Lord Toede: Dragonlance Villians

This book actually made me chuckle out loud, which is saying a lot for a fantasy novel. I don't mean to say that many authors haven't used humor to good effect in Forgotten Realms and Dragon Lance novels. They have, but never as effectivley as Jeff Grubb. Jeff pokes fun at the afterlife by having two middle-management minions of hell gamble with Toede's fate. The bet: If given a second chance, could an evil guy like Toede become selfless and noble. A "second chance" turns into a third and fourth and so on as Toede continuously reverts to his greedy, conniving self with hysterically fatal results. Does he eventually lift himself above his evil ways? I won't spoil the ending. Don't be disappointed that the book doesn't spend the multitude of pages it would take to describe Toede's life prior to his "first" death, like the other novels in the Dragon Lance Villains series. That's missing the point of the story Jeff wrote here. Besides do we really care what Toede was doing before now. Personally I don't think the character had that much appeal until Jeff wrote this story about him anyway.

I'll admit it: This was the first Dragonlance book I ever actually bought. I read it over a 3 hour period one Christmas, and had assembled most of the series within the next month. This was just laugh out loud funny. I would have payed good money to have seen this referred to in Dragons of Summer Flame. Read this book! It's hillarious offers a great commentary on a world of high fantasy. I hope Jeff does MORE Toade stuff someday!

Sometimes DL can get a little heavy handed (which is part of their appeal), so I usually re-read "Toede" whenever I need a laugh. I can just picture him, eyes wide in disbelief, mouthing "berry picking," and absentmindedly calling the scholar "Bunny Snot." Sticks with the Krynn mythology, but gives a very funny change of pace.

THE STORYLINE: a cruel, pompous, hideous hobgoblin named Toede is chosen as the subject of an experiment. Two monsters from the Abyss (like Hell) wish to know the meaning of true nobility, whether one can be noble and still be evil. They bring him back to life, and watch what happens.I agree with that rude person's review at least in that I would also have appreciated a story of Lord Toede's first life before he was ressurected: but hey, that can still be done. I believe this book was misunderstood. It is much different from most DragonLance books. It flees the normal barriers of writing and creates an entirely new approach. In all, this book was simply very fun to read. It was not a deep tale of woe or the legend of a valiant hero- it was an enjoyable piece of literature. It was a relief from the basic book. It involves the reader and leaves him/her refreshed.I can see Jeff Grubb laughing and enjoying himself with this book. My only warning: keep your mind open- you have nothing to loose by reading this book. Savour something different, aimless, pointless, and FUN.

I would like to offer a different opinion of Load Toede. I found it to be a refreshing change from the rest of the DragonLance books. I would agree that the book did not really focus on the Toede that has been described in the other books; but I loved the highly entertaining interplay between Toede and the mischievous Deities. I very much enjoyed Grubb's introductory paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter. For me they really set the stage for what was to come. I think that the book was more about what everyone else would have like to have done to Toede as opposed to what Toede did to everyone else