Dragons of the Highlord Skies

The Lost Chronicles is an interesting approach to writing a trilogy. Instead of creating three stories that flow into one another, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have created stories to take place in between the original Chronicles. In this way, they allow readers the chance to see what happens to side characters involved in the war. Dragons of the Highlord Skies takes place between books one and two, telling the stories of Kitiara and Derek Crownguard.

Kitiara, the confident cruel woman readers have come to know in The Chronicles, is seen in a different light in this novel. While Kit is known as the Blue Lady, she wasn’t always an ally of Lord Soth and her rise to power is one strewn with many mishaps. Kit is tasked to set in motion a string of events that will lead to the downfall of Solamnia. She will have to travel to Icereach and work with the Highlord Feal-Thas. And though they may both be Highlords, there is no loyalty between them. Feal-Thas is loath to give up his dragon orb, even if it means the end of Solamnia. Never one to be told no, Kitiara does everything within her power to see that the plan is successful. And makes new enemies along the way.

As Kitiara’s story unfolds, readers are shown the emotional side of the Highlord. While she seems cool and confident as a secondary character, being allowed inside her mind opens readers up to a whole new Kitiara. I enjoyed witnessing her internal struggles and the mistakes she made as emotions overruled common sense. It brought a level of humanity to Kitara’s character that wasn’t present in the original novels. Seeing her vulnerability and the betrayal that leads her to Lord Soth explains how she can perform her later deeds in the Chronicles without remorse.

Derek Crownguard journeys to Icereach in search of the dragon orb. With it, he believes the Solamnic Knights will be able to gain an edge against the chromatic dragons. But his path is plagued by ambition and ego. Derek is a hard character to follow, as his skewed beliefs and prejudice do not make him a likable character. But he is an example of how the Oath and the Measure can be twisted. And as Sturm enters the picture when their paths inevitably cross, the vast difference between the characters is easily recognizable. While both claim to uphold the rules and morals of the Solamnic Knights, one is certainly more honorable than the other. And even Derek’s friends comment on how Derrick has changed due to the ongoing war. Moving farther and farther away from the person they once knew.

War and hardship take their toll on people in different ways. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have captured this concept throughout Dragons of the Highlord Skies with both Kitiara and Derek’s storylines. As a long-time fan of Dragonlance, it’s great hearing about the in-between tales. And while they may not focus on the original companions, they are still providing vital information about what’s been happening in the background.

Book 2 of the Lost Chronicles was rather disappointing. Rather disappointing coming off from reading book 1. Book 1 made me feel nostalgic; book 2 felt dragging at certain places and didn't make me feel like wanting to keep going.

The second book focuses primarily on Kitiara and Sturm I would say; the former of how she ended up with Lord Soth in her service and the latter of how he ended up with Derek Crownguard and the dragon orb.

I didn't particularly like Kitiara so my enthusiasm was already down. Sure, it was interesting to see her role within the dragon army - but too much was spent her trying to locate Tanis, and way way way too little spent on her locating (and winning over) Lord Soth. It almost felt like it was glossed over fairly quickly. Spend one night at Dargaard Keep? She just used an hour of it. Wasted potential I would say.

As for Sturm's side - well, I disliked Derek Crownguard. Having him so prominent made for rather difficult reading. Brian Donner's reflections and thoughts felt like attempts to excuse Derek's behaviour, but it just didn't click for me.

There are certainly gems to be found, such as filling in some details of the lead-up to Dragons of Winter Night; Laurana's side of the story when the Companions were split up were particularly interesting for me.

Still, I recommend this to those who read the Chronicles, if only to fill up the storyline gaps, especially for those who happen to like Sturm and/or Kitiara. Just don't get your hopes too high as per book 1.

Although its probably not fair to lump together a second-rate Dragonlance and A Song of Ice and Fire, I can't help but compare Dragons of the Highlord Skies to A Feast for Crows. Like AFFC, Highlord Skies focuses on a significantly less interesting batch of characters: the group that traveled south to Icereach when the companions were separated in Tarsis. That means no Tanis or Raistlin. And even though Sturm, Flint, and Tas are around, the authors choose to focus more on Derek Crownguard and his Solamnic cronies. Laurana gets a little attention towards the end of the book, but she is never presented as a particularly interesting character. She's pretty much just getting dragged along, ostensibly to fulfill her ‘destiny'.

The decent parts of this book are the chapters that focus on Kitiara. Like the Jaime chapters of AFFC, the Kit chapters give us insight into a sometimes misunderstood antihero. I wish there had been more focus on her interactions with Lord Soth, but that plot line stopped abruptly at the end, giving way to the dreadful frame story being told by a character who doesn't really matter.