Dragons of Winter Night: Dragonlance: Chronicles, Book 2

Fantasy is a genre that has been taken over by YA (young adult) titles. While many of these are quality stories, a number of them seem formulaic when put alongside really strong fantasy novels. And when I say really strong fantasy novels, I mean books like Dragons of Winter Night, number two in the Dragonlance Chronicles series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I first read this novel years ago (likely close to the initial publication date). I'm reading the Chronicles again because I want to see how they hold up; have they stood the test of time? Can I point to them as stellar examples of the genre? Can I use them as textbooks to inform my own writing endeavors?The answer - in my opinion - on all counts is a resounding, "Aye!"I'll let you in on a little secret. The first clue that gave me an inkling that the Dragonlance Chronicles were extraordinary came at the end of the series. As I closed the last one I experienced an ache of loss. I would not see these brave souls, whom I had come to know and love, any longer. It was as if dear friends who I had known for years were moving to another place, one far away and unreachable. There was a hole in my spirit. I may have shed a tear, though that is not a manly thing to admit.Not since reading the Hobbit and the three novels in The Lord of the Rings had I experienced such relationship with fantasy characters.The intricate plot, the depth of character, the delicately woven social commentary, the action, the love...all of these things (and more) that make up a great fantasy novel are present and I would confidently recommend the Dragonlance Chronicles to any who have not yet discovered the magic, mystery and magnificence of Krynn.

As I mentioned in my review for the first book in the series (Dragons of Autumn Twilight), I bought these books for reasons of nostalgia. The writing isn't great. Weis and Hickman got much better in subsequent projects.As for this book in particular, it's even slower paced, more predictable, and the characters less complexly written than the previous book.I still enjoyed these books because they take me back to when I started playing D&D. They're great if you're an old Basic D&D or 1st Edition AD&D gamer like myself, or just interested in the older works of TSR. If you're looking for something new and fresh that pops, or something deep and sweeping like LOTR, then you'll be disappointed.

Though I am happy to return and continue this story with characters that have become very dear to me, this book was considerably more melancholy than the previous book. While there were some funny moments, they were few and far between. Even still I will carry on and see this series to it's end. I look forward to continuing the journey with the characters.

If you love fantasy, these books are for you. They do not possess eloquence of Tolkien who started it all-but in my opinion the writing is very good, characters are easy to relate - and very easy to get attached to, scenery is magnificent, diverse magical critters are abundant, and adventures are so addictive you will want to read all of these books in a row. They are based on Dungeons and Dragons board game which I never had a chance to play and very loosely familiar with. But as I was and still am a huge nerd of the old Might and Magic video games which borrowed a lot of the alternative universe structure, bestiary, and character development from D&D, these books still feel very nostalgic to me and I find it easy to get lost in our heroes' quests, glorious battles, feats of bravery, close brushes with death, studies of magic spells and their subtle love triangles. And I can certainly appreciate constant comic relief of the kender.

The Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels is a trip down memory lane for me. They were my introduction to the fantasy genre when I was 13 years old, so revisiting them after 25 years was an exercise in nostalgia - and an enjoyable one at that.The novel is certainly not terribly original, nor is it Tolkieneque high heraldic prose. But it doesn't really claim to be either. I was originally written as a series of novels to help sell tabletop roleplaying game supplements and when taken as such, it is quite enjoyable. The characters are archetypical to the point of being stock - but if you buy into it as a pulp fantasy with the same depth as one would find in the old Conan stories, it's a fun ride.That's the best way to describe these books - a fun ride. Nothing truly revolutionary. Nothing groundbreaking. Just good, innocent fun.

If you’re a D&D fan from the 80s and 90s you’re probably well aware of the Dragonlance Chronicles. These aren’t epic fantasy in the vein of The Wheel of Time, they’re not trying to give you thousand page books dripping with detailed world building. These are fast, fun, and frankly emotional escapism fantasy novels. If you’re down for that kind of entertainment then you’re in for a treat.

I tried to read these knowing they were "older" members of the genre, but I gave up halfway thru the second book because it was just the same ole depressing stuff.....constant angst among the characters.....Jeepers, I read for pleasure. There's enough angst in the world already....I find 2 books of continual agonizing boring and depressing.

This was a return to the author. Read her books many years ago and loved them. I had gotten rid off my paperbacks and decided to have them in my digital library . The ending is quite sad and I missed reading more about Raistlin. However, the story flows well and keeps you engaged. I was not as entranced with the storyline as I was before. I found it faily easy to put the book down whereas before I could not stop reading...

Part of the series that started me into the world of D&D when I was a child. Still beloved today.

It was lovely to return to this story after about 20 - odd years. I bought them for a beach holiday. I didn't want anything to "worthy" I just wanted to be entertained. With that in mind that is what these books are, romantic entertainment with a plot that has more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese and at times the characters become very two dimensional and transperant. If you can can ignore that then it's just an escape and a great prelude to the other series - Time of the Twins.

Absolutely love this book back from my teenage years. Still a great fantasy read.

Very enjoyable, light reading - not too deep or challenging, very entertaining.If you are like me and played Dungeons & Dragons (or AD&D) as a child, you will enjoy this series as it creates a credible story and charcterisation around the AD&D system.But really, it's just a nod to that, the adventure and back story is fun and interesting in this well-written book.