Elven Star

Ook dit boek leest lekker weg. Is ook wel nodig als je steeds maar eventjes kunt lezen. Ik miste Alfred in dit boek, maar Zifnab is ook een geweldig karakter, zeker als hij ruzie maakt met zijn draak. Haplo krijgt steeds meer diepgang, wat het verhaal ten goede komt. Het is zo dubbel. Gevoelsmatig ben ik helemaal voor de Sartanen. Ik vind Haplo's devotie voor zijn Meester maar ongezond en hij is me te hard. En toch leef ik met hem mee, hoop ik dat hij gelukkig wordt. Maar niet als dat betekent dat zijn Meester zijn zin krijgt. Die vind ik toch echt een kwal van een vent en dat terwijl ik nog helemaal niet veel van hem weet. Nu op naar deel 3: Vuurzee.

I enjoyed these quite a bit when they first came out, the setting and the plot are rather unique. They still have a Dungeons and Dragons feel to them, but they aren't game based novels.

This is the second book in the complete Death Gate Cycle. It's a bit thin on plot but the characters are entertaining and Dog makes a reappearance. The world building is original and fascinating. While this book is a complete story it doesn't really hold up without the rest of the series.

An enemy no one can stop. A question no one can answer.

Pryan, world of fire, is a lush jungle so dense that entire lakes rest on layers of foliage. Humans build on vast planes of moss, elves dwell in trees, and dwarves live close to ground. The story follows a family of elvish merchants, who sell magical weapons to humans, who in turn use them on each other.

Paithan, a young elf, heads out on another delivery, but when he arrives he learns the weapons are actually meant for the dwarves, and he is expected to come along. Meanwhile Haplo has come through Death’s Gate to explore the second world, but instead he arrives just in time to see it fall, as legends return, full of wrath.

The story counter balances the grim plot with many light show more hearted subplots, reaffirming the belief that while humor may not be the best medicine, it’s certainly a decent salve.

As a whole Elven Star is a slow read; full of looming threats and tense pauses, as characters struggle to think of some way to survive. Haplo is once again shoehorned in, though this time he slowly takes over the story, before bringing it to a half-hearted conclusion, with many questions left for future installments to answer.

+Strong Characters
+Strong Setting
*Grim
-Fragmented Plot
-Slow

3/5 show less

'ElfenSter' or 'Elven Star' is the second book in Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Death Gate Cycle series. We travel to a different world now, one where humans, elves and dwarfs live on one immense 'planet'. Our old friend Haplo travels to that land to plant the seeds of discontent, only to discover that by the time he gets there, the land is already in great turmoil because of the attack of the tytans. Will Haplo find out more about the Sartans and where they went? And will he actually help those on the planet?
Like with the first book I missed some of the depth and originality in the world Weis and Hickman have created. However, my expectations were based on the previous book, and to me this book was about the same. A pretty show more enjoyable story, but nothing very special. Three out of five stars. show less

2nd in the series. Most notably marked by the unwelcome introduction of "Fizban" from Dragonlance, who's presence is never explained, but appears to still be a god that Haplo doesn't believe in. None fo the races of these worlds have a higher power, all the religious references are to the Sartan at the time of the Sundering.

Haplo visits the world of fire - four suns inside a large sphere, with the races living in dense jungle on the internal surface. It's not at all clear why this is the world of fire, as there isn't that much heat around, just enough for verdant life. Our lesser races are predominantly elven this time, but we don't get much chance to find out about their culture because the Tytans are coming. It appears the Sartan show more created some powerful servants who's lost their way, and are now destroying everything in their path. (Why they'd turn destructive is never explained). Haplo turns up just in time to save a few in the process of learning about the world and how it's been set up - and what the Sartan had intended it to do. The dog does little but keep him company. Fizban has inserted himself into the elven city and doesn't need to nudge Haplo much to set things going in the right direction.

Much the same as the previous one already - we don't really care about the various Mensch who are again fighting between themselves. Haplo has a few more reminiscences from his time in the Labyrinth, including their bleak but still touching wedding ceremony. show less

The gleam at the start wore off. Though not expecting a lot, my interest did wane. I have the next five, but don't know if I'll continue. Zifnab the wizard was the highlight(at the beginning, anyway), everything else was just too much...