Over the years, I've read some fantasy romance, but I can't say that I've read much in the way of straight epic fantasy. This happens to be one of my husband's favorite genres, and Dragonlance, one of his favorite series. He has been trying to talk me into reading them for years, and I finally acquiesced to his prodding when I needed a dragon-themed book for two reading challenges in which I was participating. I had previously tried one of Weis & Hickman's other books which I had a hard time getting into and never finished. I'm happy to say that Dragons of Autumn Twilight was a very enjoyable read for me with a cast of likable characters that were easy to root for. I found quite a number of parallels between this book and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, although my husband tells me that's pretty much par for the course in this type of fantasy since LOTR was the main inspiration for all the books that have followed in this genre. I think the book may have been suffering a wee bit from the first in a series syndrome, where it takes a little while for the world-building to get up to speed. It started off at a pretty fast pace with six long-time friends reuniting after five years apart, only to become almost immediately embroiled in trouble and running for their lives after helping two strangers escape from those who would do them harm. Then, I thought the next 100+ pages were a little slow with the characters traveling from place to place and meeting lots of other characters, but not a lot happening plot-wise. Things really took off when the group began traveling to Xak Tsaroth. From there, it was pretty exciting, almost non-stop adventure that got more and more interesting with each page I turned.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight has an ensemble cast of eight main characters, all of whom have their own distinct personalities. Tanis is the leader of the group. He is a skilled warrior but abhors killing. He constantly struggles between his elf and human sides, and his heart is equally torn between a human woman and an elf maid. Flint the dwarf has been friends with Tanis for many, many years (they're both around 150). He can be gruff and grouchy at times, but he can also be incredibly funny, especially when paired with Tas. Tasslehoff was an absolutely hilarious character, a mischievous little creature known as a kender, he was always getting into some kind of trouble. He has no fear and is always the most cheerful member of the group. He's great at finding things, picking locks, and the like. Sturm is a knight who grew up in exile when the knights of his father's order fell into disrespect. He is pretty dark and moody, but very loyal to his friends and perhaps even more so to his knighthood. His chivalry toward the ladies and his extremely strong sense of honor were wonderful qualities. Sturm's childhood friend, Caramon, is a big, hulking guy who's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but his loyalty to his twin brother, Raistlin, was quite endearing. Raistlin is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He isn't the most likable character in the story, but he definitely is one of the most interesting. He was apparently power-hungry enough to sacrifice his health in exchange for his mage's powers. Often he was not particularly sympathetic, as he sometimes treated the others in the group, including his brother, with a condescending attitude, but then the next minute he surprised me by actually seeming to care about the gully dwarves. He claimed not to know the future, yet his advice always seemed to be spot on. Raistlin was a very mysterious character indeed. Goldmoon aka Chieftan's Daughter is the leader of her people and the bearer of the mystical blue crystal staff. She fell in love with Riverwind even though he was considered far beneath her in station. She was a brave and compassionate woman whose faith in the ancient gods was strong and who found her true calling in life during their search for the truth. Riverwind was gifted with the staff during an impossible quest to prove himself worthy of Goldmoon. He nearly died more than once and obviously loved her very much, not only to have gone through all that, but to have waited to marry her for so long.

I was beginning to wonder if there were going to be any other strong female characters besides Goldmoon, but later in the quest, the group was joined by several new characters two of whom were women. Tika is a sweet, innocent barmaid who actually appeared in the opening chapters too. She has a huge crush on Caramon, and wants to be a warrior woman like his sister. Laurana is the beautiful elf-maiden who is one of the two women that Tanis loves. She only has eyes for him and wants nothing more than to win his heart all for herself. Then there is Fizban, a doddering old mage who is quite possibly even more hilarious than Tas. He had me laughing and smiling through nearly every scene he was in.

I loved the banter between Flint and Tas that never failed to have me in stitches, but nearly all the characters seemed very capable of pulling off one-liners every so often. There are plenty of serious things that happen too. The action scenes, especially those involving the dragons, were quite suspenseful. There is a fair bit of violence, including a few somewhat gory scenes, but other than that, I didn't find anything particularly objectionable which in my opinion, makes the book appropriate for teens and up. In spite of the more intense moments, the overall tone of the book was lighter then I was expecting, making it a fairly easy read, and yet at the same time, rather complex. I was left with many questions, mainly about the character histories, which I hope to find the answers to in future books of the series. I'm so glad I finally picked up Dragons of Autumn Twilight. It may have ended with a resolution to the immediate conflict, but it's obvious there is much more story to tell for these companions which makes me eager to continue the Dragonlance Chronicles series soon. ( )

I have another copy of this book. Wasn't too thrilled by the series so I'm getting rid of this.

Having last read this when I was, perhaps, 12 I decided to take a walk down memory lane (suffice it to say, it has been a couple of decades.) Here is the first book of a series that, at least in part, has left me with a life-long taste for the fantasy genre (though these days, mostly as PC/console games.)

I see why I liked it so much then. The writing definitely is aimed at what is now called "young adult" (was there such a distinct genre 25-ish years ago?) Reading it again, it seems a bit simple; the writing, characters, shallow.

That said, I did like it (again), though I recognize how much of that is likely from nostalgia. ( )

Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop boardgame (a roleplaying game to be precise). It became very successful in the 80s, so much so that the publisher decided to publish tie-in novels to supplement and accompany the game.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight is the very first of these books (there are several hundred nowadays).

Story: The story is basically one small little adventure after another, building one larger storyline, where the heroes have to save the world.
The story is railroady, with several unnecessary deus ex machina moments. Quite often we learn something almost unbelievable and the heroes just roll with it, without any real explanation.
It definitely feels like this is a retelling of an actual real life gameplay. Each chapter feels like it's a small, closed and compartmentalized 4-8 hour game session, with combat and roleplaying elements.

Characters: The characters are extremely cliché, paper thin, sometimes non-sensical even, but if you are familiar with roleplaying games, they are extremely familiar (and even logical).
We have a fragile but powerful wizard, a Conan the barbarian style strongman, a grumpy dwarf (like Gimli from the Lord of the Rings), a Bilbo Baggins like thief (also from the Lord of the Rings) and a snooty knight. There are several other side characters who join the party.

Conclusion: In my humble opinion, if you like Dungeons & Dragons and if you like the Dragonlance setting, you probably already read this book, if not you are probably going to enjoy it. For everyone else, I would advise to stay away.

For boys between 6-11, this might be a 4/5. It is easy to read, it could even be a bedtime story (there is nothing scary in the book), but it is surprisingly long, not to speak of the fact that it is the first part of a trilogy.
For adult men it is a 2/5.
For girls/women it is a 1/5.

I was originally planning on reading the other two books in the trilogy, but decided against it. ( )

I read this book back when it was first published in 1984 and remembered it fondly and have wanted to reread it again for some time. While I enjoyed it, I did not think as highly of it as I did back when I was a kid. Still, it was a good story that is worth reading. I enjoyed the characters and the action and plot of the overall story. It seems to start in the middle rather than at the beginning of the tale but I understand the context. I enjoyed it enough that I am likely to continue with at least the initial trilogy. ( )