Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I like this book for what it was, and for what it didn’t try to be.
This book is a romp. After five years of exploring rumors about the gods who abandoned the world, six adventurers meet back up in an inn in their hometown. Strange things are afoot, and it very quickly becomes apparent that the fate of the world might be in the balance.
Sound like a bunch of different stories you’ve heard? Sure. But where’s the harm in that?
Dragons of Autumn Twilight is a great Dungeons & Dragons novel, and it doesn’t pretend to be more than that. It borrows heavily from Tolkien, and leans on typical fantasy tropes quite a bit, but it remains relatively fast-paced, is mostly exciting, and even warrants a few chuckles.
The characters in the story fall a bit flat, as there are only two of them that seem to have any depth. And instead of a Mary Sue book where the protagonists are awesome at things, it’s apparent from the beginning that these adventurers kind of suck. But that adds to the charm.
What’s nice is that this book doesn’t try waffle in its pacing. The world of Krynn is under siege and the characters must act and (mostly) react to things in a way that feels like you’re part of a pretty fun Dungeons & Dragons session. Sometimes that means the characters do unique, interesting, and surprising things to solve their problems. And other times it means they crack some skulls or fight a dragon.
Was this a great book? No. Was this a good book? Definitely.
If you’re looking for some D&D type fun away from the table, it’s worth checking out. If you want the next LOTR or Harry Potter, then look elsewhere.
Oh, and feel free to skip the poems. They add virtually nothing, and might make you want to put it down before you give it a proper chance.
Michael Treadway 