Dragonships of Vardas Volume 1: Bones of the Dragon

Written by: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

The dream team reunite. I can’t lie, I am an unabashed fan of Weis/Hickman. So you must take this review with that in mind. But as I read, I wonder how could somone not like their novels? No they aren’t as detailed as Tolkien, nor are they as verbose as Jordan or Martin. But as for worlds created combined with epic and entertaining stories?

They do quite alright.

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Patriot Games

by: Tom Clancy

I decided to read a Jack Ryan book because I really enjoyed the films I saw featuring the character. Why did I choose this one? To be honest, it was pure chance. I let fate decide and put my hands on a Clancy book and this was it. I wasn’t sure what to expect. As stated, I enjoyed the films and certainly Clancy is a celebrated author, but this wasn’t what I expected. But overall while the plot had signigicant changes in the film version, the overall result is the same. It is the book equivalent of a summer popcorn film.
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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.
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Dragonlance: Dark Disciple Trilogy Volume 2: Amber and Iron

by: Margaret Weis

Even more than the first volume, Volume 2’s enjoyment rests on one major preference. Do you prefer your gods aloof and distant or really heading into the muck of the story acting as major focused players? For the longest time the gods of Dragonlance were important but definitively background characters. You could argue that Fizban and Astinus made this not so, but in truth they weren’t gods being gods. There was enough mystery to them that still distanced themselves from the mortals of Krynn.
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A Princess of Mars

By: Edgar Rice Burroughs

With this being in development for a major motion picture, I thought it was time to take this one out of my queue and into my hands (or at least on my screen). My overall opinion is that while it is certainly of it’s time and therefore a bit dated, it is still a fun ride overall and I could see it translating quite well to the big screen.
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Dragonlance: Dark Disciple Trilogy Volume 1: Amber and Ashes

by Margaret Weis

I was interested immediately due to the fact that it was 1/2 of THE Dragonlance team. I was also interested to read Weis on her own after having read a novel of Tracy Hickman that was done with his wife, Laura. That particular book never took off with me and I never finished it. I may try again one day, but I didn’t feel the same magic. With Margaret, it may have helped being set in a familiar universe, but it definitely flowed a bit better.
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I, Robot

by: Isaac Asimov

I love sci-fi, but criminally I had never read anything from Asimov since school when I read one of his short stories. Wow.

I saw the 2004 movie with Will Smith which was enjoyable enough though flawed in some areas, but I had no idea what the book was. The book is absolutely nothing like the film. It is much better.
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Dragonlance: War of Souls Volume 3: Dragons of a Vanished Moon

by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

As always, Weis and Hickman have a good idea on how to end things climactically enough that even if it feels a tad abrupt, it is still satisfying.
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Dragonlance: War of Souls Volume 2: Dragons of a Lost Star

by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

The engine still revs.  After a little clunkiness in the first volume of War of Souls, the second volume takes the groundwork it is given and runs with it a bit.  The tone of the series really seems to find it’s focus amidst the chaos and with an injection of both characters and action, Lost Star is worthy to sit side by side with the other Weis/Hickman Dragonlance novels.

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Dragonlance: War of Souls Volume 1: Dragons of a Fallen Sun

By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

After the debacle of the Fifth Age, and Jean Rabe’s Dragons of a New Age trilogy, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see the Dragonlance saga die a quick death.  So, in order for salvation we turned our eyes to the only ones who could save it, the originators, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

In all honesty, the first volume of their first trilogy since the remarkable Legends did not nearly reach the same heights.  It is more on par with the Chronicles in some ways and yet deficient in others.  

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