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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This almost got bumped down to three stars, because I cannot begin to tell you how much I still don't care about Tanis and Kitiara, but while the good bits were smaller than in the first two books, they were in some ways even sweeter.
Crysania buys a clue! Caramon manages to find a small bit of balance between total dependence on Raistlin and total repudiation of him! Raistlin remains fascinatingly ambiguous! (Did he stop Takhisis at the last minute because he realized that winning would be wrong, or did he stop because he realized that winning would be no fun at all for him? Does it matter?)
In short, it was a lovely reread of the whole series, and it almost makes me want to plow through the Chronicles again.
Crysania buys a clue! Caramon manages to find a small bit of balance between total dependence on Raistlin and total repudiation of him! Raistlin remains fascinatingly ambiguous! (Did he stop Takhisis at the last minute because he realized that winning would be wrong, or did he stop because he realized that winning would be no fun at all for him? Does it matter?)
In short, it was a lovely reread of the whole series, and it almost makes me want to plow through the Chronicles again.
I just didn't like this series in re-reading it. The characters didn't hold up for me, and time travel plots with lots of holes are never my favorite. The characters seemed incredibly inconsistent rather than people who grow and change. Raistlin is supposed to be this totally evil being, yet we rarely see him do anything evil, and when he does they make you also try to feel sorry for him. And of course, that works in the real world, and I want my fantasy to be more character based than fantastical, but in this version it just didn't work for me. Instead it felt like the characters couldn't make up their mind than that there was really any growth or chance of redemption.
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Even though everything that bugged me about this series remained present here: out-of-place humour that isn't really that funny, emotional arcs for characters that don't make sense of play out realistically, and a confusion of theme and tone... is this about temptation, forgiveness, or just a struggle between good and evil?
(The authors play it vague between all of these and none of them really pay off, at least in ways that make sense. They have plot signposts that signify the dramatic moment, but they don't actually earn it.)
Even though all of that is still present, I found this book and this series to be very readable. Moreso than some other D&D or other game-universe novelizations out there. The plot moves along briskly and in that respect a lot of the problems feel less so, because you're not dwelling in them long enough to be truly bothered. There is an epic scope here, and even if the book doesn't really make the best use of it, it does gesture at it enough that you can fill it out in your head... which is probably exactly what made these books so magical for teenagers. (Who also didn't yet have the emotional literacy to sense how bland the emotional arcs of these characters truly are.)
This might be why Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is so difficult for me... it has a rolling plot, but instead of moving briskly through its repetitive writing tics and one-note characters, it dwells on them... you're stuck in these moments for much longer. (One Wheel of Time book is as long as this entire trilogy.)
(The authors play it vague between all of these and none of them really pay off, at least in ways that make sense. They have plot signposts that signify the dramatic moment, but they don't actually earn it.)
Even though all of that is still present, I found this book and this series to be very readable. Moreso than some other D&D or other game-universe novelizations out there. The plot moves along briskly and in that respect a lot of the problems feel less so, because you're not dwelling in them long enough to be truly bothered. There is an epic scope here, and even if the book doesn't really make the best use of it, it does gesture at it enough that you can fill it out in your head... which is probably exactly what made these books so magical for teenagers. (Who also didn't yet have the emotional literacy to sense how bland the emotional arcs of these characters truly are.)
This might be why Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is so difficult for me... it has a rolling plot, but instead of moving briskly through its repetitive writing tics and one-note characters, it dwells on them... you're stuck in these moments for much longer. (One Wheel of Time book is as long as this entire trilogy.)
I waited untill I finished all three books so I could compare before rating. It started out great but certainly went downhill from there:
Time of the twins: 5 stars
War of the twins: 4 stars
Test of the twins: 3 stars
I borrowed these books from a friend. The covers were so cheesy :-) Nice yellow pages. Gotta love that old book smell!
Overall I had less issues with these books than with the dragonlance chronicles. They felt a bit more mature. The writing has really improved and didn’t annoy me anymore.
It was great to read again about my favourite characters: Raistlin and Caramon!
But seriously, what is up with this Raistlin guy? So mysterious, intriguing and deliciously evil. I still don’t get him but I love him!
I grew more and more tired of Tasslehoff as the books went along. This was probably why my ratings went down a bit.
Let’s face it: these books are kinda pulpy but way exciting! Lots of action and some very surprising twists. They are certainly entertaining and sometimes that’s all I’m looking for. Just escaping to another world filled with adventure, honour, love, friendship...and Raistlin!
Time of the twins: 5 stars
War of the twins: 4 stars
Test of the twins: 3 stars
I borrowed these books from a friend. The covers were so cheesy :-) Nice yellow pages. Gotta love that old book smell!
Overall I had less issues with these books than with the dragonlance chronicles. They felt a bit more mature. The writing has really improved and didn’t annoy me anymore.
It was great to read again about my favourite characters: Raistlin and Caramon!
But seriously, what is up with this Raistlin guy? So mysterious, intriguing and deliciously evil. I still don’t get him but I love him!
I grew more and more tired of Tasslehoff as the books went along. This was probably why my ratings went down a bit.
Let’s face it: these books are kinda pulpy but way exciting! Lots of action and some very surprising twists. They are certainly entertaining and sometimes that’s all I’m looking for. Just escaping to another world filled with adventure, honour, love, friendship...and Raistlin!
It's not often that I enjoy a book with some kind of time travel in it, and I guess I forgot just how much of it there was until I reread the synopsis of this book. It's been several years since I read this, so a lot of the details are lost to me now. But I do recall feeling like this was a stunning conclusion to this trilogy, and there's a reason I prefer the Legends trilogy compared with the Chronicles one.
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was significantly better than the one before it. The narrative is still a bit disjointed at times but the characters are better written and are less annoying.