Search for Power (Dragonlance Anthology)
Search for Power (Dragonlance Anthology)
The latest Dragonlance anthology, featuring an introduction by Margaret Weis. This newest anthology focuses on the lives and ways of dragons in the era following the end of the New York Times best-selling War of Souls trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Edited by Margaret Weis and filled with a dozen stories from both well-known Dragonlance authors and a few newcomers, this is the first anthology to feature stories that take place in the current Dragonlance time period.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars A few clever stories amid the mediocrity
As seems to be the case with these collections published by Dragonlance, many of these short stories are told just for their surprise endings. And in many cases these twists make for a very memorable and quirky tale. However, a surprise ending can’t save a dull plot and lackluster storytelling.
Among the gems in this work are Knaak’s minotaur-esque study in ‘Loyalty;’ Jeff Grubb’s off-beat gnomish concoction that begins, “It was raining pianos in Flotsam” (how can you beat an intro like that?), and Thompson’s macabre ‘Box.’ There are some entertaining yarns by Dan Willis (Lake of Death), Douglas Clark (The Dragonslayers), and Jean Rabe (Inventory).
With the remaining 8 stories, mediocrity sets in. One or two aren’t so bad (e.g. Chamber’s ‘At the Water’s Edge’), but some are decidedly unreadable or horrible (’Wyrm’s Claw Inn’ by Horner and Soulban’s ‘Marine Skies’), and 2 I didn’t even contend with (Niles’ ‘Albino’ and Stein’s ‘Coin of Adament’).
The 6 or so decent tales are worth the read, but with nearly 8 weak stories out of 14 total, you have to ask yourself whether the book is worth it.
4 Stars Worthy Follow-Up to Search for Magic
Similar in approach to the earlier Search for Magic (in which I note, for full disclosure of any potential bias, I had a story), The Search for Power: Dragons from the War of Souls probably does a somewhat better job of matching its title, with pretty much all of the stories, many by Dragonlance veterans, focusing on dragons in and about the period of the War of Souls. As is typical for these anthologies, styles and quality vary somewhat and each reader will have their own favorites. Among my favorites were “Loyalty” by Richard Knaak, “Inventory” by Jean Rabe, and “The Albino” by Doug Niles. Weaker stories included “Special Delivery” by Jeff Grubb (gnomes seem to be getting downright stupid, as opposed to just pre-occupied by their inventions, which is just not to my taste, though the writing is fine if that view of gnomes works for you) and “Marine Skies” by Lucien Soulban (lots of description, but still too confusing too often for me). All in all, worth the price if you are a fan of Dragonlance’s War of Souls. Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion.
Filed under: Dragonlance Reviews
