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Weis Hickman: Death Gate Cycle

J

jadeaaronr

New Member
hello everyone,
i am new to the forum. i was curious if anyone had any opinions on the death gate cycle by margaret weis and tracy hickman. i am almost finished with the first book and i have really enjoyed it.
 
I read the first book and didn't really like it. It's too formulaic for me and I felt it was quite badly written. Well, each to their own :)
 
I'm with Wabbit on this one. I find Weis and Hickman pretty trite and clunky. Their dialogue is poor and they usually write very generic fantasy.

Check out Diane Wynne Jones' 'A Tough Guide to Fantasyland' to see the cliches inherent in almost all of Weis and Hickman's work.

The only thing I really enjoyed of theirs was the Rose of the Prophet series (which is currently for sale on ebay in its entirety http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=64202&item=7944887364&rd=1)

Manda

p.s. I'm not selling that item; I just thought it might be of interest to others.
 
Actually, I thought it was okay, things can become a bit repetitive but with seven books, that is to be expected. I thought they had a solid story and it comes together nicely at the end. Written good or badly, that depends on taste I guess.

As for cliches, that's what you get when over analyzing works of a genre. I think the list of cliches in the works of Eddings or Feist would rival the size of the Bible, but if you enjoy reading it, then the author has done a good job.

If you're reading fantasy and find yourself complaining "Well, saved again at the last moment, HOW convenient", then perhaps it's time to switch to another genre for a while :p
 
Ah, don't get me wrong! I am a huge fan of Eddings, Brooks etc - all those who usually get the finger pointed at them when cliche in fantasy is discussed :)

However, there is just something that grates about most of Weis and Hickman's work - maybe just the idea that I feel they could be writing better, but have sacrificed that for the sake of getting out more books?
 
i am farely new to the genre. this early in the game, i wouldnt know cliche if it bit me on the tail. i noticed, magemanda, youre reading a song of ice and fire by martin. my next list of reads are: the fionavar tapestry by guy gavriel kay, then, a song of ice and fire by george r r martin. any opinions on these? what about any new reads or reccomendations for a newby? thanks for all the help.

jade
 
:eek: :eek: *blush* Actually, I haven't updated my 'what I'm currently reading' on my profile - I finished A Song of Ice and Fire (well, the 1st three books, anyway) before Christmas.

In terms of books you'd enjoy:

Probably Terry Brooks - start with A Sword of Shannara
David Eddings - start with the Belgariad series of five, the first one being Pawn of Prophecy
Maybe Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series (the first couple are okay, anyway). Start with Wizard's First Rule.
Lastly, David Gemmell writes excellent heroic fantasy - start with Legend, his original and best.

In terms of the two authors you specifically mentioned, GG Kay is awesome. His prose is wonderful and he manages to avoid a great deal of the cliches that are inherent in the fantasy genre. If you enjoy The Fionavar Tapestry, then try Sailing to Sarantium by him.

George RR Martin is superb as well. He has often been compared to a modern day Tolkien. His writing is dark and gritty, with wonderful three dimensional characters and very few cliches. Be warned of two things, though:
a) if you like your main characters to survive a whole story intact, then avoid this series. People do die.
b) he has only written and published three of a possible six books so, if you enjoy the first three, you will have a very long wait until the conclusion of the series.

Happy reading,
Mage
 
Hi magemanda, you've read the Rose of the Prophet series as well (and perhaps the Darksword series too ?), that's when I thought it became a bit annoying, they seem to work with the same kind of characters, there's a Haplo in the other series and an Alfred, and you don't have to look very far, a bit disappointing

But have you read Dragonlance ? I haven't and after these three series I haven't really been looking for it as well, but every now and then I hear that they should be pretty good, so perhaps you can fill me in.

thanks
 
i have read over 30 of the dragonlance books throughout the past few years. i think that is what turned me on to the death gate cycle. those are the only authors i am familiar with unfortunately.
 
The original Dragonlance Chronicles (link here for a good copy on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2229&item=7946161808&rd=1 - once again, I'm not the one selling!) were a fairly decent read for someone just kicking off in the fantasy genre. It did suffer from being cliched and the dialogue was pretty stilted. It was also a vague clone of Tolkien. However, some of the characters were excellently portrayed. I would recommend the Chronicles to someone who fancied an entertaining read without having to put much thought in. However, I would avoid just about all the other Dragonlance books and read 'proper' fantasy series instead.
 
Over 30 books ? Hmm, so how did that happen, they're not all by Weis and Hickman, right ? I suppose there is some chronological order to read them ?

Magemanda, "the original Dragonlance Chronicles", so those are the ones to begin with ? A vague clone of Tolkien, well I've read and enjoyed the Belgariad, so that shouldn't be a problem ;)
 
i started reading the dragonlance books in highschool (about five years ago), because a freind told me what an outstanding series the chronicles, and legends were. although the chronicles and legends were the first ones written, i decided to read quite a few of the ones that chronologically ahead of them. my mistake, although i did not know at the time. none of the other books even compared to the chronicles and legends. i read the meetings (6 books were they all meet), the preludes (what happens during the five years before the war), i also read some of the tales (i cant remember which ones), etc.... after i read all of those books, i got so involved with other things, i quite reading. now that i have started reading again, i am not familiar with anybody excepy for weis and hickman. i tried reading the chronicles again because of how good i thought they were in highschool, but barely made it throught the second book. i just wasnt the same.
 
jadeaaronr said:
hello everyone,
i am new to the forum. i was curious if anyone had any opinions on the death gate cycle by margaret weis and tracy hickman. i am almost finished with the first book and i have really enjoyed it.
Click to expand...

I read the 7 Death Gate Cycle books a few years ago in high school, and it was the most awesome series I have ever read. To me the way they slowly unfolded the nature of this vast world they created and the unseen connections between all the characters within was amazing. I really got into it.
 
I read the Death Gate Cycle, about 15 years ago and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed their Darksword series too.
 
I enjoyed the Death Gate Cycle, but then again, I like cheese. I was also heavily into DLance and Realms at the time, so this fit right in line with the TSR type of reading
 
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