Book Review of #2 The Kinslayer Wars by Douglas Niles
Author Name: Douglas Niles
ISBN: 1-56076-113-X
Publisher: TSR
Part of a Series: The Elven nations Trilogy; Firstborn before, The Qualinesti afterwards
Type of book: Adult, elves, fantasy, Dragonlance
Year it was published: 1991
Summary:
The leader of the Wildrunners, Kith-Kanan, commits the ultimate heresy and falls in love with a human of intriguing background. His twin brother, the firstborn ruler of all Silvanesti elves, Sitahs, declares war on the Ergothians, and Kith-Kanan must choose sides. Nobly, he fights alongside his proud race in the terrible Kinslayer Wars. But when the historic Swordsheath Scrolls is signed, Kith-Kanan and his followers are forced into a tragic exile.
Characters:
Although the author tried, the characters didn't match up to the ones from The Firstborn. Kith-Kanan gives in to a temptation and apparently the times he spent with Anaya were somehow pointless. (I kept hoping that Hermathya used an enchantment on Kith-Kanan, but alas nothing of the sort.) The rest of the characters were weak and had no momentum. There are no more words to describe this book.
Theme:
The only theme I got from this book is that if something has to change, then a war has to be waged on it.
Plot:
This was written in omniscient third person point of view. I think you do have to read Firstborn in order to understand the story. As mentioned before, the characters were weak and Kith Kanan was literally not himself. Don't be fooled by the summary. That happens at the very end. Rest of the book is about them trying to find the edge in order to win the war. The ending was tied up a little too loosely and was confusing and contrived, as if the author didn't know how to end it and ended it the way he did.
Author Information:
Douglas Niles (born December 1, 1954, in Brookfield, Wisconsin) is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game. (From wikipedia)
Opinion:
I wonder why Tonya Carter and Paul Thompson didn't write the second book, and why a different author wrote it instead. From reading the back summary, I thought I'd get inside Kith-Kanan's head as to why he made the decision to marry Suzine, a human woman, but no. The two met one time and the next time they met, time passed and they are in love. To me that didn't sound feasible in honesty. Also, the elves were fighting against inter-racial marriages, so why at the start does Kith Kanan trust someone who is married to a human? The female characters in this book are weak. (Suzine was General's lover before Kith-Kanan and she does very little in terms of sabotaging General. Anytime we see her, she does nothing but moon over Kith Kanan. (She also has a powerful family, so potential could have been endless.) I think if the author gave some reasons as to why Suzine was a weak character, (perhaps in those days women were not allowed to do anything) I would not hate her so much. Also, don't be fooled by the summary. It only happens at the very end.
2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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