Review: Dragons of Eternity

Dragons of Eternity

Written by: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Random House Worlds

2024

The gripping conclusion to the Dragonlance: Destinies Trilogy, Dragons of Eternity, brings it to a brilliant close with high stakes, loyal dragons, and fierce enemies.

An absolutely fantastic read, Dragons of Eternity had everything that I loved wrapped up in a neat little box of chaos, magic, and wonder.

Storytelling

After the jaw-dropping events of Dragons of Fate, one had to wonder how the heroes would pull this one off.

Huma and his dragon died before defeating the great and powerful Takhisis, sending the world into darkness.

Now Destina and her comrades find themselves in a world where Takhisis rules and one where the Heroes of the Lance failed to come together to defeat her.

Talk about a plot! It was amazing to see the story unfold and how loyal and faithful the companions are, even in a world where darkness rules over them. Tanis, Raistlin, Tasslehoff, and even Sturm are unforgettable characters, balancing one another perfectly. When Raistlin called Tasslehoff a genius, I laughed out loud.

I’ve always said the companions would be doomed if it weren’t for Raistlin and Tasslehoff.

But more than just following the story, watching it unfold, is the pacing.

Dragons of Eternity was non-stop. I couldn’t put it down because the stakes were so high, and this was reflected in the pacing. It did not let up, going back and forth from Destina and Kairn in the past to the Heroes in the corrupted present. It was unyielding and gripping, full of impressive sequences such as Takhisis in all her five-headed dragon glory, her in armor, and moments with Skye and the heroes battling it out.

It was simply a fantastic novel.

Strong Characterization

And once again, the characterization was on point. The heroes have always been complex characters. But Destina continued her growth in the story.

I did not like her in the beginning; she was this girl who seemed so selfish and caught in the past. But, then again, I’ve never been a fan of Solamnics. They’ve always been little pretentious sticks in the mud. However, she begins an incredible journey of developing her character in the previous novel.

That journey continued on here. Destina takes accountability for her actions; she respects Raistlin and all mages despite her distrust of magic. She learns to let go of her grief, welcome love into her life, and allow the gods to guide her.

I would love to see Destina more in the future, but I fear this is the end of her journey (for now). Her romance with Kairn was well thought out, and how they came together to fix the past and unburden one another by carrying some of the other was moving. Watching them in the past look out for Huma and, as Tasslehoff would say, “fix the song,” was just as tension-driven as the present battles with the heroes.

And her one-on-one conflict with Takhisis was one memorable scene.

Final Thoughts

Reading Dragons of Eternity was like going home. It was unique and wonderful in such a way that it made me cry, and it was well worth the wait.

Cynthia Ayala

Cynthia Ayala-Bujnicki majored in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College. Editor-in-chief of Cyn's Workshop, she loves to read and write while tending to her pepper plants. She currently lives in South Florida with her husband, two kids Dante and Selene and two furbabies Mr. J the Kitten who Thinks He's Batman (yes, that is his full name) and Nyx.