Trail of the Black Wyrm (Dragonlance: Taladas Trilogy, Vol. 2)

In all due honesty, this series is long over due! I have been reading a lot of the same pilot, same characters, same world type stuff for a while, and while most of it is good there is always something missing. Well I found it here! The author is very very good at keeping the readers attention, the characters have real personalities, and the environment it takes place in is different. I highly recommended this book to anyone who is a Dragonlance fan or not. Excellent!!!!

This series is quite possibly the most engaging and exciting collection of DL books since the inception of the Chronicles and Legends years ago. Unlike so many current DL books full of fluff, dismal plots, and annoying characters the Taladas Trilogy is full of grit and strife. The characters are well developed and even after reading the first book I had begun to care about what happened next to them. With the second installment in the series, the story becomes even greater. The main plot consists of Forlo and his companions searching for the black dragon that has kidnapped Forlo's wife and unborn son. Wherever they go destruction and mystery follow. Meanwhile Essana is trapped deep within one of the Bretherns jungle temples. Eventually Forlo tracks the wyrm deep into the jungle. Teaming up with the local clan of elves, Forlo storms the temples. By that time Essena's son, Azar as she names him is born, and through the use of evil magic ages very quickly. In the final confrontation there is a final twist that I definitley did not see coming. The group of characters in this book I feel are the next generation of companions. They are complex and deep in every aspect. The plot is quick, and the pace never falters below break neck. Taking the advice of a fellow reviewer I read this on a flight from Chicago to England. Trust me when I tell you, I never once put this book down, it is just that good. Hopefully the third book is as good or even better then this one. I will be excitedly waiting for it to come out. Until then I guess I'll have to preoccupy myself with lesser books in the DL world, i.e. everything other then the Taladas trilogy.

Trail of the Black Wyrm is the second book in the new Dragaonlance trilogy titled, The Taladas Trilogy. This new trilogy takes place on Krynn, but on a totally different continent than has been explored before. I for one hope many more novels are written about Taladas. Fans of Dragonlance will notice fairly early in this book that this is Dragonlance in a whole new way. The gloves are off in Taladas. This world is dark and filled with grit and death. It truly seems like Pierson was given a lot more leeway to do the things he wanted to, in the way he wanted to. The plot of this book carries over from the first book, Blades of the Tiger. In this book we deal with a converging of two separate plot lines. Barreth trying to find his wife and un-born son, and the `Hooded One' trying to come to power. Both pieces of the plot are flawlessly written. They are succinct, tight, well written, and genuinely entertaining. There are some scenes in this book that I was shocked to see in a Dragonlance book. This novel moves along at a breakneck pace as well. There is very little sitting around and virtually no fluff. Pierson does a marvelous job at describing Taladas without going overboard. Truly a joy to read. The characters of this book are not the two dimensional ct outs that one has come to expect from Dragonlance novels. Nor are they the ultra powerful, nothing can stop them heroes of some fantasy authors out there today. Each of the characters has self doubt and other problems that they carry throughout the book. The characters are also likeable which allows the reader to invest more energy in wanting them to succeed. There were some truly memorable moments in this book that I can't share because they are spoilers, but these are great characters. Some middle novels of trilogies are not very well done and obviously just a book to get the reader to the third installment. I didn't feel that was the case with this book. I will say that if you are thinking of reading this book make sure you read the first one first, other wise you will quickly be lost in what is going on and not understanding some of the plot points. All in all this is a fantastic edition to the Dragonlance universe and one I will continue to read. I only hope that all future Taladas books are allowed the same grittiness that this series has been granted. This is the infusion of story that Dragonlance has needed for the last couple years. Great read!

It is often the case that the second work in a trilogy is the weakest. There are some exceptions to this, of course (obligatory Empire Strikes back reference here), but by and large, the middle book has to bridge a story already started and not finish too much. My point is that they're often hard to do well. Luckily, Pierson succeeds admirably with this one. If anything, I enjoyed it more than "Blades". The characters were much more sympathetic and fully developed and it was a heap of fun to see them go through their trials. Well, not quite "fun", but an enjoyable read. As others have noted, this is a dark book. There are very few light sequences. Instead, the story drives forward and pulls you along with sheer intensity. Highly recommended: it crushed a cross-Atlantic flight.

If you read my review of the first book of this series, then I will spare you the read. And if you haven't read my first review, then I will paraphrase it all into, "This series is amazing." The happy frollicky little land of Ansalon is far removed from this book and this series. The gloves have truly come off. This story is one giant race against time. The statue has been taken, evil is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world, and a damsel is in distress. What else do you need for a classic? I started into this one right after finishing the first book finding myself completely unable to stop for a second between. The writing style was great. The amount of detail was incredible and the history was everything I could want. Good to know that it isn't necessary to waste half a book on background information. I have to say, this book is brutal. If you are used to the happy flower power of the other Dragonlance books, then let that go. This series is truly down into how wars are really won, and how destructive a real villain truly can be. As I said in my first review, read this book. If you have read the first one then I ask, "What are you even reading this review for? You already know, you feel it pulling at you even now. Stop fighting it and read this book." For those who haven't read the first one yet, don't worry. Buy both of them together and read them both. There will be less suffering that way, especially if the third one is out by then. What do I truly have to gain by lying to you? READ IT.