Dragonlance: The Annotated Chronicles Volume III: Dragons of Spring Dawning

Written by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

The finale.  It all built to this.  Was it worth it?  Certainly.  What’s surprising though is that in such an epic tale, the epic battles are much more individual.  The stories are really about the characters acceptance for who they are and what their place is in the universe.  To that level, there is a bit of letdown in terms of the war, as it just seems to…end…slightly abruptly.  But the characterizations make up for it in spades.

The only major negative thing I want to put out there is one I’m not even certain.  I wonder how it would have been reading the series when it first came out.   I say that because there are several character arcs/storylines that are not in any way tied up.  However they become the focus of the next trilogy, so Weis/Hickman were definitely setting up for those.  Because they were able to go on and write these stories mollifies the fact that they were left unfinished here.

To that end it makes more sense to me to review character arcs instead an overall storyline review.

Flint Fireforge - Comes full circle and though Weis/Hickman claim it wasn’t planned til this book, his death of old age is foreshadowed even if only in hindsight.  As a sort of mentor to Tanis Half-Elven, whose story the Chronicles Trilogy is, he has to die in order for Tanis to really make his final break.  Think of Flint as a grumbling, complaining Obi-Wan Kenobi of sorts, if not that overt.  His deep friendship yet surface annoyance with Tasslehoff, is one of the more endearing parts of the saga and it is on full force here.  In many ways, he is Tas’ mentor to speak of too and considering the journey Tas makes, it also makes sense that Flint has to die.

Tasselhoff Burrfoot - Speaking of the irrascible kender…Tasslehoff’s journey is in some ways more important than Tanis’ and with Fizaban’s prodding the reader understands that.  Tas is the child of Dragonlance.  The child in all of us.  The innocent wanderer who always sees evil as being “somewhere else”.  But it is finally in this book where he loses his innocnece.  In short, he grows up.  According to the authors he becomes somewhat different from other kender.

Riverwind and Goldmoon - These two characters are two that are sadly underdeveloped throughout the whole saga.  Not just the Chronicles, but the whole saga and it’s not hard to understand why.  Goldmoon gets some love for being the first returning cleric of Paladine, but once Ellistan is found, she becomes almost secondary.  Riverwind is even worse.  He’s a tall strong man…kind of like Caramon without the interesting brother.  Overall their story ended in book 1 with their marriage.

Kitiara - Again slightly underdeveloped but only because she is a villain character and there simply wasn’t enough room to concentrate on her side of things (one of the things that led to the Lost Chronicles).  She is definitely a little surface, but with enough charisma to keep her intersting.  Kitiara though is also a person who’s backstory is more interesting than her current one so she serves the story very well being mysterious and somewhat underdeveloped.

Gilthanas (and Silvara)- Gilthanas is the victim of tyring to create a universe much larger than the story.  The only problem is that so many tales go untold.  Gilthanas is one of those stories which, while important to the overall storyline, is not a tale that necessarily needed to be went into…and in fact proved more dramatic NOT to go into.  Unfortunately it makes his softening view on humans a little cheap and not as believable.

Laurana - Laurana’s journey is akin to Tasselhoff.  She too has to grow up and here is where the book sells it’s charaters out a bit for the plot…something they admit to in hindsight.  By this book Laurana is no longer the spoiled brat she was when introduced.  She has become a warrior.  The leader of the Knights of Solamnia.  And yet she gives up all her hard earned, all for a chance to possibly save Tanis, her lover.  It reeks of everything she used to be and not what she became.

Tika Waylan - Tika’s story honestly isn’t much of one.  Like everyone else she grows up a bit from a fiery redheaded bar wench to a capable warrior, her true story lies in being the unattainable for Caramon…at least while Caramon refuses to let his brother go.

FIzban - Fizban’s true nature is finally revealed…or shall I say confirmed.  In one of the worst kept secrets in a story, Fizban’s role as Paladine’s avatar is important as he continues to guide our heroes along he right path, but never makes their decisions for them.  He is especially cruical during Flint’s death as well at the ending reveal to Tasslehoff.  It’spoignant.

Caramon - Underdeveloped in the Chronicles to be much expanded on in future parts of the story.  He’s the big dumb ox, who has to confront the brother he long supported and loved.  He is able to do so, but in reality you could tell it was kind of a prologue.  There isn’t much to say about Caramon, one of my favs in the saga except for wait til Legends.

Raistlin - The true focal point of the entire Dragonlance story — unfortunately it wasn’t until after Chronicles that his story was truly developed.  In fact, in this book Raistlin’s tale is almost the most disappointing as his turn to the dark side and how he becomes the powerful villain he is at the end goes untold.  Luckily for us that is the story that shall be revealed in Volume 3 of the Lost Chronicles which comes out in about  a year.  But without having seen it, his confrontation with Caramon is tasty even if it is just an appetizer for the Legends tale, but also a great look into this questionably evil character.  He is a dual character in evey sense of the world.  There is no doubt that everything he does is for himself, yet he often finds himself doing good.  He betrays the Queen of Darkness and in reality saves the world.  He says he is doing it so he can become the most powerful magic user on Krynn afterwards and that isn’t a lie….but perhaps there is more going on within Raistlin. It is probably the reason he is the most beloved character in the saga.

Tanis Half Elven - Clearly the protagonist of the Chronicles, it is his story that we are truly following and amazingly for the last time.  After Chronicles, he is given less to do.  As Legends shifts into the Caramon-Raistlin Story, Tanis really only appears in the beginning and the end.  BUT Chronicles is his.  He is a very polarizing character.  The definition of reluctant hero/leader, we spend most of the time in his head as he tries to choose between the true good, embodied in Laurana, and the temptation of evil, embodied in Kitiara.   Those that hate the character will complain that we spend too much time in his head.  Some may say he whines non stop and that it gets in the way of the story.  I disagree.  As I said before, the strength in Dragonlance is these internal struggles much more than the vague Darkness taking over the world.  But to each his own.  Tanis strikes me as believable and a truly interesting read.

Overall Volume III is a fitting end, given that we continue.  The ending is a slightly anti-climactic, but the interpersonal discoveries make up for any shortcomings in the plot.

B