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Dragonlance: Barbarians #1
Children of the Plains: The Barbarians, Book 1
From the mists of Krynn's earliest history came the Barbarians.
A young brother and sister escape a pack of predators and strike out on their own, their lives taking parallel courses linked to the destiny of different tribes.
But dark powers watch the rise of civilization with cold calculation and deadly intent.
A young brother and sister escape a pack of predators and strike out on their own, their lives taking parallel courses linked to the destiny of different tribes.
But dark powers watch the rise of civilization with cold calculation and deadly intent.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2000
12 people are currently reading
709 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 22, 2016
This book was such a breath of fresh air! Something new within Krynn. I forgot how much I love Paul B. Thompson and Tonya Cook.
March 5, 2022
Not bad for a fantasy. Pulled me in from the beginning, I couldn't put it down. Got a little long towards the end though.
December 29, 2018
A beautiful beginning to the trilogy that takes us back to pre cataclym Krynn. The dust of the plains and the challenge of survival makes the blood run cold.
January 23, 2022
As someone else said, it's not that great but it is fun.
First of all, the flow and ease of readability is great. Amero, Nianki and the village of Yala-tene come alive... to some extent. Which leads me to what makes the book, and I suspect the trilogy, not so great. The prose lacks style and the language is simple and it makes reading a bit bland. While there's drama that kept me interested, it wasn't terribly gripping. At the very least, this makes for an atmospheric and light read, and in many instances for some reason, I felt like I was amongst the savages, huddled around a campfire in a savannah-type plain under an open night sky.
Lastly, I have to mention perhaps a nit-picky but nonetheless proverbial mammoth in the room; the cover. It is horrid, anti-evocative, shithouse. Admit it; do those two look like barbarians to you? Sure, they MAY be garbed in what looks like some kind of primitive clothing were it not for the fact that it doesn't, and looks more like plain medieval serf garb. Amero is wearing what looks like a white undershirt, for fuck's sake. And no, Nianki does not wield a bow, she wields a spear. AND her hair should be cut short and ragged, as if she did it herself with a flint knife, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE ACTUALLY DID! Not combed and blown dry like she's in a fucking Pantene commercial. Yeah, and we'll never be able to unsee how her right leg is longer than her left by at least half a foot. If you want the barbarian look, Far Cry Primal's visuals should provide an apt reference.
Anyway, onto the next book.
First of all, the flow and ease of readability is great. Amero, Nianki and the village of Yala-tene come alive... to some extent. Which leads me to what makes the book, and I suspect the trilogy, not so great. The prose lacks style and the language is simple and it makes reading a bit bland. While there's drama that kept me interested, it wasn't terribly gripping. At the very least, this makes for an atmospheric and light read, and in many instances for some reason, I felt like I was amongst the savages, huddled around a campfire in a savannah-type plain under an open night sky.
Lastly, I have to mention perhaps a nit-picky but nonetheless proverbial mammoth in the room; the cover. It is horrid, anti-evocative, shithouse. Admit it; do those two look like barbarians to you? Sure, they MAY be garbed in what looks like some kind of primitive clothing were it not for the fact that it doesn't, and looks more like plain medieval serf garb. Amero is wearing what looks like a white undershirt, for fuck's sake. And no, Nianki does not wield a bow, she wields a spear. AND her hair should be cut short and ragged, as if she did it herself with a flint knife, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE ACTUALLY DID! Not combed and blown dry like she's in a fucking Pantene commercial. Yeah, and we'll never be able to unsee how her right leg is longer than her left by at least half a foot. If you want the barbarian look, Far Cry Primal's visuals should provide an apt reference.
Anyway, onto the next book.
November 26, 2025
You know what? It’s time for more DRAGONLANCE!!!
This one’s a bit odd, because I wasn’t sure where it fits on the timeline when I first started reading. It’s about people of the plains, and we’ve seen that in the original series, but on reflection, and also re-reading the back of the book, it seems that this is a distant prequel, to a time when humans lived in a very primitive society on the plains of the continent. Heck, they don’t even cook meat at this point in history, and a large chunk of the Plot involves one of the leads discovering metalworking. It’s essentially fantasy prehistory, which we don’t get that much of in the genre, at least not with established fantasy settings.
[Which also means that the art on the cover doesn’t really reflect what the characters are supposed to look like. They’re described wearing furs and leathers, not… that.]
And it’s also wild because elves. They exist in this setting, and they are basically they’re a lot more familiar in terms of technology level for a fantasy setting: on horses and with metal weapons. It reminds me a bit of where we see the elves and humans in Tolkien’s Legendarium, but in this case, the first interactions are hostile, because the elves are evicting humans from the plains for their own empire. And THAT is an interesting twist on elves and their relationship with humans.
The Plot, however, is a bit meandering; we follow two siblings who are separated after their family is killed by monsters. One ends up forming her own warrior band to fight against elven imperialism, and the other gains a Dragon Friend. It feels like the Dragon Plot would go further–there’s a good copper dragon, and an evil green one, but after we get the setup of the green dragon making a race of evil creatures that kill our heroes’ family, we focus on other things for the most part. Presumably, this will be followed up in the next two parts of the trilogy, but here, it feels weird because we have a clear setup and then we just don’t go with it.
It’s a shame because I don’t know that the library has the next two books…
It’s a very different sort of “Dragonlance” book, and I don’t know if it always works, but overall it’s good.
This one’s a bit odd, because I wasn’t sure where it fits on the timeline when I first started reading. It’s about people of the plains, and we’ve seen that in the original series, but on reflection, and also re-reading the back of the book, it seems that this is a distant prequel, to a time when humans lived in a very primitive society on the plains of the continent. Heck, they don’t even cook meat at this point in history, and a large chunk of the Plot involves one of the leads discovering metalworking. It’s essentially fantasy prehistory, which we don’t get that much of in the genre, at least not with established fantasy settings.
[Which also means that the art on the cover doesn’t really reflect what the characters are supposed to look like. They’re described wearing furs and leathers, not… that.]
And it’s also wild because elves. They exist in this setting, and they are basically they’re a lot more familiar in terms of technology level for a fantasy setting: on horses and with metal weapons. It reminds me a bit of where we see the elves and humans in Tolkien’s Legendarium, but in this case, the first interactions are hostile, because the elves are evicting humans from the plains for their own empire. And THAT is an interesting twist on elves and their relationship with humans.
The Plot, however, is a bit meandering; we follow two siblings who are separated after their family is killed by monsters. One ends up forming her own warrior band to fight against elven imperialism, and the other gains a Dragon Friend. It feels like the Dragon Plot would go further–there’s a good copper dragon, and an evil green one, but after we get the setup of the green dragon making a race of evil creatures that kill our heroes’ family, we focus on other things for the most part. Presumably, this will be followed up in the next two parts of the trilogy, but here, it feels weird because we have a clear setup and then we just don’t go with it.
It’s a shame because I don’t know that the library has the next two books…
It’s a very different sort of “Dragonlance” book, and I don’t know if it always works, but overall it’s good.
March 28, 2018
A solid 3.5-3.75 for this adventure book. This was one of the better DL history books in that there was a good mix of all the key elements: action, magic, mystery, love and lore. Better yet, these elements were fairly well balanced throughout the story.
The story centers around two siblings who are separated after travesty besets their family and tribe. They grow up leading completely separate lives. One becomes leader of a nomadic pack of hunters and the other befriends a dragon and creates a safe haven for plainsmen. Through a series of events that center around some evil forces, they eventually reconnect only to have more tragedy and adventure impact their lives. By the end of the story, the dust settles (for the most part) concluding in what will lie ahead for the siblings and their associations as well as those evil forces that still remain.
Enough of the key elements were left open by the end of the book that I imagine will be picked up in the remaining two books of the trilogy.
The story centers around two siblings who are separated after travesty besets their family and tribe. They grow up leading completely separate lives. One becomes leader of a nomadic pack of hunters and the other befriends a dragon and creates a safe haven for plainsmen. Through a series of events that center around some evil forces, they eventually reconnect only to have more tragedy and adventure impact their lives. By the end of the story, the dust settles (for the most part) concluding in what will lie ahead for the siblings and their associations as well as those evil forces that still remain.
Enough of the key elements were left open by the end of the book that I imagine will be picked up in the remaining two books of the trilogy.
March 15, 2024
Man, what a good book that was, from beginning to end. Usually DnD books butcher the ending with unneeded last minute subplots or candy happy endings that don't fit with the rest of the book's tone but this time, people are hurt both physically and emotionally, there's no big victory and they have to just learn to adapt and move on with what they have.. it's refreshingly realistic, while still not being a bummer ending
February 10, 2020
Best Fantasy Series
The Dragon Lance Series was conceived around the Dungeons and Dragons game. Children of the Plains, the first book in the Barbarians series, continues the epic D and D style writing that Dragon Lance is known for. I highly recommend this book and the entire series to fans of fantasy and those who want an easy read after a long day.
The Dragon Lance Series was conceived around the Dungeons and Dragons game. Children of the Plains, the first book in the Barbarians series, continues the epic D and D style writing that Dragon Lance is known for. I highly recommend this book and the entire series to fans of fantasy and those who want an easy read after a long day.
January 25, 2023
I don't normally see the appeal in the Barbarians of Kyrnn. I was concerned this would be a slog of a book, but I was pleasantly surprised to be so engrossed in it. Really look forward to the other two books.
June 8, 2021
Solid first novel in a three book series. I enjoyed the balance of fantasy elements typically seen in a Dragonlance novel, and I look forward to revisiting this story with the next book.
July 6, 2022
2.5stars// not bad, but nothing great either.
January 22, 2024
Solid first book that takes place in a larger world. If you are looking for some good classic style fantasy I would recommend this.
May 3, 2015
This book takes place in the world of Dragonlance. This story tells the origins of the race of Barbarians. If you have read the original trilogy this is the race that produced Riverwind and Goldmoon.
This was an enjoyable and clever book. This book shows how different paths develop from the same origin point and how these paths contrast. The authors did a wonderful job with these contrasts and how these different societies develop through time. I enjoyed the multitude of different characters and their respective personalities. There are enough plot lines with villains and heroes that keep the pace going. Some of these plot lines were left unresolved and I am looking forward to the second book of this trilogy to learn more.
This book had a Native American vibe and I really liked the origin story of a race while it compares to other societies that have been around for awhile. This book is a nice portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a developing race of people and held my interest throughout.
This was an enjoyable and clever book. This book shows how different paths develop from the same origin point and how these paths contrast. The authors did a wonderful job with these contrasts and how these different societies develop through time. I enjoyed the multitude of different characters and their respective personalities. There are enough plot lines with villains and heroes that keep the pace going. Some of these plot lines were left unresolved and I am looking forward to the second book of this trilogy to learn more.
This book had a Native American vibe and I really liked the origin story of a race while it compares to other societies that have been around for awhile. This book is a nice portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a developing race of people and held my interest throughout.
October 20, 2014
Every once in a while, I crack this book open and it's always a familiar, wonderful comfort-read. First time I read it was in Borders (r.i.p.), and I remember frantically purchasing the third book to finish reading the series at home. Loved it that much. I thought the pacing was well done, but the strongest aspect of the book that caught my attention was the riveting characters of Nianki, Amero and Duranix, and their awesome and complex relationship. Love how in Dragonlance books, some "bad" characters have shades of good in them, such as Balif (ughf <3 am I the only one who thinks he's awesome!? Too bad there aren't enough ffics of this series...dammit. It should be more popular!). In my opinion, Childrens of the Plains is a great start to the series. Enjoy!
April 10, 2012
I read this book back in 2001 and loved it. Honestly its the first D&D pulp fantasy type book that attempts to show how society in that world started. You see how elves were "light years" ahead of humans and how dragons helped to shape or destroy humanity. I think more fantasy worlds could use some form of pre-history tale as it truely helps the fiction. Its a shame that Dragonlance isn't more popular.
March 29, 2016
3 1/2 stars for this one. Overall a good read, except for the last few chapters that dragged it down a bit the plot was interesting with some good lore in the mix. Details well the building up of human endeavors and the evolution from Hunter/Gatherer to Agriculture/Civilization within the Dragonlance world. Always interesting to me in the early Dragonlance novels is the interaction between mortals and Dragons, and how the role of Dragons shape and affect the culture.
July 2, 2008
I read this one quite a while ago, and for a while it was my favorite book. It is purely fantasy, and a relatively good story. If you have better things to read, read those. Save this for when you're desperate for something to read, when you've exhausted your flow. Really it's not THAT great, but it's fun. Warning: cheesy and somewhat gorey.
August 12, 2015
Amero and Nianki, brother and sister of a hunted and slaughtered nomadic family strive against the odds and become leaders of their own tribes. Young Amero added by the dragon Duranix provides the first known settlement of humans on Krynn. Nianki finds a way to liberate captive humans from the hands of elvish slavers.
August 14, 2011
Una storia fantastica sulle origini del primo villaggio umano su Krynn. Il primo volume di una trilogia che coinvolge senza stravolgere.
April 9, 2017
This was a thoroughly entertaining book, with a story which sets the stage for hopefully epic tale to unfold in the following books, and in part serves as a starting point for the history of man kind(We also get an insight to the empire building of the Elvish nation of the Silvanesti) in the entire Dragonlance series.
Story wise I like the building towards what should be the main story arc, basically plainsmen vs everybody else.
There is also an unusual love story thrown in which is actually very tragic and some of the plot points are a bit troublesome(not as in structure more in content, its a tad bit ‘icky’).
Our two main characters are Amero(later given the title Arkuden) and Nianki who later takes the name Karada,
I thought that the start of the book was successful at showing both the individual characters values, yet in doing so showing the sensibilities of plainsmen of this point in time.
Amero is a highly intelligent and, as Duranix points out, an innately acumen character. He is also quite naive but it gives the character a lot of room for development. He makes friends with the dragon Duranix, which later on gives him an interesting position of power.
Nianki is by far the more interesting character, who's story and development have far more trauma and hardship then that of Amero, she and her brother share the same intelligence and loyalty, but hers was used to forge a name as a leader of a war band, and a fear inducing one at that. As her story unfolds she keeps making enemies, first minions of Sthenn(The Yevi), then Balif, then Silvanos himself, and the list keeps growing through out the novel.
She is a fierce fighter although not unbeatable, she as all the humans in this story are extremely vulnerable to the great evils which beseech them on all sides. Most the humans have succumb to the Elven supremacy, it is Nianki personal bravery which gives others the courage to fight against these seemingly unbeatable odds.
I have a few nitpick issues with the writing style, most of these issues are contained to the start of the book, but one in particular persists.
Metaphors and similes can be arduous and drawn out a lot near the start of the novel, but later on when the action and story picked up it greatly improved.
Sometimes the description of action could be a bit rigid but for the most it easy to follow and highly entertaining.
Now and then, I felt the authors sort of repeated a point they stressed in the following segment again or re-explained concepts again made some parts drag out longer then they should, and this was happening all the way to the end of the book, I found the amulet story arch noticeable bad for this.
There are also points I though they did extremely well, the different characters values and traits not just by stated but are shown through their decisions and actions.
Good way of writing character growth, its interesting to see the innate intelligence in both characters yet because of circumstances they matured this intelligence in different ways. Also as reviled toward the end both of them know how to handle themselves in battle.
Over all fun read, excited to crack into the next one now that I’m finished writing this review.
Notice: I was thinking of following and reviewing the Dragonlance series chronologically in so far as what is reasonable. For example if when I get to a book which is the start of a series/continual plot line, I will finish it up before continuing with the list of other books.
I’m using this to follow as a guide
http://www.dlnexus.com/products/chron...
If anybody knows of a better listing please let me know Thanks :)!!!
Story wise I like the building towards what should be the main story arc, basically plainsmen vs everybody else.
There is also an unusual love story thrown in which is actually very tragic and some of the plot points are a bit troublesome(not as in structure more in content, its a tad bit ‘icky’).
Our two main characters are Amero(later given the title Arkuden) and Nianki who later takes the name Karada,
I thought that the start of the book was successful at showing both the individual characters values, yet in doing so showing the sensibilities of plainsmen of this point in time.
Amero is a highly intelligent and, as Duranix points out, an innately acumen character. He is also quite naive but it gives the character a lot of room for development. He makes friends with the dragon Duranix, which later on gives him an interesting position of power.
Nianki is by far the more interesting character, who's story and development have far more trauma and hardship then that of Amero, she and her brother share the same intelligence and loyalty, but hers was used to forge a name as a leader of a war band, and a fear inducing one at that. As her story unfolds she keeps making enemies, first minions of Sthenn(The Yevi), then Balif, then Silvanos himself, and the list keeps growing through out the novel.
She is a fierce fighter although not unbeatable, she as all the humans in this story are extremely vulnerable to the great evils which beseech them on all sides. Most the humans have succumb to the Elven supremacy, it is Nianki personal bravery which gives others the courage to fight against these seemingly unbeatable odds.
I have a few nitpick issues with the writing style, most of these issues are contained to the start of the book, but one in particular persists.
Metaphors and similes can be arduous and drawn out a lot near the start of the novel, but later on when the action and story picked up it greatly improved.
Sometimes the description of action could be a bit rigid but for the most it easy to follow and highly entertaining.
Now and then, I felt the authors sort of repeated a point they stressed in the following segment again or re-explained concepts again made some parts drag out longer then they should, and this was happening all the way to the end of the book, I found the amulet story arch noticeable bad for this.
There are also points I though they did extremely well, the different characters values and traits not just by stated but are shown through their decisions and actions.
Good way of writing character growth, its interesting to see the innate intelligence in both characters yet because of circumstances they matured this intelligence in different ways. Also as reviled toward the end both of them know how to handle themselves in battle.
Over all fun read, excited to crack into the next one now that I’m finished writing this review.
Notice: I was thinking of following and reviewing the Dragonlance series chronologically in so far as what is reasonable. For example if when I get to a book which is the start of a series/continual plot line, I will finish it up before continuing with the list of other books.
I’m using this to follow as a guide
http://www.dlnexus.com/products/chron...
If anybody knows of a better listing please let me know Thanks :)!!!
April 23, 2019
Those of us with siblings sometimes wonder how it is that our brother or sister turned out so differently than us. Children of the Plains is a story about two such siblings, separated by dire circumstances that set them upon divergent paths towards adulthood. Add in some dragons and some elves and you have yourself a page-turner.
Thompson and Cook bring to life a landscape that is both believable and fantastic while exploring the tensions between agrarians and hunter-gathers. There is plenty of action in this story, but what roped me in were the finely-drawn relationships. Children of the Plains offers a buffet of human emotion: from loyalty to bravery, cowardice, love, greed, courage, and betrayal with plenty of teasing tidbits to seed my appetite for the following books in The Barbarians trilogy.
Thompson and Cook bring to life a landscape that is both believable and fantastic while exploring the tensions between agrarians and hunter-gathers. There is plenty of action in this story, but what roped me in were the finely-drawn relationships. Children of the Plains offers a buffet of human emotion: from loyalty to bravery, cowardice, love, greed, courage, and betrayal with plenty of teasing tidbits to seed my appetite for the following books in The Barbarians trilogy.
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