Saturday, March 7, 2009

Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis

Amber and Blood is the third book in the post-War of the Souls trilogy in the Dragonlance series of books. This trilogy is called Dark Disciple, and it focuses on Mina, a character that was introduced in the War of the Souls trilogy. For those who know nothing about Dragonlance lore, this review is not going to make a whole lot of sense, and I feel compelled to tell you that there are series spoilers in this review.
In the last book in the trilogy we discovered that Mina was actually a god - all this time she thought the gods were working through her, but it was really her power that was working. She was created at the beginning of time as a god of Light, but as her existence upset the balance between Darkness and Light, she was put into eternal slumber. She awoke when Takhisis stole the world, which precipitated the War of the Souls. Takhisis convinced Mina to work for Darkness, and Mina never discovered that she was meant to be a goddess on the side of Light. It's no wonder that at the beginning of Amber and Blood, she goes crazy and appears as the aspect of a six-year-old child, before she became a vehicle of Takhisis' will. Amber and Blood follows Mina's journey to Godshome, where she is drawn for some inexplicable purpose. She is joined by Brother Rhys, a monk, and Nightshade, a kender (with common sense), and their dog Atta. The choices she makes could upset the balance of power in the universe, but no one seems to no what she might do.
I really only finished this book because I wanted to see how Weis would end the trilogy. The book itself was definitely not great. I enjoyed it for the Dragonlance storyline, but even that really wasn't enough to make me care about what happened. It's disappointing, because I know that Weis can do better, at least I have read better books by her and Tracy Hickman together (The Deathgate Cycle is a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy). But the latest Dragonlance books, especially this series, have really been a let-down.
This book qualifies for a few challenges I am participating in. For the What's in a Name Challenge, it serves as the "body part" category. For the Read Your Name Challenge, it is my "A" book (now I just need J-E-S-S-I). And it is also my "W" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge - I'm reading authors a to z.

No comments: