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| Amber and Blood (Dragonlance: The Dark Disciple, Vol. 3) | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Weis
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.45
You Save: $11.50 (44%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $10.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  (20 reviews)
Sales Rank: 99918
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0786950013
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786950010
ASIN: 0786950013
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Release Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 An action story where you can't see the action August 5, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Like several other reviewers of this book, I have been reading and enjoying DragonLance books, especially those written all or in part by Margaret Weis, for many years. And like those other reviewers, I was disappointed with "Amber and Blood."
It has been been pointed out by other reviewers that the editing of this book is atrocious. For example, there is a scene in which the character Valthonis is holding out his hands to the character Mina. Immediately following that, Valthonis is described as "fallen," and soon it is revealed he is unconscious. Just what happened to him is not stated, and the scene as it stands makes no sense. This is either incredibly bad writing, or, more likely, bad or nonexistent editing of an orginally-sensible text that got mangled in a word processor.
But the problems with the book go beyond bad editing and fully into the writing itself. Certainly, the book seems to be very hurried. For example, the heroes have to make a long journey, a journey filled with danger; this journey was magically completed in a single day, with all the dangers left behind. This hurrying of the story is rationalized by the author, but the reader feels very "let down" when problems set up as such great obstacles are so quickly and easily overcome.
But the greatest weakness of this book is the point of view taken by the author. Weis takes a very omniscient point of view and shows us scenes involving all manner of characters, human and divine. But the one thing we are never allowed to see is what goes on inside of Mina's head. Unfortunately for the reader, that is where the real action of the book takes place. Mina is revealed to be a god, and this is news to Mina herself. As a god she must choose to be a god of good, or a god of evil. In the dualistic Dungeons-and-Dragons universe, this is centrally important, because there are equal numbers of good and evil gods, and Mina choosing one side or the other will knock the universe out of balance and ruin everything. Thus, Mina's choice is the central action of the book, and indeed, of Weis's entire Dark Disciple trilogy.
But the reader is never allowed to see inside of Mina's head. Weis never narrates Mina's thoughts. A good author could get around this by having Mina discuss her issues with the other characters, but for a great part of the book Mina is a child who has no clue what is going on in the story. In the very end the reader is given some insight into Mina's thought, but the final decision, like much of the rest of the book, is very hurried. Mina's choice just rather happens. The story ends, and the reader is left very dissatisfied.
A story in which the main action is invisible to the reader isn't much of a story. I reserve one-star ratings for books so bad I don't finish them; I finished this book, so it gets two stars.
Errr...why bother July 6, 2008
I'm a big fan of the Dragonlance series, have been, still am. But after reading the Dark Disciple series, my loyalties have been seriously tried. I read the reviews before I started, but decided that I should give it a go, even after all the negative reviews. Now, after volume 3, I feel their pain and disappointment.
First off, whoever the editor was for the series, especially of this volume, should be seriously reprimanded. There were just too many editorial errors to be forgiven. I was constantly stumbling over them, so that the enjoyment of the read itself was overshadowed by the mistakes. It was impossible to be immersed in the story when you were constantly yanked back by the inconsistancies and errors. Truly one of the most horrible editing I have ever seen. Shameful!!
Second, the storyline was truly weak. In a series like this, there are certain storylines that are more important than others. Certain premises have to be set, in order for secondary storylines to branch off of. I believe this series was meant to do just that. After all, we get a new god, a mention of a new continent, etc. But the story was so weak, the gods were ridiculously childish and immature as to be unrelateable. This series definitely did not showcase the strengths of the writer.
In my opinion, a writer should not write for the sake of writing. Don't push out these books if they are weak. I would rather have less Dragonlance novels if the ones that are put out were especially strong and well written. I don't want to waste my time and money on flimsy, ill-written books with characters that I can neither relate to nor care for. What happened to the caliber of writing that came with the classics? Don't write unless you're ready to write, don't create unless you're ready to create.
I just found out that there are a huge slew of new Dragonlance novels heading into the stores. And I wonder just how well written they are, even how well edited. I have my doubts. If this novel, this series is a representation of what is to come, I may decide to drop Dragonlance altogether.
 Excellent book, great trilogy June 30, 2008
By far, this trilogy is the BEST Dragonlance books I've read in some time--a thrilling story with a good mix of humor, nicely paced and well told with a sweet (some might say bittersweet) ending.
As a follow-up to the War of Souls series, The Dark Disciple Trilogy takes the previous efforts rather dark tone and goes for a lighter, but no less thrilling ride; plenty of laugh-out-loud moments are nicely balanced with a steadily played out mystery and lots of tension; seeing the conniving and yet petty ways of gods like Nuitari, Zeboim and Chemosh added to the enjoyability by giving them a very human quality, yet never letting you forget what they were about (and contributed quite heavily to the humor of the book.) Seriously, if you've grown tired of the last few books (which, post-"Second Generation", tend to be rather dark, "let's kill as many off as we can" reads), you'll find this a refreshing change.
Unfortunately what keeps this from being 5 stars is the editing. It's apparent that there was no professional editing done, with "Amber and Blood" suffering the worst in the form of improper word choices, scenes out of order and occasionally duplicated scenes (this happens when a writer "jumps around" while writing and is usually cleaned up during the editing process) all show that the book was run through a spell-checker and onto the presses; given the price of it ($25.95 locally) you'd expect better quality in that area. Fortunately the poor editing does not harm the story overall and it flows smoothly, though for those of us who love words, it can be a bit jarring.
Still, highly recommended!
amber and blood June 25, 2008
i waited for over a year to read this book and was a little dissapointed with it i wass hoping for mina to be a all powerfull god and she turned out to be crap. good story but could of been way better hope the next sereies is better
Somewhat disappointing, still worth reading. June 19, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I did enjoy the book, but I think it was not one of Margaret Weis's best works. It was somewhat predictable and lacked suspense. I was not able to get lost in this book as I have in some others in the series.
I read these books because I enjoy the stories. I was always impressed, however, at Weis's ability to write so amazingly well in addition to telling a great story. I just think she came up a bit short on this one.
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