A knight of Solamnia escorts a kender into occupied lands, while elven princes struggle to free their countries from darkness.

Unfortunately, I was bored through most of this book. It was confusing, too, because of the major disparity between the end of The Dragons of Summer Flame and this book, that I felt I missed something, but didn’t know where to turn for reference. This combination left me waiting for something to happen, for a revelation or an insightful character moment. But the story was too dark, the world in worse shape than when the draconians arrived, that I wasn’t interested. I’ve been waiting to get into the elven lands for many books, but now that I’m here, I regret wishing. Mina was a somewhat interesting new character, but too ambiguous, and once again I feel like the authors are trying to shoehorn in an unneeded transition from the fantasy world to our own, like they did with Darksword and Death Gate - though I believe this time the one true god is actually Raistlin. The only light in this otherwise too-dark tale is Tasslehoff, between time, and his talk of an alternate timeline hints at what the authors are after. Unfortunately, the book is too long and uninteresting, and even by the end, I wasn’t interested in continuing. We’ll see if I change my mind at a later date.

The story starts with a massive storm, the likes of which Krynn hasn’t seen probably since the Cataclysm, which portents some big change. I’m not sure why the authors felt this was needed, as I’m sure there are terrific tales left to tell in the world after the Chaos War.

The first chapter is difficult to follow, and I wished the authors would move on from Galdar the minotaur and his army of the Knights of Neraka (formerly Takhisis). And when Mina arrived, claiming to be an emissary of the one true god, I had to roll my eyes. The authors did this in Darksword and The Death Gate Cycle, and I really wasn’t interesting in going through that again.

The Chaos War promised changes, and the people were forced to find a way to live without the gods that gave them magic. It’s interesting that the world has inherent magic, which people have learned to use. Unfortunately, they haven’t moved on. Like in The Avengers: Endgame, they are now living in the past, trying to find old magical items that they can sap the magic from.

Strangely, giant dragons have taken over the world, dividing it up in a wary peace. People pay tributes, and the dragons let most of them live. I feel like I’ve missed an entire series where this happened, and I’m not sure I want to read about that. The whole setup left me very confused, and even when Tasslehoff shows up and there are hints of an alternate timeline, it still didn’t make sense. If this is setup for fixing a failed timeline, then it’s way, way too long.

After lots of promises in the early Dragonlance books, we finally get to visit both elven lands after the War of the Lance. Unfortunately, the elven lands just aren’t very interesting. I feel like nothing is different from human lands we’ve seen, except the elves are more like royalty. Gilthas rules Laurana’s lands, as told in the short story in The Second Generation. He is, however, a puppet, as the Knights of Neraka rule the lands in the name of the great dragon Beryl. Gilthas is ruled over by Marshal Medan, who has fallen in love with the elven lands - and Laurana. Laurana has gone from being a weak character in the early Dragonlance Chronicles to a steely warrior in the later books, but here she also lives in the past, mourning Tanis and going back to weak. The only part about our time in this land was when Gilthas snuck away to meet with his secret wife (I loved her!) and a negotiated rescue with the dwarves.

In the other elven lands, where Lorac once ruled, Alanah Starbreeze is trying to get through the magical shield and back to her people. Inside, General Konnal rules, but can’t be a king because the people will only accept someone of Lorac’s lineage. It was obvious right away that Glaucous was Cyan Bloodbane, banished in the Chronicles. He raised the shield to keep the Knights of Neraka out, but that trapped the elves within, and they were slowly dying.

Attacked by orges (weren’t they peaceful beings at the start of Dragons of Summer Flame?), Alanah’s son gets lost, and the shield lets him through. He’s found and tested, and welcomed as the new prince, with Konnal as regent, and Glaucous as trusted advisor. He has no real power, which is how everyone wants it. I was surprised to find myself liking Silvanoshei, especially the way he got fed up of being treated like a porcelain doll. Unfortunately, that was destroyed when Mina arrived, and he fell instantly in love with her at first sight.

In human lands, we finally see a familiar face. Unfortunately, Caramon is living in the past, too, waiting to die, mourning Raistlin and Tika, even as he sees to the safety of Solace. He has daily breakfast with Gerard, a Knight of Solamnia, who guards the monument to the Heroes of the Lance.

And that’s when Tasslehoff arrives, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stifling book. I loved the way the authors managed to resurrect him, by having Fizban give him the time travel device Raistlin used in Time of the Twins, which he remembers to use just before the giant Chaos stepped on him. I think that explains his last living words in The Dragons of Summer Flame, but introduces a paradox in that he’s supposed to be sitting with Flint fanning the flames of a red star in the night sky.

It’s unfortunate that while Tas is generally in good spirits here, he also falls under the pallor of the book’s mood, first thinking he’s been cursed, then “touched” (apparently Beryl killed most kender in Kendermore, and those who survived don’t even have good humor left, which is a terrible state for the world to be in). His situation is rather funny, having missed Caramon’s funeral, where he saw all of his old friends, but went back in time and ended up here. He’s as confused as me, leading to the concept of alternate timelines. Only in the other timeline, it seems that they beat Chaos without the gods leaving. But that was the only way they could control Chaos, so how could they win?

I believe the authors are trying to do a clever reset to bring the gods back into the world –did they regret what they did in Summer Flame? Unfortunately, setting such a massive book in the midst of that alternate timeline, with very little of interest, made me want to skip the rest of the trilogy. Most of this book could have been compressed significantly.

Gerard makes a promise to Caramon as he lies dying that he will bring Tas to Dalamar, and he is now oathbound to try, even though nobody has seen Dalamar for years and the Forest of Wayreth disappeared when the great dragons arrived. So he brings Tas to Laurana, who secretly associates with Palin, who in turn is obsessed with ancient magical artefacts –like the time travel device.

Meanwhile, Mina, having converted everyone she meets into followers of the one god, sends her people to the slaughter, which is the only way to beat the Knights of Solamnia. Then she leads them into ogre lands to get inside the shield protecting the Silvan elves. Again, she asks them to die, and to lose the fight, all so Silvanoshei can fall in love with her, which allows her to expose Glaucous as the green dragon. When Silvanoshei helps her defeat the dragon, and destroys the magical tree powering the shield, Mina disappears, and the elven lands are now open for the Knights of Neraka to take over.

Tas and Palin get to visit Goldmoon in her Temple of healers, one of my least favorite characters from the Chronicles. Something has happened to Goldmoon, turning her back into a youthful woman, even as she also lives in the past, waiting to die to join Riverwind in whatever afterlife exists since the gods left. But this gives her the power to see lost souls, moving like a river toward a source in the north. She steals the submarine belonging to the gnome Conundrum, who fittingly, wasn’t as funny in this world as gnomes used to be, and follows the magic-stealing souls.

Gerard, meanwhile, serves Marshal Medan, until a draconian exposes that Beryl plans to attack and destroy the elven lands. I guess it’s time for the dwarves to finish their tunnels to safety.

So the book ends with a multitude of incomplete plots. The only climactic action scene comes between Mina’s forces and the elves, but even that didn’t last long. I was disappointed in the dull characters, the dull politics, and the overall morbid state of the world. I can only imagine that Tas will use the time travel device to fix things eventually, but how much of a long slog will it be to get there? I’m not sure I’m interested in continuing that journey.

I’ve already mentioned the disparity with the ogres here compared to Usha’s people, who were described as beautiful. The time travel device seems to have changed properties, too. It’s mentioned several times that Beryl could go back in time to change things, or even Palin, but it was clear in Time of the Twins that only a kender could change the past. I can only hope I’m remembering both of these completely wrong.