The Soulforge

Dragonlance: Raistlin Chronicles, Book 1

By: Margaret Weis

Narrated by: Chris Sorensen

Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

A mage's soul is forged in the crucible of magic. Raistlin Majere is six years old when he is introduced to the archmage who enrolls him in a school for the study of magic. There the gifted and talented but tormented boy comes to see magic as his salvation. Mages in the magical Tower of High Sorcery watch him in secret, for they see shadows darkening over Raistlin even as the same shadows lengthen over all Ansalon.

Finally, Raistlin draws near his goal of becoming a wizard. But first he must take the drea Test in the Tower of High Sorcery. It will change his life forever - if he survives.

©2011 Wizards of the Coast LLC (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Fantastic story

Any additional comments?

This was a fantastic story and was the first Dragonlance novel I have ever read/listened to. I was drawn to Raistlin's character, and now I am very interested in reading further Dragonlance novels that feature Raistlin to see where his story goes from here.

There are many fantastic characters in this book. The twins, Raistlin and Caramon, are very interesting dichotomies of each other, and I found myself liking both characters. I also loved the Kender race, and the Kender nature makes me smile; the rambling, cheery tales and behavior by a Kender in this story have made me laugh out loud,serving as comedic relief.

The performance was excellent, and I listened with ferocity, breezing through the entire novel in just a few days.

Memories

I remember reading this story in a few hours as a young teenager. Now approaching middle age I've gotten to enjoy it all over again!

The narration was excellent.

My Favorite Character

I have loved the Dragon Lance books since I was a teenager. I have loved Raistlin since then as well. I was beyond happy when these books first came out as it was a story of him and his life in more detail then you get in the other books. That is the basic premises of these books and if you know Raistlin but do not know theses stories you will find you did not really know Raistlin.

I am very VERY happy to say the narration did not ruin this book, as I am often afraid of when listening to old favorites. They changed the character voices such that you could distinguish them and better then that the voices fit the personalities of the characters very very well. I will actually look for more books by this narrator and hope he continues to perform as well as he did in this book.

great book!

I loved it! the most memorable moment was when he was taking the test!
The narrator did a great job.

Starts slow, but then doesn't stop until the end!!

If you could sum up The Soulforge in three words, what would they be?

Great Wizard Story

What did you like best about this story?

Enjoyed hearing how it all began with the main character!!!

What about Chris Sorensen’s performance did you like?

Chris does a great job of reading this book, enjoyed every minute of it!!!

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

Because it's 17+ hours listening to his in one setting isn't possible, but if it was, I would!!!

Any additional comments?

Great read, purchasing book two right now!!!

40 years later I read the back story

If you could sum up The Soulforge in three words, what would they be?

Great back story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course Rastlin

Which scene was your favorite?

Taking down the temple

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they were altogether at The Last Home. Took me back 40 years when first read a dragonlance novel.

Any additional comments?

The story was well developed and the narration was spot on. If you love resonance you will love this backstory.

Boring Reader ... Puts me to sleep!

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

Story is ruined by the pace of the reader. Very slow... the pace put me to sleep several times... I had to increase the playback to 1.25 times the standard playback rate.

In general, I love the epic fantasy books.

I would suggest much better series in the "Fantasy: Epic" genre such as:
Wheel of Time: Eye of the World
Kingkiller Chronicles: The Name of the Wind
Stormlight: The Way of Kings
The Demon Cycle: The Warded Man
A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones

So begins Raistlin the 1st really cool anti-hero!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Soulforge to be better than the print version?

Depends on your personal tastes

What did you like best about this story?

Raistlin

Have you listened to any of Chris Sorensen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Better than most

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

To long for one sitting

Any additional comments?

A must for any fan of Dragonlance. This chronicles Raistlin's first steps into magic and his first steps to becoming the Black Wizard everyone fears.

Well done prelude

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is one of my favorite Dragonlance books. It did a great job of covering the early life of one of the most interesting characters of the series. It also felt like a real novel whereas the original trilogies you could sometimes tell were there in part to create interest in the D&D game. Overall it was pretty well paced with all it had to cover and stayed pretty close to what was expected from all the previous novels and short stories about Raistlin. My only complaint would be that it was implied that the twins along with Sturm spent many more years traveling with Flint and Tanis. In this book they pretty much spent 1 year together and only went on 1 trip with all of them. But it was still a very enjoyable book.

It's ok

This is an easy listen. It's nice to have a character that isn't so good. He's kind of evil actually. You end up disliking the lead guy but keep hoping he'll do better. A complex lead character is always a good thing.

Start here..

If you're at a loss on where to begin with Dragonlance, have no fear & just start here..

Bit slow

Quite a good listen if you can get past how twee it is. I loved the Dragonlance books as a teenager so thought I'd give this a go. I'm glad I did and will listen to the next in the series but it's not without its faults... Caramon speaks like a 6 year old even when he becomes an adult and he's portrayed as if he's retarded all through the book. I remember really liking the character so I'm surprised at how he's been written here. He can't even make a cup of tea without spilling water all over the floor!
The story is okay although not a lot happens for long sections. All in though, I liked it!

Weis at her best

Loved the story telling of the origins of the master of the past and the present, binge listening at its best

Excellent story and very well read.

The narrator gets the characters voices just right imho. a really good addition to the lord.

Great fantasy

If you like Dragonlance you will like this book, well written, relaxing for the most part and exhilarating in other times.