As a teen, I spent countless hours devouring the various Dragonlance novels, and the first novel in the series, Dragons of Autumn Twilight Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths, was directly responsible for my initiation into role-playing games. I spent many hours as a DM for years to come because of that one novel. Ah good times…

During the 90s an endless barrage of novels were pumped out of first TSR, later WOTC under the Dragonlance banner. Some were atrocious, some meh, and some really good. I guess I was, and still am, a purist at heart, preferring the “core” novels, i.e. the Chronicles Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths, Legends Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths and Tales I Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths and II Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths trilogies. So you can imagine my glee when I very recently discovered that Weis and Hickman were more than halfway through writing a series of books called the Lost Chronicles. A trilogy set during the original Chronicles, embellishing some of the more minor events that were glossed over in the original novels.

Unfortunately I was a little disappointed after finishing the first book in the series, Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed learning more about the events that took place with details we weren’t privy to in previous novels, but… It wasn’t the same as reading the Chronicles the first time. I don’t know whether that’s because Weis’s and Hickman’s style is actually different in this book or simply that I am a lot older now and perhaps my tastes have changed. It just felt a little bloodless. The characters I know and love were there, but seemed like pale shadows of the personalities I remember from years ago.

That being said, I finished Dragons of The Dwarven Depths, am a quarter of the way through Dragons of the Highlord Skies Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths and will undoubtedly be reading Dragons of the Hourglass Mage Dragons Of The Dwarven Depths when it’s published. So it would seem I’m still a Dragonlance fangirl… ( )

I loved being back with the Companions. I think the book could have been trimmed down a bit, sometimes it seemed like they were beating an idea into the ground, but that didn't stop me from reading it. Nor will it stop me from reading the rest of the Lost Chronicles.

This book has been sitting on my to-be-read shelf for at least a year. I picked it up when I saw a signed copy at the book store, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
I enjoy the Dragonlance books, but I would not call myself a huge fan. This title is the first in a new series, the Lost Chronicles. The Lost Chronicles series documents some of the events that take place in between the original Chronicles series. This first book covers the events between the first and second books. I read those ages ago, so trying to remember it for this one was a little bit difficult.
Dragons of the Dwarven Depths begins right where Dragons of Autumn Twilight leaves off. Lord Verminaard has just been killed, and the companions have helped his slaves escape. Now they are all trying to figure out what to do next. None of the various factions within this group of refugees can agree, causing problems for Tanis and his friends, who are just trying to help. They end up splitting up - Tanis and Flint head out to find the fabled dwarf kingdom of Thorbardin; Caramon, Raistlin, and Sturm (later followed by Tika and Tas) head to the haunted keep of Skullcap, where Raistlin is drawn by some strange power; and Riverwind, Goldmoon, Laurana, and Gilthanis stay to help the refugees. The story switches back and forth as it follows these various groups, bringing them all together again in Thorbardin.
I did find this book an entertaining read, but I can't say whether or not I'll bother picking up the other two books in the Lost Chronicles series. I am sure that for diehard fans of the Dragonlance books, getting to read more stories by the original authors is a treat. But to me, the whole book felt like an inside joke - it really should only be read by people who have read the other books, as so much of your understanding of the strange things that happen relies on that. And it is simply not as well written as many of this team's other books. The editing is terrible, which is always frustrating, and in parts it really felt like they phoned it in. All-in-all, this is one edition to the Dragonlance series that is fun to read, especially for big fans, but otherwise should not be bothered with. ( )

The good thing is that this book takes the reader back to the times when our old companions of the dragonlance saga run their adventures. The bad thing is that it has a remake flavour that lessens its authenticity. Bad literature, not much entertaining except for nostalgics as me (and the many who enjoyed the dragonlance saga). ( )

This book goes back to the original Dragonlance trilogy, filling in skipped parts of the story. It was good to read about the original Heroes of the Lance again, and they actually are dealt with more in depth in this book. There is a passing acknowledgment of D&D 3rd edition, but otherwise this reads a lot like the original trilogy. Well worth reading for Dragonlance fans. ( )