The Inheritance

Dragonlance: Classics #4

by Nancy Varian Berberick

Kidnapped by a ragtag gang of outlaws, an elven princess patiently waits for her husband's rescue, until she falls in love with the leader of her captors, a love that results in the birth of one of Krynn's greatest heroes, Tanis Half-Elven, Hero of the Lance. Original.

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

308 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Nancy Varian Berberick is an American fantasy author well known for her work in the Dragonlance series. She has written 12 fantasy novels, eight of which have been in the Dragonlance saga, and numerous short stories. Her Wizards of the Coast biography mentions that she is fond of going through a thesaurus. She enjoys Beowulf, Norse mythology, and Orlando Innamorato.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of the Dragonlance universe. This book tells the story of Elansa who is an elfin princess. She is kidnapped and held prisoner by a group of brigands who has a feud with goblins. Elansa is also the mother of Tanis who is a character of the original trilogy and this book tells the story of how he was conceived.

I have read many Dragonlance novels and this is probably the darkest one I have read so far. This book goes into the subject of rape. The ending insists that it was not but having read this novel I cannot see it as anything else. I thought the author did a good job with the topic and how it all happened (until her cop out at the end). I enjoyed all the characters in this book as we have the haughty prince elf, the ill-tempered dwarf, and goblins. We also get plenty of fighting as it seems everyone has a beef with each other.

This book does conflict with other Dragonlance books but if you can overlook them this is a terrific read. It does delve into a dark subject but as a fan of this universe it was a welcome change.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was alright, took a while to get into it, and never was quite able to get fully immersed into it's world. I would really only recommend it to Dragonlance fans, who want to flesh out the world some more.

[Jeff Granger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the main character, but I felt the ending was rushed and the conclusion that she would lie about being raped was ridiculous. She WAS raped. I'm not even going to complain about Elansa's feelings towards Brand, her rapist, because I'm sure captivity has done strange things to people in real life. Plus her husband ended up being a dick and I didn't cry when he died. Unless there is a book that picks up Char's story then I would have liked to see how he ended up as well. As far as I know Elansa only makes a brief appearance in Kindred Spirits. Overall a decent story but I just wish the ending had been different.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. It shows the strength and changes having to be made to survive when you have no other choice to do so. The main character, Elansa was amazing. She is the mother of Tanis from the Chronicles. This is the story of his parents, and how he came to be. I also really liked the dwarf Char. This book does touch on a few uncomfortable topics such as rape, miscarriage, and suicide.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a well enough story about Tanis Half-Elven’s parents and how they met.

[Mikaël · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sex slave develops Stockholm syndrome, and then nothing really happens

I'd call it completely forgettable, but it at least taught me that valth means whore in Elvish

[Kit Allen Hisert · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact that the end tried to say that wasn't rape and then redeem the rapist is... not great...