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Dragonlance: Preludes #4
La Mision de Riverwind
A fin de hacerse merecedor de su amada Goldmoon, Riverwind se ve forzado a emprender un viaje para realizar una misión casi imposible, encomendada por los ancianos de la tribu que-shu: encontrar alguna evidencia con la que pueda demostrar la existencia de los dioses verdaderos.
Junto con un excéntrico adivino, apodado Cazamoscas, Riverwind se precipita por un pozo mágico y llega a un mundo en el que reina la hechicería. Allí, sus habitantes están esclavizados, y se percibe que se está fraguando una rebelión.
Riverwind, Cazamoscas y una perspicaz muchacha elfa llegan a Xak Tsaroth y descubren la Vara de Cristal Azul de Mishakal, así como la presencia del terrorífico dragón negro, Khisanth.
Una vez más un entrañable personaje de la Dragonlance se convierte en el protagonista central de este nuevo volumen de la colección Preludios de la Dragonlance.
Junto con un excéntrico adivino, apodado Cazamoscas, Riverwind se precipita por un pozo mágico y llega a un mundo en el que reina la hechicería. Allí, sus habitantes están esclavizados, y se percibe que se está fraguando una rebelión.
Riverwind, Cazamoscas y una perspicaz muchacha elfa llegan a Xak Tsaroth y descubren la Vara de Cristal Azul de Mishakal, así como la presencia del terrorífico dragón negro, Khisanth.
Una vez más un entrañable personaje de la Dragonlance se convierte en el protagonista central de este nuevo volumen de la colección Preludios de la Dragonlance.
392 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 15, 2023
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book! It's easily my favourite of these "Prequels", and I'm sad it took me 33 years to read it.
I wonder why it is so unsung? One reason that occurs to me is that, in the Chronicles books anyway, Riverwind is definitely the least remarkable of the Companions, just a tall taciturn guy that loves "Chieftain's Daughter", but here he is a decent high adventure hero in the Conan mold, with an amusing foil in Catchflea. Another reason that I'll hide due to potential spoilers is that the book spends a fair chunk of time with a society of subterranean elves who, while not drow, share enough similarities with R.A. Salvatore's beloved setting of Menzoberranzan that nerdy youngsters may have felt compelled to take sides.
TL;DR If you never got around to this one I wholeheartedly recommend!
I wonder why it is so unsung? One reason that occurs to me is that, in the Chronicles books anyway, Riverwind is definitely the least remarkable of the Companions, just a tall taciturn guy that loves "Chieftain's Daughter", but here he is a decent high adventure hero in the Conan mold, with an amusing foil in Catchflea. Another reason that I'll hide due to potential spoilers is that the book spends a fair chunk of time with a society of subterranean elves who, while not drow, share enough similarities with R.A. Salvatore's beloved setting of Menzoberranzan that nerdy youngsters may have felt compelled to take sides.
TL;DR If you never got around to this one I wholeheartedly recommend!
June 26, 2018
Every now and then a book surprises me. Ok, I admit, most books surprise me. I'm so easily entertained I usually see past the flaws in anything falling under the umbrella of "entertainment" (movies, tv shows, books). Why do most books surprise me? Because I get lost in the story, and my brain spends all of its time in the present page and usually doesn't try to figure out the surprise twist endings or obvious conclusions. The mind of me aside, let's get back to Riverwind the Plainsman.
I burned through the first 17 or so Dragonlance books when they were hot off the presses in the 80s and 90s. But then I started college and stopped reading them religiously. I had a few still in my collection, unread, and many years later even picked up a few more on an impulse buy at a used bookstore going out of business sale. I know I'll never read them all, but I figure, for good ol' times' sake, I'll read one of the unread ones every now and then to at least finish what I have, even if I never buy anymore.
I'm rambling, and surprised you're still reading! I don't care. :)
Enter this book. From what I remember of the original heroes of the lance, Riverwind wasn't a major character--he was in my memory, mostly a sidekick to the main healer/cleric archetype, Goldmoon. Yes I remember he had found the blue crystal staff from the earliest Weis/Hickman trilogy. But... not much else. So it was a welcome surprise to find this book's main character so... endearing to me. Fierce loyalty, undying love and devotion, a genuinely good soul, compassionate, self-sacrificing. All qualities my wife found in me! Ha. I only threw that in there in case she reads it so she'll get a good laugh. Well, honestly, I did identify with RW, honestly!
What I thought would be a world-spanning trot by our main hero and his one, then two sidekicks, ended up not being that. What I thought would be just a side-trip underground, ended up not being just a side adventure, but the MAIN adventure. Then even as they emerge on the other side of that adventure (not much of a spoiler given the book is a prequel--we know RW survives alive and well) there is yet another main foil introduced that leads him to his final sacrificial decisions and ultimate quest completion. The few pages at the end showcasing his reunification with his home people and true love, are all too brief, but that's denouement for you.
I didn't cry reading any of the scenes, even the tender, touching, sweet ones. But, explaining the plot in a nutshell to my wife, who knows my silly devotion to long-dusty old series, and who also detests the original trilogy as puerile (her having had the disadvantage of reading the first book as an adult, rather than the prime audience of teenagers!), yes, I teared up. That's the power of a good book and its final surprise: that, when explaining it in 3 minutes or less, I got all choked up because, dang, that Riverwind, he's just awesome. I've debated whether to slap a 4 or 5 star rating on this, but you know what? I only live once and won't be reading this book again, so I might as well honor it with the 5-star.
One mistake I did catch, and wondering if anyone else did, was in Catchflea's use of his acorn divination, and then 2 paragraphs later, reveling in the joy of being reuinted with it. Almost like two different authors were writing the book and they missed one set of out of sequence scenes. Oh wait....
Congrats, Dragonlance, you got me again! Definitely in for the next one....and the next... and the next....
I burned through the first 17 or so Dragonlance books when they were hot off the presses in the 80s and 90s. But then I started college and stopped reading them religiously. I had a few still in my collection, unread, and many years later even picked up a few more on an impulse buy at a used bookstore going out of business sale. I know I'll never read them all, but I figure, for good ol' times' sake, I'll read one of the unread ones every now and then to at least finish what I have, even if I never buy anymore.
I'm rambling, and surprised you're still reading! I don't care. :)
Enter this book. From what I remember of the original heroes of the lance, Riverwind wasn't a major character--he was in my memory, mostly a sidekick to the main healer/cleric archetype, Goldmoon. Yes I remember he had found the blue crystal staff from the earliest Weis/Hickman trilogy. But... not much else. So it was a welcome surprise to find this book's main character so... endearing to me. Fierce loyalty, undying love and devotion, a genuinely good soul, compassionate, self-sacrificing. All qualities my wife found in me! Ha. I only threw that in there in case she reads it so she'll get a good laugh. Well, honestly, I did identify with RW, honestly!
What I thought would be a world-spanning trot by our main hero and his one, then two sidekicks, ended up not being that. What I thought would be just a side-trip underground, ended up not being just a side adventure, but the MAIN adventure. Then even as they emerge on the other side of that adventure (not much of a spoiler given the book is a prequel--we know RW survives alive and well) there is yet another main foil introduced that leads him to his final sacrificial decisions and ultimate quest completion. The few pages at the end showcasing his reunification with his home people and true love, are all too brief, but that's denouement for you.
I didn't cry reading any of the scenes, even the tender, touching, sweet ones. But, explaining the plot in a nutshell to my wife, who knows my silly devotion to long-dusty old series, and who also detests the original trilogy as puerile (her having had the disadvantage of reading the first book as an adult, rather than the prime audience of teenagers!), yes, I teared up. That's the power of a good book and its final surprise: that, when explaining it in 3 minutes or less, I got all choked up because, dang, that Riverwind, he's just awesome. I've debated whether to slap a 4 or 5 star rating on this, but you know what? I only live once and won't be reading this book again, so I might as well honor it with the 5-star.
One mistake I did catch, and wondering if anyone else did, was in Catchflea's use of his acorn divination, and then 2 paragraphs later, reveling in the joy of being reuinted with it. Almost like two different authors were writing the book and they missed one set of out of sequence scenes. Oh wait....
Congrats, Dragonlance, you got me again! Definitely in for the next one....and the next... and the next....
September 8, 2015
I'm not sure why I rated these books so highly when I was a kid. They seemed amazing to me at the time; the prevalence of near-constant action probably helped. Unfortunately, looking at them as an adult bursts that nostalgic bubble, leaving these poorly-written and hopelessly cheesy.
RIVERWIND THE PLAINSMAN is the prequel story for the least interesting character in the original Dragonlance trilogy. Sadly Riverwind is no more interesting here than he was in those books; he's a wooden barbarian with little intelligence or insight, just brute force to get him through. Sadly he's no Conan either, with the authors lacking the power of a Robert E. Howard to make these genuinely entertaining reads.
The storyline is episodic to say the least and the first half is by far the worst. It follows an interminable narrative in which Riverwind and an old companion, Catchflea, enter a hidden society of elves living below the surface of the world. It goes on forever and is full of passage upon passage of bad descriptions and trite dialogue. Things pick up when they move on in the second half, involving draconians and the like, but it's still very middling and juvenile. Almost every chapter seems to end with Riverwind apparently being killed only to miralously survive at the start of the next. It's entirely repetitive, and I lost count of the amount of times he fell off a cliff face. The only interesting part is a prophecy that's added to the narrative, but this is still a hopeless book.
RIVERWIND THE PLAINSMAN is the prequel story for the least interesting character in the original Dragonlance trilogy. Sadly Riverwind is no more interesting here than he was in those books; he's a wooden barbarian with little intelligence or insight, just brute force to get him through. Sadly he's no Conan either, with the authors lacking the power of a Robert E. Howard to make these genuinely entertaining reads.
The storyline is episodic to say the least and the first half is by far the worst. It follows an interminable narrative in which Riverwind and an old companion, Catchflea, enter a hidden society of elves living below the surface of the world. It goes on forever and is full of passage upon passage of bad descriptions and trite dialogue. Things pick up when they move on in the second half, involving draconians and the like, but it's still very middling and juvenile. Almost every chapter seems to end with Riverwind apparently being killed only to miralously survive at the start of the next. It's entirely repetitive, and I lost count of the amount of times he fell off a cliff face. The only interesting part is a prophecy that's added to the narrative, but this is still a hopeless book.
January 3, 2018
The settings in this book were Que-shue, and caves and tunnels. The four main characters were Goldmoon, Riverwind, Catchflea/Catchstar, and Di An. Riverwind is told to go on a quest to prove that the old gods that he believes in are real, if he cannot prove it than he must give up and admit that they are not. So he goes on his quest to find proof that the old gods are real. Then Catchflea/Catchstar comes with him.
The theme for this book is, people should not give up on what they believe in. The first example of this is that Riverwind doesn't give up when he has to go on a quest. The second example is that he get's a horrible fever but still carries on with what he believes. The last example is that Riverwind, while he has his fever, is losing his memory but still presses forward. That is why I think that the theme for this book is, people should not give up on what they believe in.
This book was really good. It shows a really good story of what Riverwind did before the wars with darkness. It was really exciting and added more things to really think about. I really liked this book especially since it solves some questions. It was a really good book over all.
The theme for this book is, people should not give up on what they believe in. The first example of this is that Riverwind doesn't give up when he has to go on a quest. The second example is that he get's a horrible fever but still carries on with what he believes. The last example is that Riverwind, while he has his fever, is losing his memory but still presses forward. That is why I think that the theme for this book is, people should not give up on what they believe in.
This book was really good. It shows a really good story of what Riverwind did before the wars with darkness. It was really exciting and added more things to really think about. I really liked this book especially since it solves some questions. It was a really good book over all.
September 1, 2013
My actual rating is 3.5 stars.
A book that takes place in the world of Dragonlance. This tells the story of Riverwind's quest to find evidence of the gods and win Goldmoon's hand. The first half of the book had a good idea but was a little slow. The second half of the book was fantastic and what one expects while reading Dragonlance. It contained plenty of action and tugged at the reader's emotions with the virtues that were displayed. I recommend this book for this reason. Just make sure you get through the first half to enjoy this book.
A book that takes place in the world of Dragonlance. This tells the story of Riverwind's quest to find evidence of the gods and win Goldmoon's hand. The first half of the book had a good idea but was a little slow. The second half of the book was fantastic and what one expects while reading Dragonlance. It contained plenty of action and tugged at the reader's emotions with the virtues that were displayed. I recommend this book for this reason. Just make sure you get through the first half to enjoy this book.
September 22, 2016
copy-pasted from my Librarything account: very nice read, good characters, story sometimes a bit too simple, but overall a very nice read. The ending may be a bit too fast written, simple and cut short.
Enkele passages waren wat eenvoudig/simpel geschreven, maar algemeen gezien was het leuk om te lezen hoe Riverwind met de "verstotene"/dakloze/idioot van het dorp Catchflea (Catchstar, hoe je het ook bekijkt) op avontuur trekt om te bewijzen dat de goden nog bestaan en Krynn niet verlaten hebben na de Cataclysm. En hoe ze dan opgepakt worden, strijden voor gerechtigheid, op hun weg terug naar de bovengrond enkele draconians en goblins uit de weg moeten ruimen... In het echt hebben we pendelaars e.d., Catchflea gebruikt eikels om bepaalde beslissingen te nemen. Spijtig genoeg is het hij die later het loodje legt. Ik had gedacht dat hij weer zou opgenomen worden in de Que Shu groep. Maar goed, Riverwind ontdekt uiteindelijk toch dat de goden nog bestaan, door de staf van Mishakal, die later Goldmoons accessoire/wapen wordt.
Het einde was wel een beetje flets, 'k had meer actie verwacht. Maar da's slechts een klein onderdeel en van minder belang.
Enkele passages waren wat eenvoudig/simpel geschreven, maar algemeen gezien was het leuk om te lezen hoe Riverwind met de "verstotene"/dakloze/idioot van het dorp Catchflea (Catchstar, hoe je het ook bekijkt) op avontuur trekt om te bewijzen dat de goden nog bestaan en Krynn niet verlaten hebben na de Cataclysm. En hoe ze dan opgepakt worden, strijden voor gerechtigheid, op hun weg terug naar de bovengrond enkele draconians en goblins uit de weg moeten ruimen... In het echt hebben we pendelaars e.d., Catchflea gebruikt eikels om bepaalde beslissingen te nemen. Spijtig genoeg is het hij die later het loodje legt. Ik had gedacht dat hij weer zou opgenomen worden in de Que Shu groep. Maar goed, Riverwind ontdekt uiteindelijk toch dat de goden nog bestaan, door de staf van Mishakal, die later Goldmoons accessoire/wapen wordt.
Het einde was wel een beetje flets, 'k had meer actie verwacht. Maar da's slechts een klein onderdeel en van minder belang.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2016
WOW a great book, one I am so glad to have read since Riverwind had always been a man in the background always supporting Goldmoon but this is a book all about this great hero, one who lived for his one true love and his belief in the old gods!! the story is full of adventure and magic, where we encounter a whole group of elf people living under ground all their lives, we meet great evil and courageous funny gully dwarfs, a black dragon and a magician trying to create life in lizardman by creating a woman!!! oh so much goes on in this book its all breathtaking really so much so that I had to keep reading till I finished it in one day, but then sunday is a reading day!!! Catch flea/star and Di An are both heroes too in their own right!! a book really worth reading.
February 2, 2022
I liked alot of aspects of this book. I really liked the new type of Draconian that was forcefully made and the female one thats basically a frankenstein’s monster type creation. And the stone men that were frozen for 2000 years was really interesting. But the book was decent overall. Had a great start that felt very Riverwind then felt less so as it goes. And whoever wrote this completely didnt read the main series or just missed that he’s racist to other races in this world at this point. Did have a nice sad ending that i usually enjoy but i just wish it stayed a tad bit more true to the character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2021
Instantly one of my favorite Dragonlance novels. It's amazing how well this story was told, how it dovetails with the original series, and how much was packed into just 300 pages. I can't imagine Riverwind's story being told better. I waited years to read this because the cover art looked so dumb.
July 22, 2017
The writing isn't quite up to the standard of Margaret Weis but there is some good character development (I particularly liked the gully dwarf Brud) and enough action to keep the narrative interesting. I think the story suffered from lack of planning; although it started quite well, as it progressed I felt as though the author himself wasn't quite sure what should happen next and some incidents didn't appear to have anything to do with the overall plot. There's also a section with very obvious Frankenstein overtones in the latter part of the book.
Overall it was enjoyable - but somewhat flawed....
Overall it was enjoyable - but somewhat flawed....
March 5, 2009
Riverwind and Goldmoon are two of my favorite characters. This story is fantastic. Riverwind is the social outcast and Goldmoon and her family self-proclaimed gods. Riverwind has to prove himself in order to win her hand. Talk about two mismatched lovers. But their story needs to be told to better understand their relationship later.
August 22, 2014
The first 'full length' novel I ever read. It's not great. Honestly it should be more of three star book, but I don't have the heart to rate it any lower. As a kid it blew my mind, going back later, it was in step with the rest of the Dragonlance novels, but had some originality to it I felt.
Grateful that Waldenbooks and the cover grabbed my attention. It changed the direction of my life.
Grateful that Waldenbooks and the cover grabbed my attention. It changed the direction of my life.
September 15, 2012
It took me a while to get into it, about 100 pages, but once I did, I really got into it. The details and descriptions were able to paint a very vivid picture in my head. This is the first DragonLance novel I've read out of the many my uncle gave to me that he'd previously read. Definitely going to continue reading the Preludes II books and the rest of the DragonLance novels.
December 26, 2012
This is the book that got me started on fantasy novels. I read it when I was twelve years old and stayed up passed my bedtime to finish it in one night. I actually cried when the old man died as I had become so involved in the story. I'm not sure how I would feel about it reading it today, however, it sticks out in my mind because of its impact so it gets five stars from me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2012
I got this from my literature teacher when she was throwing away some books. It was okay, it felt like the most boring book ever, they spent a lot of time wandering in an underground tunnel. An old elf who looks like a little girl falls in love with Riverwind. Sigh, very boring.
November 10, 2014
Story itself was really good one - new insights, action, leap of fates, but again it suffers for letting too much details slip and not inventing new ones. Almost all the little things which make up the awesome universe are taken and then exploited from main series.
February 19, 2023
Fue el primer libro de Dragonlance que leí, lo que lo sube por lo menos en una estrella en el rating.
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September 4, 2018Personal Response
I enjoyed this book because it explored more about a character that I really liked. It's a pretty straight forward story-line. I feel the story isn't very complex compared to some of the other books.
Plot
Characterization
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to young adults. People who enjoy fantasy and like a well written world. If they have a lot of time to read many books.
I enjoyed this book because it explored more about a character that I really liked. It's a pretty straight forward story-line. I feel the story isn't very complex compared to some of the other books.
Plot
Characterization
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to young adults. People who enjoy fantasy and like a well written world. If they have a lot of time to read many books.
February 11, 2020
This is the fourth book in the Preludes series, and it's not bad at all. I can't say I particularly liked Riverwind, but the story told was interesting, though it was slow building. I found the old man somewhat amusing. Overall, it's a pretty good read, one I recommend to any Dragonlance fan, especially those wanting a little more Riverwind, or those curious about how exactly he came by the staff.
August 13, 2022
Never was a huge fan of Riverwind in the Chronicles, he was dour, quiet, and a little bit dull. But his prelude story, makes you understand why he was so withdrawn in those books, what he had already seen and been through, it was enough to quiet anyone down.
This book, with it's mysterious elves, frolicking gully dwarves, and evil draconians makes for a great fun read, full of adventure.
This book, with it's mysterious elves, frolicking gully dwarves, and evil draconians makes for a great fun read, full of adventure.
February 13, 2022
Really wanted to like this book, but it was just paint drying to me. I love side quests and lost cities, but I just couldn't wait for this book to be over. Worst in the series by far. It did have a few good lines, and I'm looking forward to the next book, Flint the King.
November 18, 2020
It was OK. Continuity errors regarding the original timeline.
January 25, 2022
I had heard this was beyond terrible. Whoever claimed that was wrong.
January 27, 2022
Fun read. Very enjoyable and relaxing.
March 23, 2023
One of the best Dragonlance expanded universe books I’ve read so far.
May 28, 2024
Introducción de Riverwind y su parte del mundo. Los nómadas de las llanuras no pueden escoger a quien quiere y para ello se lanza a una misión imposible.
June 16, 2024
Good tale of how the blue crystal staff returned to the world of men. If u are a fan of the Dragonlance series u will enjoy this prelude tale.
June 5, 2025
The story makes no sense historically or chronologically and the Aghar are geniuses for some bizarre reason, but it's still a fun read
October 25, 2021
An average book. Fun to read, but nothing special.
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May 30, 2023A boring book about the most boring of the companion characters. In theory this should be the easiest task ahead of the writers, except perhaps of Sturm and Kitiara, even though they had to take Sturm to the moon to make him interesting. Here though, we already knew things that had to happen. We know that Riverwind had to make it to Xak Tsaorth, get the staff, see a dragon, almost die. And all those things do happen, so that's good. The issue though is that Riverwind as a character brings pretty little to the table personality-wise, which doesn't matter much when he's clearly a side-character to Goldmoon, but as a lead, eeesh. Luckily we get a young elf and an old man too, but even they have their own issues. This book does answer a lot of questions ala draconians and ovidians, which again, great. But it spends most of its time underground, an issue this whole series has in loads.
The other issue that comes into play here more than ever before is the racial/ethnic coding of the "barbarians". So yeah, "barbarian" is obviously a term employed by outsiders, as the term has always been, but there's the uncomfortable notion that the Que Shu are indigenous, which makes the representation fraught, even if handled well. I would argue that I am reading too much into it, and maybe I should think about more like "Conan" or whatever, but I am not the one who gives Riverwind a ration of "pemmican" to hold him on his journey. Making them master hunters and archers doesn't help either.
The other issue that comes into play here more than ever before is the racial/ethnic coding of the "barbarians". So yeah, "barbarian" is obviously a term employed by outsiders, as the term has always been, but there's the uncomfortable notion that the Que Shu are indigenous, which makes the representation fraught, even if handled well. I would argue that I am reading too much into it, and maybe I should think about more like "Conan" or whatever, but I am not the one who gives Riverwind a ration of "pemmican" to hold him on his journey. Making them master hunters and archers doesn't help either.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews