Children of the Plains (Dragonlance Barbarians, Vol. 1)
Children of the Plains (Dragonlance Barbarians, Vol. 1)
From the mists of Krynn’s earliest history came the Barbarians.
A young brother and sister escape a pack of predators and strike out on their own, their lives taking parallel courses linked to the destiny of different tribes.
But dark powers watch the rise of civilization with cold calculation and deadly intent.
Best-selling writing team Thompson and Cook make a long-awaited return to the fantastical world of Dragonlance with this new epic trilogy.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Better than most
I found this novel interesting to say the least, it’s set back before the Gray-Gem (no dwarf’s or kender) and we get the see the human’s of Ansalon rise out of the mud and start becoming a nation of people in the first book of the Barbarian’s Trilogy. The main characters seemed three dimensional, each having their own flaws and strengths, which was good to say the least. I found the character Amero to be the most interesting, and find myself wondering what’s going to happen to him in the second part.
Overall this novel was a good clean read, and I liked it. Fight scenes were good, just enough description, so I’m happy I bought it. One thing I didn’t like though was the villains. They were very underdeveloped and seemed shallow in this first volume, but I’m sure that Paul Thompson and Tonya Cook will fill out their characters in the next novel.
Final Thought: Buy it, it’s good DL, and you won’t be disappointed.
5 Stars Very unexpected
If you are familliar with any barbarians from Dragonlance it would most likely be Goldmoon and Riverwind from the Chronicles Trilogy. It is admitted that their characters were essential for the progression of that storyline but I felt them as dull and rigid and ultimately overshadowed by the other characters in the story. I felt that those type of characters could not hold a whole novel down on their own, let alone an entire trilogy. It would be fair to say that I was not terribly excited about beginning this series.
With that said, I was hooked from the first page on. And no, I am not exaggerating. While being introduced to the characters, we are also introduced to an immediate threat to all of their survival. Each character was very identifiable and very human. Then later in the first chapter an even more capable threat emerges on the scene and before you know it are very concerned about these characters and how they will escape this harrowing situation. From then on the story is very fast paced, able to jump back and forth between two and sometimes more storylines. Some of the story is predictable but then other areas remain pleasant little mysteries and perhaps you’ll find a twist or two that will make you lay down the book for a moment and whisper “Oh my gosh.” Some of the main characters are fleshed out a little better than others, but I keep in mind that this is a trilogy and what we need to know is given to us. This book is a great read and would suggest it to any lover of fantasy even if this was the first Dragonlance book they would read. It stands alone and also fits well within the world of Krynn.
3 Stars good story, wrong metal
i really liked the story, but parts of it conflicted with an earlier book, The Kagonesti. according to The Kagonesti, at 3811 PC, the elves had steel axe-heads, plate mail, swords, daggers, and arrow-heads. and the humans were allied with the elves to defeat the dragons. and balif was leading an expedition east to expand the elven territories. if anyone would lead a western expansion, it would seem to be quithas, who is absent in this book. also, according to The Dragons, the humans also had steel. the only race that used bronze was the ogres. this dragon duranix’s existence also conflicts with The Dragons. overall, a good story, but it conflicts with the back story too much. 3 stars for the story.
3 Stars Great book but totally inacurate
This book is fairly good, and has some great characters and an interesting plot (although not very surprising). There aren’t no real problems with the book few grammatical mistakes , and it is fairly interesting. Yet I didn’t give it 5 stars, why?.Well for it quickly becomes a story about one of the main character bonding with one of the Dragons , the problem with that is that back then , the Dragons of krynn were in close-knit groups and chromatic and metallic weren’t dishing it out. Then there is the elven-human war, were a group of humans led by one of the main characters and armed with flint weapons manage to hold off the elven forces of Silvanesti for 10 years , that’s ok, but then they lose their entire hold of the land in one battle because the elves somehow manage to take them out with a suprise attack using cavalry. Also I find it hard to believe that in 10 years the humans who are mainly aboriginal could create a village ,tame horses , and create a reliable weight and pulley system. Oh well , if you don’t mind these oversights, you should read it .
5 Stars A Great Beginning
This a really great book and deserves more than five stars! It keeps you wanting for more. Be sure to read the next two books (Brother of the Dragon and Sister of the Sword)! A great beginning and a suprise ending that you would never expect!
Filed under: Dragonlance Reviews
