Dragons of Eternity Brings Dragonlance Destinies to a Satisfying End | Review

The final novel in Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s all new Dragonlance trilogy arrives this Summer; bringing the time-twisting adventure to an emotional conclusion.

I’ve made no secret of the fact the new Dragonlance novels have been some of my favorite books over the last two years. As such, I’ve been eager to see if the finale would be able to bring it all together in a fun way. Dragons of Eternity largely succeeds in being both fun and satisfying, even as it seems to leave its main character behind a bit.

The previous novel ended with Destina Rosethorn, Tas, Sturm, Raistlin, and Brother Kairn inadvertantly rewriting history; dramatically changing the outcome of the Third Dragon War. With Huma dead and the Dragonlances never revealed, the Dark Queen Takhisis ends up winning and claims victory over all of Ansalon. It’s pretty bad, and as our heroes are hurtled back through the timestream, Raistlin and Sturm find themselves back to the night at the Inn (which kickstarted their original Dragonlance adventures) to find a terrifying new world.

Time flows differently, however, and as the ripple effect from their changes creep ever closer, those in the current timeline must find a way to help Destina and set things back to rights. Thus Astinus enlists the aid of Tanis Half-elven, as he sends them backwards into the “new” past (yeah, it sounds more confusing than it reads) in order to recover the wayward companions and find a way to make things right.

The result is Brother Kairn and Destina once again traveling back to the conclusion of the Third Dragon War in hopes of undoing what they changed. Meanwhile, Tanis, Raistlin, Sturm, Tas, and Flint bring the band back together to try and find a new way to win the War of the Lance just in case Destina fails.

Just because we’re back in the events of the original novels, with the Heroes of the Lance, doesn’t mean we’re getting a simple retelling. In fact, you might look at Dragons of Eternity as almost a “What If?” kind of story. Many of the basic elements are there, but the events that play out, and the action we get are totally different.

Not to mention some of the characters still have memories of the “true” timeline and the events (the previous novels), which makes for some humorous moments and emotional beats. The result is essentially a brand new adventure with the original heroes as the novel goes back and forth between the differing time periods.

It’s a certified hoot. Seriously, this is classic Dragonlance good times here, and brings together everything fans love about the series. The characters manage to feel exactly as you remember them, but the timeline twist offers new moments to enjoy/cherish. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to feel so emotional over having Flint back as a regular character in an adventure, and I loved how the story utilized him to great effect. Not to mention Raistlin has really evolved into the anti-hero we’ve always wanted, rather than a villain who occasionally makes the right call.

In a lot of ways, Weis and Hickman have managed to bring to life these iconic characters as we remembered them. As multiple books have come out over the decades since the originals perspectives on characters shift to encompass the extra knowledge we’ve acquired. When I went back to re-read the originals recently, I was surprised at finding the characters different than I remembered.

There’s a certain nostalgia effect at play to be sure and Dragons of Eternity taps into that. Giving us the portrayal of characters as our minds remembered them, not exactly as they were. It’s an impressive bit of writing that keeps the action/character beats highly engaging even as it veers into some familiar territory.

I’ve talked about lot about the classic characters in this novel, without much mention Destina. I’m avoiding spoilers, so won’t say too much…but she doesn’t really have much to do. Ostensibly, the novel goes back and forth between the War of the Lance time period (Tanis and crew) and the Third Dragon War (her and Kairn) as each group is on their individual missions. In reality, the bulk of the novel is focused on Tanis and their adventure.

By and large, Destina feels pushed to the backburner in this novel, and all the growth we saw from her character in the previous novel is pretty much where she remains in this one. Considering that she’s supposedly this trilogy’s primary protagonist, it seems odd to have her sidelined. It doesn’t change the fact that the book, overall, is good. But it does feel like it could be a reaction to the negative comments from fans about her initial debut in Dragons of Deceit.

Regardless, when the story is wrapped up, we’re given an experience that not only enhances our perception of the originals, but sets the stage for something all new to come. The result was way more emotional than I was expecting, leaving me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings, while the future of Dragonlance feels more open than ever before.

So even with the odd choice to shorten Destina’s personal story, the novel manages to bring the trilogy to a satisfying close. While it’s hard to say if Dragons of Eternity hits the same highs as Dragons of Fate (my personal favorite novel of last year), it’s damn good and leaves me hopeful for the future of the iconic series.