There's been a buzz about Weis and Hickman's new series, Dragonships of Vindras, ever since Tor Books paid a seven-figure advance to acquire the rights to publish it. Add to that a 200,000$ national marketing campaign, and everything seems to hint that this six-book sequence will be the sort of signature work such as The Death Gate Cycle -- the kind of series that made them the bestselling duo of SFF authors of all time.
These factors raised expectations quite high, that goes without saying. And for the first time in years, I found myself thoroughly excited about a new Weis and Hickman book. And yet, regardless of the positive buzz surrounding Bones of the Dragon, the opening chapter of Dragonships of Vindras would have to deliver on all fronts in order to truly satisfy fantasy aficionados everywhere. Indeed, Weis and Hickman have been unimpressive of late.
Unfortunately, Bones of the Dragon fails to deliver on most levels. In depth, style, and tone, this novel is more akin to The Sovereign Stone trilogy, as well as Dragonlance's The War of Souls and The Lost Chronicles trilogies, than the Weis and Hickman series which made them such genre powerhouses throughout the 80s and 90s.
In terms of worldbuilding, the authors elected to go with a universe in the Norse tradition, with the focus on tribes of Viking-like warriors. I was under the assumption that this series would be as ambitious and original as The Death Gate Cycle, so I found the worldbuilding to be lackluster, to say the least. It's nothing we haven't seen before. From Weis' answers in our upcoming interview, I'm aware that there is a lot more to come in the forthcoming sequels. But based on Bones of the Dragon alone, the worldbuilding is decidedly bland.
Characterization has always been Weis and Hickman's bread and butter. Over the years, these two have created a variety of memorable characters. One only has to think about the Heroes of the Lance; Raistlin, Caramon, Tanis, Sturm, Tasslehoff, Lauranna, and the rest of the gang. The original Dragonlance series also featured a number of great secondary characters such as Lord Soth, Dalamar, and Kitiara. The Darksword trilogy had Joram, Saryon, Simkin, and Mosiah. The Rose of the Prophet had Matthew, Khardan, and Zohra. The Death Gate Cycle featured Haplo, Alfred, Hugh the Hand, Xar, Marit, Zifnab, and more. Sadly, Bones of the Dragon leaves a lot to be desired in that regard. The main protagonist is the anti-hero Skylan Ivorson. I'm well aware that he's meant to start off as an ass, and he will undoubtedly mature as the story progresses. Still, Skylan is as annoying and unsympathetic as it gets. Moreover, the rest of the cast is comprised of a forgettable group of clichéd and unimaginative characters. Other than Wulfe, none of them even came close to piquing my curiosity. As far as characterization goes, this is about as bad as I've ever seen Weis and Hickman look.
The battle of the gods story arc appeared to be intriguing at the beginning, but it's nowhere near as interesting as it was in the Dragonlance saga or The Rose of the Prophet trilogy. I feel that had the plotlines focused a bit more on that facet of the tale, it might have provided much-needed depth to the story.
The overall execution is a bit clumsy at times, and you can see some plot twists coming from a mile away. Which was a major disappointment coming from the duo that brought us such multilayered series as The Death Gate Cycle. The pace drags a bit from time to time, and most storylines are uninspired at best. It feels as though the authors are just going through the motions, that their hearts and minds are not into this project.
The narrative appears to be aimed at a more adolescent crowd, and the dialogues are a bit trite. Hence, I feel that Dragonships of Vindras will appeal to a younger, less demanding audience. Bones of the Dragon is adventure fantasy/sword and sorcery fare, something suited for the legions of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels on the market. As such, it was a major disappointment for me, as I was expecting a more "adult-oriented" work, something that could compete in depth and originality with novels/series by authors such as Jordan, Martin, Bakker, Erikson, etc.
Things pick up a little at the end, promising more to come, but it's nowhere near enough to save this one. Bones of the Dragon simply didn't do it for me. Looking back, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have not been at the top of their game for over a decade (since the release of The Seventh Gate). Which is too bad, because in top form they can swing with the best of them.
Given the popularity of their latest Dragonlance books and R. A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms offerings, I'm convinced that Bones of the Dragon will probably do very well. But for long-time fans like me, it's evident that Weis and Hickman's heydays are now behind them. A pity. . .
The final verdict: 6/10
11 commentaires:
I'm a bit disappointed as I was also expecting a comeback from the two and I always wished they could try their hands at a more mature/adult oriented book.
I feel like I'm one of the few who truly loved the War of Souls trilogy, but I'm now afraid to try their older stuff again and let it taint my memory.
And on a fair note, The Seventh Gate was the weakest book of the series, it felt so rushed!
It's always soooo hard to tell how you Really Feel about a book.
:>)
Given the revelation that Leigh Eddings co-wrote all of the earlier books credited to just David as well as their co-credited ones, doesn't that make Leigh and David Eddings the biggest-selling duo in fantasy history? From what I can make out their sales eclipse the exclusively Weis-&-Hickman-credited books (although if you add in their individual books and ones co-written with others, they're probably ahead).
And to be honest I think Weis and Hickman's rep is built on a lot of people liking their books when they read them when they were ten or something. I was a lot older when I read their earlier books and found them semi-serviceable at best. Death Gate had a great premise and was an attempt at something original and mythic, but the writing rarely rose above the juvenile, even in their non-YA books.
I agree with Adam. I tried reading the much lauded Deathgate Cycle(via this site in fact) and i could not get past the first book. It seemed so inconsequential and immature compared to Malazan or Prince of Nothing that i just gave up in disgust.
And don't get me started on Eddings. It wasn't until i read their belgariad series that i came to believe in hell.
I've lost hope in Weis and Hickman years ago...
Having read your review, I can't help but wonder what Tor saw in this series to spend so much money on it???
Too bad. :(
You guys are funny.
Why not read/skim thru the book yourself ones it comes out instead of letting a blogger do your thinking for you?
Some people are very picky and the reviewer was comparing vastly different authors to weis/hickman which is sort of stupid in and of itself.
Anonymous: The reviewer was comparing Bones of the Dragon to previous Weis and Hickman works...
How stupid is that, I ask you???
Could it be that your reading tastes have matured a great deal since reading those earlier, more fondly remembered Weis/Hickman sagas?
It also sounds like you are judging this book against its marketing campaign, what the authors were paid, and their past work. Granted I think everyone judges a writer's current work against their past work, but even on its own and outside of those three factors I mentioned this doesn't sound like it holds water.
And a 6/10 for such a disappointing novel?
The narrative appears to be aimed at a more adolescent crowd, and the dialogues are a bit trite.
Pat, this is true of every novel they've ever written. I suspect the difference is that you're now mature, while you were probably an adolescent when you read Weis and Hickman the first time. Try to read the dialogue between Flint and Tas and not flinch.
"Having read your review, I can't help but wonder what Tor saw in this series to spend so much money on it???"
Two NYT-bestselling authors who will automatically sell hundreds of thousands of copies of a book by trading on the fond memories of books people read as teenagers twenty years go?
Seriously, Weis & Hickman could have submitted a turd in a book and it would still sell. I don't blame Tor for buying the series.
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