Dragons of Fate
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.
-Goodreads
Title: Dragons of Fate
Series: Dragonlance: Destinies #2
Author: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
Page Count: 370
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.25/5.0
Date Read: October 20th, 2024
Opening
I want to start this review briefly mentioning my experience with book one from latest Dragonlance Destinies series. Though I did find book one (Dragons of Deceit) enjoyable enough it didn’t really capture my feelings and attention as well as some of the reads from this world back in the 1990’s. I still hold many of those near and dear to my heart. Now I’m not sure why this is but book two Dragons of Fate resonated with me so much more. It doesn’t exactly give me the same vibes as those previously mentioned reads but it did hit closer to the mark for me.
Pacing
The pacing was smooth. I never felt like things were being rushed or like I was slogging through a mountain of unnecessary information or dialogue. We have plenty of familiar characters and locations from the Dragonlance world. I did opt for the audiobook version again which is narrated nicely by Kirsten Potter who also narrates Dragons of Deceit (book one). I think any story that includes some kind of time travel can get a bit messy but the authors did a nice job in keeping us in our lane while still mentioning the usual risks of what could happen when someone interferes with the past.
World Building
The worldbuilding worked well for me. I think the most unique aspect to this category is how we follow our characters through a time period that has already happened in the history of Dragonlance and we are constantly looking for what might be different and how the current actions might have already had an effect on the history as we know it but we just never had all the information. Other than that, much of what is covered in this story shouldn’t be new to long time fans of the Dragonlance world. Obviously we are getting these events in much more details and seeing how some of our familiar if not favorite characters get to interact with each other in this time.
Character Development
The character development is also good and unique depending how you look at this story being told. The time travel wrench certain throws many things off track. Destina continues to have a solid character arc not only in her mission but understanding how her actions have and can effect so many other characters and event. It’s also been great to see the interaction between some of my favorite characters from different ages. The relationship between Magius and Raistlin as well as Sturm and Huma has been great to follow along with.
Closing
The ending to Dragons of Fate was a really good twist on things though and it’s got me excited for the next installment in this series.
I still can’t seem to get enough of the Dragonlance world. Yes, I’m fully aware that much of those feelings stem from my fondness of reading Chronicles and Legends at a young age. But, I also realize those series play a big role in my love of reading still to this day. One thing I struggle with is trying to put myself in the shoes of a younger reader today and how they might receive the older novels versus the new.
I will say the older books still hit better with me, but I know the collection of books written for this world is well over a hundred now. If a reader wanted to start with this series, I don’t think it would necessarily be a bad thing. I believe it would just make more sense and have a better connection if you were already familiar with the Companions as well as Magius and Huma.
Scoring
Pacing 4.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 4.25 / 5.0
Character Development 4.25 / 5.0
