''The War of Souls'' is a trilogy of ''New York Times'' best selling novels published between 2000 and 2002. The trilogy focuses on the titular

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al war (the War of Souls) set in the popular ''

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...

. Like many ''Dragonlance'' novels, the ''War of Souls'' trilogy can be read as stand alone novels or in series order. The three books in the series are '' Dragons of a Fallen Sun'', '' Dragons of a Lost Star'', and '' Dragons of a Vanished Moon'', all of which were co-authored by

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...

and

Tracy Hickman Tracy Raye Hickman (born November 26, 1955) is an American fantasy author and designer of games and virtual reality (VR) experiences. He co-authored the original ''Dragonlance'' novels with Margaret Weis as well as numerous other books. He also ...

. ''Dragons of Fallen Sun'' debuted on the ''New York Times'' best seller list at 14, ''Dragons of Lost Star'' at 12, and ''Dragons of Vanished Moon'' at 10.

Plot

Background

The world of

Krynn ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura Hickman, Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' whi ...

became a very different place with the disappearance of the gods.

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

, much larger and more malicious than any native to Krynn, appeared and claimed much of the continent of

Ansalon ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura Hickman, Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' whi ...

, calling themselves Dragon Overlords. Most of the native dragons are either dead or enslaved. The metallic dragons have disappeared. With the loss of the gods comes the loss of magic, and the Wizards' Conclave had been disbanded years ago. Although sorcery, discovered by Palin Majere, was adopted, it is slowly fading for reasons unknown. Everyone, including the Dragon Overlords, experience the effect. The Knights of Takhisis, with the loss of their Queen, became the Knights of Neraka, a somewhat less honorable outfit than their predecessors, led by Lord of the Night Morham Targonne.

Goldmoon Goldmoon (also known as ''Goldmoon of the Que Shu tribe'' or just ''Goldmoon of the Que Shu'') is a fictional character from the ''Dragonlance'' fantasy series of List of Dragonlance novels, novels and Role-playing game, role playing games, origin ...

, one of the few remaining Heroes of the Lance, has established the Citadel of Light on the island of Schallsea. In the elven realm of Qualinesti, Gilthas, the "puppet king", rules only in title, while the nation is truly run by the occupying Knights of Neraka. Their cousins, the Silvanesti, have banished their heir, Silvanoshei, his mother, and his father. With the gods gone, the time period, fittingly, is known as the "Age of Mortals" as said by Fizban in chapter 32 (''title: Rain. Autumn. Farewell.'')

Story

''The War of Souls'' begins in 421 AC, 38 years after the events of '' Dragons of Summer Flame''. A small band of

Knights of Neraka This is a list of characters in the ''Dragonlance'' series of fantasy novels and related fantasy role-playing game materials. It includes accounts of their early lives in the series. Characters Alhana Starbreeze Alhana Starbreeze, Silvanesti E ...

meet Mina, a mysterious woman who appeared during a freak storm. Through incredible feats, she convinces them to pledge themselves to "the One God" and follow her to march on the besieged city of Sanction. Over and over, Mina is able to convert her opponents and save the day. The city of Sanction is retaken by the Solamnic Knights, and the old gods return to the world. The elven nations, now under the reign of Gilthas, seek a new home. Paladine, now mortal, takes on the name Valthonis and joins with Gilthas' fate. Her new followers all return to their lives with a new outlook.

Reception

In his review of ''Dragons of a Vanished Moon'', James Voelpel of mania.com noted that "although never quite a fan of the Dragonlance novels, the ''War of Souls'' trilogy seemed quite different from all the previous books". He noted that "Weis and Hickman's writing style has improved immensely since their beginning way back in '85" and considered the novel great for fans of fantasy fiction and a must for hardcore

fans. Similarly Josh Fink of fictionfactor.com review of ''Dragons of a Vanished Moon'' rated the final novel of the trilogy 5 stars and stated it was reminiscent of the original Dragonlance released 15 years prior. He commented that "The story is so well written, that it flows from the book into your mind in an endless flow of elven wine—a wine so smooth that you beg for more, and never place the book down, whenever you can help it." Reviewer Peter Cannon of ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote that ''Dragons of a Vanished Moon'' is "another admirable addition to the history, lore and ways of Krynn".Cannon, Peter (May 13, 2002).
Dragons of a Vanished Moon: The War of Souls Volume Three
, ''

'' 249 (19): 56.

References

Bibliography

* ''Dragons of a Fallen Sun'' (April 2000), by () * ''Dragons of a Lost Star'' (April 2001), by

and

, () * ''Dragons of a Vanished Moon'' (January 2002), by

and

, ()

External links

Review by J. K. Pelletier
FantasyBookNews.com, June 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:War of Souls 2000 American novels 2001 American novels 2002 American novels Core Dragonlance novels Dragonlance novel series Fantasy novel trilogies Novels by Margaret Weis Novels by Tracy Hickman