Novels Books

What a story! What a writer! I could not put this book down. Colin Channer is a talent. I cannot wait to read his next adventure.

The book was well written, great humor and very relatable for anyone who has ever been in love or would like to be. The only thing is that the cover does not give the book any justice. At first glance you would think its one of those trashy romance novels, however its about more than romance, its about true love and the romance behind it.

This novel was a soulful journey. It connects with the reality of relationships and with all of its struggles and triumph. I was drawn into the characters from the opening page. He tells this tale with a poetic spin. His words unfold beautifully and each character takes on a life of its own. I think readers will find a little bit of themselves in this book. I loved it!

This book is a beautiful experience. It is one of the most passionate and real books that I have ever read. I couldn't put it down and I wish that it was longer. The emotions of the characters are so strong that they leap off of the page. This book makes you want to go out and fall in love and hope that you experience half the passion and true love that these characters experience.

Colin Channer to me is like a modern day Picasso with a pen. His dialogue is compelling, soul-stirring and purposeful and his characters are engaging. You can almost close your eyes and imagine yourself seeing the story unfold as if you were a fly on the wall at a gallery in New York, a beach house in Jamaica, or the Streets of London. This is the mark of a truly great storyteller.

Our main character, Fire, is a "simple" man with a "complex" life. By simple I mean he wants what any sane person would want, a circle of good life-long friends, a fulfilling life, and someone emotionally and physically available to share it all with. So, when he meets Sylvia, he feels like he has found the one. What he doesn't know is that Sylvia, an engaged magazine editor, is all but disengaged from her own true desires for her life. Soon we see that complications abound, and the journey they take throughout the story takes the reader on a cross-continental journey in search of introspection, true meaning and, possibly, true love.

An interesting point is that Channer's characters are written from their souls - what drives them to do the things they do is less about their gender than their emotions and their pasts. With such a multi-faceted story, several layers of conflict, we still get a crystal clear picture and understanding as to why things unfold teh way they do. It is a believable, gripping, page turner, and Channer conveys it effortlessly.

Waiting in Vain, simply put, was one of the two best books I have read in a long time. The other was Satisfy My Soul (also by Colin Channer). As an aspiring writer, I wish my prose was as naturally beautiful as Mr. Channer's. Until it is, I will keep devouring his work in hopes that some of his literary poeticism rubs off.

I bought this book for one of my children for a summer reading project. I needed a specific version and was glad I could search Amazon by ISBN. The book arrived quickly and the price was reasonable. I'm sure other family members will enjoy the book when the projcet is complete.

except for the Bible, this is the best.
It is the full and undiluted version from the first english translation.
read it, learn it,live it.
j

Although the story is well known to me, the editing of this audio book was so confusing. I absolutely could not follow it. Too much is cut out.

Story has good twists, but there are too many French places and people which makes the audio confusing.

The book is excelent reading but please get a different version.
This version only has 580 or so pages where as other versions have over 1,300 pages. That means that this version is only half the story.
So much gets lost in translation already don't cheat yourself even more.

This is one of my top three books of all time. The characters are well written, the story is exciting, sad, happy, scary and tender. It's a story about friendship, hardship, making a living, and a great history of what the West once was. I read this book at least twice a year, and still, it effects me the same way it did when I read it for the first time 15 years ago. I recommend it to anyone who likes a sweeping story full of great characters and emotion. It is also part of a great series of books. If you like this one, be sure to check out the others in this series.

I originally saw the movie "Lonesome Dove" which intrigued me and interested me in the book. I loved the book! It had even more info then the movie (as is generally the case) and though the 8 hours of movie are very true to the book, there is a lot that you miss until you see it in print.

I disagree strongly with the reviewers who say this is not a western. It is a story rich with action and human interactions. The characters are developed and become so real - I cried along with their triumphs and tragedies. There are many stories in this one book. Each character has a history and story to tell and McMurtry does this very well in "Lonesome Dove". (Not so much in other books - In "Sin Killer" he creates characters barely enough to kill them off two pages later.)

This is definitely a rich story well worth your time. It is a heavy read - literally and figuratively. Enjoy!

Count me among the many people who completely loved this book. Even at nearly 1,000 pages, I didn't want it to end. To say it's about a bunch of cattlemen making a drive from the Texas-Mexico border all the way up into Montana hardly makes it sound exciting. To say it's a romance between a cowboy and a reformed whore makes it sound more melodramatic than it is. But to say it's about the American spirit in the 19th century, or pointless ambition, or blind allegiance to an outdated code, or aging heroes, or the disappearing wilderness--and it's about all of those things--makes it sound too grand and high-minded. The charm of McMurtry's writing lies in its simplicity. It's about a lot of things. Mostly cowboys.

The Old West, as portrayed by Hollywood and popular fiction is said to be in large part a myth. High-noon duals, standoffs between train robbers and sheriffs, and gunfights between cowboys and Indians are more legend than history. LONESOME DOVE has to be considered among the canon of the old west, as one of the archetypal books of the genre. It is a story full of stock western players--the heroic Texas rangers, the sheriff, the whore, the cattle rustlers, the Indians, the wide-eyed cow hand. But in the end, the characterization of these players flies in the face of everything we'd expect of them. They are each flawed in their own way, and none completely lives up to our expectations of what he should be. They're decidedly not stock characters. They're real. They surprise us at every turn with their actions and inactions. And while it's tempting to call this the quintessential western, it's more a deconstruction of the western. A reality check. It's more about romance than gun fights. The conflicts are internal. And it's more about character than characters. That's the greatest strength of LONESOME DOVE. McMurtry makes you fall in love with the cowboys, then breaks your heart twice--once at their fates, and once when the book comes to an end.

Taking it as a given that you have little or no interest in the old west or cowboys, in general, or in cattle drives, specifically, you should still read Lonesome Dove. The character development, of Gus and Call, especially, and the evoking of a time and place very remote from the present are absolutely remarkable and you'll be glad that you didn't miss it ... a very, very good book - truly excellent literature!

And, as in so many cases, in case you saw it and drew a conclusion ... the TV version couldn't begin to do justice to the book.

I first picked up my copy of Lonesome Dove at a bookstore when I was around 18 years old. I think I bought it not because I was actually interested in westerns, but because it had won a Pulitzer, therefore my reading it would make me seem smart or something. When I started reading it before, I couldn't get into it, and I ended up putting it down. Six years later, I decided to give it another try and am I ever glad I did! I've noticed, as I grow older, that my favorite books tend to be historical sagas: Gone with the Wind, The Mists of Avalon, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc., and now I can add Lonesome Dove to my list of "best books I've ever read." The story of Woodrow Call and his best friend and fellow former Texas Ranger, Augustus McCrae, is honestly one of the most moving I've ever read, and that doesn't even include the other characters which are also wonderfully written! I've recently found a new fascination with the American West, especially after seeing all of those great "western" films that came out in 2007--No Country for Old Men, There Will be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James--and from finally visiting that old legendary frontier, Montana. There is something crudely romantic about the Old West, despite all of the danger. Lonesome Dove is the pinnacle of what I imagined the West to be like. Brilliant book, I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read.

Treat yourself, as I did, to this 21 pound! complete Calvin and Hobbes collection. You, as I did, have probably put off purchasing this item time and time again. Well, I say that it is well worth the expense. This collection is for a lifetime of reading, as you follow Calvin and Hobbes on their many adventures.

I ordered this product 15 October 2005 and was so excited when I found it propped against my apartment door. I have practically all the books so I purchased this pretty much because I could and I wanted it on display. I have looked at some of the complaints and here is my take on them:

The Binding: YUP it is not that great. My set is 100% (display only with the occasional read) but I know someone who received this as a gift Dec 2007 and pages are falling out. Also my set handled shipping quite well. Not a bent corner in sight.

Books Hard to Get Out: Not for me. I tilt the box and take the one I want.

Edited Content: Not too sure about that one.

If you want something to read over and over again get the paperback books. If you want to commemorate the greatness that is C&H shell out the cash. I think it's totally worth it.

TLS - 12 October 1983 :)

I was about to recycle a Calvin and Hobbes paperback an ex girlfriend gave me years ago. As I thumbed through it, I ended up tossing it on my sons desk. He was 7 or 8 at the time. He read that book cover to cover. The next Christmas I gave him this set. It didn't leave his side for two years. He went to bed with it, we took road trips with it. It was permanently attached to his lap. He practically memorized the strips. I will forever be thankful that I didn't recycle the first book, and subsequently bought this set.

Really? How can you go wrong with Calvin and Hobbes. The collection is actually heavier than I expected. But we can't be disappointed with Calvin and Hobbes!! Calvin reminds me so much of my son.

Excellent collection with excellent printing quality.
The paper is fantastic and the bindings are sturdy.
It is truly a collector's edition, hands down.

*Remember that I am not the target audience for this book, so younger adults will enjoy this novel.

For die-hard Redwall fans, or even the casual readers who've picked up any Redwall book would know who Martin is. He is the source of prayer to the Redwallers, the mouse that annoyingly sticks his snout in other's dreams, giving riddles to the would-be-warrior. He is also featured on a tapestry that hangs at the Great Hall. And what you are holding in your hands, or are probably about to, are the story behind the warrior, and how he was so well honored among the Redwallers and all free good woodland critters.

In the book, Martin is a young mouse who is slave to a wicked stoat named Badrang the Tyrant. He has gathered up a large horde of every evil stereotypical villain except for stoats like himself, and plenty of slaves who mostly do the work of enlarging his fortress called Marshank. He is a sly, wicked beast, like any Redwall villain, stuck with a 'friend' (I say this term loosely because you know there is never any deep relationship between vermin buddies) named Clogg, a corsair stoat, and backstabbing one another to get control of Marshank. Martin defies Badrang, escapes with a few slaves, and then he gathers up an army to attack Marshank and end Badrang's tyranny.

For the pros, this book is up there as my rare Redwall favorites simply because you got at least two characters who are woodland good but turn bad like the bankvole named Druwp, who acts as a spy among the slaves, and a tribe of squirrels who give in to Martin and help him fight.

It's a decent Redwall novel that I do enjoy and that's saying something, since most of my Redwall reviews have been negative. Perhaps I have taken this book as it is (finally): a good childhood story. Well, it's a good story, when you get down to it.

This book is supposed to be about 'Martin the Warrior'. About how his legacy lived on in so many creatures when all other heroes have been forgotten. So this book must be special, and it is.

The characters were mostly one dimensional, with exception to a few villains like Clogg and Badrang, who were very neat, twisted villains with good motives. Rose was put up there to serve as a very weak love interest for Martin that I wished could've been a tiny bit more developed. Felldoh was a very interesting character, and I can admit that I did like him, and I would have liked him a lot more hadn't he fallen through the same path of wickedness as a vermin, or from what the kind, peace-loving woodland creatures call them. I mean, this guy kills off the rats and weasels without blinking, always using revenge as a motive to not care, or because these guys are wicked, that they don't even have souls or lives. The fact that these runaway slaves are so good at handling weapons, far better than any rogue who's had many years experience using swords and such, can also be bending some reality rules here.

But there really isn't much realism here, I'll admit. I mean, when a mouse is the same size as a fox as a fox is to a squirrel, and when all the bad guys act like dumb idiots who have no idea how to keep pecking order, there isn't much room for reality left. How can a couple of dimwitted morons like Badrang's horde even be in a horde if they're always backstabbing one another and running away from woodland creatures in fear?

Adults and those with older mentalities will say these questions, but this is a children's book. And I actually did like it, even with those questions in mind. Skeptics will have a hard time reading it, like myself, but I really did like this book, no matter what insane flaws, and I did get a good few laughs from the bumbling villainy idiots.

If you're looking for a legend, you will actually find it here, and it is better than 'The Legend of Luke'.

I pretty much said it all in the title! This book is awesome! It's got the most action, battles, and the coolest bad guys! It's great! Read this book!

A fantastic story from the Redwall series, Martin the Warrior, is a mix of friendship and battles against a ruthless rat clan. This "National best seller" from Brian Jacques is about a mouse named Martin, who gets captured in the rat's prison. This story is full of foxes, lizards, moles, rats, and of course, mice. Most fantasy lovers and animal lovers will keep rereading this fantastic book about how friendship can help others in times of conflict. As most good stories are, all Brian Jacques books are well more than worth reading. And all animals have human characteristics.

I have to admit that when I first heard of the Redwall series, I had my doubts. I mean, a book about animals? However, I decided to give them a chance and now they are my favorite books of all time.
Martin the Warrior is my favorite out of the series. I love how the characters interact with each other in a way that makes you want to be more like them. They stuck together through everything, and in the end the slaves were freed and the sword that once belonged to Luke was returned to it's rightful owner, Martin the Warrior.
I recommend this book, as well as the whole series to kids of all ages. If you like the Redwall books, you will probably also like Brian jacques' other series, the Castaway series.

Great series for young and old looking for a mental shut-down for bed book.

I am a huge fan of Robert McCammon and this book is one of the best reasons why. The writing is so engrossing that you can get lost in the story and not even want to find your way out. The characters are all richly drawn and can stand on their own, not just as sounding boards for the main character, Cory, an 11 year old boy. If you have read the reviews this far down you will already know the plot, and all I can add is that if you take a chance and read the book you will be better off for the journey. The beautiful writing will break your heart and make you laugh out loud. What more could you ask for?

i have to wonder about anyone that gives less than four stars for this book. i have been giving copies of this book to friends for years. this i think is hands down the best book of growing up in the south since to kill a mockingbird and that my friends is high praise indeed. i would not hesitate to reccomend this book to anyone, ever! the man can write and the book is absolutely fantastic! treat yourself to a great read and get this book. also like another reviewer stated dan simmons "summer of night" is pretty darn good also! read and enjoy.

First: this should be required reading for every young person in America. McCammon paints a perfect picture of life in the deep south during the 60's. The principles young Corey learns are as true today as they were then. Second: This book represents real life. Sure Corey's lessons came from more dramatic circumstances, but who among us didn't learn the same life lessons in our own fashion. This is one of the finest stories of innocence lost through experience examples I can ever remember reading. Thank you Mr. McCammon! This book IS what a great book should be: a compelling story that encourages us, the reader, an opportunity to drift away to a magic place.

If I was given the choice to read one book before I died, this would be the book. A true classic and should be required reading in every English class across America.

I've always thought a good author creates pure magic with a great story. Robert McCammon does just that with Boy's Life. There's mystery, suspense, humor, horror, spooky things, and just about every sentence will command that you keep reading well past the time you usually go to bed. This author is very gifted and as this was my intro to him, I plan on reading everything else by McCammon I can lay my hands on. Ignore the 'poor man's Stephen King' tags that were placed on him and discover another author who will take you far into a magical realm when you start reading the first page. You won't regret it. Brilliant book!

This excerpt does a great job revealing the realities of war. It provides the perspective of the ones on the front line and does a wonderful job displaying the uncertainties that go along with warfare; however, it was a bit hard to follow at times, and it seemed a little "jumpy". Overall, great job!

I was an undergrad theatre major at the University of Iowa when Peter was a grad playwriting student there. His plays were entertaining, often darkly funny, grounded in a strong sense of narrative, and most of all intensely focused on ethical concerns... in particular the fundamental question of how to be a decent person when faced with untenable choices. It seems appropriate that he would turn his attention to the current Iraq war, which unfortunately provides many ways to explore that question on both a macro and micro scale.

I've only read the excerpt provided online here, but I was very engaged by the story and curious to find out where the war would take these fictional people. I found myself hoping that the character of Ryder finds a way to retain his humanity in a dehumanizing situation. More than that, I hope that Peter's work gets the chance to reach the wider audience it deserves.

I want to read more, to find out where Peter Ullian's deconstruction of situational ethics comes to rest, or if it does at all. Regarding comments about gratuitous sex and violence in Ullian's narrative: first of all, there isn't really any sex. The male characters think about sex constantly, which is what most men do in real life. As for the violence - exploding arms, dead kids - that sort of insanity happens every day in Iraq. It happened every day in Vietnam. I'm sure it's happening all over the world as we speak... and plenty of times there aren't even any American troops involved.

Okay, here's my armchair review:

With incongruous detachment, Ullian depicts an existence where "real" is a trainwreck of people and processes that don't belong together, and "ideal" is a faraway abstraction that propels the world like an invisible puppetmaster. Soldiers allegedly sent to free the Iraqi people from a tyrant train to do so by watching porn and listening to death-metal (apparently, that's typical in reality - during the Gulf War, Slayer was used as a soundtrack for Marine training maneuvers in Saudi Arabia). The only in-depth discussion among the characters is about country music. Cross-cultural understanding? Forget it. Would any of these guys bother to learn Arabic or read about the Five Pillars of Islam? I don't think so. The people they've been told they're freeing are "impassive, inscrutable" (from narrative). In a situation requiring immediate action, the unit leader lets his mind wander into random associations and memories, to the point where the "embedded" female journalist accompanying the unit has to render medical attention to another soldier.

I want to know where Ullian is going with this. The absurdity of existence? The ultimate subjectivity of moral/ethical frameworks? The pointlessness of nationalism? Is there a political agenda? Is the message here that everyone just bad and clueless? I'm curious now.

My first of two beefs with Ullian's prose is that his characters' dialogue is a little too Pynchon-esque: affected overemphasis and a deliberate lack of contractions. My second beef is that the characters' memories are less, well, personal than they could be. If Ullian is trying to convey his views on politics and society through the recollections of characters, and sometimes it's a little stilted.

Overall, I was intrigued and I want to read the rest of it.

Ullian has a talent for balancing the absurd and the tragic, to grimly wry effect. His cast of warriors, juiced on action movies, porn and video games, would seem like some out-there postmodern creation if they weren't so obviously reflective of the America they came from. Instead, the author has created a narrative of soldiers as products of the American culture they have come to spread. Ullian's portrait is ambivalent-- there's no denying the dark edge of his soldiers' sex-and-violence media mikvah in preparation for battle, but the men themselves remain reflective, human and sympathetic.

To Repair the World by P. Ullian opens with an argument of over what qualifies as 'real' country music. This debate introduces two of a host of characters, several with 'classics' names. To have a Ulysses, a Cassandra and Achilles on one mission together screams doom.

The settings, while as realistic as I can imagine them being for never having been in a war zone, fought for validation with the comical nature of the dialog. This wasn't funny ha-ha stuff, but really bordered on forced soudning. It read, in fact, very much like the interplays of Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22'. If the author means to update that story for contemporary times, more than 'insert Iraq detail here' needs to occur. The vibe of 'Catch-22' may be timeless, but it was a commentary and reflection on the times it was produced not just a darkly-humorous accounting of the absurdities of war life.

As I read through the excerpt it felt as if the author was inconsistent with portraying this story as serious or satirized. When I felt it leaning one way, it'd go back the other. This really hit home when Luther's arm was blown off and Curtis struggles with whether to stop the vehicle to tie a tourniquet. Curtis then goes on this drawn out political and moral thought line, while Luther is bleeding out. This was just too awkward given the uncommitted tone to that point.

Overall, though the author clearly is a talented writer, his attempt at putting his own modern stamp on a familiar tale just didn't sit right with me.

I read this book many times when I was young and was thrilled to find it still in print. I would recommend this for anyone who loves romance novels with historical fact mixed in.

Thought this book was a very good read. I Love fiction with historical facts. Beautiful love story. The end got a little long so thats the only reason i didn't give it a 5.

This book is worth purchasing. Yet, somehow that's an understatement. I now have my own copy and am reluctant to lend it!

Several of my friends raved about this book. I liked it okay. And I love to read so much; I'm not that hard to please. There were several kind of raunchy parts that I didn't expect, as well as numerous bawdy references. But there is a theme of redemption in the end that I liked quite a lot that makes the story more...well, redeeming. The last 150 pages or so were the best, I think. It wasn't riveting for me, but the history was really interesting, and I learned a lot.

This is one of my very favorite books ever. In fact I've gone through 2 copies already I read it so often. I'll keep buying it because each time I read it I find it more fascinating. I would highly recommend this book.

Very moving story about the strength and weaknesses of women (not just black women). It's a story of principle, dreams and nightmares and how you find yourself at the very moment you learn to control both. These women teeter on the edge of self discovery ....all they need is a little push! And it takes inner strength and tough choices to realize sometimes you have to catch yourself.

This was worth reading. It's not full of porn or scandal but a nice read. I enjoyed that the main character was a real person and not the stereotypically ideal "beauty" queen most authors like to use.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are looking for an entertaining, suspenseful, drama, this is a book for you. It was a page turner, sometimes hard to put down. Donna and Virginia, keep up the great work, and keep these type of novels coming.

Hooks the reader and keeps them captivated to the last chapter. The characters are multi-dimensional and the story is rich with detail about family, friendship and deceit. Plenty of twists and turns with a few jaw drops.
A must-read! You won't regret it.

Read this book quite sometime ago...enjoyed it a great deal, so I decided I would like to experience it again....on audiobook!

This is the first book I read by Margaret Weis without Hickman, and I was therefore interested to see the difference. Actually, the pace of the book is slower and more introspective than the Chronocles series. I would regard this book as "canon" and part of the essential story (along with Chronocles trilogy, Lost Chronocles trilogy, Legends trilogy, Second Generation, Dragons of A Summer Flame, and the War of Souls Trilogy).

FACT - Weis and Hickman are not literary geniuses. They flout several rules of good writing including their tendency to repeat ideas, recap plot points, tell you what to think (instead of showing you). However, there are few writers who can claim to have explored the depth of a character to the same extent as Weis does with Raistlin in this book. A great addition to the series.

If you want to go on and read Brothers in Arms, then do so, however, I would not consider it canon or essential to the story. However, it does give some of the background to the War of the Lance from the point of view of Kitiara, and is (reasonably) consistent with the storyline in the chronocles trilogy.

One point I would like to note - if you read dragons of autumn twilight straight after this, you will find that Raistlin's relationship with some of the other characters has "soured" somewhat, despite the fact the characters have supposedly not seen each other for five years. I found this a little unconvincing but this is a minor detail.

"Raistlin startled to wakefulness, a sense of danger bursting like lightning on his sleep, jolting him out of terrifying dreams." Oh Boy. Hemmingway this is not.

With the new Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition coming out my old dungeon master (just writing that makes me cringe) has decided to try and reunite distant (and aging) gamers using the new online gaming engine. In order to get into the spirit of things I thought I might spend some time back in the realm of D&D. When I was in high school every self respecting nerd had read the DragonLance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Quite frankly my taste in literature was still developing back then but the books seemed fine and I enjoyed all three. The most memorable character, by far, was the mage Raistlin Majere. One of my friends even modeled his D&D character after Raistlin including his relentless (and irritating) pursuit of power.

It's pretty clear by this books intro that Raistlin is also Margaret Weis's favorite and this is likely what doomed the book for me. As intriguing as Raistlin is I was hoping for more than to read about his elementary school years, his handling of bullies and his mildly dysfunctional family. The author also goes way overboard trying to hammer home the point that Raistlin is the dark brooding brains and his twin Caramon is the strong, good looking dolt. It's sometimes difficult for adults to write dialogue for children but this one is pretty bad. No five year old on earth has ever talked the way young Raistlin does and in trying to make little Caramon sound simple and naïve Weis basically writes him as retarded.

I just didn't feel that D&D vibe reading this book. The story was so focused on Raistlin that there was barely anytime for anything else and quite frankly most of the book was rather boring and tedious which isn't helped by its 400+ page length. Raistlin still stands above the rest but mainly because Kitiara and Tasselhoff were so bloody annoying while Sturm, Tanis and Flint were less like characters and more like empty ciphers.

While a bad ending can kill a good book a good ending is less likely to redeem a mediocre book but it does help and the ending in Soulforge is by far the best part. Still, rather than rekindle my interest in D&D the book ended up dampening it. If you want a good fantasy book I suggest the Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. It's not D&D but the characters are significantly better.

Really good to read after you've read Chronicles because you just HAVE to know more about Raistlin!

Wow! Raistlin fan or not this is a great book. I, of course like most of the people who read Dragonlance, like Raistlin but I am not a huge fan per say but I do find him interesting to read. A lot of my question were resolved here not all but many.
Perhaps the best part about this book is that you get to witness the Test that Raistlin endured! You've heard about out it for a long time now and finally your in the midst of it all! WOOT!
Three highlights ** Slight Spoilers ** (but not really) :)
1) Meeting all the old friends Cameron, Raistlin, Tanis, Tas, Tika, Otik, Flint, Sturm, etc. and learning about them as they met. Watching them make a covenant to return to Solace to meet again...which, if I remember, brings you to the first book you read...the Dragons of Autumn Twilight. (I liked that part)
2) Raistlin's Test
3) Raistlin's Letter at the end which gives you the reason for the book you just finished,

The Soulforge, was well written and thrill. I think this book, of all the Dragonlance books I've read to date, has answered more questions than any other novel yet.

*This review is being updated and brough over from an older account.

I am not quite sure why people are giving this 5 stars and a perfect rating. This is nowhere near classic literature, nor is is a wonderous example of english prose.

All that aside, I simply found this book slow. If you are a huge Raistlin fan, then this might have something for you. Really all you do is follow his life day by day from childhood to adulthood. Really boring and drab with about 3 pages total of action.

The second book in this set was much better, and I would pick up a third if it gets written. By itself, this book doesn't really stand for itself at all. I have liked many of Weis' books, but this one is down there at the bottom of the stack.