Dragons of the Highlord Skies

Dragons of the Highlord Skies is a fantastic fill in for the glaring plot-holes of Dragons if Winter Night. Pacing can be a bit haphazard throughout the novel, which is rather lengthy, but certainly wort the read. Getting more character development for Kitiara is a welcome treat from Weis and Hickman, and I always love to get more Khellendros!

Though the characters in this book are not my favorites, I enjoyed the book immensely. Other reviewers noted that much of the story and character descriptions have been covered in other books. I agree. However, I reserve criticism. I recognize the need for the authors to write a book the welcomes all visitors, not just the ones who've read 80 or more books in the series (80? I can't believe it either). I am thankful to Weis and Hickman for allowing me several hours to spend with old friends.

I have been reading DragonLance for well over 15 years of my life. This book finally answers some of the long lost questions that must be in present in every readers mind after Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Well written, good characterization(what else could you expect from margaret weis and Tracy Hickman!)

Fantastic book, Weis and Hickman did far better than "Dragons of the dwarven depths" and I have to say that I loved that first book from the "Lost Chronicles". This one has a lot more depth and character development. Laurana, Sturm and Kit are explored in depth and how they became heroes. The story is great, couldn't be better, I was already familiar with many events thanks to the DL1 - DL15 modules from TSR's Dragonlance D & D Role-playing game modules originally written by Hickman and Weis back in the 80's and currently re-edited and published by Margaret Weis's publishing company; this new book's structure was surprising and genius. The chapters take place during "Dragons of Winter Night" and fill in the gaps left by the heroes' journey, showing us the "other side of the coin" of many of the events that took place during that time. At the same time, it's a full new story never told! The reader does not need to read the other chronicles for reference but I would say that doing so, would make this one a greater experience. So, as a final note... if you read the original chronicles and loved them. This is a MUST! If you're interested in a good fantasy book loaded with character's you can make yours for years to come, this is for you.

After the somewhat sub-par writing present in the first book of 'The Lost Chronicles,' I bought this book with a mild sense of trepidation. Like many, many avid fantasy readers I fell utterly in love with the characters of the original Chronicles, which remains a classic text of contemporary fantasy writing. The prospect of revisiting old friends and experiencing untold tales was seductive and intoxicating (when I first read about the upcoming 'Lost Chronicles' I performed a fairly silly dance of joy in my living room). The second text in the series shores up Weis and Hickman's signature style of prose. These are the fine writers who spelled out the epic of Raistlin's fall and redemption. These are the great storytellers who guided us through the horrors of the Chaos War. Derek and his fellow knights are brought to the fore, fleshed out as excellent and sympathetic protagonists caught in the tide of war. Kitiara has returned, crooked smile resplendant. And Laurana finds her footing as a leader, paving the route to her stint as the Golden General. Weis and Hickman have successfully emulated the tone of the original Chornicles, spelling out a twisted tale of intrigue, sorcery and friendship. I'm eagerly awaiting the 2008 publication of the series finale.

Dragons of the Highlord Skies is the second novel in the Lost Chronicles trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The first book in this trilogy is Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 1) and tells of tale if the companions as they attempt to recover the lost hammer of Kharas. This book focuses mostly on the journey Kitiara takes as she rises in the ranks of the Dragon Army, it also tells of the tale of Laurana as she slowly emerges into what she becomes in the later books of the Dragonlance Chronicles. Fans of the Dragonlance Chronicles will no doubt find this novel very interesting. However, if you have not yet experienced the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy Gift Set and are thinking of reading this book, I would highly suggest that you read the Chronicles first. I say this simply because some of the events that happen in this book will be so much more clear after reading the firs trilogy. The plot of this books fills in a major gap of events that occurred during Dragons of Winter Twilight, and a little into Dragons of Spring Dawning. The plot of this book is a little different than most Weis and Hickman books. In that it is a very involved plot and has several shifts in perspective and following main characters. Some of the plot points in this book are things such as Kitiara's rise through the dragon Army, her interactions with Highlord Ariakas, Sturm's interacting with Derek Crownguard, the battle of the Ice Wall, and several other things. This book is chalk full of plot points and story arc points. Fans of the original Chronicles will appreciate the depth that this story is explored and the answers it gives for how characters behave later in books and stories. Weis and Hickman have obviously had this story idea in their heads for a long time. It's great to see that this story has finally seen the printed page. The characters in this book will be largely familiar to fans of the original chronicles. There are a few additions, but for the most part all the `big players' will be known to readers. Unlike the first Lost Chronicles book, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, there is a substantial amount of character development in this novel. Almost every one of the major characters has some level of development. Kitiaria, Laurana, Derek Crownguard, and several other characters all grow as characters in this book. It seems that Weis and Hickman put more thought behind developing the characters in this book than they did in the first. It was very refreshing to see. My main point of contention with the first Lost Chronicles book was that the character dialog seemed `off' ad wrong at times. I am very pleased to say that that issue seems to be completely resolved. The dialog in this book is exactly what I read in the first chronicles. Sturm, Tasselhoff, Derek, Laurana, and Kitiara all have spot on dialog and hold true to the characters I came to love more than twenty years ago. After the last book, I was slightly worried