Time of the Twins

(DragonLance Legends: Volume I)
by
Margaret Weis

&

Tracy Hickman

Wizards of the Coast, March 2004 (February 1986)

389 pp., ISBN: 0-7869-3158-2

Genre: Fantasy

World: DragonLance
Reviewed: 6/27/2004

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"Oh, Caramon!"

Tas threw his arms around the big man's waist as far as he could reach, hugging him tightly. "I wasn't afraid of that spooky wood, not really. But I was wondering how I was going to get through by myself. Not to mention Lady Crysania and---Oh, Caramon! I'm so glad you're back! I--"

"There, there," Caramon muttered, flushing in embarrassment and shoving Tasslehoff gently away from him. "It's all right. I'm not sure how much help I'll be--I was scared to death the first time I went into that place. But, you're right. Maybe they can help Crysania." Caramon's face hardened. "Maybe they can answer a few questions I have about Raist, too. Now, where's that gully dwarf gotten to? And" -- he glanced down at his belt -- "where's my dagger?"

"What dagger?" Tas asked, skipping around, his gaze on the Forest.

Reaching out, his face grim, Caramon caught hold of the kender. His gaze went to Tas's belt. Tas's followed. His eyes opened wide in astonishment.

"You mean that dagger? My goodness, I wonder how it got there? You know," he said thoughtfully, "I'll bet you dropped it, during the fight."

"Yeah," Caramon muttered. Growling, he retrieved his dagger and was putting it back into its sheath when he heard a noise behind him. Whirling around in alarm, he got a bucketful of icy water, right in the face.

"Him awake now," Bupu announced complacently, dropping the bucket.

Synopsis

Caramon Majere has not been leading a happy life in the last few years. He has drown his sorrows in both dwarven spirits and food and has become an overweight drunk. Crysania is a cleric of Paladine on a quest to to save the one man she loves, the evil mage Raistlin Majere, Caramon's twin brother.

Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a kender, joins with Caramon, even though Caramon would rather wallow in his own self-pity, in searching for Crysania before she finds the Tower of High Sorcery. When Caramon, Crysania, and Tasslehoff are finally joined, they are attacked by draconians. Crysania's soul is sucked out of her body and she lays as if in death. Par-Salian prepares to send Caramon and Crysania back in time to when the clerics still had the ability to heal Crysania.

Caramon's other job is to kill Fistandantilus, the dreaded mage who trained his brother to become evil. But just as they are about to be sent back in time, Tasslehoff jumps toward them and is sent back with them. Par-Salian screams out for him to stop as he knows that sending a kender back in time is not something that is allowed and may change the future.

Time of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is the first volume in Legends trilogy. It is a DragonLance fantasy tale of humans, elves, ogres, kenders, and the like. A warrior down on his luck joins with a holy cleric and a kender to travel back in time and kill a mighty mage.

Review

The first half of Time of the Twins moves at a very slow pace. I was not happy that Caramon was a fat drunk and it was hard to like him. Still, I love the character of Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the kender, as he makes up for the rotund alcoholic.

Only when Caramon, Crysania, and Tasslehoff are sent back in time did the story actually become interesting to me. From that point on, the story moves along at a good pace and the reader is kept wondering what is going to happen next.

There are a lot of twists and turns that I did not see coming, which makes Time of the Twins a fun book to read. I only wish that the first half of the book could have been as good as the second.

Overall, Time of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is a good fantasy tale that I would recommend. I can't wait to see what will happen in the next book in the trilogy, War of the Twins.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.