 | | |
| Amber and Iron (Dragonlance: The Dark Disciple, Vol. 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Weis
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.63
You Save: $4.36 (55%)
Buy New/Used from $2.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  (35 reviews)
Sales Rank: 9110
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 4.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0786940867
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786940868
ASIN: 0786940867
Publication Date: November 7, 2006
Release Date: November 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 31-35 of 35 | | « PREV 1 | | |
 My My Mina! February 24, 2006
5 out of 12 found this review helpful
I must say, the end of this book was the most shocking to me. I did not see this one coming at all! This will help moving things along now in the Post-War of Souls era, and is setting up some of the other trilogies. These Beloved that are in the novel are just downright nasty! And when they finally told you how they could be killed, it is kinda sickening. I must say MW, that you have really outdone yourself in this book and would highly recommend picking this book up if you are a DL fan.
Decent Bridge Novel February 19, 2006
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Amber and Iron by Margaret Weis is the second book the Dark Disciple trilogy set in the Dragonlance world. I have mixed feelings about this book, some of which I will discuss below.
I need to first say that I am a big fan of Weis's Dragonlance work. I have read everything from the original Dragonlance Chronicles on. In fact the Chronicles are the first fantasy books I ever read, and I haven't stopped reading since.
Now, the plot of Amber and Ashes centers on the character Mina from the War of Souls trilogy. The plot focuses on Mina's relationship with various gods and what she does to further their causes. The plot isn't `bad' in this book, but one of the things I had the most trouble with was the direct impact the gods played. It is such a big leap from the Chronicles and other Dragonlance books to see the god directly influencing the affairs of the mortals. I personally like the `old' way of Dragonlance where the gods grant spells and work through dreams etc, versus directly appearing and talking to mortals. When they do that they `lose' something of being a `god' in my view. If you can get past that aspect this plot does advance the story of Mina quite a bit, in particular the last twenty pages. Weis continues to be one of the masters at having the reader end a book with a fantastic cliffhanger.
This book is clearly character driven. There are many elements of two characters that Weis needed to get in, at times at the expense of a better plot. Rhys and Mina are the two central characters and are really beginning to be more fleshed out within this book. In particular Rhys's character development is just fantastic he progresses in leaps and bounds from the start of book on. Mina as well has very good character development, but the main twist for her happens, as I said earlier, in the last 20 pages of the book. In fact the last page of the book leaves the reader just wanting to jump right into the next book to find out what's going on.
I am having a hard time rating this book. There are some things I really liked about this book (the character development for one) but, there are things I didn't like at all (the gods direct influence). It seems to me that this book is starting to seem like a major even is happening, which is surprising in a way since the War of Souls was just completed not too long ago. I think in the end I will give it a 4 out of 5 just based on how much I enjoyed the book.
I would recommend this book to fans of the Dragonlance world who are caught up with all the books that have been released thus far. If you haven't yet read Amber and Ashes you really need to read that before you read this one, or you will be completely and utterly lost. If you are looking at where to start reading Dragonlance books, this one is not the one for you. I would suggest the Dragonlance Chronicles; they are after all the books that launched the world. All in all this was an enjoyable book and I am looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.
Another sigh of frustration February 14, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This sigh is for those of us who read the book and are frustrated. Not because the book wasn't excellent, it most certainly was, but because it's going to be another year or more for the next one. This series has so far exceeded all my expectations, now that the Gods have returned to Krynn. It's interesting seeing the various Gods interacting with one another in the forms of their avatars. They have an almost mortal quality that they ask for from their worshippers.
The frustration is evident because Weis is a master of the cliffhanger. And it isn't simply that our intrepid heroes are in the middle of the battle for their lives and a "tune in next week..." occurrs. It's usually that something truly incredible, awe-inspiring, or downright eerie has just happened, the characters (and the readers) have all taken a collective gasp to process it and then the book ends. Margaret, if you're reading this, keep it up, but GRRR!!!
Rhys is a character who just keeps getting better. A man who tossed aside his comfortable and safe living and background to chase down his Beloved brother Lleu. He has turned his back on Majere, collaborated with Zeboim, befriended a kender and even played khas with a death knight. But throughout, he manages to strip through his layers of self-doubt to find his true self beneath it all.
I eagerly await the next book!
"What we believe is not important," said the monk gently. "That we believe is." February 9, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Amber & Iron, the sequel to Margaret Weis's Amber & Ashes and volume 2 of the Dark Disciple trilogy, is a marvelous tale in its own right. The same themes of faith, love, secrets and betrayal can be seen in this book. Rhys, Nightshade, Atta, Zeboim, Nuitari, Caele, Basalt, Lleu and of course Mina return for your enjoyment. The Beloved walk the face of Krynn as well without any way to stop them... There are other faces you may know: Jenna, Coryn, and Dalamar to name a few. Certainly a large cast of characters each portrayed beautifully by Margaret.
Amber & Iron is seperated into four books. While the story jumps from one group to another, the plot is straight and relatively fluid. A few "issues" seem to be resolved too quickly but sometimes it truly is just a matter of revelation. How the story develops beyond Amber & AShes is what is really amazing; Weis does not dissapoint!
We the reader learn many secrets, some obvious and others mere hints of things to come. The largest revelation is finally put out for all the gods to know near the end of the book. Information regarding the Beloved for D&D purposes is given in an Appendix. Perhaps more interesting is the preview of Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, the first of the Lost (formerly Dark) Chronicles.
On a personal note I could not put the book down except for the demands of work. I will reread it again so as to be drawn into the amazing world of Krynn once again. Weis paints a world of vibrant color and true, multidimensional (and personal) characters.
The book itself has wonderful color art, a very nice binding, great paper and an easy to read font just as the last.
Pick it up now.
Great writing and story flow ! Mina! ;) February 8, 2006
0 out of 9 found this review helpful
Mina is at it again! Just a tinge of horror, Chemosh is not a nice guy :) I can't wait for book 3 !
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |