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tilly_wizard's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I was prompted to reread this after all this time thanks to the release of Vault of the Undying - I don’t recall any stories which were set in the Godsfell Woods of Lemish, but this is set in the Darkwoods, which is the closest thing.
I absolutely adore these early, apocryphal Dragonlance novels, and this is one of the best. Michael Williams continues to build his own mythology of the Solamnic Knights and the Brightblade lineage, strongly inspired by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, intercut with a subplot about an elf prince who has been transformed into a giant spider by an evil mage. The twist of this particular story - that the elf prince began as a spider, transformed into a prince as part of the mage’s scheme to win an elf maid’s hand in marriage, since he will never win her love - I suspect is also an adaptation of a traditional folktale which I can’t quite recall. The legendary Germanic craftsman Wayland Smith also makes his way into Krynn, along with various bits and pieces of Celtic lore, such as the druidic tree alphabet.
The main theme is along the same lines as the original tale of Gawain’s encounter with the Green Knight - the conflict between ideal codes of chivalry and human limitations (Gawain’s desire to preserve his life causes him to commit his single moral failing) - which is conveyed through the refrain that to the last, there is always choice. The framing story (the tale is being narrated by Sturm to Caramon and Raistlin), as well as one of Sturm’s mystic visions, emphasises the bond between Sturm and Caramon/Raistlin, and the heroic destinies of Sturm and Raistlin - each becoming the ultimate exemplar of the Solamnic Orders and the Orders of High Sorcery, respectively, after making the choice of self-sacrifice. The foregone tragedies of Sturm and Raistlin are contrasted with the most touching and hopeful scene in the novel - when the enchanted spider-turned-elf Cyren is laid to rest, the sign of Mishakal appears in the sky, suggesting that due to his experience of true love, his soul has been blessed and allowed passage into celestial paradise.
Sturm and Raistlin are far less antagonistic here than W&H generally depict them, and I suspect that as Williams had been part of the Dragonlance project since the beginning, when the development of story and characters was more collaborative, the characterisations here were modeled on that original conception, where Raistlin was still generally regarded as a friend by all (albeit difficult to get along with), and his genuine love for his brother, support of his friends and defense of the downtrodden were considered equally important aspects of his character, alongside his ambitions.
Williams’ vision of the land of Lemish is wild and dark and primeval - he invents an encounter with a treant which is totally different to any other depiction of such in Dragonlance before or after - and mysteries of other parts of Ansalon are raised but ultimately left unresolved (Angriff Brightblade experienced some kind of divine enlightenment in Estwilde; the evil wizard Calotte remains undefeated deep in the forests of Silvanost) supplying DMs with adventure hooks which can be used to be ensnare even those campaigners who have read the novel and are already privy to the secrets of Vertumnus.
Williams also provides a complex and fascinating bardic magic system where the powers of the gods can be invoked by sacred musical modes, which is a worthy addition to any Krynnish campaign, especially since the sourcebooks have rarely treated the bard as a viable class option in Krynn.
Curiously, this book goes out of its way to take a side on D&D’s perennial “baby orc goblin dilemma”, with a gruesome massacre of a goblin village being used as one of several incidents which demonstrates the Solamnic Orders’ fall from grace.
As always with these early books, there are a few digressions from what is generally accepted as being “canon” - aside from the main issue of the whole novel later being overwritten by The Soulforge, the Earth calendar is used rather than the Solamnic calendar, and there is also a brief mention of a female draconian.
bluemaiden's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
geoffstokker's review
1.0
This and the Hobbit were the two books which really got me into fantasy. Apart from that, it also got me invested in Dragonlance. Reading it again all these years later makes me wonder what I saw in it in the first place. Every page was a slog and a push to simply finish
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