Dragon Wing

I borrowed 'Dragon Wing' from a library of friendship on the understanding that it's 'trash'. In my opinion that's a little harsh; I think 'tosh' is more accurate. Evidently a lot of thought went into the world-building, although the results are frequently absurd. I wasn't keen on the use of footnotes for info-dumps. To my knowledge only [b:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|14201|Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|Susanna Clarke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357027589l/14201._SY75_.jpg|3921305] has made that an entertaining stylistic choice and here it seemed rather clumsy. Given that [b:Mordew|53438794|Mordew (Cities of the Weft, #1)|Alex show more Pheby|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589813330l/53438794._SY75_.jpg|83091037] relegated a hundred pages of plot-critical information to a glossary at the end, though, things could certainly have been worse. The narrative momentum overcame the drag of terminology explanations about a third of the way in. An example, from the main text rather than a footnote:

The flashcraft was created long ago by the Mangers for the benefit of the Kicksey-winsey. When the Mangers mysteriously disappeared, the Kicksey-winsey took over the operation and kept the flashcraft alive just as it kept itself alive. The Gegs lived to serve both.

High fantasy is not generally my preference, however I've had two months of partial library access in the last thirteen so am in no position to be picky. As it turned out, I enjoyed the whole thing a lot more than I expected from the first few chapters. The opening with a nefarious wizard named Magicka was rather wince-inducing, but the plot became a lot more interesting when the focus switched to dwarves attempts to unionise. The nominative determinism remained hilarious throughout: could there be something off about Castle Sinister, by any chance? Maybe this child named BANE is more than he seems? And 'Sartan' sounds like an artificial sweetener. There are hardly any named female characters, but there is a nice dog. The dragons, as it turns out, are transport infrastructure. Despite an appendix at the end trying to explain the magic system, it remains pure waffle. Is magic a renewable or non-renewable resource? Unclear. Nonetheless, the adventure narrative is rather fun and includes plenty of dramatic scenes in megastorms, secret passageways, magical castles, crystal forests, etc. I'm not sure whether I'm interested enough in the characters to continue reading the series; it'll depend on how much longer the pandemic continues to keep libraries closed. show less

You really can't go back again. I still remember when the Dragonlance series first came out, I bought the first book and devoured it in about 2 days (Which is great for me, I've always been a reader, but always a slow-ish reader). Then had to wait 6 months for the next book to come out. I would re-read the previous one and then start on the new one. I continued that process for the next four books.
Jump forward 35+ year later and a friend is cleaning out his house and offers the complete set of The Death Gate series. Well, if I were still 14, I probably would have really enjoyed this. Now that I'm not, this really didn't do it for me. The writing is simple and basic. The characters are just not that interesting (two of the principle show more characters are named Sinistrad and Bane...hmm, I wonder if they're the good guys?).
There are allusions to a great battle and chaos in the past, causing the current separations of the various realms in the sky. I imagine this will be covered in the next bunch of books. I'll never know... show less

Dragon Wing is book 1 in the completed Death Gate Cycle of 7 books. The first book contains a complete story but there is quite obviously something more complex going on. The best part of this book is the world building - it is original, even after all these years. The characters are also fairly well written and complex. Even the dog has his own personality. The book starts off with an assassin in what is superficially a medieval world and ends up with a variety of elves, dwarves, humans, an "adorable" manipulative little child, wizards of various kinds (and a dog) in a world that isn't all that medieval anymore and on the cusp of change. Book 1 takes place in the World of Air, which is a world of floating continents with a contraption show more (of unknown purpose) called the Kicksey-winsey worshiped and maintained by the locals. Travel between these floating islands is via dragon back or airship, and the local currency is barrels of water or their equivalent in coin. If you want to know what happens in such a fascinating world, you are just going to have to read the book (and the rest of the Death Gate Cycle). show less

Last year I picked one fantasy to read, reading parts of it in between my other reads. That was a success, so this year I decided to do the same thing again. I just had to pick a series (I have several waiting to be read on my shelves), and I went for The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Part one is "Dragon Wing" ("Drakevleugel" in my Dutch translation).
In the Death Gate Cycle there are several races. You have your dwarfs, elves and humans. But you also have Sartrans, who've imprisoned the Patryns in a horrible labyrinth. Slowly the Patryns are escaping, and one of them, Haplo, is sent to the floating world above to spy on the Sartrans. Meanwhile, in that floating world above, a contract-killer, Hugh the Hand is show more given the assignment by King Stephen that will change his entire outlook on the world. The world above where Mysteriarchs (level 7 human wizards) live, the world where humans and elves live in a near-war state, and the world below where dwarves/Gegs live and mine water for those above.
I was a bit disappointed in this book, I think because I expected a full-fledged fantasy world. Somehow this book never really rose above the level of young adult for me. Maybe it is marketed as YA, I'm not sure. It's not a bad book, just not very original or deep. It was a nice read and I will continue with the series. After finishing I read a review mentioning that this is the worst book of the series, so I have hope it will get better. I also want to know more about the Patryns and the Sartrans (I'm not quite sure yet who of the two are the bad guys). Three out of five stars for me, but a fun read for a young fantasy love I'd think. show less

This is the first book of the Death Gate Cycle that I never got around to reading in the 1990s. I’m glad to catch up on the series as I’ve been meaning to read it for quite some time. The world-building is decent. The Sky Realm where this book is set has been split apart by a powerful race of magicians long ago. As such, the highest realm is too cold to sustain life without sever magic intervention. The middle realm which is the most resource-rich lacks access to water, and the lower realm is trapped below and drowned by an overabundance of water and storm. As political factions from each realm crash into each other as a consequence of their individual searches for power and better lives, the world’s long-held status quos are show more unheaved. This story didn’t blow me away, but I wasn’t expecting it to. It is a stereotypical fantasy tale with humans, dwarves, elves competing for power and of course dragons and magic. show less

Trust cuts both ways.

An ancient war ended when four new worlds were created from the elements of the old one. The series eventually touches on all of them, but this volume focuses on the world of air. Humans and elves fight on floating islands, while dwarves toil away in blissful ignorance on the lowest levels, tending to a giant machine.

The story begins with an assassin, hired to do a job he doesn’t fully comprehend. Next the audience meets an inquisitive dwarf, struggling to understand the world around him, much to the chagrin of his people, who value submission. The story itself is fairly simple at first, until treachery and misfortune unite the characters in common cause, forcing them to work together to survive, as governments show more plot their demise. The cast steadily grows, as new characters become entangled in the plot, but the story manages it well, transitioning between perspectives with masterful timing. The characters themselves are well developed, if a bit cliché, and their story, while familiar, is still an entertaining read.

+Strong Setting
+Strong Descriptions
*Strong but familiar characters
*Strong but familiar plot
-Some Confusing Scenes

3.5/5 show less

Okay. So over beers, I suggested to a good friend, Rich, that he should invest time in the Hyperion Cantos (Dan Simmons). I swear, Rich got a twinkle of evil in his eye, and he made a devilish deal. If I wanted him to read The Hyperion Cantos, I would have to agree to read The Death Gate Cycles, a series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I generally trust Rich's perspective, so the fact he was exchanging a 7 book series for my suggested 4 book series never read false to me.


Book one of seven: Dragon Wing, where to start.


Well, let it be known that I am not a reader of DragonLance novels. The fantasy genre just isn't my cup of tea, there are some authors I have enjoyed, but fantasy tends to be more miss than hit when I am concerned.


My show more reading experience:

- It took me two months+ to slog through through three hundred and forty pages
- Even with access to appendices, I wanted to strangle Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The number of concepts and words that were unexplained drove me bonkers.
- I very nearly lit this book on fire and peed on it's ashes. My deal with Rich was the only thing that pushed me to completion.
- I still do not know what the root words for 'Kicksey-Winsey' are, even though Managers, etc all became clear.
- The big protagonist (cheekily named the Sinistrad) and culmination of plot were a huge let down, approx four pages all wrapped in a bow? Exaggeration, yes, but not much of one.
- The Gegs (Dwarves). They are as annoying as Jar Jar Binks.

With all that said, it turned out pretty good... What's that? Well, yeah, my reviews are always honest and in this case the first three quarters made my soul bleed, where the last hundred pages were quite good. I sailed through them pretty quickly. Most of my questions were answered. Characters solidified, story became understandable, and it clicked. After all that pain it clicked. I would never read this book twice (you couldn't pay me), but I do feel confident that my frame of reference is now large enough to enjoy book two. I will read the remainder of the Death Gate Cycle series, much to my own surprise.

Reblurb - this novel undoubtably required a new blurb as the Publisher's description is a waste, an absolute waste in all aspects. Are they selling this purely off the fact that the authors are apparent novel writing machines?

"The Sartans are well intentioned meddlers, attempting to help those on earth by imposing their will on the planet as a whole, each time they meddle, something gets worse. Before they disappeared completely, the Earth was shattered into several crippled pieces.

Hugh the Hand, an assassin, has been hired by the king of the mid-realm. The war between the Elves and Humans is in a lull, and the King is cleaning house, starting with the death of his own son. Hugh is hired to murder the Prince and blame it on the elves.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, nothing in the realms is simple, leading Hugh, the prince, and various others into the world of the Gegs, a revolution, and a battle for their own survival.

Readers of the DragonLance series pay special attention as preeminent storytellers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman continue to redefine epic fantasy."


Publisher's Description:

"Preeminent storytellers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have redefined epic fantasy. Since the publication of their Dragonlance series, millions of readers have enjoyed their imaginative world-building, rich characterization, and intricate storylines. Now these bestselling authors bring their talents to one of the most innovative fantasy creations ever in Dragon Wing, the first volume in The Death Gate Cycle. show less