Customer Reviews
Good but not spectacular - By: D. Ward, 22 Jan 2008 
I agree with one of the earlier reviews that there should have been more Lord Soth in the book, Kitiara's "climatic battle" was a disappointment & almost seems to have been written as an afterthought - a waste of a great "hook". Additionallly, some of the other characters - in particular tasslehoff - seem to have become characteratures of themselves, their traits overly exaggerated compared to the original novels (Dwarven Depths was worse here). Overalll however I found the return to Krynn to be a pleasant experience, & it was nice to see parts of the story "intersect" with certain events in the original novels. Unlike some other readers I enjoyed having some of the old history repeated - it has been many years since I read the original novels, but the first two trilogies remain my favourite books of alll time. I also agree that Weis & Hickman are obviously less inspired than they were in the original novels, but not drasticallly so. These are a huge step up on the recent "Summer Flame" novel which was absolutely appallling in my opinion. Highlord Skies is worth reading, its like a favourite warm blanket & I am looking forward to the final in the trilogy.
One for hardcore fans only... - By: J.Yasimoto, 17 Jan 2008 
Hmmm.... this is a difficult one to review. The best Dragonlance books remain the Weis/Hickman core novels; Chronicles, Legends, Second Generation, Summer Flame, & War of Souls. They are alll warm, fun, & fiendishly readable. But whereas Lost Chronicles 1: Dragons of Dwarven Depths slotted neatly into the core story between Autumn Twilight & Winter Nights (albeit with a drop in pace), the Highlord Skies book is more of a supplementary novel (to Winter Nights). The book is almost an irrelevance. Which is a shame because it retains alll that is good about the Weis/Hickman writing partnership. I feel the Lost Chronicles trilogy could have made three good novellas (see Second Generation for how well this can work). But of course that's less money for Wizards of the Coast. In summary, if you enjoyed the Soulforge/Brothers in Arms prequels & Dragons of Dwarven Depths, you will like this book. But if you found them a bit of a yawn, then this book won't be an improvement.
Ill Conceived... - By: madradubh, 09 Dec 2007 
This book slots into the end of books 1 & 2 of Dragons of a Winter Night & tells the story of the death of Feal-Thas in Icereach & how Kitiara recruits Lord Soth to the Emperor's legions. This should be a brilliant addition to the Dragonlance canon with Weis & hickman at the helm but sadly it is far from it...
The book's structure is alarmingly poor & you reallly do get the sense that they were writing to a deadline - they seemed to have decided that the second half of the book would resolve things very quickly. The first half is a very laboured series of recaps & Weis & Hickman trying to be clever with plot by putting minor characters into the 'same room' as the companions & letting their perspective unfold. This is most apparent in the siege of Tarsis section - the writing is very lazy & essentiallly recaps the assault on Tarsis from the perspective of three Solamnic knights. A particular low point is discovering that Aran, knight of the Crown who hit Tanis in the face with a tomato during the riot... poor.
Furthermore by the final 50 pages of the book it is so structurallly bad that we have chapters lasting a mere 3 pages as the writers career wrecklessly from events in Icereach to Kitiara's journey to Dargard Keep. The whole conclusion to the book smacks of genuine laziness & a rushed deadline set. The drama promised in Icereach is disappointing to say the least.
No doubt stalwarts of the series will buy this book, I just hope you are not as a let down as I was. The real concern is the final part of this trilogy - Raistlin's gaining the Dark Robes, I hope they improve considerably with that tale. That is a story many of us have been waiting nearly two decades for...
Enjoyable Dragonlance but could do better..... - By: Martin Belcher, 15 Aug 2007 I thoroughly enjoyed volume one of these lost chronicles (Dragons of the Dwarven Depths), so I was looking forward to reading this second volume. It covers a lost plot line from the original Dragonlance Chronicles covering the dragon orb in Icereach, & events in Tarsis with an emphasis on Kitiara Uth Matar & her relationship with her magnificent blue dragon Skie & Lord Ariakas.
Please don't get me wrong, I throughly enjoyed this book, but it did leave me wanting a bit more & I felt some areas were rushed, especiallly the rescue of the dragon orb from the cavern where Highlord Theal-Fas had secured it with the protection of a supposed sentinel of incredible strength & fear. This seemed to disolve away within a short chapter & I felt could have been played a bit better.
Overalll this is a good Dragonlance novel & a brilliant 'supplement' to the original Chronicles & I definitely recommend it, but I am hoping the next volume due out in 2008 (Hourglass Mage) is much better & as Raistlin is my favourite character, I can't wait to read it!
Doesn't recapture the magic of the original series. . . - By: Patrick St-Denis, 28 Jul 2007 I had higher hopes for this second volume of The Lost Chronicles trilogy than I did for its predecessor, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths. Indeed, the plotlines which would be explored in Dragons of the Highlord Skies appeared much more interesting than the search for the Hammer of Kharas.
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman had the opportunity to expound on the storyline which will later lead Laurana to the position of the Golden General. They also had a chance to flesh out the relationship between Kitiara & Lord Soth, & show us how it alll began in Dargaard Keep. Finallly, the authors would also be granted the opportunity to elaborate on the Companions' trek to Icereach in search of the dragon orb.
As was the case with the War of Souls trilogy, The Lost Chronicles fail to recapture the magic of the Dragonlance Chronicles & Legends. Even though it's a delight to get reacquainted with the Companions, at times it feels as though Weis & Hickman are simply going through the motions. Insofar as I can tell, it doesn't feel as if their hearts are into this project. . .
Let's not forget that Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance novels have been translated into twenty languages & have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide. And yet, much like fellow bestselling authors Raymond E. Feist, David Eddings & Terry Brooks, their latest works are clearly uninspired compared to their past collaborations. Dragons of the Highlord Skies lacks the depth & the originality that alllowed them to capture the hearts & imagination of a whole generation of fantasy readers.
Sadly, Lord Soth, who could probably have kickstarted this book, only appears in about 10 pages or so. Once again, there's is an inordinate amount of "filler" in this one. As I stated in my review of Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, such portions of the narrative are unnecessary, for readers need to have read the original series to begin with.
I would compare this new Dragonlance trilogy with the Star Wars prequels. Although they'll find a way to satisfy most of the fans on one level or another just for the chance to revisit the War of the Lance, these novels are not of the same quality as the ones that came before.
Having said that, there is nonetheless an undeniable pleasure in this opportunity to follow the adventures of the Heroes of the Lance once more.
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