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Dragonlance: Chaos War #3
Tears of the Night Sky (Dragonlance: The Chaos War) by Baker, Linda P. published by Wizards of the Coast
A journey into peril.Cyrsania, high priestess of the Temple of Paladine, is blind to the beauty of the world but not to the joy of her faith. Lately, though, her communion with the god of light has become distant. Now a mysterious stone has come into her possession. Its power compels her to undertake a merilous quest, accompanied by a strange band of companions.Together they endure the burning heat of Kyrnn's most violet summer as they struggle toward their the Temple at Neraka.If they reach it, their world will be transformed forever.This novel, set in the time of the Chaos War, brings to life the story of Crysania, a Revered Daughter of Paladine, and Dalamar, the dark elf.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 6, 2010
This novel was just like the two-star rating says: OK. Ultimately a rather forgettable novel, but with its moments.
I suppose one of the reasons I don't rate it higher is that I might have had too high expectations. After all, it features one of my all-time Dragonlance favourites, Dalamar the Dark, as well as the high priestess Crysania and--ta-daaaa--a white tiger! The basic ingredients are fine, and the writers, Baker and Berberick, have written other Dragonlance stories that I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, it takes too many pages for the story to actually get to the storyline that the blurb tells us about (about 200 pages in when we're talking about a 300 pages book--that's a lot of time before delivering what you promise), and when it does get around to that it all felt rushed and chopped to me. Like "Oh, we also have to do this and that, because the publisher wants us to, but, oh, it mustn't take up many pages, since we have a limited page count to work with." And an editor cutting even more here and there.
I may be wrong, but I have a suspicion that is not too far from the truth. I am not critizising the writers but the editor & marketing policy as I know it has been for some years at TSR/Wizard of the Coast. It is not the first time a blurb says one thing but the contents is quite different.
It was nice to be back on Krynn, though, and I did enjoy meeting Dalamar and Crysania again, even if I wasn't grasped by the storyline and the presentation of the characters.
I suppose one of the reasons I don't rate it higher is that I might have had too high expectations. After all, it features one of my all-time Dragonlance favourites, Dalamar the Dark, as well as the high priestess Crysania and--ta-daaaa--a white tiger! The basic ingredients are fine, and the writers, Baker and Berberick, have written other Dragonlance stories that I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, it takes too many pages for the story to actually get to the storyline that the blurb tells us about (about 200 pages in when we're talking about a 300 pages book--that's a lot of time before delivering what you promise), and when it does get around to that it all felt rushed and chopped to me. Like "Oh, we also have to do this and that, because the publisher wants us to, but, oh, it mustn't take up many pages, since we have a limited page count to work with." And an editor cutting even more here and there.
I may be wrong, but I have a suspicion that is not too far from the truth. I am not critizising the writers but the editor & marketing policy as I know it has been for some years at TSR/Wizard of the Coast. It is not the first time a blurb says one thing but the contents is quite different.
It was nice to be back on Krynn, though, and I did enjoy meeting Dalamar and Crysania again, even if I wasn't grasped by the storyline and the presentation of the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2023
How do I rate this one? Much of the world as "detected" by Crysania was tactile and sensual, since she's obviously a blindo (as in, weirdo but adding an 'o'). Having Crysania and Tandar share visual ability seemed like a necessary plot device otherwise there'd be nothing to describe from her POV other than "it was noisy here, noisy there, her feet hurt, the sun was hot."
The first half of the book I actually liked, contrary to others who thought it was too slow with too much internal monologues. I appreciated the relaxed, even indulgent pace of the storytelling. So, this is a good book to read during a wind down from reading something heavy beforehand, especially so since you can almost skim read and still get the gist of what's going on.
Now for my biases. First of all, this feels like a book NOT written by Nancy, so I assume the actual text was written by Linda. The book is basically a love story with some pretty superficial and unsatisfying incursions into the Dragonlance lore and world. There's also some not-so-transparent borrowing from Lord of the Rings; the journey to Neraka and Godshome reeked too much like the journey to Mount Doom. But what are you gonna do, eh? Especially since this was written in the 90s.
I'm inclined to give it 1 star because really, this book really isn't good but I enjoyed the pace of the first half as I said before. But the romance angle is so 80s, it reminds me of something commercialised and laughable like 80s Heart songs. I mean, Linda even looks like Ann! Look, if you'd just make the effort to do some exercise, your overwrought feelings and - air quotes - passions would chill. But no, you have to be self-indulgent with your hand over your forehead and all woe-is-me like. It's undignifying, and it comes out in Crysania and Valin's overtures to each other. We have the internet now, we have entertainment and world expanding views. Stuff like this is irrelevant, unless it serves as a document for what introspective women with low metabolisms were going through. Yeah, I said it.
Finally, Crysania seemed to have forgotten that Valin was supposed to go on a crucial mission elsewhere after she found out that her tiger was actually him. She didn't bother to ask him what the hell was he doing beside her all this time? But no, my love, his love, me love, him love, love, love, love, oh what shall I do? I'm a big, blind blindo.
Cool cover art though.
The first half of the book I actually liked, contrary to others who thought it was too slow with too much internal monologues. I appreciated the relaxed, even indulgent pace of the storytelling. So, this is a good book to read during a wind down from reading something heavy beforehand, especially so since you can almost skim read and still get the gist of what's going on.
Now for my biases. First of all, this feels like a book NOT written by Nancy, so I assume the actual text was written by Linda. The book is basically a love story with some pretty superficial and unsatisfying incursions into the Dragonlance lore and world. There's also some not-so-transparent borrowing from Lord of the Rings; the journey to Neraka and Godshome reeked too much like the journey to Mount Doom. But what are you gonna do, eh? Especially since this was written in the 90s.
I'm inclined to give it 1 star because really, this book really isn't good but I enjoyed the pace of the first half as I said before. But the romance angle is so 80s, it reminds me of something commercialised and laughable like 80s Heart songs. I mean, Linda even looks like Ann! Look, if you'd just make the effort to do some exercise, your overwrought feelings and - air quotes - passions would chill. But no, you have to be self-indulgent with your hand over your forehead and all woe-is-me like. It's undignifying, and it comes out in Crysania and Valin's overtures to each other. We have the internet now, we have entertainment and world expanding views. Stuff like this is irrelevant, unless it serves as a document for what introspective women with low metabolisms were going through. Yeah, I said it.
Finally, Crysania seemed to have forgotten that Valin was supposed to go on a crucial mission elsewhere after she found out that her tiger was actually him. She didn't bother to ask him what the hell was he doing beside her all this time? But no, my love, his love, me love, him love, love, love, love, oh what shall I do? I'm a big, blind blindo.
Cool cover art though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2024
Took me forever to get through this because I just don't have a good process in place for listening to audiobooks.
The best furry romance I've read so far, for sure.
Hats off to Clinton Wade, the narrator, for recognizing this is a romance and reading it with that cadence. I had it at 1.15x the whole time, but as a narrator, I get it. Sometimes to do the piece justice you've got to be slower than you want.
The 'Chaos War' series is pretty interesting. They so far have had very little to do w/the Chaos War, and are just kind of snapshots of different places and what's happening at the time, or, as in this case, an extremely personal story that only ties in at the very end. Not sure why Paladine couldn't have just sent a memo or something like that, but *shrug* sure, this works.
Here's my one annoyance with the book: The main guy (I just think of him as Tandar, his lion name) is in love w/a cleric who can't take a loved one. He professes his love to her, and she's like, 'I can't, though I'm tempted.' So she assigns him to an important, yet distant from her mission, place. He grumbles, and Dalamar says 'I can make it so you travel with her.' He takes the deal, and is a tiger for the rest of the novel. Me: So ... the peasants he was going to protect are just ... dead now? Are we never going to bring that up again? And we didn't. We didn't bring it up.
The best furry romance I've read so far, for sure.
Hats off to Clinton Wade, the narrator, for recognizing this is a romance and reading it with that cadence. I had it at 1.15x the whole time, but as a narrator, I get it. Sometimes to do the piece justice you've got to be slower than you want.
The 'Chaos War' series is pretty interesting. They so far have had very little to do w/the Chaos War, and are just kind of snapshots of different places and what's happening at the time, or, as in this case, an extremely personal story that only ties in at the very end. Not sure why Paladine couldn't have just sent a memo or something like that, but *shrug* sure, this works.
Here's my one annoyance with the book: The main guy (I just think of him as Tandar, his lion name) is in love w/a cleric who can't take a loved one. He professes his love to her, and she's like, 'I can't, though I'm tempted.' So she assigns him to an important, yet distant from her mission, place. He grumbles, and Dalamar says 'I can make it so you travel with her.' He takes the deal, and is a tiger for the rest of the novel. Me: So ... the peasants he was going to protect are just ... dead now? Are we never going to bring that up again? And we didn't. We didn't bring it up.
July 16, 2018
Yet another surprising book in the Chaos War series :-)
I avoided this book for years, as I've never liked Crysania. In fact, I've always hated her.
But this book redeemed her in so many ways!
I won't say I loved the book, it does have a few issues. But all in all, very glad I finally read it.
For anyone who doesn't like Crysania, I highly recommend this book. It will change your mind.
I avoided this book for years, as I've never liked Crysania. In fact, I've always hated her.
But this book redeemed her in so many ways!
I won't say I loved the book, it does have a few issues. But all in all, very glad I finally read it.
For anyone who doesn't like Crysania, I highly recommend this book. It will change your mind.
February 8, 2024
I would love to have had more Valin. I would have liked another story outside of this one. I have never really like Crysania. Even in the Twins Chronicles...She seems so shallow. It is almost as if we needed a story during the interim between that and Chaos series that is needed to explain how she was changed.
January 2, 2020
This book was slow starting, but had just enough going on to keep me interested. Around the halfway point it picked up some steam and I read it straight through. It's a good read, and left me liking a character I couldn't stand at the end of the legends trilogy. Recommend for Dragonlance fans.
November 30, 2024
Solid story. Not where I expected her Tiger to come from
November 18, 2025
Aside from a minor idiocy where a cleric uses a bladed weapon (no wonder his clerical powers failed him, oathbreaker), this was a pretty great story
April 19, 2014
Mixed feelings about this one. Not just is the quest of the stones important here, but also the aspect of love between Crysania and her advisor/mage Valin. Like before, it's a story about love, friendship, trust, betrayal, greed, perseverance, faith, ...
The gods are indeed battling each other, or rather, Chaos, the god of all and nothing. Therefore they don't have time to deal with the peoples' pleas, wishes, and worries. All of Ansalon is hot, burning hot. Rivers and streams are drying up or have dried up, crops are lost because of the heat, and so on. The forces of darkness and evil have gathered to conquer the continent.
And that heat is very much present. The number of times this is written is unbelievable. Repetition is vital here, apparently, also for other elements. To make sure you can easily follow the story, the events.
Mixed feelings because the first part (say 1/3 or so) is ok, but not very good. But I decided to read on. It does get better, more exciting, but then the curve drops again a little, and so the flow goes a bit up and a bit down, until there are fights, for example. Then things become more interesting again and you want to read on.
Also, I didn't know Crysania was... well, I thought she would be more daring somehow. Then again, it has been many years since I last read the "Legends" trilogy. On the other hand, considering what she's been through, and how strongly she relies on Paladine, it's understandable. Also, in a way, kudos to Valin for showing his love in such a way and taking the risk.
I was also a bit surprised to see Tanis being featured, knowing he is no longer among the living. But then I checked the dates on dragonlancenexus.com and it seems "Dragons Of Summer Flame" and "Tears Of The Night Sky" are set in the year and sort of overlap each other, as they recount what happened via different viewpoints and events.
The ending is rather mellow, bland, ... And somehow predictable, though not in those details. On the other hand, considering the importance of the aspect relationship in the story, it makes more sense.
All in all, an entertaining story. A little better, I thought, than "The Last Thane".
The gods are indeed battling each other, or rather, Chaos, the god of all and nothing. Therefore they don't have time to deal with the peoples' pleas, wishes, and worries. All of Ansalon is hot, burning hot. Rivers and streams are drying up or have dried up, crops are lost because of the heat, and so on. The forces of darkness and evil have gathered to conquer the continent.
And that heat is very much present. The number of times this is written is unbelievable. Repetition is vital here, apparently, also for other elements. To make sure you can easily follow the story, the events.
Mixed feelings because the first part (say 1/3 or so) is ok, but not very good. But I decided to read on. It does get better, more exciting, but then the curve drops again a little, and so the flow goes a bit up and a bit down, until there are fights, for example. Then things become more interesting again and you want to read on.
Also, I didn't know Crysania was... well, I thought she would be more daring somehow. Then again, it has been many years since I last read the "Legends" trilogy. On the other hand, considering what she's been through, and how strongly she relies on Paladine, it's understandable. Also, in a way, kudos to Valin for showing his love in such a way and taking the risk.
I was also a bit surprised to see Tanis being featured, knowing he is no longer among the living. But then I checked the dates on dragonlancenexus.com and it seems "Dragons Of Summer Flame" and "Tears Of The Night Sky" are set in the year and sort of overlap each other, as they recount what happened via different viewpoints and events.
The ending is rather mellow, bland, ... And somehow predictable, though not in those details. On the other hand, considering the importance of the aspect relationship in the story, it makes more sense.
All in all, an entertaining story. A little better, I thought, than "The Last Thane".
February 23, 2015
A Dragonlance book that takes place during the Chaos War. In this one Crysania is losing touch with her god and she is given a way to stay in contact with him. Crysania and several companions go on a road trip to achieve this goal.
Let me first say that I thought the authors did a terrific job with the characters. I am not a fan of the character Crysania but I enjoyed her character and the other characters in this book. That is the extent of the positive aspects of this novel. My first complaint is the characters decide to take this journey but it took forever for them to leave. Over half the book was them talking about the journey and the actual journey was rushed because so much time was spent about them talking about it. My second complaint is this book accomplished nothing. Dragons of Summer Flame covers the Chaos War and this was meant as another point of view of the war. If you read Dragons of Summer Flame you know what happens to the gods and this book just confirms these events to its characters. They already had an idea of these results and they partake of this journey for confirmation. Seems unnecessary.
There are better Dragonlance book out there and the biggest downfall was the events in this book were already covered. I did enjoy their style of writing and I would have no problem reading more of their entries in this setting.
Let me first say that I thought the authors did a terrific job with the characters. I am not a fan of the character Crysania but I enjoyed her character and the other characters in this book. That is the extent of the positive aspects of this novel. My first complaint is the characters decide to take this journey but it took forever for them to leave. Over half the book was them talking about the journey and the actual journey was rushed because so much time was spent about them talking about it. My second complaint is this book accomplished nothing. Dragons of Summer Flame covers the Chaos War and this was meant as another point of view of the war. If you read Dragons of Summer Flame you know what happens to the gods and this book just confirms these events to its characters. They already had an idea of these results and they partake of this journey for confirmation. Seems unnecessary.
There are better Dragonlance book out there and the biggest downfall was the events in this book were already covered. I did enjoy their style of writing and I would have no problem reading more of their entries in this setting.
September 4, 2013
Unlike the last two books in the Chaos War Series, I was immediately able to get in touch with the characters and really appreciate their struggles. However, the plot was an awkward roller coaster of taking two hundred or so pages to build up to the climax, then having the remaining pages switch between character building and moment that were mildly exciting, and even a few that were genuinely exciting. The title was figured out within the first three pages, which was a rather disappointing factor. "Tears of the Night Sky" is just a fancy way of describing rain. I can't really judge the main characters because I haven't read anything else with them in it (or any more of Dragon Lance, for that matter), but with the Chaos War Series, I feel like you either have a good plot and characters that take warming up to, or good characters with a plot that doesn't really make sense. Had this been a longer story, with more time to explore Neraka and everything else after that, it would have been a much better story.
October 22, 2021
Just finished reading Tears of the Night Sky. It took a bit long to get started—the first 100 pages consisted mostly of people sitting alone in rooms thinking—but overall the story of Crysania’s tribulations during the Summer of Chaos was intriguing enough. I liked the few overlaps with Dragons of Summer Flame, although the quest of this novel felt weak and unnecessary at times. By the end, I did develop an appreciation for Crysania’s character, something I did not really have before.
January 7, 2014
Though the ending was short, still a wonderful story. I love it when the storyline meets up with the timeline in the chronicles.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews