Dragons of Fate by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman : Review

A clash of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending Destina and her companions deeper into the past than she intended—to the age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, after the Device of Time Journeying shatters, they must find another way back to their own era, before the Graygem alters history irrevocably and the Third Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good.

With the battle raging on, Destina tries desperately to make amends and prevent disaster. Raistlin and Sturm encounter their heroes, Huma and Magius, and must reconcile the myths with the men. Meanwhile, Tasslehoff—shocked that the Knights of Solamnia have never heard of dragonlances—sets out to find the famed weapons.

But as the forces of the Dark Queen close in on the High Clerist’s Tower, Destina’s party must return to their own timeline together—or not at all.

After what I would call my somewhat disappointing experience with Dragons of Deceit last year, I seriously contemplated whether I should discontinue reading this series altogether. I was a little concerned that it might somehow might affect my enjoyment of the books as a whole. However, I’m glad that I decided to give it another go and read the subsequent book. I’m thrilled to be able to say that my decision to continue was the right one. Dragons of Fate exceeded all my expectations, delivering precisely what one would desire or expect from a Dragonlance novel. The story instantly gripped me, and I devoured it in a single sitting, something I repeated days later when I had to read it again. In fact, I’ve revisited the book a few time since then.

I have to say that the Dragonlance books were a huge part of my adolescent years and are probably one of the reasons why I read as much as I do and why I love Dungeons and Dragons the way I do. I feel like Weis and Hickman had to have been finding their footing and refamiliarizing themselves with the world and characters they created with the last book because they absolutely knocked it out of the park with Dragons of Fate. If I didn’t already know, I don’t think I’d be able to tell this book was written nearly 40 years after the first Dragonlance book was published.

It was amazing seeing the world and characters of Krynn again in such fantastic detail once more. Seeing Tas, Raistlin, and Sturm adventuring together again was easily my favorite part of this book. My second favorite part of this book? Seeing Sturm and Raistlin interact so much with their heroes Huma and Magius. It’s also really cool that we are getting the lore and history of Krynn expanded upon once more. I think I can honestly say that there wasn’t anything about this book that I disliked and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

If you are or were a fan of the Dragonlance books I can’t recommend this book enough. Trust me when I say it will not disappoint.