Triumph of the Darksword

I had read Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends and loved them both and that's why when I saw this trilogy, I decided to buy it. And I liked it as much as the Dragonlance series. The story was excellent and I really liked Joram and Saryon. Definitely worth buying.

...The Darksword Trilogy, as a whole, is an intruiging series. I always liked Saryon- he's just so kind and lovable. My absolute favorite character is Simkin, of course. Simkin represents the joker in all of us, and I laughed so hard I cried at some of his tricks. Joram is the exact opposite- he's the dark side in all of us, eager to find the light. I was always kind of hoping he would realize what a jerk he was being, but by the end of the first book I realized that wasn't going to happen, and it turned out for the better, apparently, in "Doom of the Darksword." Mosiah is most of us- trying (unsuccessfully) to get our friends to realize how hardheaded they're being and being quite helpful to others anyway. Other characters flit in and out of the novels (Blachloch, Elspeth, Anja) but the ones that last for a while are very good.Okay. "Triumph of the Darksword" is a Five because of its flipping back and forth. You like Major Boris because he represents the good military man we know, but on the side of Thimhallan, who you've been following since the beginning, he and Menju represent everything evil to them- Technologists, Dead people who use the old art of Technology to destroy and annex and basically do bad things. The characters in this novel were as true to form as ever, and fit their molds in the Prophecy as expected (though I was a little put out at what happens to Simkin) and the plot is pretty good, as far as fantasy goes.Personally, I liked the second book of the trilogy best, as far as character actions went. But for the plot and results of the entire trilogy- this one was the best. Read it and you'll fall in love.

I often find the duo of Weis and Hickman unfairly maligned by fantasy fans (often simply because they had the audacity to work with TSR) but there are some valid criticisms. The major one I have is that they can't wrap up books - this, in my mind, was THE exception. I'm rather surprised others didn't find things that way, that some reviewers criticized the ending. So they deviated from the sappy finish you always see in fantasy, evident even in good series like Memory, Sorrow and Thorn..big deal. It's a pleasant change of pace and flowed logically from the story. This book, in my mind, really makes a good series great, starting with Joram and Gwen's return and the effects that has. Introduces some fine new characters and advances the bearing of others. This would have finally given Margaret and Tracy a series with a good ending - why the heck did they screw things up years later by plopping a fourth book onto a great trilogy? A very good read though, one I highly recommend.

Sure not everyone will like this book. In fact there are three very different reactions to this book and the rest of the series. 1.You LOVE it! (That's me) 2.You think it boring but okay. 3.You hate it and belive that the authors really diapointed you on writing this book. This review is designed to turn the later 2 into the former. This is why. This was a great book. It is perhaps the single best example of Sci-Fi or Fantasy books to comment on something you see everday since Asimov. Its story is brillient but I wont ruin it for you. Its about not belonging in world that once didn't belong. Its about how horrible people can be to those of us who arn't as good as others. Its about forsaking something to save it. Its about magic. Its about technology. Its about the power of Life and Death. Its about human nature, it weakness and strength. Some said the ending was weak but I thought it made the perfect conclusion and the most logical one. The characters are very 'human' as we can see from Joram's lust for magic although he wants to defend people from oppression. It will defenatly give you some of those humurous and dramatic places that live in your mind. I'm sorry that not everyone will like this book but, in the end, that's what its about

I don't understand what you're complaining about. It's great! I nearly cried when I read about Simkin's death... (really, he's my favorite character!). It's true that the ending is a bit weird, but I found it cool, if a bit unexpected. It's true that everyone is entitled to there own oppinioun, but I suggest you try reading the book again...