Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Dragonlance: Chronicles, Book 1

By: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 20 hrs

Publisher's summary

Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

No one expected them to be heroes.

Least of all, them.

©1984 TSR, Inc., Cover Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast LLC (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Narration almost ruins the experience for me

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Dragonlance: Chronicles were my gateway to becoming a diehard fan of fantasy novels. I first read them as a kid and if it were not for the amazing story and character development in this series, I might not be the fan of fantasy/sci-fi that I am today.

An absolutely amazing adventure ride that every fantasy fan should experience.

Now if only the narration in the audiobook wasn't so atrocious at times. :(

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dragons of Autumn Twilight?
Oh no you didn't!

No spoilers here!

How did the narrator detract from the book?
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto......Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto. Not really! Unfortunately, Mr. Roboto ruins this audiobook for me. :(

While the dialogue isn't so bad, the narration sounds like a robotic, automated mess at times. If only they could have instead gotten Marc Thompson from the Star Wars audiobooks to do these. He is a rock star among narrators! If you haven't heard him yet, you're missing out!

Was Dragons of Autumn Twilight worth the listening time?
Yes, because it is Dragonlance, it is worth the listening time, but it's tolerable rather than being a pleasure to listen to.

Any additional comments?
As I said, I would have loved it if this audiobook was narrated by Marc Thompson (or anyone else for that matter). Paul Boehmer is just too robotic at times, and it unfortunately detracts from an otherwise epic adventure.

The book itself is a masterpiece IMHO, but the narration leaves a lot to be desired.

movie needed

I have read and listened to this book 4 times. I love this series and how it keeps you on edge. i wish it was a full length movie or mini series.

Excellent Reading

I read this book way back in late elementary school. Now that I have a 3 hour commute every weekday it's hard to find time to read. The performer has a nice voice that makes it easy to relax during LA rush hour traffic. Wonderful story. My only complaint is that his female character voices are not very distinct at all so it can be a little hard to follow. Reader nails it with most of the male voices though.

Classic Epic Fantasy - Good Voice Work

I've read and reread the Dragonlance series back when they were released. My friends and me played the D&D modules. I have fond memories of this IP. So I was eager to hear this.

I really enjoyed the inflections and characterizations Paul Boehmer provided. His Raistlin was more faithful to the Raistlin in my head than even Kiefer Sutherland's performance in the poorly received Direct to DVD animated film. The portions of actual narration were what took a bit for me to get used to. But once I settled on the idea that the narration has to have a separate voice as well, I was much happier. It is a sterile kind of sound and it makes it more clear when you are hearing a character's voice or the narration. After all, everything is being read by one man's voice. There is a LOT of narration in this style of fantasy. It is actually helpful to have that distinct narrative voice.

On listening to the book I realized the story itself has more issues than my earlier self realized. But it is still one of the great epic fantasy stories since 'Lord of the Rings' and it is many times more accessible than Tolkien's work.

Great book, should be a movie.

I know this book was made into a movie, but it was an animated movie. This book is the beginning of the Dragonlance world and novels. I have played D&D, and played these modules that were from this book. This book has everything a great story needs. A half elf leader, a gruff dwarf, a skinny mage in bad health but very powerful, his brother a huge warrior that only thinks of looking after his brother, a barbarian and his lifelong friend and love interest a female human who becomes a full fledged Priestess of Mishakal and becomes one of the most powerful people in the party. Throw in Dragons, draconians of different kinds, definitive villains and you have a great story. Oh yea, I forgot about a Solamnic knight. Great writing and great story telling in this book, also some humor with Tasslehoff Burfoot the kinder up to all of his antics. All in all a great book and a must for anyone into the fantasy genre.

The greatest series ever !!!!!

On book six of the wheel of time my brother sends me this book while over sees in the navy said I had to read this and that was it !!! I truly love sci Fi books and have read authors from terry brooks to terry goodkind but no book has captured what dragon lance has not even the hobbit as great as that story was can suck you in like dragon lance myself and a large group of my friends have read this series over and over and each time I find myself drawn into a magical fantasy world I wish I could jump into thank you Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman for the greatest fantasy ever written and a big thanks to my brother for sending me this book

Narrator not very strong

Story line was excellent. The attempt for one narrator to attempt multiple voices were very week and took away from the actual experience..

Great Novel (series) for Young Readers

I first read the Dragonlance Chronicles when I was a teenager and it really pumped me up for the fantasy genre. I revisited the Chronicles as an adult when the 4th book was released, The Dragons of Summer Flame. The series is not too long for readers and flows well. It has good character development and is quick paced, which helps captivate the reader early. This is certainly not my favorite series of all time nor in my top 5 but it does offer much to someone just beginning. I value Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth much more than this series.

Narration leaves something to be desired...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Somewhat Victor Price-ish, Paul had a good feel on character distinction, but overall narration is bland, leaving emotion dead and the main story immobile. I was disappointed, and can read better aloud, myself- just not for as long. The voices were okay, but non-character narration was distracting and NOT fluid or natural. :( I LOVE the books, but PLEASE get a more expressive narrator, someone who makes the story FLOW instead of HALT every half-sentence,.

What aspect of Paul Boehmer’s performance would you have changed?

Narration other than character expression, was lacking fluidity.

Was Dragons of Autumn Twilight worth the listening time?

Sure, I still love the story... but won't listen to it more than once, even though I've read the books DOZENS of times.

Enjoyable

While I'm not a huge fan of the narrator, it didn't ruin the book for me.
Classic tale of fantasy with interesting and relatable characters.
If you too, are a Star Trek fan, and can get past the narrator's.... style, I'd give this one a shot.