Will truth and virtue triumph over the deadly darkness of an all-consuming evil?
The war against the dragon minions of Queen Takhisis rages on. Armed with the mysterious, magical Dragon Orbs and the shining, silver Dragonlance, the Companions of the Lance lead their people in a desperate final battle. Knight and barbarian, warrior and mage, dwarf and kender—no one has reckoned how high the price of defeat, or even victory, might be.
But now, in the dawn of a new day, the dark secrets that have long shadowed the hearts of the Companions come to light. If they are to truly defeat the five-headed dragon goddess, they must find a way to overcome their own personal conflicts and doubts. From betrayal and treachery to fragility and weakness, the greatest battle now lies within each of them.
Finally armed with dragonlances, a group of heroes, composed of a knight, barbarian, dwarf, and half-elf, faces a deadly showdown with the evil dragons and Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness.
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.
“They don’t want to hear about darkness and death. They want children’s tales about love and rebirth and silver dragons. Don’t we all.”
If what you are after is an uplifting children’s tale about love and rebirth and dragons (of many colours) then you have come to the right place. Dragons of Spring Dawning concludes the Dragonlance Chronicles in a classic confrontation of good and evil, bravery and selfless sacrifice, and, naturally, love. Oh, and dragons, a minor detail that.
I will admit: my memories of this book are better than the book itself.* It is in some places rushed, in others underdeveloped. The composition suffers as the authors experiment with different narration techniques and so inserted into the chapters you’ll find songs, poems, excerpts from chronicles or retellings - but instead of being invigorating, it befuddles. It feels like suddenly in class Z family movie everybody started speaking pure Shakespearean to add some gravitas to the whole thing, which, you’ll agree, is quite silly.
The plot moves from cheesy to staged to improbable. But still, darn it, a good fun. Whereas all the companions are accounted for in their neat arcs, Berem the Everyman finally takes the stage and proves to be the central puzzle piece. There are some “aha!” moments when things fall into place, interspersed with “oh, well…” and “oh, no!” exclamations, but I will brave a bet that irrespective of your sympathies and regardless which character was your favourite, you should be satisfied with the ending.
I was, though each time my primary loyalty switched from protagonist to protagonist; from Tanis and Laurana when I was reading the Chronicles for the first time, to Kender to Raistlin (quite surprisingly, I have to say, but mayhaps I was over-sugared and needed something else).
At the same time, in spite of my initial awe, Dragonlance Chronicles never prompted me to read more of the Dragonlance world. It was a superb gateway for the inexperienced fantasy reader that I was, but for me even then it lacked the depth that would keep me ensnared for longer. I moved on quickly and looking back from today’s perspective of a jaded fantasy pro, I am not surprised. I retain my fondness though. And I’d encourage you to give the Drangonlance Chronicles a try.
*Disclaimer: My rating is purely sentimental. Dragons of Spring Dawning is a read down the memory lane. If I were to rate it on the basis of my current standards and preferences, it would score 3 stars the most.
Dragonqueen she was called in elven; Nilat the Corrupter, to the barbarians of the Plains; Tamex, the False Metal, so she was known in Thorbardin among the dwarves; Mai-tat, She of Many Faces was how they told of her in legends among the sea-faring people of Ergoth. Queen of Many Colors and of None, the Knights of Solamnia called her; defeated by Huma, banished from the land, long ago. Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, had returned.
A disastrous defeat has all but destroyed the free nations of Krynn, and all hope appears to be lost. And now the dragonarmies are amassing at the ghastly Temple of Neraka, preparing to subjugate the whole world to the domination of the Dark Queen. But in a final act of defiance, a small band of heroes travel in secret to this stronghold of evil to rescue a lost friend, and to strike back one last time...
Dragons of Spring Dawning saved the series. The second book (and honestly, much of this one) proved to be a huge disappointment, but in the end it deserves most of the love it gets. As usual, quality is low, entertainment value is high. The characters are shallow, the setting is amazing. And unlike the one in Winter Night, the storyline here really picks up again, almost going back to the level of Autumn Twilight.
One group of characters that were particularly good in this final book were the villains. The villains in the first two books were perhaps even more one-dimensional than the protagonists, but that appears to have changed here. The only villain getting a considerable amount of spotlight is the Dragon Highlord known as the Dark Lady (who has become one of my favourite characters in this series), but the others are probably even better. Ariakas, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Ansalon, the death knight Lord Soth, and Takhisis herself are all memorable.
In the end, I am glad I chose to give this series a try after nearly putting it aside because of all the negative reviews. It has tons of flaws, but there is a reason why it’s one of the most popular and influential fantasy series ever written.
The last two were okay. The writing in this series isn't amazing. It is repetitive and the characters are rather flat. The reluctant leader, the dark magic user, the strong yet beautiful female lead, the fiesty barmaid and her brooding warrior are all rather clique.
The redeeming factor in the last two books were the story lines and the bits of humor thrown in.
However, I felt like this one was missing some of the humor, and I quickly got over I mean I can tolerate a little bit of silliness but this went beyond that.
Trovo impossibile non amare questa trilogia. È stata la mia prima esperienza con il fantasy e si sa, la prima volta non si scorda mai.
I personaggi, la storia, l'epicità dell'obiettivo rendono le Cronache di Dragonlance una tappa forzata per ogni amante del fantasy. Nel bene e nel male.
E' indubbio che lo stile sia semplice, i personaggi statici e non troppo approfonditi, tuttavia intrattiene e rimane nella memoria per la sua storia epica. Una buona trilogia per affacciarsi a questo genere.
Una degna conclusione in attesa di ritrovare i gemelli Majere nella successiva avventura delle "Leggende di Dragonlance".
--------------------- I find it impossible not to love this trilogy. It was my first experience with fantasy and you know, you never forget the first time.
The characters, the story, the epic nature of the objective make the Chronicles of Dragonlance a must for every fantasy lover. For better or for worse.
There is no doubt that the style is simple, the characters static and not too in-depth, however it entertains and remains in the memory for its epic story. A good trilogy to approach this genre.
A worthy conclusion while waiting to find the Majere twins in the next adventure of the "Legends of Dragonlance".
Waring there maybe spoilerish content travel with caution.
When I closed the book up last night with book mark laid on the side my heart was heavy but I had a smile on my face. We had come full circle. I still have questions that I hope in a future a trilogy or book we get some answers to.
I cried twice. I don't mean my eyes filled up or a tear escaped and trickled down my face. I mean full on ugly cry. And I couldn't stop. I read the signs, the foreshadowing, I knew something was going to happen. I drew a sad face in my book at each mention. But I didn't expect it to hit me so hard when it did. I haven't cried that hard over a book character in such a long time. I am an emotional sap so I do cry at books, movies, tv but not all of them get this strong of a reaction. The bf asked me what was wrong, I just said I'm reading. He understood, he's a reader too.
For some you can get over quickly and then others stay with you forever. I think for me it will me the latter.
I can see why people return to this realm and this trilogy specifically, I will be back. The characters are special, even if at times you want to throttle them. Many go under such growth, while others dip into the shadows and you feel like it's an unravelling of them.
Also I really think I need a graph or spread sheet. Lord Soth (or Lord Sloth as my audio correct liked to say in the discord for our buddy read) is in the Ravenloft book Knight of the Black Rose I really need to find a chart telling me the character cross overs. I'm a dork like that I want to read them all. So please if anyone can point me in the right direction I will be very grateful.
So this concludes The Dragonlance Chronicals, a buddy read that came out of twitter, featuring W&SBOOKCLUB, Sue’s Musings & Fantasy Book Nerd I read great books and made great friends. I look forward to our next adventure.
Magnífico tercer y último volumen de estas Crónicas. Quedan varios cabos sueltos o misterios que no se resuelven o no se explican, pero entiendo que acompañan a estas Crónicas varias sagas y libros individuales más, que imagino profundizan esos pasajes y situaciones.
La novela mantiene el ritmo del libro anterior, manejando tan hábilmente la tensión de los acontecimientos que se hace casi imposible detener la lectura.
Excelentes personajes, diálogos y descripciones. Muy recomendable.
For my first and last time reading the original Dragonlance trilogy I kept each volume in the appropriate season (autumn, winter spring). I needn’t have bothered; the seasonal themes were minimal.
I enjoyed this much more than the second book, until the last 100 pages. At first it was riveting; those first ~70 pages are savage. After that there were some weaker sequences, but overall I appreciated that it maintained a single story thrust on multiple fronts. But I don’t really know what to say about the extended finale. It was . . . well, it ended. That whole love triangle, the most dreary and irritating love triangle I’ve ever seen, was a burden and none of it made much sense. Laurana on the whole was my least favorite character.
And Flint, long-suffering, constantly complaining Flint; did he accomplish anything at all in the trilogy? And then to meet that fate? I don’t know, man.
If it weren’t for Raistlin and Tasslehoff, I don’t think I would have survived the series.
4.0 to 4.5 stars. Great end to the first Dragonlance trilogy. These books are fast paced, epic stories peopled with tons of great fantasy characters (elves, dwarves, knights, gnomes, dragons, magicians and sorcerers and even a minotaur sailor). Plus the anti-hero Raistlin is exceptionally well done. These books give you exactly what you are looking for when you pick them up and are the fantasy equivalent of "summer blockbuster movies." They are a ton of fun and will keep reading them as a fun change of pace from some of the more "intellectual" fantasy epics that I really like. Highly Recommended!!!!
I've read this so many times now, but my youngest is eight and I wanted to read it to her, and her thirteen year old siblings were down for listening to the series again, so I thrilled in the chance to read it all aloud once again. It took a while to finish the Chronicles this time, but we got there right at the death of 2017.
I am so glad we did.
Spring Dawning is nowhere near the best of the series (and I include the Chronicles in that assessment), but it does have have three things going for it: plenty of Fizban, definitive Raistlin, and all the evidence we’ll ever need to prove Tanis is a massive dickhead.
I've gone into details on these things elsewhere, but it is worth pointing out again that Tanis is one of the most despicable protagonists ever to be loved by folks in any IP with any modicum of success. He is filth. He is petty, whiny, murderous, indefensible, childish, and utterly painful. Of all the companions, he is the one Raistlin should have officially betrayed. Settling debts is wonderfully honourable -- especially when you are the supposed embodiment of evil -- but there are some debts that would be better left unpaid. Raistlin's to Tanis is one of those.
Perhaps you are angry at me for badmouthing Tanis. Fair enough. But I chose everyone over him every time I read this story -- including Toede. Boo, Tanis! Just boo.
Por fin he sentido mucho más reales a todos los personajes. No es que no los hubiera sentido antes pero como la narración es tan ostentosa y poética, no deja demasiado espacio a palpar el interior de los protagonistas. En este último tomo de la primera trilogía vemos cómo los destinos se entremezclan, las mujeres tienen muchísimo poder y que el honor y la perspicacia pueden ir de la mano. Me ha encantado el juego de lealtades y amistades, las criaturas, los objetos mágicos y todas las batallas. Sin duda es una trilogía esencial para todo amante de la fantasía.
Άλλη μία από τις πολύ δημοφιλείς σειρές βιβλίων στο χώρο της φαντασίας αλλά εγώ δίσταζα να ασχοληθώ μαζί της πιστεύοντας ότι δεν πρόκειται για κάτι σοβαρό. Τελικά όμως έπεσε στα χέρια μου εντελώς τυχαία η ελληνική μετάφραση της πρώτης τριλογίας είπα να κάνω μία δοκιμή. Στο πρώτο βιβλίο οι φόβοι μου επιβεβαιώθηκαν καθώς το βρήκα ιδιαίτερα ελαφρύ έως παιδικό, με όλη την ιστορία να είναι ουσιαστικά μία ακατάπαυστη εναλλαγή σκηνών δράσης. Στο δεύτερο η κατάσταση βελτιώνεται θεαματικά καθώς τα πράγματα λίγο σοβαρεύουν ενώ οι συγγραφείς επιλέγουν μία πιο αργή αφήγηση που επιτρέπει στο κείμενο να ανασάνει. Το τρίτο συνεχίζει στο ίδιο μοτίβο για να καταλήξει σε ένα αρκετά ενδιαφέρον φινάλε.
Οπότε το συμπέρασμα που βγάζω είναι ότι αυτή εδώ η τριλογία έχει κάποια αξία, με λίγη υπομονή διαβάζεται ευχάριστα, υπάρχουν κάποιοι ενδιαφέροντες ήρωες αλλά γενικά δεν είναι τίποτα το σπουδαίο.
I really do get the appeal of this series, especially within the framework of its time. The epic nature of the tale, the world of D&D brought to life, the stewpot of fantasy tropes are all there. Ultimately, however, the writing itself falls down for me. It is often confusing to follow, a lot of the most dramatic moments happen off-screen (partly due to the fact that they were the subject of gaming modules), a good deal of the ideas are a pastiche of Tolkien, and the characters take a long time to become at all complex or endearing. I understand these comments will draw the ire of many; so be it. By today's standards these books barely rise to the level of a decent pot-boiler. In their time, they were probably close to the Shannara tales in appeal. This third book certainly pays everything off, and that's about the best I can say for it. It provides good closure, and I am a little relieved to be finished. // I should add that the world-building aspect of these books is pretty solid from a gaming standpoint.
-Remate a la trilogía que simbolizó mucho tiempo el cénit del marketing cruzado de género.-
Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Tanis vuelve con sus amigos, sin contarles toda la verdad de su relación con la Señora del Dragón Kitiara, cuando el grupo debe escapar y terminan en un barco donde su timonel es Berem, y… pero qué más da, estimados lectores, porque el “poder” de este libro va más allá de sí mismo. Tercer libro de la saga Dragonlance y tercer libro de la trilogía Crónicas de la Dragonlance.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
“The darkness might conquer, but it could never extinguish hope. And though one candle, or many, might flicker and die, new candles would be lit from the old. Thus hope’s flame always burns, lighting the darkness until the coming of day.”
The Dragonlance Chronicles comes to an end and man was it an adventure. Dragonlance isn't the best written or unique series out there in the vast ocean of fantasy, but it's one that makes you smile with predictable story lines and tropes that sometimes make your eyes role. That's what I like about this series, it pushes you into a world you know with characters you can't help but love (except for Laurana and Tika). It brings you to a world of dragons that are gods (totally badass) and evil mages. It has strong characters, weak ones, the ones that you should fear, and the tricksters. I feel like am a kid again chasing dragons and saving the princess (well prince for me).
“The ones we love most are those we trust least.”
Even though this isn't the end of the adventuring group, it's a satisfying end with some hope for the future and an soft sort of ending that leaves the story open but you're not that salivating for the next book. The writing was young adult if anything and expect the expected but I would HIGHLY recommend this series to children, young adult, new adults (whatever that is), the old, and the young at heart.
This is the third book of a trilogy and this series must be read in order. This one picks up right where we left off in the second book. In this one, our group of companions are mourning their loss of one of their friends and things are rough. Tanis has been gone for several days while the rest of the group are hiding out as they are on the run.
I have read this trilogy several times and my rating here is basically based on the nostalgia factor. This was my introduction into the fantasy genre and this trilogy led me to many worlds. I will admit that I do believe this isn't the best written fantasy book. In fact, this one might be the weakest of the trilogy as there are several plot holes. I know a common complaint of these books is that they feel like a role playing adventure and this one is the one that I feel that the most. With all that being said I don't care as I still consider this a tremendous read. I love the new places that we discover on the adventure. I still love the characters and I feel for them as they suffer more loss and their situation seems to worsen each day. To me, the highlight of this book is the theme of love. Whether it is familial love, romantic love, or love of people that become your adopted family. This theme resonates throughout the book.
One question to ask oneself when rating a book is which factors more. Is it the quality or how it makes you feel? Yes the quality isn't the best in this book but this book gives all kinds of feels. Several times I could feel my eyes get misty. Compound that with the nostalgia factor and this book easily is a five star rating for me and I know that I will be rereading it once again in the near future.
This is my fourth read of this book, but it felt like the first. I think it’s weird that I had forgotten probably 98% of the story of the last book in my favorite book trilogy, but maybe it was a good thing, because in a way, I got to experience it for the first time again.
This conclusion was amazing! Laurana was awesome and her character surprised me even more than in the second book, but I still think Kitiara is one of the best female characters in fantasy (ok, maybe MY favorite character in all fiction).
I haven’t read much modern fantasy, so I guess I don’t have much to compare it to and can’t really say that this series feels outdated or that this is just nostalgia talking, but I think the fact that I didn’t remember anything about the plot, and I still loved it and I could barely put it down, says that it’s not just nostalgia, this is a great book and a great trilogy.
Will I re-read them again in 10 years? And what will I think in my 50s about a book series I first read when I was probably 14 years old? I hope Goodreads is still around so I can read this review :) I will continue to recommend this series to anyone who will listen, old school or not, it is a very cool story.
No spoilers. This dark third entry and conclusion of the Dragonlance Chronicles is very character driven, with no real major battles of the armies or dragons from the previous entry. Here there is much betrayal, treacherous doings. we see weakness and frailty in our characters, amd some new ones along the way. Really enjoyed Fizban. Each (Raistlin, Tasselehoff, Tanis, Laurana) of them grow into different people by the end of the book, realizing and asserting their true identities. Of course there is a sequel trilogy, Dragonlance Legends, which brings back some of these characters.
Το τέλος μια ενδιαφέρουσας τριλογίας. Είχε τις αδυναμίες αλλά και τα εντυπωσιακά της σημεία. Είχε ανατροπές αλλά και προβλέψιμα γεγονότα. Η πληθώρα των ηρώων δεν σε έκανε να βαριέσαι. Ο Ρέστλιν ίσως ο πιο ενδιαφέρον ήρωας. Ο Τάνις ο πιο εκνευριστικός, η Λοράνα η πιο δουλεμένη καθόλη τη διάρκεια του έργου. Ποικιλία για να διαλέγεις ανάλογα τα γούστα. Λυπήθηκα που τελείωσε γιατί κράτησε καλή συντροφιά!
Of the original Dragonlance trilogy, Dragons of Spring Dawning is not my favourite. Even so, it contains some excellent moments while serving as both a pseudo ending to the War of the Lance and a fine introduction to the Legends series.
Perhaps it is Dragons of Spring Dawning's transitional position that makes it impossible for it to be the best of the three. There is a real sense in Dragons of Spring Dawning that we are not speeding towards a resolution of the War but a shift in hostilities from the vast and impersonal to the internal and personal. Which means that while the book is necessary in the greater arc of the series, it must fail to live up to the promise of its predecessors because it cannot, by its very nature, deliver a fitting end to all the threads of the story.
Dragons of Spring Dawning generates a feeling that Weis and Hickman reached a point where their huge cast of characters was too much to handle. Gilthanas and Silvara, Goldmoon and Riverwind, Alhana Starbreeze, Lord Ariakas, Astinus, Raistlin (although that is rectified by the Legend series), and even Fewmaster Toade get short shrift. Their stories could have been the basis for at least two more books in the series proper, which also would have allowed for a stronger telling of the stories that it does manage to tell.
Of course, many of these missing stories have been told by others in future installments of the Dragonlance universe, but one can't help wondering how much better these stories would have been if they'd been contextualized within the War itself and told by the originators of the series.
Regardless, the stories that Weis and Hickman do manage to tell in Dragons of Spring Dawning are well told.
It was particularly nice to see Tanis Half-Elven through the eyes of my four year olds, whom I read the book to. I always hated Tanis. I found his whining insufferable; I always felt the "supposed" darkness of his soul was a bit of a joke; I thought his attack on Berem was too easily forgiven by his friends, and nothing in my latest oral reading of the book changed my mind on any of these points. But something did change for me, and I was finally able to see how Tanis' role as leader can gloss over his faults for an audience as easily as it seems to for his friends in the book. Tanis seems to have a genuine charisma. I don't get it personally, but now at least I recognize how it works.
The entire series is worth reading multiple times, and this is an important step along the way, but if you're anything like me don't expect to love this episode in the Dragonlance story. It is far from the best.
This one took me longer to read and dragged more than the first two books but nonetheless it was an entertaining read. The whole series was a nice light reading break after all that serious grimdark.
The adventures are quite good and the companions splitting up and going on different adventures is fun to read. Kitiara is a compelling character, my personal hate for her notwithstanding. She is quite well written and not one-dimensional like most others. Fizban is my other favorite here and the surprise twist was well done too (even though I saw it coming from the earlier hints) and Laurana’s character growth was also well done. The love triangle between Tanis, Kitiara and Laurana was a bit more in your face and annoying in this book.
The most shocking thing for me was the tragic deaths of two of the main characters, but then again Harry Potter gets a lot darker and many characters die.
The humor is what makes this series cool. Things get dark and bad stuff happens, but the humor is always there. Most modern fantasy I read has little humor if any (with the exception of Mark Lawrence) and the light humor aspect is what makes Dragonlance Chronicles is a perfect summer read.
I think Raistlin is the best character in the entire series. The world is more interesting than the characters except Raistlin and Fizban. All in all it’s a nice summer read and I think every fantasy geek, D&D and role playing nerd needs to read it as part of the must-read essentials stack.
I can’t wait to read the sequel series Dragonlance Legends and Raistlin Chronicles.
Üçlemenin son kitabı olarak beklentilerimi karşıladığını söyleyebilirim. Tabii ikinci kitaptaki Laurana saçmalıklarının burda da devam etmesini görmek biraz can sıkıcı. Epik bir öyküden beklentim bir elfin altın rengi saçlarına bir sayfada 10 kez atıf yapılmasının çok daha ötesinde. Ama bununla birlikte Raistlin benim için kitabın ve hatta serinin en ilgi çeken karakteri olduğundan severek okudum. Öyküdeki süprizler ve şaşırtan olaylar hikayeye insanı ne kadar bağlıyorsa Tanis'in bu kadar öne çıkartılmasına anlam veremediğim bir karakter olarak iç düşünceleri de bir o kadar itiyor.
Ejderha Mızrağı serisini Unutulmuş Diyarlar serisinin aksine tam anlamıyla benimseyemememin nedeni Tanis gibi anlamsız( en azından benim için öyle) karakterlerin çok öne çıkarılması sanırım. Ejderha mızrağının devamı niteliğindeki efsaneler serisinde daha çok Raistlin ve mümkünse "hiç" miktarda Tanis okumayı ümit ederek seriye devam edeceğim.
-Remate a la trilogía que simbolizó mucho tiempo el cénit del marketing cruzado de género.-
Género. Narrativa Fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Tanis vuelve con sus amigos, sin contarles toda la verdad de su relación con la Señora del Dragón Kitiara, cuando el grupo debe escapar y terminan en un barco donde su timonel es Berem, y… pero qué más da, estimados lectores, porque el “poder” de este libro va más allá de sí mismo. Tercer libro de la saga Dragonlance y tercer libro de la trilogía Crónicas de la Dragonlance.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
This is one of those rare books where I become entirely invested in these characters. I share in their hurts, their burdens, their loves and their triumphs. I even fall under the spell of the villains, major and minor. The two bit characters and the intervening Gods. A great end to a great trilogy. May Reorx watch over you, friend.
Leído en 2010. Esquema tipo El señor de los Anillos. Lo recomendaron en el foro de CF, y de momento parece que merece la pena. El primero de una trilogía (Crónicas de Dragonlance)
Elfos, enanos y demás y viaje iniciático de los héroes. Clásico, sí, pero son aventuras y fantasía muy entretenidas y si no pedís nada novedoso lo vais a pasar bien.
Avanzo que leí los otros dos de esta saga casi del tirón y todos se llevan 4 estrellas.
Copio/pego esta misma reseña para los otros dos (aunque creo que es tetralogía) porque son más de lo mismo. Y esta frase no es peyorativa, conste.
Not as great as I remember it being, but that first read was 38 years ago, and this series began my lifelong love of fantasy, so it will always have a place on my bookshelf. 🙂
This one felt slower than the other books but there were also many new viewpoints, mainly from the enemy. It was interesting enough, despite the change in pace. The romance shifted in quite unexpected ways which kept it intriguing and there were many unexpected developments with some characters which were nice surprises but also slightly confusing. I’m assuming this is still build-up for the later books in the Dragonlance universe but I could be wrong. The philosophical moments are always cool.