Dragonlance Annotated Legends: Volume 3: Test of the Twins

by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

This is it.  This is the culmination of everything Dragonlance…in short the best the saga has to offer.  I think it’s safe to say that this book has everything.  Redeeming not one but two souls, evil turning against itself, innocence jaded, heroes return, love lost, love culminated.  Frankly, this is one of my favorite stories of all time.

It’s not fair to compare the first two books of set up to the thrilling finale, but it’s also impossible not to do.  Due to the very nature of three part stories, part 3 has little to set up, so is able to be a non stop thrill ride as we go.

The characterizations are excellent.  It’s rare when you can see a story effect nearly all the characters involved and you can rightfully say that they have all been changed in someway by stories’ end.  But Caramon and Crysania both find a piece of their souls long missing.  Tasslehoff has matured to the point where he can’t even talk to other kender who don’t seem to care.

Tanis has finally thrown aside his previous misconceptions about Kitiara and he too has grown as a character even while Kitiara changes in the only way she can…in death.

The book reads like it would make a phenomenal film, with the right sweeping score behind it and in the end the reader ultimately feels like they too went on a personal journey, much more than say the Chronicles.  This is not about an epic war although that too is included, this is about finding one’s self and his/her place in the universe.

The story is divided into sections, ultimately designed to leave you on a cliffhanger each time we leave a set of characters.  Of course Caramon and Tasslehoff have jumped to the future, but a little far and learn that Raistlin did indeed defeat Takhisis but the end result is a dead world and he can’t create, so he has little to do save search for nourishment within himself…and nothing is there.

We then jump to the Tanis Half-Elven’s portion of the tale. Relegated to a minor role in the first and no role in the second, we get to discover more of where the aging Tanis is at this point. Although happily married to Laurana, he still harbors a bit of…something…for Kitiara. And it is his charge by Elistan and with Dalamar to stop both Raistlin and his half sister from taking over. Watching Tanis try to avoid the temptation that is the crooked smile while also struggling with his former friend’s ambition is intriguing and to be honest, better served here than in Chronicles where it was slightly overdone.

Of course the tale isn’t complete without Raistlin and Crysania’s journey to the Abyss to fight the Dark Queen. It is all it sounds like it could have been and more. Raistlin finally gives himself completely to evil, while Crysania’s eyes are finally opened after she is blinded (one of those religious/spiritual references Hickman likes to throw in there).

The ending is a very satisfying one which is one of the best things that can be said about an act III finale. Everyone has a shining moment and it is dark enough to be epic, yet light enough in moments to make certain the darkness doesn’t overwhelm. This would have made a good ending to the Dragonlance Saga, but I’ll settle for it being a good end to the Legends Trilogy.

A+