Book Review - 'Dragons of Spring Dawning' by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

‘Dragons of Spring Dawning’ cover, art by Larry Elmore depicting (L-R) Caramon, Tika, and Raistlin.

‘The War of the Lance nears its end… for good… or for evil.’

In the second book, Kitiara, half-sister to Raistlin and Caramon had made her entrance, and her part in the war continues to unfold in this book.

Another character whose introduction was in the first book, and whom I’d deliberately not mentioned, reappeared in the second book, and continues to feature in this book.

The companions are still separated with neither group knowing the fate of the other.

The mystery surrounding Berem, the man with the green gemstone, is gradually revealed.

By the end of the second book, the Blue Dragonarmy had been defeated, thanks to the dragonlances, and the unexpected arrival of allies.

The knights, along with Laurana, Flint, and Tas battle the forces of Takhisis, the goddess of evil, to retake towns that had been lost.

Celebration follows these victories and there is renewed hope that, soon, the evil that threatens to engulf them will be overcome.

But a sudden turn of events shatters that hope, and all seems lost.

That this book is my least favourite is reflected, I think, in the fact that I, literally, did not remember one thing about it.

Brief SPOILER – in the second book, we learn there are good dragons, and those who ride these dragons are the ones who wield the dragonlances.

So, I found it rather baffling that we barely see any dragonlance action in the entire book.

The battles I mentioned earlier, where the forces of evil are overcome, had dragon riders using the dragonlances, but the action happened ‘off screen’, and all the reader gets is a montage.

The only scene we’re given with a dragonlance is when Flint and Tas are unexpectedly drawn into a fight while riding a dragon, and they have to figure out how to use the dragonlance.

Any potential tension is lost because of the usual comedy that accompanies most of Tas’ scenes.

‘Dragons of Spring Dawning’ is the shortest in the trilogy and it feels rushed.

Enough of the original characters are given short shrift, including Raistlin who disappears for a large portion of the story; he’s there at the start of the book then reappears at the end with no explanation.

I only recently discovered that to learn what happened to him requires reading another book, ‘Dragons of the Hourglass Mage’, the third book in ‘Dragonlance Lost Chronicles’.

The same if you want to know the details of what happened to Sturm, Laurana, Flint, and Tas after their separation from the others in ‘Dragons of Winter Night’; that adventure is told in the ‘Dragons of the Highlord Skies’, book two of ‘Dragonlance Lost Chronicles’.

Personally, I find that annoying, and feel the writers should have found a way to tell the whole story in the original books.

As I said in my first review, the plot relies on luck and coincidence, but here it’s taken to a whole other, implausible level.

There are times it feels as if the writers have written themselves into a corner, and the only way to keep the story moving to its conclusion is the insertion of more than one deus ex machina moment.

While I get the idea behind Berem and the green gemstone, and his place in the story, the supposed importance placed on him didn’t ring true for me; the culmination of his story fell flat.

It’s not all bad though.

One thing I appreciated in this book is the depiction of the villains.

The main villain in the first book was nothing more than a cardboard cutout, and he didn’t come across as much of a threat.

But here, Takhisis, the ultimate evil, is portrayed as just that, and her human second-in-command is depicted well.

For me, the standout villain is the eerie, chilling death knight, Lord Soth.

The final act, with the companions in different groups engaged in different battles against Takhisis’ forces, is excitingly written.

Overall, I’m glad I re-read the Dragonlance trilogy, but taking ‘Dragons of Spring Dawning’ on its own, I found it disappointing and a lacklustre conclusion to the series.

One final note – for those thinking of introducing this series to younger readers, while the first book has more of a YA feel to it, the second and, definitely, the third read that bit more ‘adult’ with comparatively more sexual scenes albeit not ‘in-your-face’ sexuality.