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Dragonlance: Destinies #3
Dragonlance: Dragons of Eternity: (Dungeons & Dragons)
The third new Dragonlance novel from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, featuring fan-favorite characters from the iconic first two trilogies, Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends--books that brought a generation of readers into the fantasy fold.
An intrepid woman and her friends must somehow undo the great damage they have done to the future of their world in the thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance series
When Destina Rosethorn and her companions were transported to a time 300 years before their birth—to the days of the Third Dragon War famed in song and story—the last thing they wanted to do was upset history. But upon returning to the near-past from which they departed, they discover a world completely altered. Thanks in no small part to the Graygem of Gargath that Destina carries, the war that was once won is now lost, and the forces of evil hold sway over the land.
The river of Time is rising, flowing inexorably towards present day. So it is up to Destina and her friends to make one last, desperate attempt to restore Time’s river to its proper channel. For if they cannot manage it, the altered past will sweep over the present until no trace of their old world remains.
An intrepid woman and her friends must somehow undo the great damage they have done to the future of their world in the thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance series
When Destina Rosethorn and her companions were transported to a time 300 years before their birth—to the days of the Third Dragon War famed in song and story—the last thing they wanted to do was upset history. But upon returning to the near-past from which they departed, they discover a world completely altered. Thanks in no small part to the Graygem of Gargath that Destina carries, the war that was once won is now lost, and the forces of evil hold sway over the land.
The river of Time is rising, flowing inexorably towards present day. So it is up to Destina and her friends to make one last, desperate attempt to restore Time’s river to its proper channel. For if they cannot manage it, the altered past will sweep over the present until no trace of their old world remains.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
103 people are currently reading
454 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Weis
677 books5,860 followersMargaret 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
August 27, 2024
Astinus gotta be TIRED of these people lol
August 31, 2024
This is the third book of a trilogy. They must be read in order as this one picks up immediately from the ending of the second book. In this one time is unraveling and history is being rewritten and not for the better. It is up to our heroes to once again to take up the fight and set things straight.
Do you know when an artist or entertainer says that a project was made for the fans? That is this book as this was made for fans of Dragonlance. These fans which I am one will eat up this novel. How could they not when we get to spend more time with beloved characters that we thought were long gone? Before the start of this trilogy it has been many, many years since we have set foot in Krynn. Once again the authors decide to put us back where it all started. Although this time things are different and we trek down a similar but different path. This is where this book excels and where fans will love this story. We visit important places and events that we have seen before. This time it is different but as a reader we wonder if it will play out like it has done before. There were several instances where I was holding my breath and saying that the authors cannot do this to me again. As for the characters I will not go into depth about that subject because that will lead to spoilers. But I loved it and I laughed out loud so many times.
I think the second book of this trilogy was the strongest book out of all of them. The actual story in this one is not that strong but it did not matter to me. This is more like a "what if" scenario and how would things go if the setting and the situation was a little different from the first time we read about them. That is where fans of this universe will really enjoy this book. If this your initial foray into this universe I feel like you will missing out on this aspect and might not like this book as much.
Do you know when an artist or entertainer says that a project was made for the fans? That is this book as this was made for fans of Dragonlance. These fans which I am one will eat up this novel. How could they not when we get to spend more time with beloved characters that we thought were long gone? Before the start of this trilogy it has been many, many years since we have set foot in Krynn. Once again the authors decide to put us back where it all started. Although this time things are different and we trek down a similar but different path. This is where this book excels and where fans will love this story. We visit important places and events that we have seen before. This time it is different but as a reader we wonder if it will play out like it has done before. There were several instances where I was holding my breath and saying that the authors cannot do this to me again. As for the characters I will not go into depth about that subject because that will lead to spoilers. But I loved it and I laughed out loud so many times.
I think the second book of this trilogy was the strongest book out of all of them. The actual story in this one is not that strong but it did not matter to me. This is more like a "what if" scenario and how would things go if the setting and the situation was a little different from the first time we read about them. That is where fans of this universe will really enjoy this book. If this your initial foray into this universe I feel like you will missing out on this aspect and might not like this book as much.
July 24, 2024
Dragons of Eternity marks the end of an absolutely wonderful return to the world of Krynn, and an absolutely delightful reunion with the Heroes of the Lance. Nostalgia can be a finicky thing, with the magic of our youth often impossible to recapture, but Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman have absolutely nailed it. Reading this final chapter in Dragonlance Destinies, I was transported back to the floor outside my high school cafeteria where I lost myself in the original Dragonlance Chronicles.
If you've been following along with the trilogy, a combination of time travel and alternate realities has conspired to bring together Companions alive, dead, and not yet dead for a pivotal adventure. What began with Tasslehoff and grew to involve Raistlin and Sturm comes full circle here in more ways than one, taking us back to the fateful night that launched the original trilogy and opening up the story to the likes of Tanis, Flint, Laurana, Goldmoon, and more. The twist is that they're converging from different timelines, which means there's reuniting of friends on one side, urgent introductions to strangers on the other, and awkward explanations in between.
Alternate timelines/realities are one of my favorite tropes in fiction, while prequels are probably my least favorite, so I had mixed feelings going into this series, but Weis & Hickman have done a masterful job. Somehow they've managed to navigate things so that the story explores some fascinating what-if scenarios as they work to restore what should happen, but chaos allows for the kind of genuine tension you don't often find in a prequel.
Kitiara and Flint are two notable beneficiaries of the Graygem's chaos (for very different reasons), but it's Raistlin who gets the biggest opportunity to alter his story (which I loved), and Tasslehoff who is presented with the biggest moral dilemma in restoring history (which tugged so hard at my heartstrings). This is a reunion with old friends, a chance to explore old stories in a new light, but it's also a significant addition to the Dragonlance canon, both in terms of story and characters. Speaking of characters, I was not a fan of Destina in the first two books, often resenting how she was forced into a familiar story, but she comes into her own here and ultimately won me over.
A success in terms of nostalgia and storytelling, a triumph of recapturing familiar magic while creating something new, Dragons of Eternity is the kind of epic fantasy that just makes your soul sing.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/...
If you've been following along with the trilogy, a combination of time travel and alternate realities has conspired to bring together Companions alive, dead, and not yet dead for a pivotal adventure. What began with Tasslehoff and grew to involve Raistlin and Sturm comes full circle here in more ways than one, taking us back to the fateful night that launched the original trilogy and opening up the story to the likes of Tanis, Flint, Laurana, Goldmoon, and more. The twist is that they're converging from different timelines, which means there's reuniting of friends on one side, urgent introductions to strangers on the other, and awkward explanations in between.
Alternate timelines/realities are one of my favorite tropes in fiction, while prequels are probably my least favorite, so I had mixed feelings going into this series, but Weis & Hickman have done a masterful job. Somehow they've managed to navigate things so that the story explores some fascinating what-if scenarios as they work to restore what should happen, but chaos allows for the kind of genuine tension you don't often find in a prequel.
Kitiara and Flint are two notable beneficiaries of the Graygem's chaos (for very different reasons), but it's Raistlin who gets the biggest opportunity to alter his story (which I loved), and Tasslehoff who is presented with the biggest moral dilemma in restoring history (which tugged so hard at my heartstrings). This is a reunion with old friends, a chance to explore old stories in a new light, but it's also a significant addition to the Dragonlance canon, both in terms of story and characters. Speaking of characters, I was not a fan of Destina in the first two books, often resenting how she was forced into a familiar story, but she comes into her own here and ultimately won me over.
A success in terms of nostalgia and storytelling, a triumph of recapturing familiar magic while creating something new, Dragons of Eternity is the kind of epic fantasy that just makes your soul sing.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/...
August 11, 2024
Dragons of Eternity offers a nostalgic return to the cherished Dragonlance universe, rekindling the magic that fans of the original series hold dear. As the final book in the trilogy, it continues the epic tale with familiar themes of heroism, magic, and the timeless struggle between good and evil.
The narrative is rich with the immersive world-building and complex character dynamics that defined the original Dragonlance books. Weis and Hickman skillfully blend new adventures with the essence of the Chronicles and Legends series, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia. The characters feel like old friends, and the story unfolds with the epic scope that made the Dragonlance saga memorable.
The interplay of magic and myth, along with the dynamic character relationships, echoes the classic tales that shaped the genre. The authors’ return to this world is a heartfelt homage to their earlier works, offering both fresh twists and comforting familiarity.
While the chapter illustrations and endpapers enhance the book, the cover art, especially for Dragons of Eternity, is disappointing. Tanis’s eyes are particularly unsettling and do not suit the story’s tone. Additionally, the change from white to gold for the author's name disrupts the visual consistency with the previous books and feels like an error.
Rating: 4/5, with an extra star added for reuniting the Heroes of the Lance. I’m looking forward to the Dragonlance Legacies series set to publish in 2026.
The narrative is rich with the immersive world-building and complex character dynamics that defined the original Dragonlance books. Weis and Hickman skillfully blend new adventures with the essence of the Chronicles and Legends series, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia. The characters feel like old friends, and the story unfolds with the epic scope that made the Dragonlance saga memorable.
The interplay of magic and myth, along with the dynamic character relationships, echoes the classic tales that shaped the genre. The authors’ return to this world is a heartfelt homage to their earlier works, offering both fresh twists and comforting familiarity.
While the chapter illustrations and endpapers enhance the book, the cover art, especially for Dragons of Eternity, is disappointing. Tanis’s eyes are particularly unsettling and do not suit the story’s tone. Additionally, the change from white to gold for the author's name disrupts the visual consistency with the previous books and feels like an error.
Rating: 4/5, with an extra star added for reuniting the Heroes of the Lance. I’m looking forward to the Dragonlance Legacies series set to publish in 2026.
August 6, 2024
Well another of my all night release marathons, another book and another year without you dude. I'm sorry I didn't get the first review someone beat me to it. I said last time Kc finished our game and you wouldn't believe it but I'm running our current one. I learned so much from you at and away from the table. I'd hope you are proud of the gamer I grew into and hopefully can get the title " old man" or " grognard" but dude this book kicked all types of ass. I was a little worried with the first but the second one improved and this last one took off like a thunder of dragons fleeing an army of bored Kender. The fan service, the lore, the call backs, it all hit home and hit hard. Even your old grumpy ass would have liked this book. I miss you a whole lot Dibs and Sundays will never be the same. I wish I had a magic staff to hit you with and cure your guts. But time moves on and we will keep playing R.I.P my friend. P.s thank you Weiss and Hickman for giving me another adventure with The Heroes of the Lance and letting me spend time in the wonderful world of Krynn again.
May 2, 2025
The only leniency I'm willing to give this entire series is that it reads more like a script for a screen adaptation rather than a novel. The prose, just like in the first 2 volumes, is awfully flat and monotone. With how simple the writing is, you would think that these books are geared towards a young audience, however the subject matter is not necessarily child friendly and the books overall lack any joy that would make them appealing to younger readers.
The writing sucks, the lore sucks, the world building sucks, the characters lack depth and dimension and the plot is boring and predictable.
The writing sucks, the lore sucks, the world building sucks, the characters lack depth and dimension and the plot is boring and predictable.
August 27, 2024
I haven't really wanted to review this as my overwhelming feeling is of disappointment. The trilogy started out with a decent premise, I thought and there was good comedy even tif the first book was overlong and hardly exciting. Weis has not even managed to match the first volume with the subsequent two, letalone expand into a story that felt worth telling. I'm all for some nostalgia but we really are at the point of characters appearing to titillate a practically nonexistent fanbase and story threads dangled but never building and mostly fizzing away into nothing. There are far too many threads here, in fact, but none of them feel substantial whilst also hanging around for too long.
Furthermore this whole trilogy feels designed as a "maybe Dragonlance is coming back and maybe it isn't" as we never even get anything conclusive as to the world and lore". It does, at least proffer the possibility of rewriting over the fifth age, which to my mind is a real shame as I like the era a lot but, y'know "the fans" didn't because as we've learned these last ten years, fans of things don't actually enjoy anything new (he says whilst writing a negative review of the new Dragonlance book himself - hey, at least I'm self-aware about it!).
Furthermore this whole trilogy feels designed as a "maybe Dragonlance is coming back and maybe it isn't" as we never even get anything conclusive as to the world and lore". It does, at least proffer the possibility of rewriting over the fifth age, which to my mind is a real shame as I like the era a lot but, y'know "the fans" didn't because as we've learned these last ten years, fans of things don't actually enjoy anything new (he says whilst writing a negative review of the new Dragonlance book himself - hey, at least I'm self-aware about it!).
August 25, 2024
The best of the series - mainly because it had all my favourite characters back together for one last adventure!
June 22, 2025
I gave up. Propelled by my decades-long love for Krynn and W&H, I tried more than once, but I gave up.
This whole trilogy is absolutely fecking awful, ripping up old lore and shamelessly binning it, destroying old characters and places and everything that made them magic. Am I an entitled fan, moaning because it's not the same as thirty-plus years ago? Well, maybe (though I'm not having a tantrum about 'woke' or inclusion), but this whole trilogy just felt sanitised, bland and featureless, with everything interesting scrubbed out of it and replaced (as I've said before) with fifty-seven levels of corporate sign-off.
All three books are poorly plotted and badly written, their cadence mind-numbingly monotonous and their sentences poorly structured and phrased. And yes, the characters are as dreadful as everything else.
Once more for the cheap seats: I'm pretty sure that W&H didn't write any of these, or if they did, that they had very little influence over the atrocious nature of the finished product.
I don't normally give a star-rating to a book I haven't finished, but these books were so gods-awful I'll make a special exception
This whole trilogy is absolutely fecking awful, ripping up old lore and shamelessly binning it, destroying old characters and places and everything that made them magic. Am I an entitled fan, moaning because it's not the same as thirty-plus years ago? Well, maybe (though I'm not having a tantrum about 'woke' or inclusion), but this whole trilogy just felt sanitised, bland and featureless, with everything interesting scrubbed out of it and replaced (as I've said before) with fifty-seven levels of corporate sign-off.
All three books are poorly plotted and badly written, their cadence mind-numbingly monotonous and their sentences poorly structured and phrased. And yes, the characters are as dreadful as everything else.
Once more for the cheap seats: I'm pretty sure that W&H didn't write any of these, or if they did, that they had very little influence over the atrocious nature of the finished product.
I don't normally give a star-rating to a book I haven't finished, but these books were so gods-awful I'll make a special exception
April 1, 2025
3.75 - Stars
I couldn't express how excited I was to hear there would be new Dragonlance material being released again. I dove into the new Dragonlance Destinies in August of 2023 with Dragons of Deceit. It certainly scratched that itch for me again but didn't hit the homerun that I had hoped for. I did connect more with book two in this series. Fast forward to January of 2025 and I got to what I believe is the finale to this trilogy (unless there is more planned) with Dragons of Eternity.
The pacing of this one was fairly smooth and rather what I come to expect from Weis and Hickman. I went with the audiobook as I have with the rest of this series. This was narrated by Kirsten Potter who I felt did an excellent job brining the story to life. There are a lot of characters in these stories and I never had any issues with keeping things straight on whose dialog was taking place.
The world building was interesting. That is the best way I can describe this. This and the character development is where I'm torn a bit. We rehash a lot of the world and its events that we are familiar with from years ago. It was nice to return but at the same time, so many actions in this series were changing those events… or were they? I think this is always a struggle when time travel is tossed into the mix. I don't want to get too deep into this because I want readers to experience these moments for themselves. I will say if you enjoy the world of Krynn and it's magic and deities, you should be ok with enjoying this read.
The character development suffers from the same issues as the world building for me. Seeing how this book and series plays out, there is plenty of change and growth for both old and new characters alike. The part that gets me is whether these events are new or may have always been the true events and we just didn't realize it at the time.
I will say that Tas really grew on me in this series. He isn't any different than the Tas of old really, but I'm different. I'm much older than when I was first introduced to Tas in Chronicles and I just found him annoying back then. Now I find him comical and endearing to be honest.
All in all I'm not sure how I feel about this book and series. It was great to return to these characters and the world. I don't want to take the easy way out and say it felt like a cash grab from us long time fans because I don't feel that way really. I just almost feel like the story we loved may or may not have been a fiction in itself for all these years. That's what is hard to swallow.
This also leaves me a bit confused on my recommendation. I certainly understand that most of my hang ups here are my own personal opinions so I'm not sure how other veteran fans might feel about this series or how new readers might land with this story. I almost feel there is a better chance of a newer reader simply enjoying these events and face value and not having that emotion connection from twenty plus years ago.
I couldn't express how excited I was to hear there would be new Dragonlance material being released again. I dove into the new Dragonlance Destinies in August of 2023 with Dragons of Deceit. It certainly scratched that itch for me again but didn't hit the homerun that I had hoped for. I did connect more with book two in this series. Fast forward to January of 2025 and I got to what I believe is the finale to this trilogy (unless there is more planned) with Dragons of Eternity.
The pacing of this one was fairly smooth and rather what I come to expect from Weis and Hickman. I went with the audiobook as I have with the rest of this series. This was narrated by Kirsten Potter who I felt did an excellent job brining the story to life. There are a lot of characters in these stories and I never had any issues with keeping things straight on whose dialog was taking place.
The world building was interesting. That is the best way I can describe this. This and the character development is where I'm torn a bit. We rehash a lot of the world and its events that we are familiar with from years ago. It was nice to return but at the same time, so many actions in this series were changing those events… or were they? I think this is always a struggle when time travel is tossed into the mix. I don't want to get too deep into this because I want readers to experience these moments for themselves. I will say if you enjoy the world of Krynn and it's magic and deities, you should be ok with enjoying this read.
The character development suffers from the same issues as the world building for me. Seeing how this book and series plays out, there is plenty of change and growth for both old and new characters alike. The part that gets me is whether these events are new or may have always been the true events and we just didn't realize it at the time.
I will say that Tas really grew on me in this series. He isn't any different than the Tas of old really, but I'm different. I'm much older than when I was first introduced to Tas in Chronicles and I just found him annoying back then. Now I find him comical and endearing to be honest.
All in all I'm not sure how I feel about this book and series. It was great to return to these characters and the world. I don't want to take the easy way out and say it felt like a cash grab from us long time fans because I don't feel that way really. I just almost feel like the story we loved may or may not have been a fiction in itself for all these years. That's what is hard to swallow.
This also leaves me a bit confused on my recommendation. I certainly understand that most of my hang ups here are my own personal opinions so I'm not sure how other veteran fans might feel about this series or how new readers might land with this story. I almost feel there is a better chance of a newer reader simply enjoying these events and face value and not having that emotion connection from twenty plus years ago.
August 15, 2024
My love for DragonLance goes back along way. I was extremely excited when this trilogy was announced. Now that I’ve finished it? It was fine. I liked it ok. I’m not in love with it. It was nice to visit with old friends.
Minor spoilers, maybe? I think I’m struggling with how time travel works in the story. I love time travel stories, but you better make sure your rules make sense. DragonLance originally portrayed time as being unchangeable. The river of time will swallow small changes but big changes cannot happen. Add the graygem of chaos and changes can happen. Ok. So far so good. As our heroes work their way through time to fix their mistakes, I expected them to tiptoe around themselves like Marty and Doc in Back to the Future part 2. That makes sense in a time travel story. Time travel in the final book is kind of vague. There’s a page where Kairn explains that the Device of Time Journeying will “quantum leap” Tanis, but Kairn just goes along. It explains why Raistlin and Sturm are their alternate timeline selves. Yet when Kairn and Destina go back to Huma, there isn’t any Sturm or Raistlin. It doesn’t really make sense and it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Plus, any good things that happened in the alternate timeline are washed away. There’s some nice character growth for Sturm and Raistlin. Yet it’s utterly pointless. Unless you’re invested in Destina’s story, nothing happens.
I love DragonLance. I love the world. The characters. I feel like I’m being overly harsh. I’m not sorry I read it. Or even disappointed. I just think it could’ve been more.
Minor spoilers, maybe? I think I’m struggling with how time travel works in the story. I love time travel stories, but you better make sure your rules make sense. DragonLance originally portrayed time as being unchangeable. The river of time will swallow small changes but big changes cannot happen. Add the graygem of chaos and changes can happen. Ok. So far so good. As our heroes work their way through time to fix their mistakes, I expected them to tiptoe around themselves like Marty and Doc in Back to the Future part 2. That makes sense in a time travel story. Time travel in the final book is kind of vague. There’s a page where Kairn explains that the Device of Time Journeying will “quantum leap” Tanis, but Kairn just goes along. It explains why Raistlin and Sturm are their alternate timeline selves. Yet when Kairn and Destina go back to Huma, there isn’t any Sturm or Raistlin. It doesn’t really make sense and it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Plus, any good things that happened in the alternate timeline are washed away. There’s some nice character growth for Sturm and Raistlin. Yet it’s utterly pointless. Unless you’re invested in Destina’s story, nothing happens.
I love DragonLance. I love the world. The characters. I feel like I’m being overly harsh. I’m not sorry I read it. Or even disappointed. I just think it could’ve been more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2025
The third book in the Dragons of Eternity trilogy suffers from a lot of the pacing issues of the first two. If you cut out the times when the book repeats itself or clumsily retreads stuff it's already retread you could shave a good third off this book. I get they're doing a sort of reset of the post-legends Dragonlance canon, but you don't need to remind people of the old books so much. When the plot gets going it's not bad, giving it a much stronger second half.
I hate time travel stories. Almost nobody does them well and this is no exception. I hate how much you need to explain time travel rules that are inevitably going to be broken. I especially hate the character development that Raistlin (perhaps) being for naught. Idk, maybe they'll make more books that build on it later but my favourite arc of these books was Raist chilling the heck out.
Idk, this trilogy was fine and I hope it kicks off more, but if you boiled down all the repetition and weak threads it probably could have been one book.
I hate time travel stories. Almost nobody does them well and this is no exception. I hate how much you need to explain time travel rules that are inevitably going to be broken. I especially hate the character development that Raistlin (perhaps) being for naught. Idk, maybe they'll make more books that build on it later but my favourite arc of these books was Raist chilling the heck out.
Idk, this trilogy was fine and I hope it kicks off more, but if you boiled down all the repetition and weak threads it probably could have been one book.
August 15, 2024
it’s ok
This series was entertaining but it uses time travel as a plot device. Not a huge fan of that. Having followed this series for 30+ years I think this may of been the most frustrating series.
This series was entertaining but it uses time travel as a plot device. Not a huge fan of that. Having followed this series for 30+ years I think this may of been the most frustrating series.
December 1, 2024
Absolutely loved it! I am a big Dragonlance fan and I can't wait to read more new stories. 😊
March 5, 2025
a big ol' celebration of the world of dragonlance and all the characters we've come to love from it! such an interesting twist to take us back to the first book of the whole series and play it out as an alternate reality take.
dragons of eternity does so much for tanis, who was always the boring generic hero of the books. here he's forced to make some tough decisions, able to come face to face with failures from his past and ultimately becomes maybe my favourite character in the whole party??
same can be said for destina, the new protagonist first introduced to us in this trilogy, who completely comes into her own by the end of the book, and again has to step up and grow from the annoying selfish brat she was in the beginning.
completely in awe of weis and hickman tbh. i first blew off this trilogy as an uninteresting retread of the older stories, but it becomes something so special and brings this whole world full circle. tas gets great moments to shine in the first book, raistlin and sturm bring so much depth to the second, and tanis and kitiara bring it all home here - it reinvents them all, feels like a reunion between old friends, and has me itching to reread the older stuff.
as every kender will tell you, no road is ever old, and krynn definitely feels brand new once more.
dragons of eternity does so much for tanis, who was always the boring generic hero of the books. here he's forced to make some tough decisions, able to come face to face with failures from his past and ultimately becomes maybe my favourite character in the whole party??
same can be said for destina, the new protagonist first introduced to us in this trilogy, who completely comes into her own by the end of the book, and again has to step up and grow from the annoying selfish brat she was in the beginning.
completely in awe of weis and hickman tbh. i first blew off this trilogy as an uninteresting retread of the older stories, but it becomes something so special and brings this whole world full circle. tas gets great moments to shine in the first book, raistlin and sturm bring so much depth to the second, and tanis and kitiara bring it all home here - it reinvents them all, feels like a reunion between old friends, and has me itching to reread the older stuff.
as every kender will tell you, no road is ever old, and krynn definitely feels brand new once more.
August 13, 2024
One of the very first fantasy series I read was the Dragonlance Chronicles. I tore through it. I then, hooked, proceeded to buy every Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books I could find.
There was a certain magic here for me. It’s full of epic adventure, has every character class you could hope for and is loaded with charm, humour, heart and high stakes. It never takes itself too seriously though with a constant wink at the reader.
I’m pleased to say 40 years later the latest trilogy Dragons of Destinies has all the wondrous magic of it predecessors. It a thrilling nostalgic (thanks to the device of time journeying) exciting adventure that had me chuckling throughout. Weis and Hickman haven’t missed a step.
It’s always so heartwarming to revisit the Inn of the Last Home.
Those spiced potatoes forever delicious.
There was a certain magic here for me. It’s full of epic adventure, has every character class you could hope for and is loaded with charm, humour, heart and high stakes. It never takes itself too seriously though with a constant wink at the reader.
I’m pleased to say 40 years later the latest trilogy Dragons of Destinies has all the wondrous magic of it predecessors. It a thrilling nostalgic (thanks to the device of time journeying) exciting adventure that had me chuckling throughout. Weis and Hickman haven’t missed a step.
It’s always so heartwarming to revisit the Inn of the Last Home.
Those spiced potatoes forever delicious.
August 24, 2024
Of course I gave the end of this overall epic trilogy five stars! The negative situations from the last book were resolved in satisfying ways in this last installment. I also found that I liked Tas far more overall in this series compared to some of the older companion stories; he was vital to the story. Raistlin will always be my personal favorite and even he showed facets of his personality that I don’t recall from older tales of the twins. This book is definitely worth reading, especially for fans of the DragonLance series.
October 7, 2024
What a great ending to this series. I was a little worried with the first book, as whilst I liked the new character of Destina, I found the story very muddled and not the Dragonlance I wanted (it was a personal thing). The second book however, was exactly the kind of story I was used to from my Dragonlance reading. And then this as an ending was great.
I like the idea that with Chaos now gone, we can have new stories and adventures from this timeline, and also maybe, from the Age of Mortals timeline too. Please please, more Dragonlance stories!
I like the idea that with Chaos now gone, we can have new stories and adventures from this timeline, and also maybe, from the Age of Mortals timeline too. Please please, more Dragonlance stories!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2025
I cannot express how much I loved this. The joy that this story and these characters brought to my life made reading this so much fun.
These characters were a pivotal part of my childhood and had a deep impact on me and my love of fantasy stories.
This trilogy fixed many of the problems of previous authors and damage done to the world. It was nice to se the timeline set properly and the history of the story/world preserved.
A part of me wanted the ending to reveal that Tas has been one of the gods along, but alas that was not the case. The ending was perfect.
I loved this series.
These characters were a pivotal part of my childhood and had a deep impact on me and my love of fantasy stories.
This trilogy fixed many of the problems of previous authors and damage done to the world. It was nice to se the timeline set properly and the history of the story/world preserved.
A part of me wanted the ending to reveal that Tas has been one of the gods along, but alas that was not the case. The ending was perfect.
I loved this series.
October 10, 2025
I’m giving this four stars because I enjoyed myself reading it, though I will say there were moments when the writing kind of took me out of it and had me trying to remember if the original Chronicles had a similar ‘style’ that I didn’t notice.
I was a little disappointed that our Heroes of the Lance didn’t get more resolution at the end of the book. It felt a little incomplete in that regard.
But all in all I zipped through this and enjoyed the ride. Nostalgia can really make up for a lot 🙂. I’d only recommend if you are already a fan of the series.
I was a little disappointed that our Heroes of the Lance didn’t get more resolution at the end of the book. It felt a little incomplete in that regard.
But all in all I zipped through this and enjoyed the ride. Nostalgia can really make up for a lot 🙂. I’d only recommend if you are already a fan of the series.
February 24, 2025
This book made me laugh and brought a tear to my eye. Great story, and I felt like I was discovering the Dragonlance stories for the first time.
May 6, 2025
I liked these books a lot as a kid, but man, the writing sucks. I feel dumber having read this book.
August 24, 2024
Another great book in the Dragonlance Series! I have been a loyal fan since the beginning. Thank you very much for the great stories that helped to feed my soul for many many years.
August 18, 2024
“A friend is someone who listens to stories they don’t believe and calls you a doorknob and yells at you about spoons that somehow manage to fall into your pouch and worries about you when you are off adventuring and gives you a hug and a plate of spiced potatoes when your safe.”
According to Tasselhoff Burfoot a bit, and I thought that passage sums up the heart of this series and Dragonlance, the series where the heroes “go out through the kitchen” rather nicely. I think, in many ways, Dragonlance is the OG variant of Critical Roles Vox Machina…it’s a D&D story that was born around a table amongst friends with laughter and adventure wandering always in its heart.
Herein I review “Dragons of Eternity” and give final thoughts on the series itself. My review takes the following format, in a vague and disorganized fashion:
-Reasons we should be grateful for all this and why it is well written.
-Concerns on time travel and other things.
-Final thoughts
“Dragons of Eternity” is the conclusion of Dragonlance Destinies (and possibly Dragonlance) and a story that really should be called and is proof positive that “Every Adventuring Party Needs a Cleric” … seriously it would solve so much. *spoiler* I kind of lost track of how many times people needed to travel to the time of the first appearance of Goldmoon and her staff at the inn making their appearance in order for her to heal someone. *spoiler*
I kind of had mixed feelings on this work. On one hand, this is in many ways a gift written by two living legends. Fans of Dragonlance should rejoice! The authors succeed where others have not-they are doing meaningful writing with the same characters and universe some 40 years after they first created it all. Robert Howard, in a letter to Lovecraft, I think, once commented that he could never contemplate going back to a prior character as he had moved on…yet here we have Weiss & Hickman adding on to beloved Dragonlance characters literally decades later…not an easy feet I’d think. And it needs to be emphasized that a lot of it was not just filler material or commentary -Raistlin’s character in particular was expanded on where we see sides of him that we hadn’t before. The second book did this best, but I hardly think the third book didn’t continue his character arch. A rare compliment to Caramon, his not betraying the party this time around, etc. etc. Tanis had some good bits too, my personal favorite being when he worries about cheating on Laurana with Laurana. As anticipated the Dark Universe did have some fun and interesting bits, such as Laurana’s gathering of rebels, and the Kit / Sky sections.
It shouldn’t also be remarked on how versatile and entertaining the authors are-some passages read as full of fire and steal and stars as much as anything Howard or Leiber might have done (in particular the Age of Humma sections), while other sections are as funny as something written by Terry Pratchet (Kender and Gnome sections, but many others too). That’s part of the charm of their writing and Dragonlance, well, that and all the Dragon, Knights, and magic, of course.
I should note that I was surprised at the amount of bloodshed in these works. Not a criticism, just surprising and enlightening. I remember a disagreement I had with a friend a decade or two ago where my friend was all sorts of stoked on George Martin randomly killing characters as ‘that has never been done before’…well, clearly it has. For those that don’t ant characters to die happily of old age, I don’t know if Dragonlance is the place.
In any event, I think we should raise our hats to the authors for being able to do this, all of this. It is not easy to write characters consistently and true for a given storied universe, and if there were some inconsistencies along the way, well, we should all stand in wonder at how much the authors did get right. Sure, this series did have a few epic woopsies *poor Kas the minotaur* but I doubt these instances were done maliciously - it’s just that the Dragonlance universe is huge and only so much could fit in the story.
Now, that all stated, I did have some concerns on this work as well.
Now, my main concern with the work is the time travel. While I love the rising river anology I doubt I was the only one that was confused and caught rubbing their heads or head even by time travel in the DL multiverse…even the characters are confused, I.e. Tanis on page 22 (“I suppose that makes sense to someone…”)…the body hopping aspect where characters who travel back in time to a time they lived Quantum Leep style into their prior body makes sense a little and solves some complications, only to make many more. *some spoilers* When Destina and her monk travel back in time to the Age of Huma again, wouldn’t they travel back into their prior bodies from their first time travel go? And shouldn’t Raistlin, Sturm, and Tas and company also be there from the prior time travel instance? Instead, they are just missing. And shoukd future Talhesis in the Dark Dragonlance world really be distracted by something taking place centuries ago? Wouldn’t past Takesis be on that and not be part of that? And why on Krynn were the Dragonlances taken to the past when the present in the Dark Dragonlance world needed them? So confused …. *end spoilers* Time travel writing is one of the harder bits of writing to do, so I’m willing to suspend disbelief for a bit to enjoy the story, and I guess that’s my advice to readers that shared my concerns on that.
Now, I did have other concerns on the work, one being the a certain scene *spoiler* wherein a group of magic Gods slay a group of mercenary atheists and the characters then quip something along the lines of this is what they get for not worshipping the gods or some such. As a lifelong agnostic, I’ll admit to taking some offense at this scene - it’s very anti-freedom of thought and presents a dangerous president towards the handling of non-religious people. I don’t know-maybe I’ll go on to write a scene where the God of Atheists slays a bunch of religious folks? and nevermind the problem there, it would to work! Now, anyway, I’m willing to handwave off this scene, as it otherwise would be a cool scene of the gods of magic protecting the memory of a beloved champion of theirs, Magius, but the likely interpretation of the scene goes to far and I think it is high time Fundamentalist thought be condemned when it is coupled with violent ideation towards atheists and agnostics. Anyway, I’ll get down from my soap box, but it needed to be stated. *end spoilers*
I think for this volume, Tanis and Raistlin steal the show, with memorable awards going to Sturm, Kit, Tas, and some of the dragons. I did kind of regret that Destina had more of a back seat, as I actually adored her, but what can you do? To be fair, Caramon and Tika also were relegated to side character status, and I’d argue the same for Flint, sadly. But a work can only have so many scenes, so some characters must loose the spot light. While there are infinite worlds of story and playgrounds of the mind a like for all the beloved characters, I was glad in particular that at least Destina did get an appropriate end note:
*spoilers*
“‘The identity of the young woman who saves Huma from the assassin’s blade is never known … The knights search for her after the battle ends, but they do not find her and come to believe she was killed in the battle, although they do not recover her body. To pay tribute to her courage, they confer upon her an honorable knighthood. Since they do not know her family, they design a special device in her honor-a single red rose on a white background.’
‘How extraordinary!’ Said Destina. ‘The young woman cannot have been me, for now that time is restored, I was not there. Who was she, Master?’
‘A drop in the river, Mistress Rosethorn,’ said Astinus. ‘Yet one that turned the tide of time.’”
I think this finishes it nicely - Destina has left her mark in history, as we all do, minor or miraculous as can be. And she at long last was given her knighthood, the one she longed for since her youth.
A happy ending then?
*end spoilers*
The novel and series are well wrapped up with appropriate question marks here and there in fine intrigant form leaving of course the ultimate question - is this it? Will there be more Dragonlance novels by these great authors? The song may have been saved, but there is so much more singing to do.
But that is always the case, to write more or not, let us all rejoice for the stories told and the magic of it all.
Now this is a hard one to rate. I have the prior to works 5s out of respect to the legendary status of the story weavers, but I think this last I’ll drop subjectivity for objectivity. The points of confusion drop a star, so I’ll leave it four out of five dragons.
According to Tasselhoff Burfoot a bit, and I thought that passage sums up the heart of this series and Dragonlance, the series where the heroes “go out through the kitchen” rather nicely. I think, in many ways, Dragonlance is the OG variant of Critical Roles Vox Machina…it’s a D&D story that was born around a table amongst friends with laughter and adventure wandering always in its heart.
Herein I review “Dragons of Eternity” and give final thoughts on the series itself. My review takes the following format, in a vague and disorganized fashion:
-Reasons we should be grateful for all this and why it is well written.
-Concerns on time travel and other things.
-Final thoughts
“Dragons of Eternity” is the conclusion of Dragonlance Destinies (and possibly Dragonlance) and a story that really should be called and is proof positive that “Every Adventuring Party Needs a Cleric” … seriously it would solve so much. *spoiler* I kind of lost track of how many times people needed to travel to the time of the first appearance of Goldmoon and her staff at the inn making their appearance in order for her to heal someone. *spoiler*
I kind of had mixed feelings on this work. On one hand, this is in many ways a gift written by two living legends. Fans of Dragonlance should rejoice! The authors succeed where others have not-they are doing meaningful writing with the same characters and universe some 40 years after they first created it all. Robert Howard, in a letter to Lovecraft, I think, once commented that he could never contemplate going back to a prior character as he had moved on…yet here we have Weiss & Hickman adding on to beloved Dragonlance characters literally decades later…not an easy feet I’d think. And it needs to be emphasized that a lot of it was not just filler material or commentary -Raistlin’s character in particular was expanded on where we see sides of him that we hadn’t before. The second book did this best, but I hardly think the third book didn’t continue his character arch. A rare compliment to Caramon, his not betraying the party this time around, etc. etc. Tanis had some good bits too, my personal favorite being when he worries about cheating on Laurana with Laurana. As anticipated the Dark Universe did have some fun and interesting bits, such as Laurana’s gathering of rebels, and the Kit / Sky sections.
It shouldn’t also be remarked on how versatile and entertaining the authors are-some passages read as full of fire and steal and stars as much as anything Howard or Leiber might have done (in particular the Age of Humma sections), while other sections are as funny as something written by Terry Pratchet (Kender and Gnome sections, but many others too). That’s part of the charm of their writing and Dragonlance, well, that and all the Dragon, Knights, and magic, of course.
I should note that I was surprised at the amount of bloodshed in these works. Not a criticism, just surprising and enlightening. I remember a disagreement I had with a friend a decade or two ago where my friend was all sorts of stoked on George Martin randomly killing characters as ‘that has never been done before’…well, clearly it has. For those that don’t ant characters to die happily of old age, I don’t know if Dragonlance is the place.
In any event, I think we should raise our hats to the authors for being able to do this, all of this. It is not easy to write characters consistently and true for a given storied universe, and if there were some inconsistencies along the way, well, we should all stand in wonder at how much the authors did get right. Sure, this series did have a few epic woopsies *poor Kas the minotaur* but I doubt these instances were done maliciously - it’s just that the Dragonlance universe is huge and only so much could fit in the story.
Now, that all stated, I did have some concerns on this work as well.
Now, my main concern with the work is the time travel. While I love the rising river anology I doubt I was the only one that was confused and caught rubbing their heads or head even by time travel in the DL multiverse…even the characters are confused, I.e. Tanis on page 22 (“I suppose that makes sense to someone…”)…the body hopping aspect where characters who travel back in time to a time they lived Quantum Leep style into their prior body makes sense a little and solves some complications, only to make many more. *some spoilers* When Destina and her monk travel back in time to the Age of Huma again, wouldn’t they travel back into their prior bodies from their first time travel go? And shouldn’t Raistlin, Sturm, and Tas and company also be there from the prior time travel instance? Instead, they are just missing. And shoukd future Talhesis in the Dark Dragonlance world really be distracted by something taking place centuries ago? Wouldn’t past Takesis be on that and not be part of that? And why on Krynn were the Dragonlances taken to the past when the present in the Dark Dragonlance world needed them? So confused …. *end spoilers* Time travel writing is one of the harder bits of writing to do, so I’m willing to suspend disbelief for a bit to enjoy the story, and I guess that’s my advice to readers that shared my concerns on that.
Now, I did have other concerns on the work, one being the a certain scene *spoiler* wherein a group of magic Gods slay a group of mercenary atheists and the characters then quip something along the lines of this is what they get for not worshipping the gods or some such. As a lifelong agnostic, I’ll admit to taking some offense at this scene - it’s very anti-freedom of thought and presents a dangerous president towards the handling of non-religious people. I don’t know-maybe I’ll go on to write a scene where the God of Atheists slays a bunch of religious folks? and nevermind the problem there, it would to work! Now, anyway, I’m willing to handwave off this scene, as it otherwise would be a cool scene of the gods of magic protecting the memory of a beloved champion of theirs, Magius, but the likely interpretation of the scene goes to far and I think it is high time Fundamentalist thought be condemned when it is coupled with violent ideation towards atheists and agnostics. Anyway, I’ll get down from my soap box, but it needed to be stated. *end spoilers*
I think for this volume, Tanis and Raistlin steal the show, with memorable awards going to Sturm, Kit, Tas, and some of the dragons. I did kind of regret that Destina had more of a back seat, as I actually adored her, but what can you do? To be fair, Caramon and Tika also were relegated to side character status, and I’d argue the same for Flint, sadly. But a work can only have so many scenes, so some characters must loose the spot light. While there are infinite worlds of story and playgrounds of the mind a like for all the beloved characters, I was glad in particular that at least Destina did get an appropriate end note:
*spoilers*
“‘The identity of the young woman who saves Huma from the assassin’s blade is never known … The knights search for her after the battle ends, but they do not find her and come to believe she was killed in the battle, although they do not recover her body. To pay tribute to her courage, they confer upon her an honorable knighthood. Since they do not know her family, they design a special device in her honor-a single red rose on a white background.’
‘How extraordinary!’ Said Destina. ‘The young woman cannot have been me, for now that time is restored, I was not there. Who was she, Master?’
‘A drop in the river, Mistress Rosethorn,’ said Astinus. ‘Yet one that turned the tide of time.’”
I think this finishes it nicely - Destina has left her mark in history, as we all do, minor or miraculous as can be. And she at long last was given her knighthood, the one she longed for since her youth.
A happy ending then?
*end spoilers*
The novel and series are well wrapped up with appropriate question marks here and there in fine intrigant form leaving of course the ultimate question - is this it? Will there be more Dragonlance novels by these great authors? The song may have been saved, but there is so much more singing to do.
But that is always the case, to write more or not, let us all rejoice for the stories told and the magic of it all.
Now this is a hard one to rate. I have the prior to works 5s out of respect to the legendary status of the story weavers, but I think this last I’ll drop subjectivity for objectivity. The points of confusion drop a star, so I’ll leave it four out of five dragons.
October 16, 2024
Total Nostalgia
Thank you Margaret and Tracy for taking us on a trip back in time, in the story and our emotions. Ecstatic to.be able to visit all our old friends on Krynn.
The series was a totally enjoyable read and this last book was the best. Wasn't sure how I felt about Destina as a character in the beginning but she turned out pretty good in the end.
TAS is the best!
Thank you Margaret and Tracy for taking us on a trip back in time, in the story and our emotions. Ecstatic to.be able to visit all our old friends on Krynn.
The series was a totally enjoyable read and this last book was the best. Wasn't sure how I felt about Destina as a character in the beginning but she turned out pretty good in the end.
TAS is the best!
August 23, 2024
It's alright, but it's ultimately a somewhat predictable tale I wouldn't have cared about if it didn't feature characters I loved 30 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I liked Destina and Kairn, but I felt like they weren't in most of this book until the end. I've never been a big fan of time travel, and this series outlines why: unless you do something really clever with it, you create a story where most of it doesn't matter.
It all ended well enough, but it didn't have nearly the emotional impact the original books had. They imprinted themselves in my memories; I won't remember this series by next week.
It all ended well enough, but it didn't have nearly the emotional impact the original books had. They imprinted themselves in my memories; I won't remember this series by next week.
August 12, 2024
This is pure nostalgia. I enjoyed meeting the characters I loved as a teen, although I am perfectly aware the writing is not flawless, there are many holes in the plot to a point the whole time-travelling part seems ridiculous and MANY parts of the text are basically recycled from the original Dragonlance series. Nevertheless, it was fun to relive the adventures with a slight twist.
Don't read it unless you have read the Chronicles and Legends plus Chaos War series. Chances are, you won't appreciate it.
Don't read it unless you have read the Chronicles and Legends plus Chaos War series. Chances are, you won't appreciate it.
August 25, 2024
I liked it, sure it was an interesting take on the original story. It was nice to see some characters again and re visit part of the story but in a new perspective. With that said, it’s kind of like a what if story. So sure it’s interesting while reading it, but does it impact the whole saga? Not really. I feel like the trilogy as a whole didn’t offer up any new must have Dragonlance new story vibe. In fact i ask myself what was the reason of creating Destina in the first place? We all know Tas is the one you stands the test of time.
September 16, 2024
It was good, but after 35 years the Dragonlance saga is getting a little thin. I feel like the characters, especially Tasslehoff, are becoming caricatures of themselves. I enjoyed the story, and after a two year gap between books 2 and 3 I appreciated the backstory reminders in this last volume, but ultimately much of this book takes place in two scenes that we have already visited. If you’re a fan of the setting from the old TSR days, like I am, it’s well worth reading, but newer authors are doing more interesting things with the D&D setting elsewhere.
October 29, 2024
For some reason the final book in the Destinies series was a little confusing and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first 2. The artificer in the novel was a well written representation of how an artificer wields magics in a meaningful way. Struggled with caring about the main characters in this one.
Overall a strong series, I’ll update the review if the book comes together better for me on a second read.
Overall a strong series, I’ll update the review if the book comes together better for me on a second read.
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