Dragon Wing (The Death Gate Cycle, Book 1) (edition 1990)

I liked the book. I didn't feel it was anything super special. I will probably continue to read the series. ( )

I thought this book was okay - I found no fault with the writing or worldbuilding or the characters, really. I didn't find it very compelling, though - perhaps because of the lack of the unwitting/unwilling hero stereotype that I've come to associate with fantasy. I couldn't make myself care about the characters as much as I'd like to.

I'll keep reading the series, but I'm in no hurry. 3/5. ( )

I didnt finish this book. There were definitely some cool parts of the book but I just didnt find it engaging. It seemed like a really shitty car with a brand new paint job, there were parts to like but the substance wasnt there. ( )

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman really established themselves as the most prolific and one of the greatest fantasy authors (or pair of authors in this case) in the 80s and 90s. Leaving the epic world of the Dragonlance novels Weis and Hickman with Dragon Wing embarked on a fascinating new series of seven novels set around the mysterious worlds of the Death Gate. A communist Dwarf leading an uprising against the dilitante and arrogant Elves, and a mysterious assassin hired by a King to kill the Crown-heir to his throne together with a mysterious man and his dog are just some of the reasons to read this book.A millenia ago the Sartans punnished the Patryns by emprisoning them in a mysterious labyrinth which turned on the Patryns and became a battle for their survival. Several Patryn have escaped the labyrinth and made their home in the mysterious Nexus and one of these is now being sent to the worlds of the Death Gate to search for signs of the age-old enemies the Sartans. Haplo as he is called first visits the world of Arianus (the world of Air) which is composed of floating islands. The Dwarves (who call themselves Gegs) live in the Low Realm and run the great Kicksey-Winsey a mysterious machine. In the Mid Realms the humans are freeing themselves from Elven slavery and the Elves themselves are dealing with a rebellion from one of their royal family, whilst in the High Realms the mysterious human magicians known as Mysteriarchs have their own agenda and will stop at nothing to achieve it.The science and magic of the world clearly worked out in great detail. As are the characters created by Weis and Hickman. The mysterious Haplo and the stoic Hugh the Hand at first appear similar and yet despite their cold upbrinings there are obvious differences and they do not bond. The clumsy and seemingly incompetent Alfred hides his own secrets, and the sly and malicious Bane uses his innocent face and apparently sweet nature to manipulate those around him to serve his own ends.These books are an old favourite and one I return to again and again and heartily recommend to any and all fans of fantasy. ( )

Mildly entertaining fantasy, first in a long series, involving a world divided into various realms with limited communication between them and some pretty odd technology and magic. A wily human has an assassin kidnap his son, but the assassin is followed, and instead of carrying out his task, he ends up on a mission to higher realms and gets involved in the start of a war between two realms. The assassin's quest was the most interesting part for me, and it had some moments of comedy; I found the business of the kicksey-winsey and the dwarf substitutes a bit tedious, sometimes a bit pointless, and overlong. Haplo, Alfred and Hugh the Hand were rather interesting characters, and the magic system had a few interesting features - dance, song, runes, hypnotising dragons, and in one case, imprisoning people's souls. A so-so fantasy adventure. Sometimes I did not get on well with the style and humour of the book; I needed to be in the right mood. ( )