Getting the elven itch

I have been reading the Elven Nations trilogy for a couple of days now, and I am really enjoying it so far. Actually, I am enjoying it so much that I am considering buying The Elven Exiles trilogy.

I always felt the elves in Dragonlance were portrayed as being terribly weak and passive, but it seems like they are portrayed a little differently here. Of course, the books are all about elves, so it makes sense that they are better described, and therefore a lot more interesting than what we normally see in the books.

New book

Since there are no new Dragonlance books coming anymore, I have decided to read the ones I never got around to read in the first place.

Yesterday, Amazon delivered the Eleven Nations Omnibus, which I am looking forward to reading. I like the work of  Tonya C. Cook, Douglas Niles and Paul B. Thompson a lot, hopefully this book will live up to the expectations.

Currently reading: JRR Tolkien

So, I finally found the time to catch up on my reading, and my first book this summer is The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien.

The book has been edited by Tolkien’s son, since the author himself never finished it, however, that Tolkien feel is definitely there.

The book takes place during the Morgoth days and follows primarily Turin the son of Hurin and his life from cradle to the grave. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so you will just have to go read it yourself.

The book is quite dark and has some pretty horrendous aspects that rival that of the most know Greek tragedies, however, it is rather nice to be back in Tolkien’s Middleearth once again among orcs, elves and dragons.

The Children of Hurin

Currently reading

Well, I have finally gotten my filthy hands on a variety of Dragonlance rulebooks for the 3.5 D&D system, and I have also read them faster than you can say Black robed wizard. So what does an RPG geek do?

I have stated looking into Warhammer 40K. My sister’s boyfriend works for Games Workshop, so he got me a couple of novels, so I have started reading the Eisenhorn trilogy. The Warhammer universe is pretty new to me, and I have never played the game either, which is pretty nice, since I am discovering everything for the first time.

As far as I can tell, the timeline is not quite as developed as the Dragonlance world, but it has a lot of really cool aspects, such as Space Marines, Daemonhosts etc.

For the time being, I am sticking to the books I have burrowed, but I just might have found myself a new addiction.

New Chronicles cover

I was surfing Amazon the other day in search for Dragonlance books, when noticed a new cover for the Dragonlance Chronicles. As far as I can tell, this is the cover for the omnibus edition, which apparently is being rereleased.

It seems that there is still money to made off of Dragonlance, and that gives hope. Maybe one day Wizards will start producing new material. Or even better, maybe Margaret Weis will be able to acquire the license. One can always hope

Summer classics

So, I just finished the Dark Disciple trilogy the other day, and of course I started yearning for another Dragonlance fix right away. The sad thing of course, is that there are no new books to read, so I had to go to my stash and see if there was anything that tickled my fancy.

I am a big fan of the Lost Chronicles series, and since I recently read Dragons of the Dwarven Depths I decided to read Dragons of the Hourglass Mage for the third time in a year. It dawned on me, that Hourglass Mage is my fast becoming my summer book, meaning I have to read every summer. I am not really sure why that is the case, but when I look at my reading habits, I can tell that Chronicles are my winter/Christmas books, Legends are summer books as well and I always read The Legend of Huma after finishing either Chronicles and Legends.

As it is, I have a few days off this summer, so I am planning one last trip to my book pusher, so I can get my sticky hands on the last book in the Ogre Titans series The Gargoyle King. I have already read the spoilers over at the Dragonlance Forums, so there won’t be many surprises for me, but true to my collective nature, I have to have the last book of the last Dragonlance trilogy. I am a huge Richard A. Knaak fan, so I am sure it will be a pleasurable read nonetheless.

As for future books, I think I need to broaden my horizon just a tiny bit, in order to still have a steady flow of books coming into my office. However, principles of software development does not have any black robed wizards or dragons in them, so maybe I should look for a new fantasy series.

I guess I could also get around to actually redesign this blog as I have been talking about for eons and eons.

Recommendations are more than welcome.

Reading list: What to do now

So, I never got to finish the War of Souls trilogy second time around. Work has been killing me for the last couple of months, and to be honest, that trilogy never fully agreed with me.

So anyway, I started rereading Hourglass mage, even though I read it last summer. However, when I am done with that one, I have no idea what to read next. Perhaps I should go get the Gargoyle King and read that, despite having read all the spoilers already over at the Dragonlance Forums.

It is such a downer that Wizards of the Coast killed off Dragonlance, now that I have money burning a hole in my pocket. Alas, I will have to spent it somewhere else I guess.

The Gargoyle King is out

In this thread over at the Dragonlance Forums, there is a discussion going on about The Gargoyle King. Beware of spoilers!

The reviews are a little mixed, but since I have not read it yet, I will refrain from any comments at this time. However, it seems like The Gargoyle King will be the last Drago nlance book I will ever buy, so any which way I look at it, this book will be a little special.

I liked the other books in the Ogre Titans trilogy, so hopefully Dragonlance will go out with a bang.

Reading Dragons of a Fallen Sun

I have never been a huge fan of 5th Age Dragonlance. After finishing Dragons of Summer Flame, I was left very disillusioned because I thought it was a huge waste to leave the world godless. I felt there was finally an opportunity to move the world forward without Raistlin and the other inn-fellows.

Fortunately, Dragons of Summer Flame prompted a friend of mine and me to rewrite Dragonlance the way we wanted to. The funny thing is, that we actually debated killing off Takhisis and Paladine.

Anyway, I pretty much left Dragonlance after reading Dawning of a New Age. I still kept in touch with what was going on in the community, but we never played in the 5th Age or bought any of the products that were released.

Years later, I am the only left of my old group, who has even the slightest interest in Dragonlance, or role playing games in general, and I see Dragons of a Fallen Sun released. Needless to say, the War of Souls trilogy brought me back to Dragonlance, and I even purchased some of the new rule books, the best ever made I might add.

See, I never even enjoyed the War of Souls. For me, it was a question of finishing up the series, so the world could move forward with the remaining gods, magic and everything else that make up the Dragonlance setting I enjoy. This is also the reason why I never reread the War of Souls trilogy, unlike every other Dragonlance series I have bought. Until now that is.

Honestly, Dragons of a Fallen Sun is still not my favorite. I don’t get that familiar Dragonlance feeling when I read it, which I got when I read Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. However, I do enjoy reading it this time around.

I guess the 5th Age was a good thing for the setting, It presented a a much needed reboot of the setting, and it produced some of the best rule books ever made. Heck, we even got a kick-ass Taladas trilogy, that was the perfect backbone for a Taladas rule book. Alas, the license was never renewed thanks to Wizards of the Coast, and in a few short months, the novel line will end. In other words, Dragonlance will officially be dead as disco.

Of course, the passionate community will ensure that Dragonlance will never truly die, and maybe one day Raistlin will find our world, and bring us there.

I for one will go on reading Dragons of a Lost Star, and maybe even get around to finishing up the rewrite  project I started during my Christmas break 1995.

Now reading: The Second Generation

Since I finished Hourglass Mage, The Legend of Huma and The Fire Rose, I have been looking for the right fix to cure my newly found Dragonlance addiction. The bad thing about having this addiction is, that Dragonlance is more or less dead. Before I nail the coffin totally shut, I know there are a very few releases planned, so if you feel more comfortable saying that those releases constitute actual life in the setting, do not let me ruin your day.

Anyway, I started The Second Generation, which I have always kinda enjoyed because it moved the setting forward. My favorite short story is of course The Legacy, which was originally featured in The Magic of Krynn. So, if you haven’t read this collection of short stories, go get it here.

Raistlin Chronicles Omnibus

The Dragonlance Forums have a thread about the Raistlin Chronicles. Now, don’t get too excited, because it is just a reprint of The Soulforge and Brothers in Arms.

The cool thing is the artwork, which, even though it is not entirely canon, is quite cool. At least I like it quite a bit, Weis does not, and some of the people over at the Forums do not either.

Check it out here.

By the way; did you sign up for the Wizards’ community?

My Library

Now that I am done with Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, I have stated reading The Legend of Huma for the umpteenth time. It is by far one of my favorite Dragonlance books, and it seems like a good choice to “come down” from the high of Hourglass Mage.

As I was looking through my book collection, I happend to find our charger for the digital camera, and I took some pictures of my bookshelves. I always enjoyed seeing other peoples stash, which I know is terribly dorky but what can you do?

The pictures are not really that good, because I can’t really fit the whole thing into one frame due to limited space in our home office. I will try to make a Photosynth at some point, but for now this is all I’ve got.

 

View Full Album

DoHM is finished

Well, I finished Dragons of the Hourglass Mage in less than 24 hours. The book is really excellent, and it does tie up a lot of loose ends.

I am taking a couple of days to digest it, but I will have a blog post about it up at some point.

Sad though, that is the last Dragonlance book…

Is today the day?

With a little luck I might get my filthy hands on a copy of Dragons of the Hourglass Mage today. My sister’s boyfriend works close to my local book pusher, and he will get it for me – provided they have it in stock.

If I get it today, I expect to read it in a day or two, although I am going to try and savor it for as long as possible. However, knowing my track record I seriously doubt it.

Anyway, back to doing garden work…

Hourglass mage in Denmark

Nuff said. I am getting it on Monday hopefully.

Did you pick up yours yet?

Hourglass mage review

Thalintas over at the Dragonlanceforums just posted a review of Dragons of the Hourglass mage. He has an early release of the book, which means that it is still not in stores yet, but it does give him the opportunity to provide us with some insights into what the book is about.

The post is actually kind of sad, since he bids farewell to the original Dragonlance world created by Weiss and Hickman. I couldn’t agree more with Thalintas, so here’s a short excerpt form his post and a link.

…Dragonlance as a series may continue in some form or another. But Dragonlance as the child of Weis and Hickman, the novel series born in 1984 with a group of friends meeting up in an Inn--that series ends with Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. The novel takes 25 years of plot development and setting growth, and synthesizes it into the endcap to the Holy Six. With it, all questions, all loose threads, all storylines that stem from the Heroes of the Lance are finally complete. And if you can close that final page and put that book down without tears in your eyes, well sir, you're a better man than me.

Source: Thalintas @ Dragonlanceforums

I hope the book reaches the northern shores soon, since I am itching to get my filthy hands on it. Of course, it will most likely be the last Dragonlance book I ever buy, so it is a bittersweet sensation. However, for the time being, I will focus on the positive side of things, and look forward to the most anticipated Dragonlance book ever, as far as I am concerned.

Hourglass mage sample chapter online

It has been a while since my last post, but considering how busy I am proclaiming the death of Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance in particular, it makes perfect sense :-).

Anyway, I was reading the Dragonlanceforums boards, when I found a link to Wizards’ home page, where they have posted the first chapter of Dragons of the Hourglass Mage.

There are also a couple of wallpapers for your PC or Mac, so I can really only add a link to this post and say: “Knock yourself out”.

Personally I really like the chapter, because it picks up right after Raistlin has discovered the truth about Fistandantilus. So basically we meet Raistlin before he becomes an über mage, and I assume we get to follow his rise to power between the time he leaves the Companions in the Blodsea of Istar till we see him as the black robed wizard in Neraka.

I almost forgot; there is also a the Illustrated Dragonlance Guide ready for your downloading pleasure. Have fun.

Hourglass mage released Aug 4, 2009

In case you didn’t know, and if you are a Dragonlance fan I am sure you do, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage will be released on 4th August.

I am on vacation when the book is released, so I am planning taking a couple of quit days in the shade reading it. Since it will probably be the last Dragonlance novel I will ever buy, I plan on thoroughly enjoying it.

If you plan on purchasing this book, I recommend that you do it through The Nexus, this way you can help keeping the Dragonlance community alive.

And while I remember, The Nexus has a fan page on Facebook along with a blog. Good stuff.

Hourglass Mage - a little taste

INTO THE HEART OF THE DARK QUEEN'S EMPIRE

The Companions are back and the balance of Krynn is at stake, in the magnificent conclusion to the Lost Chronicles.

The world celebrates Spring Dawning. The War of the Lance is nearing its end -- for good or ill. The wizard, Raistlin Majere, has become a Black Robe and, using the dragon orb in his possession, he travels to Neraka, the lord city of the Dark Queen. Raistlin ostensibly plans to work for her, though in reality he means to further his own quest for power.

But Raistlin realizes that if Takhisis wins, he will always be her slave. And so he resorts to a dangerous and deadly game. He acts as a double agent, offering his services to both the side of darkness and that of light, working for Emperor Ariakas and for the resistance movement in Neraka.

Takhisis plans to destroy the gods of magic on the Night of the Eye, when all the wizards will be congregated at the Tower of Wayreth. Raistlin has to find a way to thwart the plot, even though this means doing battle with his own sister, the Dragon Highlord Kitiara, and her terrifying ally, the death knight, Lord Soth.

And still he must overcome his final foe: the archmagus Fistandantilus, who seeks to kill Raistlin and steal his soul.

Krynn's future has been written. People think they know how the story ends. But one night and one fateful decision by Raistlin Majere may change it all.

Source: Wizards of the Coast.

This looks very promising. It seems like a fitting end to the Dragonlance era. Considering the eminent death of the setting, it is pretty cool that we get a book with all the bad guys going at each others throats. Nice.

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage Cover – Full size

Very nice indeed. I Can’t wait for the release of this book.

Check out the full size at Tracy Hickman’s homepage by clicking the image below.