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| Amber and Ashes (Dragonlance: The Dark Disciple, Vol. 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Weis
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $2.70
You Save: $5.29 (66%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (45 reviews)
Sales Rank: 10637
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 0786937424
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786937424
ASIN: 0786937424
Publication Date: June 28, 2005
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 41-45 of 45 | | « PREV 1 ... | | |
 Not quite a 5 but definetly a solid 4 September 7, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
As an avid Dragonlance fan, I was both excited and surprised to see Weis continue with the world of Krynn. She is a gifted writer, and tells the story of Mina with an expert flair. The story revolves around the displaced cleric, Mina, who mourns the loss of her now slain Goddess. For the first time ever, Weis explores the character of Mina as Mina...rather than Mina as the voice of the Dark Queen. Mina begins a journey worshipping the God of Death and bringing about his rise to power. The story itself is filled with new and exciting dark creatures (vampire-like cultists, kender who can communicate with the dead) and a glimpse into the lives of those dieties that are put to the side in the original books (e.g. Majere, Sargonnas, Zeboim, Nuitari, and Chemosh). I personally enjoyed reading about the gods' weaknesses and strengths.
That being said, this is a good read...one that I finished in a day. However, I felt rushed through the text. The developments are fast in this work, and I feel that Weis rushed through some of the rich descriptions that I'm used to whenever I read one of her books. I also think that this book lacked what I give Tracy Hickman credit for...humor. This book definetly has a certain flair for drama, but there is little to no comic relief with the exception of the Zeboim dialogue. I recommend the book thoroughly but I still think that the Dynamic Duo (Weis & Hickman)should stick together as they seem to compliment each other seamlessly. Hickman is just as guilty (Mystic Warrior for example isn't his best work). But read it...it's worth it.
 Weis does it again! September 7, 2004
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I just finished reading this book (literally closed the cover about 5 minutes ago) and loved every minute of reading it. The story line is very intriguing and seeing more about the character Mina and finally reading about a monk and a kender that is unlike Tas was a welcome change. Plus, finally we are given information on several of the gods/goddesses which is something that until now we really didnt get to do, with the exception of Tahkisis and Paladine. I did not find any part of the book to be slow and boring and at the same time there were vivid details throughout. I would say more but I don't want to give anything away to a potential reader. One nice touch I thought was explaining some of the things in the book in D&D terms for use in a Dragonlance campaign, I like that touch since I run a D&D campaign based in Dragonlance. Anyways, the only difficult thing now is that it'll be a year before I can read more in this trilogy
Can't think of anything very bad to say about this book :( September 6, 2004
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I was really hoping to give Weis a four star review, but after thinking about the book I couldn't recall anything really bad about so I suppose I'll have to give it five stars.
I read this book in three days, starting the day it came out. As the reader has probably gathered from that, I liked it. The characters are all out of the norm. Mina is this militant god-worshipper who has no sense of her own individuality at first, but is slowly starting to evolve throughout the book into an independent person. After a while she realizes that Takhisis has betrayed her, which plants a seed of distrust within her that, just like any other plant, takes forever to grow. Galdar joins the minotaurs in their conquest of Silvanesti or whatever, which is a good ending for him after the War of Souls Trilogy. Something we've never seen before a Shaolin-like monk of Majere is introduced. I've never came across a personality like his in a book. Very humble and with a lot of self-control. The kender isn't your ordinary kender but I'd prefer it if he was because I'm tired of Dragonlance authors breaking the rules all the time. Nightshade (the kender) also seemed kind've one dimensional, as if he was only there to serve as the conscience of the monk. The gods are actually protagonists and antagonists in this book, and their weaknesses and strengths are exposed, bringing them down to the level of the mortals which kind've gives the reader an ego-trip. On the flip side of the book I found that the plot jumped around a lot, but you kind've get used to that after reading a lot of Weis's books so it wasn't that big of a deal. There's also a few scenes with sexually explicit content in them, so be careful about that if you're offended by that sort of thing.
Another positive thing about this book is that it doesn't require you to have read all the past Dragonlance novels before, which is good for the first time reader. So if you get the chance, it's definitely worth picking up whether you're a fantasy reader or not.
Another Home Run for Margaret Weis September 5, 2004
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a book that you cannot put down until you've finished the rest, look no further - this book is it.
First of all for those who are interested in this book, I would recommend that you read the War of Souls Trilogy first, because many parts of this book would make a lot more sense if you read that trilogy.
The book begins not long after the end of the events in the third book (Dragons of a Vanished Moon) of the War of Souls Trilogy. After the departure of Paladine and Takhisis, the gods of Krynn are looking for ways to gain power for themselves, jockeying for position and followers. One god in particular saw a great opportunity to leverage his position by winning the heart of the adopted daughter of Goldmoon. Mina, now without the One God that she worshiped before, embraced the opportunity to serve Chemosh, and started to win hearts after hearts for him. Starting with a doubtful cleric of Kiri-Jolith, she started spreading the promise of eternal life that would come by following Chemosh, unaware that the promise may not be what it seems . . .
Standing on the other side of the spectrum is a Monk and a Kender, and this is where Margaret Weis scored her home run. She is able to do two things:
1) Make the monk character cool. For those of you that have played or at least read other Dragonlance and D&D books, you seldom see a monk as the main character. I've seen Clerics, Rangers, Fighters, Paladins, Mages, etc - your main classes, but not Monks. Margaret Weis shine brightly here by making the Monk character so appealing to us.
2) If you think you know a lot of things about Kenders, throw all those pre-conceived ideas through the window and prepare to be surprised. The Kender in this book is definitely not Tasslehoff - I'll tell you that much. That does not make him a less interesting character - if anything, he is a great character in his own ways.
Without going into too much details, for those of you that have read many Dragonlance novels, you'll be pleased by the many references and parts of the story referring to those from the other books.
Definitely pick this one up - you won't regret it!
long live Dragonlance September 1, 2004
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
Well, after waiting the last 2 months for this book to be released, I finished it. I told myself I was going to read it slowly...not a chance. I found the book to be excellent, it takes on a different angle than the other ones. Without giving too much away, it appears that the Gods are the main plot. You'll find yourself cheering for one person, and then it shifts to another.... it definately keeps you from putting it down. There is one moment in the book, that made my face light up.. and that was one of the best characters to have along....... a kender.. and of course this one isn't a 'typical' kender either... Thanks Margaret
The only bad thing I have to say, is... waiting another year for the 2nd one to arrive
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