Dragons of the Highlord Skies: The Lost Chronicles, Volume II

Written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Narrated by Sandra Burr

The Companions are back, and so are their enemies in the second volume of the Lost Chronicles.

Kitiara discovers that a former lover, Tanis Half-elven, and his friends were responsible for the death of Highlord Verminaard. This revelation puts Kit in danger, for Emperor Ariakas hears of the connection and suspects Kit of having arranged the assassination. He orders his witch, the exotic Iolanthe, to spy on Kit, who clinches her own doom by becoming obsessed with finding Tanis, convincing Ariakas that she is indeed a traitor. But Kit is not one to take a sentence of death easily.

Kit’s rival, Laurana, begins her own journey to destiny, as she travels to Icereach with Sturm, Flint, Tasslehoff, and three Solamnic knights led by Sir Derek Crownguard. The knights are on a quest for the fabled dragon orb that will be the salvation of Solamnia. What none of them know is that they are all being led into a deadly trap laid for them by the winternorn, the dark elf wizard Feal-Thas.

But it is Kitiara who faces the greatest challenge. To save herself, she vows to Takhisis that she will spend the night in Dargaard Keep, the dread castle of the death knight, Lord Soth. As she and Skie fly to challenge the death knight, Kit is well aware that in three hundred years, not one person who has ever faced Lord Soth has survived the ordeal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781423316244

Margaret Weis

Margaret Weis is a New York Times bestselling author. Her Dragonlance® series has sold over twenty million copies worldwide, and the first book in thatseries, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, is being made into an animated film by Paramount Pictures. Warrior Angel is her first venture into romance, and it has been an exciting one. She has particularly enjoyed writing with her daughter, Lizz Weis, a former novel editor.

Reviews for Dragons of the Highlord Skies

[Glenn Biggers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A big fan of the Dragonlance Saga. This book was narrated well.

[beezermn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dragons of the Highlord Skies is the second novel in the Lost Chronicles trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The first book in this trilogy is Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (Dragonlance: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. 1) and tells of tale if the companions as they attempt to recover the lost hammer of Kharas. This book focuses mostly on the journey Kitiara takes as she rises in the ranks of the Dragon Army, it also tells of the tale of Laurana as she slowly emerges into what she becomes in the later books of the Dragonlance Chronicles. Fans of the Dragonlance Chronicles will no doubt find this novel very interesting. However, if you have not yet experienced the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy Gift Set and are thinking of reading this book, I would highly suggest that you read the Chronicles first. I say this simply because some of the events that happen in this book will be so much more clear after reading the firs trilogy. The plot of this books fills in a major gap of events that occurred during Dragons of Winter Twilight, and a little into Dragons of Spring Dawning. The plot of this book is a little different than most Weis and Hickman books. In that it is a very involved plot and has several shifts in perspective and following main characters. Some of the plot points in this book are things such as Kitiara's rise through the dragon Army, her interactions with Highlord Ariakas, Sturm's interacting with Derek Crownguard, the battle of the Ice Wall, and several other things. This book is chalk full of plot points and story arc points. Fans of the original Chronicles will appreciate the depth that this story is explored and the answers it gives for how characters behave later in books and stories. Weis and Hickman have obviously had this story idea in their heads for a long time. It's great to see that this story has finally seen the printed page. The characters in this book will be largely familiar to fans of the original chronicles. There are a few additions, but for the most part all the `big players' will be known to readers. Unlike the first Lost Chronicles book, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, there is a substantial amount of character development in this novel. Almost every one of the major characters has some level of development. Kitiaria, Laurana, Derek Crownguard, and several other characters all grow as characters in this book. It seems that Weis and Hickman put more thought behind developing the characters in this book than they did in the first. It was very refreshing to see. My main point of contention with the first Lost Chronicles book was that the character dialog seemed `off' ad wrong at times. I am very pleased to say that that issue seems to be completely resolved. The dialog in this book is exactly what I read in the first chronicles. Sturm, Tasselhoff, Derek, Laurana, and Kitiara all have spot on dialog and hold true to the characters I came to love more than twenty years ago. After the last book, I was slightly worried that those things would be repeated, I was very pleased to see they were not. This novel fits nicely into the stories that have come before it. Reading this novel was like putting on an old pair of shoes. It was comforting and I knew just what I was getting myself into. I can't say enough good things about the original Chronicles and now I have another book to add to that saga. Fans of the Chronicles will fall in love with the companions all over again. Hopefully, this also brings more readers to the original Chronicles and allows others to discover the wonderful books I grew up with. The last book in the Lost Chronicles is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2008, and is titled Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. This is certainly a book I am looking forward to. In regards to this book, I have no doubt I will find myself recommending it to countless Dragonlance fans. It truly was a great read.

[garalgar · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Second part of a new continuation of our old companions' adventures. Better than the first, it still fails to capture the spirit of the original saga. A good remedy for nostalgics.

[droupou_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The missing adventure! The lost chronicles are the stories that fall in between the Dragonlance Chronicles. This one takes place between Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning, and encompass the struggle to obtain the dragon orb, and the politics and goings on in the Dark Queen's forces.I highly recommend this book.

[thecrow2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another book filling the gaps between the volume of the original Chronicles. In this we can follow the adventures of Kitiara, Tanis and the others at the Ice Wall trying to get one of the legendary Dragon Orbs. Maybe the best of the `Lost Chronicles` trilogy.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unlike the first book, this 2nd book does not actually fill in any key missing parts of the original Dragonlance series. The 'missing' part of the quest to Icereach is a small part of the plot. The minor characters of the tale are given too much time here. Otherwise, this is usual Weiss and Hickman, well written, just not quite enough plot or action.

[sonicquack · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The concept of revisiting one of the most loved fantasy campaigns in fiction is certainly an appealing one. The first volume offered a credible entry in to that mythos, however Highlord Skies misses that mark. It presents a plot following Kitiara and her plans for revenge upon a member of the Heroes of the Lance. Revenge, a well used motive for plots in high fantasy is best used as a sub-plot, and although there is a weaker plot running parallel about a quest to retrieve a Dragon Orb, neither combine to offer any real substance. As a short story Weis & Hickman may have pulled this off, however as a lengthy novel is merely offers tedium. Definitely for the completist since the magic of the original series is absent.