Dragons of Autumn Twilight
OCLC 11540577 | | |
Followed by | Dragons of Winter Night |
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Dragons of Autumn Twilight is a 1984 fantasy novel by American writers
The title Dragons of Autumn Twilight follows a pattern with the other novels in the series, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning, as they all start with Dragons, followed the names of the seasons, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, as well as a series of time, Twilight, Night, and Dawning.
Margaret Weis includes allusions to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, one of her favorite stories. References include: But there was something disquieting about him—secret, silent, self-contained, and solitary as an oyster[3] and The fate of mankind is my business. This quote is turned from meaning good to meaning harm.[4]
Publication history
Jean Black, the managing editor of TSR's book department, assigned Hickman and Weis to write first the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight and then continue with the rest of the Dragonlance Chronicles series.[5]: 16 The Chronicles trilogy came about because the designers wanted novels to tell the story of the game world they were creating, something to which TSR, Inc. (TSR) agreed only reluctantly.[6]
Setting
The novels take place on the fantasy world of
Plot summary
The book begins with the return of a group of friends, consisting of Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff, who had separated to pursue their own quests and pledged to return in five years.
On the eve of their reunion, the Companions discover that the village where they are meeting has been taken over by a religious order called the Seekers. They are collaborating with the
The Companions soon discover that the Seekers are searching for a
The next day, the group is attacked by
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Dlance001.jpg)
After a lengthy trip on the backs of
The group is freed by Gilthanas's brother, Porthios. They flee to Qualinesti, where Tanis is reunited with his childhood sweetheart, the exceptionally beautiful elven princess, Laurana Kanan. Laurana is still in love with Tanis and wants to marry him, but Tanis breaks her heart by telling her he is now in love with Kitiara.
The Elven King Solostaran convinces the Companions to lead an attack on the slave-mine Pax Tharkas to free the slaves from the control of the local Dragon Highlord. The Companions journey through a secret passage underground to Pax Tharkas and devise a plan to free the slaves. Laurana, desperate to win Tanis back, secretly follows the Companions. When Tanis discovers Laurana has followed them he angrily rebukes her for acting like a spoiled child. Laurana resolves to try to prove she is more than that.
The Companions infiltrate Pax Tharkas and Goldmoon heals
According to Tracy Hickman, "The restoration of truth and faith are... to a great extent, the theme of this first book in the series".[7]
Characters
Heroes of the Lance
- Tanis Half-Elven, a bastard half-elf and the leader of the companions, torn between the human woman Kitiara and the elfmaid Laurana.
- Knights of Solamniaand deeply honorable man.
- Goldmoon, daughter of the chief of the Que-Shu tribe, bearer of the Blue Crystal Staff, and first true cleric of good since the Cataclysm.
- Riverwind, bodyguard and romantic interest of Goldmoon. His family was made outcast from their tribe for their belief in the old gods of Krynn, rather than worshipping the tribe's ancestors.
- Caramon Majere, a huge, muscular, sometimes slow-thinking warrior, with a deep affection for his brother, Raistlin, and a romantic interest in Tika.
- Raistlin Majere, a cynical, sarcastic, physically frail mage, distrusted by most of the other Companions, twin brother of Caramon.
- Flint Fireforge, a gruff old dwarf and old friend of Tanis.
- kender.
Other major characters
- Laurana Kanan, an elven princess and romantic interest of Tanis.
- Gilthanas Kanan, elven prince and brother of Laurana, he strongly disapproves of his sister's love for the illegitimate half-elf Tanis.
- Fizban, a muddled old wizard. Secretly an avatar for one of the true gods.
- Tika Waylan, a red-haired barmaid turned warrior and romantic interest of Caramon.
- Elistan, leader of the refugees who becomes the first cleric of the good god, Paladine.
- Dragon Highlord Verminaard, the leader of the Red Dragonarmy and a priest of the evil goddess, Takhisis. He seeks to destroy the elven nation of Qualinesti and exterminate the elves, generally seen as the most incorruptible defenders of Good on Krynn.
Adaptations
Comic
Devil's Due Publishing adapted the novel into comic format. A trade paperback collecting the issues was released in May 2006. It was ranked 33 in the top 100 graphic novels in sales with an estimated preorder quantity of 2,634.[8]
Movie
A movie adaptation of the novel was released on 15 January 2008. It is the first direct-to-video movie release based on the Dragonlance campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons. The screenplay adaptation was completed by George Strayton, with creative assistance by Weis and Hickman, and Will Meugniot directed. The movie used both 2D and 3D animation, and was made by Paramount Pictures.[9]
Importance to Dragonlance
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Tracy_Hickman_and_Margaret_Weis_-_GenCon_2008.jpg/220px-Tracy_Hickman_and_Margaret_Weis_-_GenCon_2008.jpg)
The storyline of the original Dragonlance series had been plotted and outlined before either the novel trilogy or the games were written.
This book sets up many of the most important characters, the group known as the Heroes of the Lance. According to the Dragonlance Nexus fansite, the Chronicles Trilogy sets the foundation for the rest of the novels.[12] A Wizards of the Coast interview stated that Hickman and Weis make a good team because Hickman is better at writing about good characters, and Weis is better at writing about dark characters, evidenced by her love of Raistlin.[13] Dragons of Autumn Twilight was the debut novel for both Weis and Hickman.
Reception
Dave Langford reviewed Dragons of Autumn Twilight for White Dwarf #65, suggesting that it was "inspired by an AD&D campaign full of chunks ripped bleeding from Tolkien" and complained about the "deadly predictable questing, with stock D&D characters in familiar encounters" and ultimately reported that he "couldn't finish this one".[14]
Steve Hampshire reviewed Dragonlance Chronicles: Dragons of Autumn Twilight for
Jason Heller, of The A.V. Club, wrote a positive review of Dragonlance Chronicles, remarking that Dragons of Autumn Twilight is still widely read, although he noted the clichés of the series: "In Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the adventurers meet up in a tavern—even if it is a tavern that’s nestled in the branches of a giant tree, something my 12-year-old self thought was super cool. My 42-year-old self agrees, although my days of getting drunk way up high up in a tree are starting to wind down".[16]
Dragons of Autumn Twilight was #10 on CBR's 2020 "10 Of The Best DnD Stories To Start Off With" list — the article states that "the reason that any aspiring Dungeon master or player should read this novel, is that it provides some great ideas on how to make common tropes seen in D & D more interesting. For example, the Companions in the novel provide a great framework to turn class-based archetypes into three-dimensional characters".[17]
In the Io9 series revisiting older Dungeons & Dragons novels, Rob Bricken commented that "the characters are complex enough to feel real, and the scope of the novel makes Krynn feel like a living world".[18]
Reviews
- Review by Michael M. Levy (1985) in Fantasy Review, March 1985[19]
- Review by Frank Catalano (1985) in Amazing Stories, July 1985
- Review by John C. Bunnell (1985) in Dragon Magazine, June 1985
- Review by Andy Sawyer (1986) in Paperback Inferno, #62
- Review by J. W. Wrenn (2004) in Deep Magic, #22, March 2004
See also
Release details
- ISBN 0-88038-173-6.
- ISBN 0-14-008718-4.
- ISBN 0-88038-173-6.
- Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Library Binding). Topeka, Kansas: Rebound by ISBN 0-8335-3164-6.
- ISBN 0-7869-1574-9.
- ISBN 0-7869-3064-0.
- ISBN 1-932796-50-9.
- ISBN 1-932796-70-3.
References
- ISBN 0-7869-1314-2.
- ISBN 0-88038-090-X.
- ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. Archived from the originalon 25 June 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
- ^
ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. Archived from the originalon 25 June 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
- ISBN 0-7869-3498-0..
- ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. Archived from the originalon 25 June 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
- ^ "Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual—May 2006". icv2.com. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
- ^ Winkelspecht, Dean (13 January 2008). "Review of DragonLance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight on DVD". DVDTOWN.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ISSN 0279-6848.
- ^ "Interview: Screenwriter, George Strayton". Dragonlance movie site. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Recommended Dragonlance Reading List". Retrieved 15 August 2006.
- ^ "Dragons of the Dwarven Depths Chat Transcript". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2006.
- ^ Langford, Dave (May 1985). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf (review) (65). Games Workshop: 10.
- ^ Hampshire, Steve (May 1985). "Notices". Imagine (review) (26). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 40–41.
- ^ "The first Dragonlance novels gave Dungeons & Dragons a new dimension". A.V. Club. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ England, Matthew (29 June 2020). "10 Of The Best DnD Stories To Start Off With". CBR. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (11 August 2021). "Dungeons & Dragons & Novels: Revisiting Dragons of Autumn Twilight". io9. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Title: Dragons of Autumn Twilight".
Sources
- ISBN 0-7869-1609-5.