Dragonlance: The Dark Disciple Trilogy Volume 3: Amber and Blood

by Margaret Weis

It’s hard for me to put into words exactly how I felt about this book. But given that it’s a review, I kind of have to don’t I? I didn’t hate the book. At all really. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t really a book. Instead it was more of an epilogue. A very long epilogue.

In trilogies you usually get the first part that draws out the problem, the problems for our heroes get worse in the second part until a rousing climax in the third and final installment. However the climax of this particular saga really happened at the end of book two, where we discover that Mina was in fact a god.

Now given that balance is the key element to the story of Dragonlance, the fact that a new god had arrived that would alter the balance one way or the other and throw everything out of kilter seems like it should be a fitting third volume basis. But it just doesn’t work. But I can’t put my finger on why. The inclusion of Galdar to the tale as Sargonnas’ emissary to Mina works well as does the first true appearance of Valthonis (who was once Paladine).

The Beloved, who were built up to be such an integral part of the tale were snuffed out early and treated as an afterthought. Ausic Krell was made into a Bone Acolyte for a seemingly pointless portion of the tale.

We got to meet Mishakal up close and in person in a touching sequence but all of it just seemed so dry.

But yet I enjoyed reading and won’t skip over it upon rereading the saga. But it is simply weird. It almost felt as if it truly wasn’t a Dragonlance tale. Again with the changing of the basis, and the inclusion of the gods in the tale as well as the flippant manner of death it seemed like an almost different universe.

The trilogy itself doesn’t quite match up with Weis/Hickman’s other Dragonlance work, but overall it is still a fun read.

C+