The Legend of Huma

Dragonlance: Heroes, Book 1

By: Richard A. Knaak

Narrated by: Richard Topol

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

This attractive new rerelease of The Legend of Huma debuts a new look for the Heroes series. Each title in the series will reflect the new series design. This title is the only Dragonlance novel not written by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman to hit the New York Times best-seller list.

Only fragments of the account of Huma survived the Cataclysm that broke the world of Krynn. The fullness of his tale has never been told – until now. One man took up the call to defend the world against the Queen of Darkness. He was the first Hero of the Lance, driven by his devotion to the Oath and the Measure and his love for a silver dragon. His life made him a hero. Here is the tale that made him a legend….

©1988 TSR, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

poor performance, good story

I can't stand someone who describes a laugh and then makes a pathetic attempt to perform it...guess I should just be thankful there was no singing.

So sub-par reader for a fantastic story.

Great story.

Where does The Legend of Huma rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Loved the book when I read it in my teens and loved it in audio format 20 plus years later.

What did you like best about this story?

Classic dragonlance background story.

What three words best describe Richard Topol’s voice?

Good voice work but I prefer something more like Kate Reading.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Not as legendary as I had hoped

What would have made The Legend of Huma better?

More adventuring with Magius & Gweneth. To me, they were just side characters that didn't really help create any impression of any relationship. In another book, Tasselhoff Burfoot popped into a scene where Huma & Magius were running from something and they were startled to see the kender. That, along with other references from other books, gave me the impression that the two had traveled & battled together for a long time, perhaps years and not a few days/weeks, and were dear friends. In this story, Magius was a character that used Huma for his own ends. Yes, he redeemed himself, but his demise was rushed. I had the impression, from other books, that Magius had died in battle because he did not have a weapon after his spells are used up, which is why the mages after that were allowed a weapon. Yes, he ran out of spells, but he was captured and then tortured instead of dying in battle. I had expected the love story with Gweneth to be an epic kind of love where the two are strengthened by their love to fight for Krynn. Huma was rather confused and didn't admit loving her until she was dying. She came off as a confused high school girl instead of a confident dragon.

What could Richard A. Knaak have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

In the beginning, I think he was a little dull about the characters. He just seemed to be reading, not acting. Either, I grew used to that or he changed his performance later because I didn't notice it any longer.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Legend of Huma?

The ending of Magius, the ending of Gweneth, and the defeat of Takhesis. They seemed rushed & were disappointing. I think the Legend of Huma might have been better if it had been longer and had developed the characters and their relationships better.

Any additional comments?

I'm a fan of Dragonlance, but some of the books are disappointing. Those stories are rushed. Almost as if they wanted to make money and didn't care about story or plot as long as they thought it would sell a book. I think they would sell more books if the stories were developed in depth, like in The Chronicles.

Like a fine wine, this book keeps getting better!

Having read and enjoyed this book multiple times throughout several stages of my life ( early adolescence through adulthood), I've always thought it would transition well as an audiobook. Not only did it transfer well, but completely shattered my expectations.

The story itself is timeless. The narration by Richard Topol was amazing. Reminiscent of story tellers of old, Topol breathed life into an already fantastic epic. Topol lent vivd expression to each character. His tone cemented the mood and seamlessly transitioned the story.

If you enjoy fantasy and a classic epic or incredible verbal acting, then do yourself a favor and give this a listen...you won't be disappointed!

The Heroes Series is a must read for any Adventure

Six of the most classic Dragon Lance tales to spark the imagination and inspire your next pen and paper game starts here. They are less violent and vivid than the Sheepfarmer's Daughter series and more appropriate to younger audiences.

Specific to this book, it is entertaining and explores a couple of themes including the role of honor and duty during war, living the spirit of the law as opposed to the letter of the law, living with politics in established organizations, judging people based on their deeds and not their appearance, and serving a cause greater than one's self. A great read with the kids without unwanted surprises.

Poor narration

I am a big fan of the Dragonlance setting and was very excited to finally hear this story. Unfortunately the pace and delivery of the narration make this nearly unlistenable. I’m only a chapter or two in and I already want to stop listening. The text is read so rapidly that the sentences almost run together, but at times stumble to an awkward and sudden stop. I slowed down the playback speed which made it slightly more listenable, but the performance is still very poor. Not recommended.

decent

I dunno guess I was expecting more. There was a few times I lost interest in the book. But It got better towards the end.

Great story. I enjoyed the author voice and depic

Great story. I enjoyed the author voice and how his depiction of the characters brought them to life.

loved it

I ,loved to hear the story. very well read. it was the first audio book that I listened too

Knaak is an awesome writer!

The narrator is WONDERFUL. Knaak is definitely the protégé of Weis and Hickman...right up there with them. this series is a must in the dragonlance world. Finally a good narrator good voices.

Good not great

It’s good to have a story of Huma and his exploits with the dark queen and Gwyneth the silver dragon but the story is light on atmosphere and predictable unlike the books from Weis & Hickman which are vibrant. Still worth a read though but it’s not a top shelf book by any means. Definitely a lockdown read.

I read

a review about good characterisation,the minotaur sounded like a minotaur may sound but generally the narrator was woeful.don't waste you're credit.

Good adaptation

Well I originally read this book, I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by the story and what was done with the characters. The audio adaptation manages to capture the characters of the book with the characters sounding exactly how I imagined them (especially Kaz).

One of the best books in the Dragonlance univers

The only thing about this book that I don't like is that it is too short