Downfall

It's been years, but I really enjoyed reading the Dhamon Saga and seeing his character development. Plus, Jean Rabe has a real way with fight sequences.

Me aburrió pero está bueno

"Downfall" is a disappointing addition to the Dragonlance series. From the plot to the characters, everything in this book was either boring or poorly written. Despite my best efforts, I could only muster a 2-star rating for this book, and I almost gave it 1.

The story follows Dhamon Grimwulf, a former warrior turned monster, as he attempts to redeem himself by saving his former companions from a new threat. Unfortunately, the plot is incredibly predictable and lacks any real tension or excitement. The characters are equally lackluster, with none of them exhibiting any real depth or development throughout the story.

The writing in "Downfall" is also a major issue. Rabe's prose is flat and uninspired, with little attention paid to detail or description. Additionally, the dialogue often feels stilted and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters on any level. I can't understand - how can fights be written in such a predictably and bland way? These books typically feel like someone is journaling their D&D campaign. If that's the case, I'd want to stay faaaar away from this campaign as a player, because the DM just isn't there sometimes.

Also, I HATED the progression of Rig, Fiona and Maldred's love "triangle". With a passion.

Perhaps the biggest problem with "Downfall" is that it feels like a cash grab rather than a genuine addition to the Dragonlance series. There is no real substance to the story or characters, and it seems like Rabe is simply trying to capitalize on the popularity of the world rather than contributing something meaningful.

"Rig glanced up, grateful for even a glimpse of the sky. It had been quite some time since he'd seen the stars. Fiona was right, he used them to "steer by", always had - steering each ship he was on to some new port of call. The mariner contended that he could never get lost, not so long as there were stars to guide him. He felt better, seeing them, felt like he was in the company of old friends - ones who wouldn't change and become thieves and who wouldn't stare wide-eyed at men named Maldred."

Just finished this, and I have to say... What a weird, and rough ride it has been.

I guess I should have expected some changes, seeing the setting of the book, but all in all, it's not the setting that bothered me: It's the characters.

They're all douchebags, particularly Rikali, whom I just had to have patience to read the book, only up until the end did I had some sort of redeeming qualities, but overall, she's just obnoxious. Dhamon, on the other hand, seemed less of a douche compared to her, but exemplifies was a Knight of Neraka is in my opinion. No matter how you slice it, he is what he is.

Maldred suprised me, somewhat. Started out as a decent guy (as decent as bandits can be), even with some cool skills, later he is just plain bad.

I will not speak more as I don't want to give spoilers, but, the book itself is not hard to digest because of the setting, but because of the character's personalities.

Libro aburrido, con una escasa trama que parece un mal adaptado guión de aventura de rol, incluidos encuentros aleatorios, y un par de elipsis temporales repentinas y muy mal llevadas.
No me gustó Jean Rabe en «Quinta era», y lo he aborrecido aquí.
Aún así, seguiré leyendo las otras dos entregas de la trilogía, pero solo por completar la lectura de todo lo que tengo en casa del universo «Dragonlance». Tampoco es cuestión ahora de dejarme libros por leer en casa.

Since this is just the first book in this series, I don't have too much to say yet.
First, I don't like that this book only has fifteen chapters--they're all long, and the book is very episodic at the beginning. It's like one fight happens, they win, they move on. Next chapter. New fight in a new location, etc. As the book moves forward, though, maybe about halfway through, the plot is much more continuous and flows from chapter to chapter much better.
Second, people on GR mention that none of the new characters is likable, but they're not supposed to be. Rabe does make some effort to humanize this band of thieves, but the point is that they're a band of thieves. Dhamon is different now that he's given up hope of defeating the dragon overlords, and he's not going to surround himself with people who will make him remember his heroic deeds. That's why he gets so upset when Rig and Fiona show up. That being said, I like Fetch, the kobold, and I like Maldred, the ringleader, really, of the band of thieves, but I don't like Rikali, the annoying half-elf who calls Dhamon "lover" and acts like a lovesick little girl around him but then tries to be so tough. I find her character extremely annoying, and I don't like the way she talks.
Third, I really like that Rabe centers major story lines around different types of characters. I like that Rig is a black Ergothian former pirate, Fiona is a woman and a Solamnic knight, Dhamon is a former Knight of Takhisis, Fetch is a kobold, Rikali is a half-elf, etc. There's a major plot line that centers around Bloten, the capital of the ogre kingdom, and ogres play a major role in this novel. I love that she doesn't stick the traditional elves, dwarves, humans, and kender of Krynn. I also enjoy her creativity. I love Weiss and Hickman, but their stories are much more high fantasy mixed with a little low humor. Rabe, however, includes such interesting concepts as the dragon overlords, the new magic, a little girl who talks with the voice of a woman and can turn leaves into stirges and vines into snakes, etc. And her fight scenes! Rabe is a master at writing action sequences, particularly fight scenes. Where she falls short is keeping the story moving all the way through and some awkwardness in her writing.
All in all, this book, like the first in Rabe's Dragons of a New Age trilogy, starts out slowly but gets better as it moves along. It's a great way to continue the saga from her first trilogy, using most of the remaining characters and adding more drama to the problem of the dragon overlords but also personal drama to the characters she created. The book ends on a cliffhanger after a pretty eerie and haunting scene, not to mention the big reveal at the end about one of the characters. I'm looking forward to the next book now that I have the last few pages stuck in my mind, and I'm curious about the way Rabe's characters will continue to develop but also about the bigger picture with the dragon overlords since this book has a much narrower focus than the books in Rabe's other trilogy.
I can definitely recommend this book to DL fans. Of course, it's not Hickman and Weiss, but I enjoy other DL books anyway, like Richard Knaak's, and I think other authors have interesting things to say in this world. If nothing else, Rabe's books will give you a wider glimpse of the possibilities of the DL world and its scope.

I must admit that I was very disappointed in this book!! it seems to be just a filler in between the great books in the series! did not particularly like the elf in this book, she is like a low life elf and nothing like the heroines we have met with before, also dhamon is a great disappointment in this book! a total let down to see a hero to fall so low and to be mixing in such company!! will go on reading this trilogy but am not expecting much from it!!

Reviewed with the Dhamon Saga #2 and #3.