Well of Darkness

Sovereign Stone #1

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

Second in line for succession to the throne, Prince Dagnarus will have his crown... and his queen -- though his heart's prize is a married elfin beauty. Let his hated half-brother Prince Helmos and the Dominion Lords dare to oppose him. For Dagnarus's most loyal servant has ventured into the terrible darkness, where lies the most potent talisman in the realm. And once it is in the dark prince's hand, no power will deter his Destiny.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dragonlance, Epic Fantasy, Adult

562 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 22, 2000

About the author

Margaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.

Reviews

[Kay Iscah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine the most spoiled brat you possibly can. Now imagine that kid gets older, but remains the same spoiled brat. That obnoxous, self-absorbed jock from highschool that got his way cause he was just so hot, only a hundred times worse, because he's a prince and power magnifies corruption.

Now imagine despite being perfectly aware of all his characters flaws, everyone around him is dumb enough to keep giving him everything he wants regardless of the danger or damage to themselves or others.

Now put this spoiled jock-brat in a D&D game and let him bully the DM into giving him god mode powers, and you've just about summed up the plot to Well of Darkness. Oh also he falls in lust at first sight with an elf, who also falls in lust with him after he gives her a necklace...she's really hot..and um, that seems to be entirety of her substance.

Also there are superheroes in armor, who never do anything interesting with their powers. And a whipping boy, who like his master never grows out of his childhood role.

It's good that not every protagonist in every story is a true blue hero, but if you're going to tell a story from the villain's point of view, at the very least make it interesting.

The problem with Loerem is that it's boring. The evil-protagonist Dagnarus is boring. Gareth his whipping boy has the potential to be interesting, but never rises to it. The plot is fairly predictable. We're tempted with a big map, and then spend half the story inside the same building.

There's an ongoing metaphor with the playroom, and if I was feeling super generous, I could say there's some moral about how never disciplining your children turns them into horrible people. But this falls so far into the "well, duh" category it's hard to justify the 500+ pages demonstrating it.

This all could be forgivable if the story was interesting or was told in an interesting way, but it seems like everything worth seeing happens offscreen. We're left with predictions of what will happen and speculation about the meaning of things that have happened. Too much detail on this, too little on that. Lots of redundant information, which if trimmed back could save 100 pages without losing any information. Names reserved on things that seem like they should be common knowledge.

Oh and a dragon shows up at the end of the story, because... um, dragons are cool?

The highlight of this book was the orken, who had a refreshing pragmatism about them. It was at least a somewhat different take on orks.

The dwarves were nomadic and rode horses, which...just kind of made them a bland group of nomads, interchangable with other rough nomadic groups. The Elves were given a cut and paste Chinese culture (down to the slant eyes...which seem to be pale blue and dark on the same character...) that merged with cut and paste Tolkien-esque D&D elf stuff. The humans are a lot of flash and no substance.

In the back of the book is an advertisement for a roleplaying game which explains all the out of place world building that got in the way of the story, but doesn't really have me eager to go seek out the game. Loerem just doesn't seem like a fun place to either live or visit.

It gets 2-stars for staying coherent and offering up an odd giggle or two, but can't be given anymore due to the extreme blandness of the fantasy and characters.

[Sneakend · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I was hooked from page one. I used to be a huge fan of Weis and Hickman as a teenager and though I might not regard their writing as highly as I used to, I did not want to put this book down before I'd read all of it.

It was interesting, the different races are not at all what you expect and I personally found the orks to be extremely humorous. I would read a whole book about them. And that is another aspect I always enjoyed in these writers' books: they're funny. Maybe it's not for everyone's tastes, but this book made me laugh and I was somewhat disappointed when the tone turned more serious towards the end. Not to say the beginning of the book didn't feel omnious enough.

The characters aren't really that typical either, and while it may take some time for them to grow on you it's interesting to see some characters who aren't even trying to be heroic. Surely if it's heroes or good guys in general one enjoys reading about in their fantasy novel this probably isn't the best choice. But sometimes it's fun to get the other side of the story.

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

**Spoiler Alert**
I am a huge fan of Weis/Hickman, but this series is absolutely horrible. It is depressing and all of the characters I came to care about (which weren't many) were all senslessly destroyed at the end of the book. It is graphic (in more ways than one) and really never gets to the "point" of it all. I guess if I had continuted on to the next in the series I may have found out. I just couldn't bring myself to at the end of this one because of the nausious feeling when I thought about it. I just wish I could have returned the book when I was done because I feel as if I wasted $15 on the hardcover!!! Maybe Margaret and Tracy were hating on someone when they decided to pen this one and this was their outlet.

[Berk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was eight years old and I honestly think it had a profound impact on my life. I looked at stories differently after experiencing the cold charm of Dagnarus.


This story has so many jewels in it that I don't where to start counting my treasures.

Characters are very complex in this book. Is someone a good guy or a bad guy? Who knows. Who is the main character, man?

I mean, as an eight year old I was familiar with charming bad guys like Rastilin, but Gareth (and his demise) was such a blow to me. It was a truly 'what the fuck' moment.

In the black company or Malus Darkblade series you don't notice the significance of having a main character that is truly villainous. Why? Because everyone is a pragmatic son of a bitch in those books.

Well of Darkness has characters who are devoted to doing the right thing. But they lose.

Ahhhh so good. Will read this again.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people may recognize the name Weis and Hickman from their very popular Dragonlance series. Well of Darkness is the first book in a series based off of a role-playing game, The Sovereign Stone. I have never seen, much less played that game but it isn't really necessary to enjoy the book.

This is definitely a series for the lover of dark fantasy. The story follows Garreth, the young whipping boy of Prince Dagnarus. For no one would dare harm the prince when he acts out, they lash the whipping boy instead. Since these two boys grow up together, they eventually become close friends. Prince Dagnarus is quite evil as a boy and young man. He despises his brother, the heir to the throne, and makes it his mission to see himself in his brother's stead. He makes Garreth turn to practicing the dark arts and the magic of the Void in order to fulfill Dagnarus's dark need to be in power.

This book has a lot of the elements that most fantasy stories have. The token races (human, elves, dwarfs, and orcs) are all there and each with their own personalities that is a new take on the norm. There isn't really a "good guy", but I enjoy that kind of storytelling. It is similar to the song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Sometimes, the bad guys just win and that's they way of things. It is refreshing really to not have the "knight in shining armor" aspect like so many other books (including the aforementioned Dragonlance series). I do feel that the ending is a bit sub-par, but I didn't let that stop me from continuing the series. What is great about the other two books is that even though it is a continuation of the main story, they take place in the future with a whole different cast of characters, adding even more depth and build-up to the final conclusion.

Find more of my reviews at http://lostinabookstore.blogspot.com/

[Mel (Epic Reading)]

Could this really be the book/series I’ve been trying to remember for decades?
What I remember:
- cover had red, yellow and black
- book has to have been written 2003 or before
- a prince had a whipping boy
- Royal court and intrigue
- one of the boys, I think the prince becomes very unlikeable and is the bad guy in book 2
- the whipping boy is tossed aside…?

Could it be this? Or something else?
Suggestions, thoughts?

[Estefania Jimenez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una historia genial, pero muy lenta. Han querido meter demasiados detalles que no son relevantes para la historia y eso a mi parecer en vez de hacerlo interesante lo ha vuelto aburrido y lento la mayor parte del tiempo. Aun así, como digo, hay una gran historia escondida entre tanta paja y merece la pena llegar hasta el final, aunque me ha costado mucho tiempo terminarlo porque no conseguía engancharme. Sin embargo, leeré el segundo, porque el sabor de boca que me ha dejado en general es bueno.

[Feanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well of Darkness ...
Bir sitede kitap indirimlerinden dolayı kitaplar alıp en son sepeti 150 tlye tamamlamak için çok araştırmadan seçtiğim kitap.

Böyle güzel çıkmasını beklemiyordum. Son zamanlarda okuduğum en iyi fantastik kitaplardan biri oldu. Bunun tabii ki en büyük nedeni yazarın benim sevdiğim tarzda epik fantastik yazması; yaratıcılığın çok önemli olduğu bu tarzda gerçekten başarılı karakterler, isimler ve sistemler üretmesi.

Margaret Weis’in bir çok efsaneleşmiş kitabı var bunlardan en bilineni ejderha mızrağı serisi. Adeta kült bir eserdir. Sovereign Stone (Hükümran Taş) serisi ise yazarın son yazdığı serilerden hatta bildiğim kadarıyla son seri olması lazım. Dolayısıyla mükemmel bir tecrübe altyapısı ile ortaya çıkmış bir seri. Şimdi bunun nedenlerine gelelim.

Kitapta ırklar klasik bir şekilde ayrılmış: cüceler, insanlar, orklar, elfler. Bu ırkların özelliklerini detaylı anlatmak istiyorum çünkü her ne kadar bu ırklara aşina olsak da yazar birtakım değişiklikler ve detaylar ile adeta baştan yaratmış ırkları.

Elfler: Açık havayı, doğayı çok seven elflerin farklı farklı elf hanesi var. İnanılmaz gelenekçi ve kurallara bağlı bir ırk olarak işlenir zaten elfler ancak bu kitapta üzerinde çok durulmuş. Her hanede bir ata dedikleri danışılan kişi var. Tüm planlarda o ataya danışılıyor, ancak anladığım kadarıyla bu ata hayalet gibi bir şey. Hiyerarşi çok katı. Ast muhafız, muhafız gibi rütbeler var. Hiyerarşide üstte olan bir kişinin alttaki bir kişiye elini sürmesi bile övgü kabul edilip çok önemseniyor. Elf dünyasının en güçlüsü Rahibin Kalkanı. Asıl görevi Rahibi korumak, itaat etmek olsa da politika elflerde önemli olduğu için Kalkan ve Rahip güç savaşı içinde. Kitap boyunca Kalkan bu savaşta galip gelmeyi başarıyor.

Son olarak kitapta önemli olan bir kısım da Elf dünyasında kurallar o kadar katı ki bir elf yemek yerken diğer elfi davet etmediği için ikisinin hanesi yüzyıllar sürecek savaşa girebiliyorlar.

Cüceler: Dünyadaki en iyi at binicileri, aslında boyları küçük oldukları için midilliye biniyorlar. Yerleşik bir hayatları yok ölene kadar at üstünde yer değiştiriyorlar yani göçebe bir halk. Okuma yazma ile araları hiç yok onlar yerine bu işleri at binemeyecek durumda olan cüceler yani Atsızlar yapıyor.

Orklar: Genel ork algısında olduğu gibi kaba saba yaratıklar ama tamamen canavar değiller. Denizciler hepsi ve balık tutuyorlar. Orkların en büyük özelliği işaretleri yorumlamaları olarak gösteriliyor romanda. Orkların şamanı var ve her türlü olayı inceleyip Kaptan'ın(Orkların lideri) karar vermesinde etkili bir rol oynuyor. Mesela savaşın ortasındayken güvercinlerin doğudan batıya yerine batıdan doğuya uçtuklarını görseler bunu kötü alamet olarak yorumlayıp savaşı bırakıp gidebilirler. Ancak şunu söyleyebilirim orkların hiçbir öngörüsü yanlış çıkmadı kitap boyunca.

Son olarak orkların hayatını özetleyen bir cümleyi alıntılayayım :
“Doğum, ergenlik, çiftleşme, çocuklara bakmak ve en sonunda da bilgeliği paylaşmak. Önemli olan düğümler, bunlardı.” Bilgeliği paylaşan orklara pek alışkın değiliz ama güzel bir ork tiplemesi olmuş bence.

İnsanlar: İnsanları çok tanıtmayacağım çünkü diğer ırklarda klasiğin dışında özellikler biçilmiş olsa da insanda bu çok geçerli değil. Bildiğimiz normal insan.

Kitapta Vinnangael Kral’ı Tameros’un (insan) kurduğu bir dünyayı görüyoruz. Kendisi tanrılarla direk iletişimde bulunabiliyor ve safsata değil gerçekten bu kitapta insanlar tanrılarla iletişim kurabiliyor. Ancak herhangi bir din mefhumu yok sadece tanrılara dua ediyorlar şükrediyorlar vs.

En sevdiğim felsefeden birisi kitapta şu oldu: Diyalektik işliyor. Yani tanrılar var ve etkileri de direk gözleniyor. Ancak boşluk denen tanrıların zıttı olan bir güç de var ve o da hissediliyor. Tanrılar neden kendi zıttını yaratmış ya da olmasına izin veriyor sorusuna ise yazar şöyle bir cevap vermiş:

“Su, ateşi söndürür; ancak insan, yaşamak için ikisine de ihtiyaç duyar. Nefes almak için havaya muhtaçtır, ayağının altında toprak olmalıdır; sadece birinden ya da diğerinden meydana gelen bir dünyada yaşayamaz. Tanrıların bir gücünün olmasının tek nedeni, hiçbir güce sahip olmadıkları bir yerin bulunması. Bize, bunların ikisinden de yararlanabilme yeteneği verilmiş. Tanrılar bilge, karşıtlarını yok etmek istemiyorlar; Boşluk da kainatı kaplamaya çalışmıyor zira o durumda Boşluk doldurulur ve var olamaz. Eğer her şey hiçbir şey olursa, o zaman hiçbir şey de bir şey olamaz."

Bu şekilde felsefe kuran kitaplara bayılıyorum. Aklına gelen soruları mantıklı bir biçimde cevaplıyorlar ve kitap sağlam temellere inşa edilmiş oluyor.

Kitapta Hakimiyet Efendileri var bunlar da iyiliği korumak için tanrıların gücü bahşedilmiş insanlar. Daha sonra hükümran taşın tanrılar tarafından verilmesiyle diğer ırklar da hakimiyet efendileri oluşturabiliyor. Buraya çok detaylı girmek istemiyorum ancak şundan bahsedeceğim kitaptaki ana karakterler Tamaros’un iki oğlu Dagnarus ve Helmos. Dagnarus’un şamar oğlanı Gareth. Dagnarus’un Kahyası elf Silwyth. Kitabın akışında Helmos hakimiyet efendisi oluyor. Büyük çocuk olduğu için tahta Helmos geçiyor ancak Dagnarus’un tahtta gözü var. İki kardeş birbirlerine çok zıt. Dagnarus ve Gareth çocukluklarından itibaren Tanrılar yerine Boşluk’a inanmaya başlıyorlar. Gareth büyücü oluyor ve boşluk büyüsüyle Dagnarus'a yardımcı oluyor. Dagnarus ise hakimiyet efendisi oluyor ve boşluğun hakimi oluyor. Daha sonra tahtı elde etmek için kurduğu ordusuyla abisi yönetimindeki Vinnangael’e saldırıyor ve ele geçiriyor kitabın sonunda. Kitap genel olarak da Dagnarus’un bu yoldaki ilerleyişini ve hırsını anlatıyor.

Peki neden 5 yıldız değil de 4 yıldız verdim?
Çünkü kitapta benim en sevdiğim özellik olan büyü sistemi iyi kurulmamış. Birtakım güçlerden ve bunların nasıl kullanıldığından bahsediyor ama kimin, neye göre, nasıl büyü yaptığı hakkında hiç bilgi yok. Boşluk büyüsü kullananlar da aslında çok güçlü gibi betimlenmelerine rağmen o kadar da güçlü yanları sergilenmiyor tam tersine çok çabuk yorulan, büyü yaptıktan sonra vücutları hemen dağılan insanlar olarak gösteriliyor ki baya zayıf bir imaj çiziliyor. Ben kitaplarda büyüye çok önem veririm. Bu kitabın büyü işleyişi güzel olmamış çünkü büyünün kaynağı ve sınırları belli olmayınca sınırsız bir gücü oluyor ki kitapta da geçit gibi büyük büyüsel yolları yapan büyücüler var. Bu durumda neden otorite arayışında bulunmuyorlar? Neden krala koşulsuz sadıklar? Neden birçok sorun büyüyle çözülecekken kullanmıyorlar? gibi sorular oluşuyor ki bunların hiçbiri de cevaplanmıyor. Bu yüzden 1 puan kırdım kitaptan.

Okumanızı tavsiye ederim, iyi günler.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm relived to be done. I'll try the next one but truly not much makes me interested in reading further - more out of obligation than interest.
The book had moments where I was mildly interested in what might happen and it isn't the worst writing ever, but it is a very plain "I read Tolkien and ME TOO" kind of vibe. The writing gets boring and wanders into lengthy descriptions that don't add to the story. No one - I mean NO ONE is a character you want to spend time with - Helmos is supposedly a good guy, but could he and his wife BE more whiny and dull? Dagnarus is just annoying and like reading about a perpetual 3 year old tantrum (& he's probably the most interesting character in the book so why don't we spend more time in his thoughts than everyone else's?), Gareth was pathetic, not sympathetic, and if you have ever wanted to hate elves, just read the first couple of chapters - an attempt to look into the elvish culture just makes them mean, selfish and rude - not aloof or misunderstood, just, plain old, yuck. I wouldn't recommend it as I am sure there are plenty of other books to choose from - but I will try part 2 - although it pains me to say so.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, but it could have been shorter. I did not feel like this story really needed nearly 600 pages. What initially attracted me to this book was the armor that the character is wearing on the cover. It looks like he made some Daedra armor in Skyrim. Too bad they do not start wearing it until page 300 something. Yes, I know, never judge a book by it's cover.

The story overall reminded me of Prince Joffrey Baratheon of Game of Thrones growing up with a bipolar mage and gaining superpowers. The use of evil magic in this book is pretty interesting, so if you enjoy books about people making huge sacrifices for power, especially of the magical kind, you will probably enjoy this story fairly well.

[Gerald Heath · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the book had its interesting moments, I was not particularly impressed. In a fantasy series, I usually like to have at least one character I can root for. In this book the good people were either weak, or naive, and the evil people were,,,,,evil. Nobody even approached being heroic. Actually, my favorite character was Dagnarus, who was the villain.

I know these authors can write, as I had previously read the Deathgate books, so I will give the second book of this trilogy a try. However, they need to give me something decent to chew on within the first hundred pages or I will have to write it off.

[Warren Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read, but the book suffers a little from a lack of originality in some places, and a narrative style that sounds too... narrative, which takes us out of the story for periods.
After reading several mediocre books, it is a relief to return to these authors, who I consider to be some of the best. Their writing is beautiful and descriptive, and it flows so easily. Best of all are the characters, who are so well drawn, and interesting, even when they are only bit players.

Full spoiler review:
http://ossuslibrary.tripod.com/Bk_Fan...

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

.
This is definitely a worthwhile, fantasy, adventure that I enjoyed..

Would recommend!

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The style ended up similar to the Weismann Hickman books i remember from my youth. I didn't care for the plot and it started insanely slow for me.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read set in a fantasy world, this book tells the story of Prince Dagnarus and his whipping boy Gareth and their descent into darkness. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Lolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book (the entire trilogy, really) mean a lot to me. I first read them at the height of the LOTR movies coming out when I was around 11 or 12, only a year or so after the were published.
I reread them a few times throughout jr high and high school, but hadn't touched them in about 16 years. It was so fun coming back o them, many scenes that have been imprinted on my brain for 2 decades since first read them had me grinning as I read them again. (The Void Mages walking in a circle as they slowly drop dead over hours is painted on the back of my eyelids- such a visceral scene!)
So yeah, I'm coming at this from an extremely nostalgic place.

This book struggles with keeping the plot grounded and often moves from scene to scene with no connective tissue. The Worldbuilding though!?! My gosh, some of the best there is. And the descriptive writing. Weis and Hickman are always fantastic at his so it is no surprise that it also shines here.

It should come as no shock that the worldbuilding is so strong if you know that this trilogy was written in partnership with a tabletop roleplaying game (long before I ever picked up a DND book I was somehow drawn to this trilogy... awww, it's sweet lol *hums invisible string to myself*)

3.5/5 stars because I recognize it's weaknesses, but there is so much here to love if you like a plot driven book that doesn't show it's characters so much as tell you about them.
I will report back on books 2 and 3, if memory serves they are a bit more plot driven.

[Inés · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember I read this one when I was really young, an edgy teenager who always had devoured books. I had already gave a shot to some epic fantasy classics: some I enjoyed, but some felt just too much and had trouble following. Well of darkness was definitely not the second case. I was really hooked to that book, I felt like it was everything I could ask to that genre. It stills surprises me how this book is so underrated.
I couldn’t find part two at my library. I’m still kind of disappointed I couldn’t get more of that. I tried reading Dragonlance, by the same authors, but didn’t feel the same. I guess Weis and Hickman got creative freedom at this one, and it shows. They could create a fresh, yet solid world.
Of course, if I read it again, as an adult, my opinion would probably change. But, for nerdy teenagers as I myself was, I strongly recommend it.

[Ana Elena Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantan los universos creados por Weis y Hickman. Los personajes están bien definidos y las historias tienen consistencia.
En el género de novela fantástica, son absolutamente geniales.
En esta trilogía se dan muchos de los elementos esenciales; las diferencias y tensiones entre las distintas razas, la magia, el bien, el mal y consecuentemente las luchas por el poder absoluto.
Esta historia se inicia con el intento de unificar las razas mediante una gema que tiene un doble filo: tanto une a las razas al componerse de 4 partes (una por cada raza), como las separa creando entre ellas el mal, llamado Vacío.
De momento, en esta primera novela se ha presentado la historia con acierto creando en el lector el ansia por continuar con las siguientes entregas.
Lo dicho; una delicia para los amantes del género

[M. P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty much high fantasy 101 , with about 400 pages of setting up the real meat of the story, but dammit if I didn't enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. Even though this book is ultimately pretty forgettable due to how standard the fantasy in it is, and how everything that happens you could see coming hundreds of pages before the events actually take place in the story, I'm just going to go ahead and give this one a high rating simply for the fact I genuinely looked forward to continuing the book. I guess I was just in the right mood for this one when I read it.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read for me. For most of the book I wasn’t bored, but I did feel the plot and characters were a bit flat. Then, there were parts that were over-explained that I didn’t care for. Takes away from the plot. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. I don’t know what else to say, except I’m not sure if I’ll continue the trilogy.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a novel designed solely to promote a game, there actually is quite some depth to the main characters and a decent effort at worldbuilding without detracting too much from the plot. Too bad the map at the beginning sucks though. It's so annoying when maps don't indicate places mentioned in the book but contain lots of details that AREN'T mentioned.

[Jason Mays · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not good

Way too many plot holes and inconsistencies. At a certain point, the inconsistencies were apparent in between pages. This is the first of their books i can't recommend.

[Arthur B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series that follows on from this isn't up to much, but if you read this as a standalone tale about the central character succumbing to the temptation of tyranny, it ain't half bad. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wenn man ohne Cringe-Faktor Liebesgedichte über Bücher schreiben könnte, wäre dieses Buch hier mein ewiger Verehrter.
Damals mit 13(?) gelesen und mich zum ersten Mal meilentief in einer Fantasy-Welt verloren (sowie Rotz und Wasser geheult, wUndErvoLL). Geht sehr unter die Haut.

[R.M. Krogman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite quote: "It was all very well to talk of wielding shining sword of faith. But, to the captain's mind, such a sword would be stronger if the blade were tempered with the alloy of common sense."

[Arawyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, I like their dragonlance books but this one I did not like it. The chapters are very long and drag on and on, the culture of the elves is weird, and the beginning starting a couple of main characters off as kids was also weird. I don’t recommend this book.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book about 20 years ago and remember being pulled in by the world, the details, and the evil spin on an original fantasy novel. I searched for the rest of the series and years later finally obtained the rest. I did this as a second read and enjoyed it.

[Rick Lewczyk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge disappointment. First third of the book was interesting relative to the world and characters. Then characters start acting in inexplicable ways and the story took turns I just didn't like. Great start but a book I had to force myself to finish. No interest in rest of the trilogy.

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! A great find

[Mira · Rating 1 out of 5]

A thoroughly miserable read.