Η επόμενη γενιά

Dragonlance: The Second Generation #1

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Αλεξάνδρα Χαβιάρα (Translator)

Ο Πόλεμος της Λόγχης ανήκει στο παρελθόν. Ελεύθεροι πια από τον εφιάλτη της φρίκης και της καταστροφής, οι κάτοικοι του Άνσαλον ξαναχτίζουν τα σπίτια τους και κερδίζουν και πάλι τη χαμένη τους γαλήνη. Οι Σύντροφοι της Λόγχης έχουν επιστρέψει στις πατρίδες τους και στις οικογένειές τους, αφήνοντας πίσω τους τις ένδοξες μέρες.
Όμως η ειρήνη δε διαρκεί αιώνια. Οι δυνάμεις του σκότους καιροφυλακτούν. Όταν αδιόρατες αλλαγές απειλούν την εύθραυστη ειρήνη, οι απόγονοι των Συντρόφων της Λόγχης σηκώνουν το ξίφος και τη ράβδο και δέχονται το κάλεσμα της μοίρας. Η σωτηρία του Κριν βρίσκεται πια στα χέρια τους.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragonlance, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dragons

501 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 1995

About the author

Margaret 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.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

This is a collection of five short stories where we move onto the next generation of characters. These new characters are the offspring from characters that are from the first six books. Basically, this is the beginning of the next dilemma and the characters that will be involved in this dilemma.

My theory on whether a reader will enjoy this book depends on how that reader views continuity of characters. There is a lot of retcon for some of the original characters and I can see how this would affect one's enjoyment. For me this retcon only affected one story which I thoroughly hated. I enjoyed the message of these children who are adults and escaping the legacy shadow of their relatives. They have their own identity and about to enter the world. They are learning about themselves while escaping this tremendous shadow that is cast over them because of the deeds of their relatives. This book is a logical next step for the world of Krynn even with the retcon.

Taken on its own without the retcon affecting my enjoyment I liked this book. I thought two stories were terrific especially since I know the role some of these characters will play in the future. One I absolutely hated and the other were nice reads. This book was a nice blend of family drama, adventure with action, and political intrigue. It is a nice read for fans of this universe.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4 ***

A fun introduction to the next generation through a short story compilation. Most were very informative, some were just there for the vibes. Either way, I had fun reading all of them. 🙂👍

[Taddow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read this book since high school and being a big Dragonlance fan I decided to give it another read. It was enjoyable but the stories didn't seem on the level of the originals (though there are some nostalgic moments within). While some of the original heroes of the lance are here, the stories mainly focus on their children and it's interesting to see what life direction some of them take.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was a Dragonlance, and by extension TSR, nut in high school and early years of college. At one point, I must have had every Dragonlance novel. I hung out with Dragonlance nuts (we were also Robin McKinley nuts. What? You loved The Hero and the Crown? So did I! So I should read these, huh?). Looking back now, when I have long gotten read of several Dragonlance novels, including this one, I still have to admit that the first six books (Chronicles and the Twins) are good, not great, but good. In particular, because they do examine aspects of good and evil; the last book of the Twins when Raist gives everything up for one thing others would see as worthless is just wonderful.

Dragonlance is still around today, and ever so often I can impress students with "Yes, I know what it is. I like kender." Yet, unlike Terry Pratchett who I have been having a literary affair with for over a decade, or Robin McKinley with whom I celebrated a twentith anniversary, the Dragonlance books didn't have the same staying power, at least the newer books.

In part, it is because of this book. The Second includes original and previous published short fiction. The previous published fiction was great. The fiction created especially for this volume and leading to the next book, I had a huge problem with.

I hate it when writers go back and totally change characters. And that is what Weis and Hickman did. What was worse was who they did it to. In Chronicles, Tanis the half elf is torn between his love for Kitara, a human, and Laurena, an elven princess. Laurena was based on Hickman's wife, and Kitara is a human woman who, it is revealed fights for the evil army. Kitara is also the only dark haired woman in the series. (Tika is a red-head so don't yell at me. Geez). Laurena has long blonde locks, is always rights, and despite being a spoiled princess because a great warrior. Kitara was sexually loose, a skilled fighter though hard work, and came from a dysfunctional family. While I never liked Laurenana the differences didn't really bug me as a high school/ early college student because at least Weis and Hickman shaded Kitara.

In this one book, they ruined that.

It is said that we can never go back, that our prespectives always change with time because we age and we learn. Sometimes that is true, but sometimes it isn't. Sometimes we go back and we like it better. Sometimes we go back and we now hate it. Sometimes, our opinion stays the same. Everytime I read LOTR, I still feel that same thrill. I still dare Moira with the Fellowship. When I watch Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, I still smile. I've been reading McKinley for over twenty years and still respect her. I've been reading Datlow/Windling for the same amount of time and still love the collections. Ever time I read "The Cloak" by Blixen, I'm convinced it is one of the most perfect short stories ever.

Books and series that stay treat their readers, fans, viewers with respect. Pratchett said it best, he would rather have readers than fans. When you look at series or books that would rather have fans (money) then viewers or readers, you see disappointment. Think Star Wars, or even Star Trek. (And no, I'm not taking about books vs. movies here. That's different. SW and ST books are written be different writers, there is going to be a difference. There the characters just need to be in character. I'm taking about old and new films/television).

What ruined Dragonlance for me was this book because of the rewriting of character, of series history, that Weis and Hickman did. They turned Kitara into the sterotypical evil seductress, who sleeps with a holy knight and refuses to marry him, but then discovers she is with child. Something that quite clearly did not happen in Chronicles or in the prequel featuring Kitara and Sturm (the knight in question). Looking back, it seems as if the writers shied away from giving Tanis a bastard son because that would effect the Tanis/Laurenana relationship. However, that son would have mad sense. Additionally, if Kit were so evil wouldn't she just have an abortion, wouldn't a sexually loose woman who is a warrior use birth control? It felt cheap, wrong, and worse insulting, especially when the book came out in hardcover with hardcover prices.

Today, I would add that it is extremely interesting how the evil man is allowed to redeemed himself but the evil woman is made to be even worse. Hmmmm. Was it because she wasn't a blonde? Does peroxide sterlize the soul? Hmmm.

In some ways, I suppose I should thank them. For after them, I no longer followed blindly were writers went. I wanted writers to acknowledge that readers had exceptations and things should make sense. Yes, that means you can't always do shocking twists, but it also means that sometimes you do the difficult thing because it would work. When Weis and Hickman didn't do the difficult and opted for the cheap and easy out, it felt like a bad television show.

If you don't respect your readers, why should your readers read your work? This true of writers and publishers.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

My new years gift is giving this book two stars which is extremely generous.

I'm a completionist and feel the need to finish all of the Dragonlance Weis books.

This book contains five novella's that tell the tales of the kids of the Hero's of the Lance.

1. Tells of Kitiara's son
2. Tells of Caramon's son
3. Tells of a story of three of Caramon's sons
4. Tells of the legend of Raistlin's daughter
5. Tells of Tanis's son

They were extremely uneven. Novella two and three were laughable they were so bad (e.g. imagine putting a saying like "Bob's your uncle" into a fantasy novel or turning the struggle of your soul into a slapstick comedy) while novella 1, 3 and 5 were average at best but were readable.

This is one of those books where I determined how many pages were left and divided it up into a week and then my penance that day was to get through the number of pages I was assigned just to finish.

This should be a one star book but I can't make myself give a Dragonlance book one star for the sake of all of the hundreds of hours of enjoyment that I've received from Dragonlance.

I only recommend this for people who enjoy root canals, finals week and Newt Gingrich books.
For all others - take a wide pass on this one.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Second Generation, as it says, about the children of the Heroes of the Lance: Caramon's three sons, Raistlin's daughter, Kitiara's and Sturm's son, and Tanis's and Laurana's son, Gilthas. The stories about Caramon's sons and Raistlin's can be read in the three first Tales novels, one in each novel since The Second Generation contains 5 stories: those 3 + 2 new ones. New being about Kitiara and Sturm's kid, and about Tanis's and Laurana's kid.

The story about Kitiara and Sturm going on a hike together can be read in Darkness And Light (Preludes series). So this short story is a sort of update, follow-up, fill in the blanks. Steel Brightblade apparently favours the dark side, but Sara (friend of Kitiara, who didn't really want the child, or rather not raise it) wants him to choose good. So Caramon and Tanis are persuaded to go on that trip of trying to convince Steel to do like his father, whom he never has known and is warned against it by Lord Ariakan. Anyway, adventure assured, even both Heroes' reputation is ruined by that at the Tower Of High Sorcery. Which makes me wonder: why couldn't Tanis just explain why they brought Steel to the tomb, to see his father's body? It's all about secrecy, so obviously the Solamnic knights will defend it at all costs. So, yeah, good story, but nothing outstanding, sadly enough.

The story about Gilthas, Tanis's and Laurana's boy, is a bit better, it's easier to feel with Tanis, with Gilthas, what they're going through, how they feel. Gilthas gets lured into the trap of being chosen as new Speaker Of The Sun, but Porthios (Laurana's brother and current Speaker Of The Sun) and his wife/queen Alhana Starbreeze are held prisoner by senator Rahas, who doesn't know he is being misled by dark forces. Tanis and Dalamar meet again, go out to rescue Gilthas from Rahas's clutches, but they fail. Yes, sorry. On the other hand, Caramon said: we raise our children to leave us. Or, preparing them to take care of themselves. Gilthas had to take the vow, else Alhana would have been killed. But he didn't know that that was prevented. By then, it was too late to crawl back. At least Tanis had the chance to make amends with his son, and so any quarrels they had were gone with that last goodbye. But perhaps they'll meet again in Dragons Of Summer Flame, which I'm to read next.

Long story short: a nice compilation of short stories about the Heroes' children. Nothing super, but it was nice nevertheless.

[Rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is clearly a transitional work, which sets the scene for the next generation of characters, who are, very annoyingly, named after the friends of the first generation of Heroes. There's Tanis and Tanin, Strum and Strum, Paladine and Palin, Gilthanas and Gilthas - you can see where this is going. It's like there's a serious name shortage in the Dragonlance series. I found this book not as strong as it could have been, which is not surprising given that it's comprised of 5 short, independent stories that give the readers a quick insight into the times of peace that reigned after the War, and a brief introduction to the kids, aka the Second Generation.

The most interesting story, for me, was Palin's journey through the tower of sorcery, in "The Legacy." There was a sweet kind of irony in reading Palin's struggles with magic, which mirrored his uncle Raistlin's. Overall, a decent collection, but not outstanding. It lacks the cohesiveness and strength of the earlier novels.

[Joel Norden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite anthologies that is set in the Dragonlance world. I highly suggest reading the chronicles and legends before reading this, as it will give you those warm nostalgic feelings that DL is known for slapping you in the face with.

Nice to see some old friends again. :)

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to read fantasy, but I feel at the same time that I'm wasting my time by not reading something more "mature" or "educational." I'm not a snob, believe me, and I know this sounds ridiculous. Maybe I'm just too hard on myself, and I need to sometimes read just for fun.

The Dragon Lance series by Weis & Hickman really fits the "just for fun" nail on the head. These stories are full of action, intrigue, and humor. They are well written, if somewhat predictable, with good characterization. It's good vs evil adventure at its finest.

This book is a transitional book that consists of 4 short stories/novellas. It is meant to pass the torch from the characters of the previous 6 books to their offspring in the next 6+ books. These stories were entertaining, but lacked the satisfaction of the extended quest that most fantasy novels unfold.

I look forward to reading the next novels in the series.

[☆Ruth☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of stories - mainly about the 'new generation' - the children of the original companions.
It's difficult for me to be objective about these books because I become so involved in the whole, vast scenario; the characters and their adventures become very real & vital to me, and I find myself unable to make any sensible criticism or comparisons.
What I can say is that, despite being in similar settings, the books are always compelling and innovative - even amusing in some places [especially where kender are involved! :)].
I very much enjoyed 'The Belgariad' but 'Dragonlance' is better and I would place it second on my list of best fantasy - LoTR being the only series that tops it, in my opinion.

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Dragonlance, but I didn't like this new generation or this new incarnation of stories. Maybe you will, I dunno.

If you really liked Dragonlance, take a look. If you're new to the world, stick with the 80s books. But hey - that's just me.

[Victoria Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a book that I have wanted to read for a long time. Many years have passed since Lance's war. The people of Ansalon have rebuilt their lives, homes, and families. Lance's companions have returned home, ready to rebuild their lives. However, peace in Krynn comes with a price. The forces of darkness are always vigilant. When subtle changes begin to occur, new problems arise. I loved the story, the magic, the dragons, and the knights. Amazingly, a lot of fantasy elements were in the book accurately. I also liked that throughout the book narrated epic adventures. I need to continue reading more books about this saga.

[Ken McWilliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of short stories that flesh out the world of Dragonlance.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

meeting with the second generation, all the children of the companions we got to know so well is lovely but i think the kids are not taking after their parents!! the forces of evil seem to be rising once again and i wonder whose children will go the way of evil and who of good!! this book has some very humorous bits in it, had me laughing alone with tears down my cheeks like an idiot but the gnomes are so funny!! and we get to meet our very first ogre!! suspense is not missing in this book either especially in the part regarding the son of laurana and tanis half elven!!

[Charlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book,you get to meet a few kids of the Heroes of the Lance Wars.They get to go on and start their adventures.

[Ross Kitson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many readers I was a teenage fan of the first Dragonlance trilogies, reading them avidly on release in the Eighties, and playing some of the accompanying modules (made it to DL6).

It's always tricky to return to a series you loved as a kid. You risk disappointment, not least because the series has grown from the 9books I owned (the Tales, the Chronicles, and the Legends) to 200 or so. But couple of years ago I re-read the first six, and fantasy tropes aside, enjoyed the light fun feel to them amidst the current vogue for dark gritty fantasy.

So, the Next Generation.
Clearly the book is a bridge between the aforementioned Twins series, and the Dragons of Summer Flame, which as I understand kicks in a new era. It's presented as a collection of novellas, three of which I think were published before. All five feature the offspring of the Heroes of the Lance, with the slightly irritating feature of naming them after the prior characters in some way (Sturm, Tanin, etc). The stories are variable, and somewhat contrived, but nonetheless mainly enjoyable. Of the five, three were stronger, one okay, and one weak.

Kitiara's Son, and The Sacrifice (about Tanis and Laurana's son, Gilthas) were enjoyable, with a feel of the original series about them. The former suffered with too much exposition, but was quite creative and engaging. Certainly a set-up for the next proper book. The latter was a good story, with a nice mix of political intrigue, good use of characters, and a nicely done relationship between Tanis and his son.
The Legacy looked at Caramon and Palin, and was one I really enjoyed, and the machinations of the mages, and Caramon's double standards re warriors vs mages, held my interest.

The other two tales weren't so well done: Wanna Bet was daft, but harmless enough. Raistlins Daughter... hmmm, really clunky and unbelievable, and a clumsy set-up for the next book. Sure with their imaginations, Weis and Hickman could've done better.

I'm in two minds about the writing. The Dragonlance world (to my stage of reading) felt wonderfully realised and detailed, and develops and evolves in a fairly convincing manner for this type of fantasy. The style of writing is amateur at times, with changing point-of-views and over-use of verb alternatives to 'said' (everything is exclaimed, winced, proclaimed etc etc) which can be distracting. Every dialogue line has to be reinforced with the authors telling you every nuance of reaction, every aspect of thought, and it slows the pace considerably in places.
Minor grumbles, as it has a certain magic and charm to it that have persisted for me since my early days with it. A necessary prequel to the bigger following work, which I'll be heading onto soon.

[Rhi Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Second Generation is a collection of half a dozen short stories (some written in the 90s, some almost a decade earlier) about the children of some of the characters in the original Dragonlance trilogy. Most of them are fairly low stakes adventures, and some are much better than others. In the stories dealing with the Majere boys and Tanis's son, Weis and Hickman pull of a surprising amount of character growth in a short space (for authors we're used to seeing do much less in novel trilogies), all about young men leaving the nest.

There are two much worse stories, both of which include older women manipulating men into sex (for reasons that I understand retcon a previous book and are retconned in a future book, so completely pointless).

I don't know maybe this is worth reading as a prelude to Dragons of Summer Flame. The Majere boys wacky adventure on the gnome ship was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the political intrigue and family drama of the last story. But most of it runs from dull to hammy to downright uncomfortable.

[Eva Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the heck. Despite being less than 400 pages long, it felt like forever finishing this book. It consists of five short stories, all of which are bad, the first and the last marginally less than the three in the middle. Unfortunately, this is where the children of the Heroes of the Lance, the main characters of the next books, are being introduced, so I suppose you can't avoid it if you want to continue the Dragonlance saga. At least, I better be needing some of the information I picked up here in the following books, I would hate for this agonizing read to have been unnecessary!

Tanis is as annoying as ever, I was happy to learn he is growing old, hopefully I won't have to read much more about him.

I feel extremely generous giving two stars, the only reason being I only give one stars to DNFs.

[Lars-Erik Hobber · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5*) Five stories about the offspring of the Heroes of the Lance, this collection was another joyful return to Krynn for me; a place I still greatly enjoy spending time in. I had read the story of Palin's test earlier and it, along with the story of Raistlin's daughter, are the weak points in this collection for me. That, however, is made up for with the two strong stories bookending the collection and the immensely enjoyable centerpiece tale of the brothers Majere's adventures to an island filled with peril and potential death by snu-snu.

[Cory Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories and novellas. It is intended to set up the stories following the original six Weis/Hickman books. Some of the stories are good and some just “ok.” I haven’t read past this book to know if it is required reading or not. Still, the good ones I really enjoyed.

[Büşra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
Kahramanların hayatlarını yeniden görmek güzeldi.Ama bazı şeyler çok zorlama geldi yine de keyifle okudum gerçi bu kitapta Tas yoktu :(

[Joey Guertin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how the story wraps around the characters and how they are developed. Can't wait to continue to the next one

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. More introduction to new characters and setting the stage for what is to come, but still, good stuff.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.5***
I'm glad that Weis and Hickman wrote this collection of novellas since, as my brother in law pointed out, it's their world. They know it best.
I like each novella included in the collection. Each one entertained me and kept me in suspense as I read. I like the characters and how Weis and Hickman develop each member of the previous company and his or her life post War of the Lance. The lives they lead now, including the children they have, make sense for the personality they have in the earlier books. I enjoyed Caramon's children, Tanin, Sturm, and Palin, and their stories most of all, but reading about Kitiara's son, Raistlin's daughter, and Tanis's son also fascinated me.
My main complaint about this book is that the Prologue warns the reader not to believe everything she reads because the stories have become legends as their characters are heroes in Ansalon. Therefore, not everything is fact; much is based on hearsay. That means that not everything really happened in the world of Dragonlance. Some did, and some may not have. As a reader, I find that a little frustrating.
Other than that, I gave it 3.5 stars instead of 4 because of the structure. If it was one continuous narrative, it would have been a stronger work. There is a significant time jump between the first story and the others, and there is a flashback story, but those could have been handled appropriately in a novel.
I do want to read Dragons of Summer Flame now that I'm aquatinted with the characters of the next generation. I'm curious about what happens next in this world. I'm definitely a Dragonlance fan, though. If you're not, you may not find this book so entertaining. I find myself wrapped up in the world, the characters, the mythologies, the stories, etc. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely captured me!

[Glenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Disappointing!

I’m reviewing the audible version so I’ll comment on the narration. It was bad & I mean really bad. Not Ax Norman bad but still it’s pretty bad. The voice actor did not seem to understand that while an author may write “whispering” in the text the voice actor can’t whisper so low you can’t hear what’s being said. So you crank up the volume then it’s back to normal voice, or worse yet loud voice, & your eardrums are shattered. This was throughout the entire book so it made the experience horrible.

This book was so bad on so many levels. While it did have some of the original characters it was mostly about their children. It can be broke down into 4 parts.

Sturm & Kitiara’s son
Caramon & Tika’s 3 sons
The legend of Raistlin’s daughter
Tanis & Laurana’s Son

This breakdown made the book feel very disjointed. The 1st & 4th parts were ok but the 2nd & 3rd were absolute garbage. Maybe it’s me but I’m so tired of the Majere clan at this point reading anything about them is tedious. Caramon is as dumb as ever so of course he raised 2 really stupid sons & a less stupid one that is stunted in his maturity. This stunted maturity comes about the same why Caramon helped to create Raistlin’s anger & resentment. It’s just so tiring! The legend of Raistlin’s daughter was just uninteresting & boring. Everything that happens in it is easily guessed before it happens. No new ideas or thoughts were introduced so really what was the point?

Like I said the 1st & 4th parts were serviceable but nothing more. I certainly would not recommend reading this just for those two parts.

[Dora Markousi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a fan of dragonlance and the world of Krynn since junior highschool and back then I enjoyed those novels immensely. Now, years later, I return to reading the works of Weis and Hickman once again, starting by The Second Generation and, I have to admit, I was not as thrilled as when I read some of their works years ago. The book itself is of simple plot and I suspect more of a filler between stories. Some of the old characters return, but in a way that seemed... forced. The writing itself was simple in some places and too formal in others making it hard for me to completely immerse into the story. The plot got too melodramatic for my liking in places. Most of the time, the characters' reactions seemed too dramatic and abrupt. However, I did enjoy the naivety of the book, something that you don't easily find in modern fantasy anymore. It was an easy read and did have a variety of characters. All in all, I think that those who are just beginning to read fantasy should start with novels like this, whereas others who are more experienced in the field would find it hard not to think of this novel as a bit childish.

[Geoff Battle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Second Generation serves the distinct purpose of setting the scene for the fourth Dragons book. It slots in neatly after the epic and highly accomplished War of the Lance series from Weis and Hickman. Each of the five stories is standalone and in each episode the sons and daughters of the original heroes are explored and given an opportunity to taste adventure. The stories don't capture the magic of the full books from Weis and Hickman, but hint at the flavour they contained. As such, Second Generation might be a disappointment to those expecting anything epic, since these tales are not designed to be so in any way. They serve as stepping stones which add some interesting back-story but little more. Definitely for fans, not a book to read otherwise.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Second Generation is an extremely middling chapter in the Dragonlance series.

The novellas contained within feel rather repetitive in their setup and sequencing, to the point that Palin and Gilthas felt like copy-paste characters stuck in the same book together: whiny, rebellious teens who suddenly realise that they should have more respect for their fathers through being shown how flagrantly wrong they are. Like, great job Hickman and Weiss. Very original, putting two versions of the same story in one collection.

For now, I won’t be continuing with Dragonlance. This one was uninteresting enough to sufficiently quell any immediate urge to go on.

[Stuart · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you loved the original six Dragonlance books, just skip this one. It basically craps on whatever parts of the story it does just chew up and re-use in an effort to relaunch the series. The writing is very bland and purely functional, and since it doesn't serve anything worth telling, the book ends up being a bland read on top of a lackluster story and unworthy inheritor of its prequels. Proof that some tales are better off being left where they ended.

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread on 1/31/25. Still 4 stars.