This place is clearly not the Abyss described in every other book, and what is Huma and Fistandantilus doing in the same place in the afterlife when the wizard is actually neither dead not fully alive in Krynn. All these things should drive you crazy if you are a true DL fan. Then there is the plot which is dull and totally irrelevant to Tanis' life. Overall this was a very bad book and I couldn't wait to finish it and get it over with. I didn't expect it to be the best book ever but was still highly disappointed in it. I believe Tanis deserves a better story with a decent plot and accurate details as one of the most influential characters in the continent of Ansalon.

As an avid Dragonlance reader, I found this book very insightful on Tanis's past. The prelude volumes are extrordinary reading and very fulfilling for those DL readers who first read the chronicles and wondered where Tanis, Flint, Sturm, Tas and the others originated. The preludes should be the next books to read after the chronicles. Besides, Tanis is awesome as always in this book.

Ok This book really really made me MAD. 10 pages before the end I realized what the whole plot was; and it left much to be desired. ....

What was the whole purpose of Tanis going back in time? The description of life after death was so insane, yet I tolerated it hoping that the plot would not fail in the end. and it DID! .... ....

dont get me wrong. I liked the book untill halfway. the rest got annoying. and the END just totaly ticked me OFF

I give this book a 2 on a scale of 1 - 10

I've got a mind to ask if Tracy Hickman could have done better. Inconsistency runs amok among most of the follow up DL companion o; But then again if your an avid DL fan you learn to deal with it , insert what you think is right , change a few minor details and get on with the story..which is important. Without a doubt the name "Tanis" always coincides with "Romance". He's DL's answer to Casannova. Expect more of the same before you even pick up the book. Pick it up. It's not great but it's better than most. If anything ; Tanis probably matured , in this book , to be the leader he was fondly remembered for.

The plot was terrible... it got confusing at times and the characters were just too....abnormal...like tanis was supposed to have a good leadership and all but it doesn't quite show.

In the chronicals, it said that tanis had spent the 5 yrs b4 the war of the lance in qualinesti to see where he belonged. that was the reason i bought the book. I thought that it would be more interesting too.

this was a bad book and i suggest that u would choose to buy another one.

This book in amazing ! Tanis half-elven, hero of the lance, in the years before the fated meeting in the inn of the last home, before the war of the lance. Tanis embarks on a mission into a dying wizard's memories and past in order to save the wizard's true love from her doom as the wizard dies. Tanis mostly agreed to challenge those perils in order to see his father who exists in the wizard's memory. Surpirses all the way, adventures, twists, turns, if you don't read this book you're missing on an adventure of a life-time.

As with all amateur book reviewers with lots to say, I'll begin with... Ohh, where to start? I am a fan of the DragonLance series, and found this book disappointing. Not because it was poorly written, which it wasn't, but because the plot of this book did not tie in well with the main plot of the entire series. It seems to me like the authors were more interested in expressing the characters' love for each other than adding to the world of Krynn. So, basically, it all boils down to wheather or not you're into all that mushy, goey love stuff. I think there are other books you should read first, but that's just me.

The problem is I AM a DL fan and my favourite character, along with Laurana, is (or rather was [ref: DoSF]) Tanis. Like "Steel and Stone", this would have worked had the central character been someone other than our revered half elf. Despite doing their homework correctly, I felt the authors didn't portray Tanis in the right manner. I realise the story takes place 5 years prior to DoAT, but his personality and "way of thinking" (for lack of a better term) seem so fundamentally different, unable to capture the true charismatic nature which we come to expect.

TtSY could have been a good read as there is a decent plot which is cleverly executed by the authors. The writing is concise and time isn't wasted, allowing the reader to remain focused. However, for all it's merits, we cannot ignore the rudementory flaw.

In the same way Soulforge (the story of Raistlin) was written by Margaret Weis, I believe this novel should have been left to the one who created the character in the first place; Tracy Hickman.