Children of the Plains: The Barbarians, Volume One

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.

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!

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.

I kept hoping they would come out with a Barbarian book and now that they have, I'm not disappointed. It's everything a Dragonlance book should be. I could barely put it down.

A very good Dragonlance book. The same type of story telling that led us to love Raistlin and Caramon shows up once more in this new series. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and suggest that all Dragonlance fans give this book a few hours of your time, you'll be caught up in the plot in no time.