The War of Souls Trilogy Gift Set: Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance Series)

The War of Souls Trilogy Gift Set: Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance Series)
Average customer rating:

Well, I am a fan of Weiss & Hickmann so...

Not as good as Weis and Hickman's previous novels

Engrossing but ultimately unsatisfying

A Dragon Story and Much More

Great Addition

The War of Souls Trilogy Gift Set: Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance Series)
Margaret Weis , and Tracy Hickman
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Dragons of Summer Flame

Legends Gift Set: Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, and Test of the Twins (Dragonlance: Legends Trilogy)

The Second Generation

Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy Gift Set

The Soulforge (Dragonlance: The Raistlin Chronicles, Book 1) The Soulforge (Dragonlance: The Raistlin Chronicles, Book 1)

ASIN: 0786930020
Release Date: 2003-09-01

Book Description

This slip-covered gift set contains the three New York Times best-selling titles that make up the epic War of Souls trilogy: Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Dragons of a Lost Star, and Dragons of a Vanished Moon. Authored by Dragonlance saga co-creators Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, these titles each hit multiple best-seller lists upon initial release.

Customer Reviews:

Well, I am a fan of Weiss & Hickmann so..........2007-07-08

Great books. I have to admit that vol. 2 was a bit slow and dull at first but vol. 1 and 3 and most of vol. 2 made up for this. Didn't much care for the lovestory between Silvanoshei and the dark knight Mina so all this about Silanosheis love that wasn't returned is a bit dull for me (yes yes, I am a guy). But all in all I would rate this as a 5 star product. Another great story from Weiss & Hickmann.

Not as good as Weis and Hickman's previous novels.......2007-06-05

First let me start off by saying that I did enjoy these books. But I enjoyed the previous books more. The Chronicles Trilogy was the first set in the Dragonlance world and I must say the best. It all sort of went downhill from there, albeit a long hill with a small angle but still downhill. I really thought that with The Second Generation and Dragons of Summer Flame that led up to The War of Souls Trilogy, that there would be a "rebirth" (if you will) of the Dragonlance Series. But sadly that wasn't to be. An IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: I have been led to believe that the writers, Weis and Hickman, actually have very little creative control over the Dragonlance Series. I believe that these books are meant to be companions to the world of D & D. I enjoy reading not throwing dice to see how much damage I do. As such, maybe they threw dice to see how the storyline would unfold. I don't know.

The Good:
The story is great. The action is great. Tas the loveable and unlikely hero is back. There is a lot of action and intrigue to keep you interested. The whole trilogy is one big twist after another.

The Bad:
I'm afraid there may be more bad than good...but only just. The number one problem, and it is SERIOUSLY BAD, is the typos. Did anyone actually proofread this book? I mean seriously it is bad. By the middle of Dragons of a Lost Star (second book in the trilogy), I was almost ready to call it quits just because it was so hard to make any sense of it. Misspelled words...bad punctuation...missing words...extra words. Just really, really, really bad. They need to fire whoever edited this book.

Now about the problems with the stories themselves. POTENTIAL SPOILER

My best advise to the readers about these books and this goes for pretty much ALL of the Dragonlance novels: Don't get attached to ANY character because they ALL die. The writers spend 3 books building a character and getting them developed then kill them. Why would you do that? Take a lesson from R.A. Salvatore or Terry Goodkind and keep your main characters ALIVE. It's what keeps readers coming back for more. If Salvatore had killed Drizzt after his first trilogy, Salvatore's career as a writer would have been a lot less eventful. Same goes for Goodkind's Richard in the Sword of Truth books.
Let's see who has died along the way to The War of Souls. Keep in mind these are MAJOR CHARACTERS!
Sturm Brightblade, Tanis Half-Elven, Caramon Majere, Raistin Majere, Tika Majere, Alhana Starbreeze, Crysania, Goldmoon, Laurana, Palin Majere, Riverwind, Steel Brightblade, Tanin Majere, Kitiara Uth Matar (who needed more development), Berem the Everman (death was justified), Flint Fireforge, Tas Burfoot (dead but brought back) and I'm sure there were others but I think you get the picture. And again these were major characters. Why even bother developing them if they are so expendable? Heck, I wouldn't even bother being creative with the names. Maybe I can write a Dragonlance novel. "Here is Sam. Sam is an elf. Sam has to overcome insurmountable odds to save the world. Sam overcame the insurmountable odds and saved the world. Now Sam is dead." There, I just wrote a whole Dragonlance novel in five sentences.
What was the point of "The Second Generation" and "Dragons of Summer Flame"? They introduce new characters and then killed them all. Stupid.

Summary of my review:
These books have a great story, great plot, and great characters who will all die. Or if that sentence had as many typos as these books...Thes books have great story great plot and grate charactrse woh will all dye.

Engrossing but ultimately unsatisfying.......2007-05-13

I have been a long-time fan of Weis and Hickman and their Dragonlance books. They have an uncanny ability to write engrossing stories full of conflict and angst and failure that somehow still come together at the end on a note of acceptance and hope. In general, the characters end the stories as better people than they started them as, and the price the characters pay is redeemed by what they gain by the end. I looked forward to this new series. The story is certainly engrossing -- I found it hard to put the books down, even during the darkest and bleakest points in the story. But unlike their earlier works, Weis and Hickman don't manage to wrap this one up well. Several story lines end abruptly, as if Weis and Hickman just ran out of steam on them and gave up. More important, almost none of the characters end the story having learned anything important. The sacrifices made by the characters remain unredeemed at the end. I was left disappointed and unsatisfied. Go ahead and read the story -- it is well written. Just be prepared to feel incomplete at the end.

A Dragon Story and Much More.......2007-05-08

What makes this series so fascinating are the set of characters, especially the kender, who adds just the right amount of comic relief, and the freshness that comes from a vivid imagination on the part of the authors. You won't feel like you've read anything like this before.

Great Addition.......2007-03-27

I've been working on the first book of the three and so far I'm enjoying it as much as all the other Dragonlance Novels I've read. If you love the Dragonlance novels, you won't be upset with this pick.

Dragons of a Fallen Sun (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume I)

Average customer rating:

Good Universe, Boring Characters
Amazing Read
I should've left well enough alone...
Good, But also bad
A New Start

Dragons of a Fallen Sun (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume I)
Margaret Weis , and Tracy Hickman
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Dragons of a Lost Star (The War of Souls, Volume II)
Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: War of Souls, Book 3)
Dragons of Summer Flame
The Second Generation
War of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends, Vol. 2)

ASIN: 0786918071
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Amazon.com

Finally! Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have returned to Krynn, picking up at long last Dragonlance's seminal--and best--story line. Following directly on the heels of 1996's Dragons of Summer Flame, this new trilogy (dubbed The War of Souls) continues the arc begun with their phenomenally popular Chronicles series released so many moons ago. This first installment, Dragons of a Fallen Sun, sets up another epic conflict for the poor war-torn, dragon-beset populace of Krynn, some 40 years after the close of the Chaos War (and even longer since the triumph of the Companions in the War of the Lance), with the great dragons holding sway over most of Ansalon.

The action in Fallen Sun breaks as the mother of all storms sweeps across Ansalon, wreaking havoc on all the book's players: the Knights of Neraka (née Takhisis) laying siege to Solamnic-controlled Sanction; the elves of Qualinesti and their hated cousins the Silvanesti, barricaded behind an enormous magical shield; the aging Goldmoon in the Citadel of Light; the dragons, Malys, Beryl, et al., holed up in their lairs; even Bertrem and the librarians of Palanthas must scramble to keep their precious volumes dry. But it's a small girl who lies at the center of all this, an enigmatic waif who's quietly begun a bloody path of conquest in the name of the One God--even though now, in the Fifth Age, magic is on the wane and Krynn has no gods. Or does it? Heroes still die, mysteries still go unsolved, and Weis and Hickman show that they've still got it in spades, introducing a new set of characters (plus a couple of old favorites) and enough plot and locale jumps to keep you from wandering off. (The duo even provides enough backstory for Dragonlance neophytes to follow along.) --Paul Hughes

Book Description

The people of Krynn have known war in past ages. Some are still alive who remember the triumph of good at the conclusion of the War of the Lance. Still more remember the devastation of the Chaos War, which ended the Fourth Age of the world.

But now a new war is about to begin, more terrible than any have known. This war is one for the very heart and soul of the world itself.

Customer Reviews:

Good Universe, Boring Characters.......2007-09-20

I was a huge fan of the original Dragonlance Trilogy and the Twins Trilogy. Both of those were great!

However, this book is incredibly slow and NONE of the characters are interesting. They aren't heroic, villainous, funny, inspiring, or charismatic.

Where is the chemistry bewteen characters?
Where are the epic battles?
Where are the breath-taking landscapes?

Oh, yeah... in the first 6 books, but not in this one.

Amazing Read.......2007-01-05

It helps if you have read the Time of the Twins series, but not necessary, I hadn't but i could still follow the story very well. Fast read as it is very intriuging and entertaining.

I should've left well enough alone..........2006-01-30

I'm going to echo what I've read other people write about the series: the quality of the writing really went downhill since the last time I read a book by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It reminded me of the difference between the beginning of the Death's Gate Cycle and the end, when they seemed to be rushing through details to finish. I don't know if they needed to be edited a bit more or if they just focused too much on trying to move forward the overly-complicated plot and not enough on the actual writing. The second novel of this trilogy, "Dragons of a Lost Star," is by far the best: unfortunately, you have to get through the 600+ of "Dragons of a Fallen Sun" to get there. The characters are largely uninteresting and unlikeable. In fact, the only reason I liked "Lost Star" as much as I did is that Laurana play such a prominent role; but, I'm invested in Lauarana only from her role in the other DL books not from anything the authors have done here. The final book, "Dragons of a Vanished Moon," had a meandering plot and an ending that seemed completely contrived and overly simplistic. All in all, I should've just stopped with "Dragons of Summer Flame" and called my time on Krynn done.

Good, But also bad.......2005-11-27

THis is a great book, but Krynn in this book reminds me of a house you have moved out of. All the walls, doors, and windows are still there, but the furniture is moved around, and different people live in it. Krynn has the same geography as it did in the chronicles pretty much, but without the gods to influence things and most of the characters we know gone, its like I said, the moved out of house. The part that especially saddened me was the Tower of HIgh Sorcery formerly of Palanthas. It was surrounded by the shoikan grove, housing the most powerful wizard who ever lived. Full of Potential. but now, all the artifacts inside the Tower drained of magic, the shoikan grove gone, and the tower in disrepair, it is just saddedening. ALmost nothing can happen from there. But I have read lster in the trilogy and it gets way better. My advice, tough it out, and get to the good later books.

A New Start.......2005-09-06

Weis and Hickman again refresh the Dragonlance world. There seems to be a darker tone to this novel, and much more depth than I have read from them in the past. While I don't think that anything can compete with the Chronicles and Legends, this is about as close as you can get. Many of the old familiar characters are back, but it is the new and lesser known ones that get most of the spotlight. You don't get any better when Weis and Hickman are working together on Dragonlance.

Sun-Runner's Fire (Dragon Prince, Book 3)

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
Good conclusion for the sunrunner series
Sun Runner' Fire
Become A Sunrunner
Rawn's Best

Sun-Runner's Fire (Dragon Prince, Book 3)
Melanie Rawn
Manufacturer: DAW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Star Scroll (Dragon Prince)
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ASIN: 0886774039

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-25

Rohan and Sioned's son Pol is of the grown up variety now, and he gets to start doing the fantasy adventure thing himself.

Star scrolls, dragons, other and different opposing types of magic, the odd concerned parent, a girl or two are some of the things he has to deal with.

Good conclusion for the sunrunner series.......2006-08-22

Before you read this (vol 3), read "The Dragon Prince" and the "Star Scroll" also by Rawn.

Finally the politics are settled by confrontations, including battles between the Sunrunners and their ancient sorcerous enemies, the Stone-burners. This is a worthy finish for the trilogy, and if you liked the first two, you won't be disappointed.

I'd recommend stopping here and avoiding the "Dragon Token" trilogy which follows this one. That series takes place years later and focuses on different characters I liked less.

Sun Runner' Fire.......2006-03-04

I enjoyed this. I have like Melanie Rawn books. I would like to know what happen to The Captal' Tower.

Become A Sunrunner.......2003-08-20

This is one great book. It sparks an urge in you to become a great sunnrunner. This book is greatly written and is a great conclusion to the Dragon Prince series. It also features the maturation of the great Lord Andry.

Rawn's Best.......2002-07-08

I would have to say that this book is even better than The Star Scroll. First of all she labeled her chapters with dates which kept the order of things. Also the plot ran smoothly along with from the first page to the last. I have one thing to say to disagree with another person's idea of Rohan's character he is not "faultless". Uh he liked had a very hard life and he has many trips along the road of life along with that his son was not even from his own wife. So when you review a book read it please.

Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

Average customer rating:

Lectures on Shambhala
"It's real, sweethearts..."
Great Eastern Sun
Dazzling, exasperating
Every minute is important.

Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala (Shambhala Dragon Editions)
Chogyam Trungpa
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior
Meditation in Action (Shambhala Library)
The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation (Shambhala Pocket Classics)
The Heart of the Buddha (Dharma Ocean Series, 1)
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

ASIN: 1570628181
Release Date: 2001-07-17

Amazon.com

Chögyam Trungpa had a vision of a society of enlightened people, or at least of people on the path to enlightenment. These are the Shambhala warriors, people "brave enough not to give in to the aggression and contradictions that exist in society." A companion volume to Trungpa's classic Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, Great Eastern Sun is an invitation for all people to discover their own goodness, which is always there, just as the sun is always rising. Trungpa had an uncanny grasp of the hang-ups and excuses that keep Westerners in their safe ego cocoons, and in Great Eastern Sun he entices us all out, to express our goodness and live a life on the edge of insecurity. The mindful life turns out to be one of detached but sacred existence, floating with the power of compassionate awareness. A genuine life is what Trungpa propels us to, and Great Eastern Sun is his lantern for guiding us down the path of genuine living. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

In Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior ChÃ¶gyam Trungpa offers an inspiring and practical guide to enlightened living based on the Shambhala journey of warriorship, a secular path taught internationally through the Shambhala Training program. Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala is a continuation of that path. Shambhala was an exploration of human goodness and its potential to create an enlightened societyâa state that the author calls "nowness." And in that spirit of nowness, Great Eastern Sun âwhich is accessible to meditators and nonmeditators alikeâcenters on the question, "Since we're here, how are we going to live from now on?"

Customer Reviews:

Lectures on Shambhala.......2007-04-12

In her lovely Afterward, ed. Carolyn Gimian sensitively, yet honestly presents the life & work of Trungpa Rinpoche (TR)--context for the text's 21 (of 5000) TR talks: 2 public & 19 from 5th/final level weekend Shambhala trainings. Sections are different weekends; thus, some redundancy. It complements the prior "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior." Gimian preserves TR's personality, humor, crazy wisdom, & humanity, adding relevant pictures, TR's poems, a glossary, & index. TR well-describes the teachings: p. 212: "In & of itself, the Shambhala vision is not overly complicated or difficult. Often we see it & say, "Oh, I know that." It feels like something very familiar to us. The real challenge is letting these principles penetrate our being & not letting arrogance & depression consume us. The Shambhala warrior knows that life can be simple. Yet these straightforward teachings have a profound effect. They are not theoretical spiritual exercises: they are pragmatic methods to help people raise their children, develop art, or run their own coffee shops. Through the years, the practical element of these teachings has become more & more powerful."

"Seemingly simple-minded teachings" include: meditation (p. 94), mantra (p. 202),
DISCRIMINATING WISDOM--
pp. 27-8: Discrimination in the Shambhala world means clear seeing or clear thinking.
p. 51: When I came to [USA]...my 1st message to them was, `Please be critical. Don't buy anything that somebody says. Question this. Try to develop critical intelligence."

BASIC GOODNESS--
p. 234: In the Shambhala teachings, basic goodness is the concept of Buddha-nature.
p. 124: the way to give yourself a good time is to be gentle with yourself. A lot of problems come from self-hatred. Let us let go of that.

SERVICE--
p. 13: It is about time that we become responsible for this world.
p. 175: The main point is to help others be good human beings in their own way.

And profound, delightful imagery/phrases: p. 123: "Listen to your own brook, echoing yourself & p. 153: The ordinariness of extraordinariness...ordinariness is extraordinary." No wonder Gimian says p. 223: "Privately everyone reads him, although not everyone admits it." Overall, the book is easy, relatively light, reading though it can be read on several levels. However, I did like the earlier volume better.

"It's real, sweethearts...".......2005-03-07

I find this presentation of Trungpa's Shambhala vision much more intimate and satisfying than the first book, Shambhala. Both books offer clear and practical advice transparently; Great Eastern Sun leaves more of the edges and contrasts in the foreground, giving a more nuanced taste of the good times at Trungpa's house. This is a very rewarding volume, and as the other reviewers have noted, it's good to read this one more than once. (Really, that goes for all serious reading. Real books are not one-time-use disposables.)

That said, I would like to follow up on one of Trungpa's suggestions in Great Eastern Sun: "It would be worth investigation futher the origins of Shambhala vision in the European traditions... to conduct a study of Western historical figures who tried to achieve the Shambhala vision of englightened society" (p 134). Okay. Trungpa's contemporaries, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, had a vision of their own, and one quite resonant with Trungpa's: "Learning to undo things, and to undo onesself, is proper to the war machine: the 'not doing' of the warrior, the undoing of the subject" (A Thousand Plateaus p 400). So long, neurosis.

I'm a bit disappointed that some of Trungpa's actual words (the dreaded 'f-word' for one) were edited from this volume. Trungpa, like Joseph Conrad and V Nabokov, was a second-language master of the English tongue, and chose his words very carefully for impact. He chose punchiness in his diction, he took a risk; why pretend he played it safe?

Here's to Trungpa's successes, and to the birth pangs of a culture of englightenment. Cheers!

HOMAGE TO ACALA VIDHYARAJA, the Immoveable Radiant King! Namah samanta vajranam chanda maharosana sphotaya hum trat ham mam!

Great Eastern Sun.......2001-12-28

This book is a tough read, it becomes very tricky to piece together certain understandings. I would suggest reading it twice. But the profundity is there. I have not read any other Shambala teachings, but the "Primordial Dot" has been very intriguing to meditate upon. Along with the awakening from the "shadow world" of the autonomous mind; this parralels other buddhist teachings. A nice addition to any collection, the hardcover is bleach white with the great eastern sun symbol in gold. It complements my Art of War hardcover which is completely black and the same size.

Dazzling, exasperating.......2001-10-25

"The Great Eastern Sun" is presented as a companion volume to Chogyam Trungpa's spiritual classic "Shambhala: The Sacred Art of the Warrior."

Both books were based on Trungpa's talks, but "The Great Eastern Sun" has suffered (or benefitted) from a much lighter editorial hand. The result is that the present volume preserves a stronger flavor of Trungpa's teaching style. On the other hand, the talks in this book were intended for a more advanced audience who were presumed to be already familiar with the material presented in the earlier book.

My experience of Trungpa's books has always been one of a cumulative effect. It helps to read, to practice, to read again, and to practice some more. The extraordinary nature of the teachings grow clearer with time and practice, although sometimes very little comes through on the first reading.

Every minute is important........2000-09-26

Chogyam Trungpa uses the Great Eastern Sun as a metaphor for liberation. It is always rising, and "there is always the potential for human beings to discover their own goodness and the sacredness of the world" (p. xvi). It represents "the dawn of wakefulness" (p. 151), and "overcoming frivolity and becoming a decent person" (p. 161). Conversely, the world in which people are "sleeping in their cocoons trying to avoid the pain of death is called the setting-sun world" (p. 9). Trungpa observes that the setting-sun world is synonymous with having a "groovy" time, trying to avoid the reality of impermanence (p. 162).

The basic goal of Trungpa's Eastern Sun teachings is "to radiate the peacefulness of nonaggression, learning how to develop discipline and wisdom, and developing the wisdom of body, speech, and mind" (pp. 50-51). Trungpa encourages us to take care of the world, and also have a sense of humor (p. 210). "Listen to your own brook, echoing yourself" (p. 123).

For some enlightening reading, I recommend Trungpa's GREAT EASTERN SUN.

G. Merritt

Mastering the Art of War (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

Average customer rating:

Decent
Great Book
An Excellent Study in Strategy.
Very general, like a book of proverbs.
Understanding the Book you are Reviewing

Mastering the Art of War (Shambhala Dragon Editions)
Liang Zhuge
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0877735131
Release Date: 1989-11-18

Book Description

Composed by two prominent statesmen-generals of classical China, this book develops the strategies of Sun Tzu's classic, The Art of War, into a complete handbook of organization and leadership. The great leaders of ancient China who were trained in Sun Tzu's principles understood how war is waged successfully, both materially and mentally, and how victory and defeat follow clear social, psychological, and environmental laws. Drawing on episodes from the panorama of Chinese history, Mastering the Art of War presents practical summaries of these essential laws along with tales of conflict and strategy that show in concrete terms the proper use of Sun Tzu's principles. The book also examines the social and psychological aspects of organization and crisis management. The translator's introduction surveys the Chinese philosophies of war and conflict and explores in depth the parallels between The Art of War and the oldest handbook of strategic living, the I Ching (Book of Changes).

Customer Reviews:

Decent.......2007-04-01

This book is decent if you have not extensively looked at chinese strategy. It lists Zhuge Liang's Essays, however you can find those for free on many websites, as well as inside the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the reason you should get this book is mainly because it offers a lot of history on Liu Ji, which is a LOT harder to find almost anywhere, and that part of it is extremely valuable in my eyes.

Great Book.......2006-10-17

I will not give a long narrative of this book but I think it is an excellent read of Zhuge Liang's ideas on strategy. Although not complete it is great stepping stone for anyone interested in Liang's ideas. From Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang has been viewed by myself as an incredible strategist and after reading this book I've gone on to read other books written or written about Liang. The Shambhala edition does have some bias but you cannot bias your own thoughts of Liang's strategies.

An Excellent Study in Strategy........2005-03-13

All Art of War buffs have their own opinions of Thomas Cleary and Mr. Cleary has an obvious bias in this book. Having said that, one must understand that this is NOT "The Art of War" but rather a translation of Zhuge Liang's and Lin Ji's commentaries on the Art of War by Sun Tzu.

I enjoyed it very much and found it had some things I had not read in The Art of War . . . and I've read and re-read most if not all of the translations, including Mr. Cleary's.

As with The Art of War, I found a good deal of help in here for running my business. Business, after all, is indeed war.

I highly recommend this book.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Creative Director
Powerwriting.com LLC
http://www.powerwriting.com

Very general, like a book of proverbs........2005-01-12

Let me first clarify the confusion over Sun Wu ("Sun Tzu")'s The Art of War and this book.

This is not a translation of the book The Art of War as it is known by the Western world. Sun Wu, a strategist from hundreds of years before Zhuge Liang, is indeed the father of Chinese military strategy, but culturally Zhuge Liang has acquired an even higher stature. A master strategist in the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang was dubbed "The Hidden Dragon", one of the two greatest strategists of the time, alongside his colleague Pang Tong ("The Young Phoenix"). Zhuge Liang almost single-handedly turned the wandering warlord Liu Bei, "whose army did not exceed a thousand", into one of the three superpowers during the Chinese civil wars of the Three Kingdoms. Zhuge Liang's reputation for manipulating the enemy was so great that he eventually became known as a sorceror figure who was able to summon weather and conjure spirits to do his bidding. For the record -- Zhuge Liang, philosophically, belonged to the "ru jia", or "confucianism", and *not* taoism or legalism, though often his methodology and concepts show similarities to the latter two. Zhuge Liang belongs in a tradition of "ru zhang", or "confucian generals", military leaders who were learned and studied, skilled in literature and philosophy, yet actively led military campaigns.

His influence has permeated Chinese culture -- in Chinese language, the name "Zhuge Liang" is now used (and not archaically) as a symbol of preternatural intelligence, while if you used "Sun Tzu" in your everyday language, you'd be considered pretentious.

Finally, the very title "The Art of War" has always been misleading. The Chinese term "bing fa" means more along the lines of "the methodology of war", and the use of this term often does *not* refer to the specific title of Sun Wu's treatise; the words "bing fa" are often used in the way you'd use the words "geography", "physics", or "agriculture". The translation "The Art of War" probably puts Sun Wu's original work more in the realm of philosophy than was ever intended -- imagine if a book entitled "Geographical Studies" were translated as "The Art of the Earth".

This particular book is *not* a translation of Sun Wu's "bing fa". It does not pretend to be one: The cover explicitly says that it is "Zhuge Liang's and Liu Ji's commentaries on the classic by Sun Tzu". So those who complain that this is a poor translation of Sun Wu's book need to have their eyesight checked.

That said, I still have major issues with this book.

I've never had the chance to read any of Zhuge Liang's original writings on warfare. Fictitious accounts of his life as related in Romance of the Three Kingdoms mention books that he'd passed onto his military successor Jiang Wei, but I had never found these in the original Chinese language. Thomas Cleary's translated passages in this book read as extremely dry, and far too general. Most of the concepts amount to "Be kind to your men, be smart in dealing with your enemies, don't fight unless victory is sure". All true, of course, but how useful is that? Occasionally interesting angles emerge ("to know an officer, get them drunk to observe their nature"; "a decadence in a general - to assess others without assessing oneself"), but all in all, these translated passages read like proverbs, with broadly defined terms. Not having read the original Chinese text, I don't know whether the problem stems from the original works by Zhuge Liang or from Mr. Cleary's translations, but I do know that the Chinese language, especially passages of discourse, are highly difficult to translate and often come across as broad and imprecise when put into another language. There are so many Chinese words without properly English equivalents (for example "Xiao", which combines filial obedience with love, and "Yi", which means far more than just "honour" or "loyalty" could convey) that Chinese-English translation is always a tricky business.

However, in moving to the second half, the "Liu Ji" section, I find major flaws in Mr. Cleary's work. The right-hand man of Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuan Zhang, Liu Ji was another strategist who had acquired near-mystical status; under his familiar name "Liu Ba Wen", Liu Ji is known as a fortune-teller figure who saves Zhu by reading omens and stars. He's not exactly known for military strategy in the same way as Sun Wu or Zhuge Liang, but once I'd figured out who he was, I was quite eager to read the translation.

Much like the approach of Meng Zi ("Mencius"), Liu Ji uses examples and stories to illustrate his points -- which makes his points a livelier read. Unfortunately, here Mr. Cleary's translations are often awkward, bogged down by names and geography. This book was smart in including a timeline of dynasties and Chinese historical periods referred to in Liu Ji's tales, but probably should have included maps from various periods. Many of the warlord states and territories over Chinese history share the same phonetic translation ("Jin", "Han", "Wei", and "Wu" all have multiple, disparate representatives throughout Chinese history), and Mr. Cleary's translations of these tales become very cluttered because of this. I had studied the Warring States and Three Kingdoms periods quite a bit, if not in an academic setting, and even I was usually confused as to when and where I was in a particular tale.

However, Mr. Cleary makes an even greater mistake in certain tales by omitting the names of participants. And when a tale refers to "this general and that governor and that other general...", it's linguistic chaos. As difficult as it may be to know the various phonetically translated names, omitting them not only raises questions as to the translation's faithfulness to the original text, but also discredits such tales on a stylistic level -- without the specificity of characters, the accounts may well have been fictitious (though they're not).

On a very broad level, some of the concepts in this book probably can be applied to the modern day. But there are precious few strategies to be absorbed from here that are detailed and specific enough to prove practically useful. Personally, I had bought this book in hopes of getting a more historical and less mystical picture of the man Zhuge Liang himself, and on that front, this book was entirely wrong for the job. I knew no more about Zhuge Liang after reading this than I had known from growing up in Chinese culture, reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and my past historical research into the Three Kingdoms period. So to me, this book is simply a novelty, lacking in the information I needed.

Understanding the Book you are Reviewing.......2004-02-01

I can see from the other reviews of this book that those who rated it poorly had a basic misunderstanding of What they were reading. It seems that several folks were under the impression that they were reading Sun Tzu's " The Art Of War". Perhaps before attempting to read a book you should attemp to learn how to read.

Customer Reviews:

Very good.......1999-08-23

I found this book to be excellant, perhaps the only dark sun thing you can buy new over the net. Excellent things for wizards if you do not have dragon mkijngs since it repeats all the things from DK for wizards. some excellant information enhances the classess and rleplaying of them immensly. this book is let down slightly in its wizard kits, some are not bad but some are a little stupid and pointless. btu overall this book is a must, however i personally prefer the SKs getting their power from a mysterious (now extinct) elemental being (in terms of granting templars spells) but thats just me

Great book.......1999-01-06

Drak sun is a land destroyed by magic. There are still wizards, they are hunted and killed like the salam witch trials. There are two types defilers and preservers. Defilers want to cast spells at what ever cost, even the land and their lives. Preservers, however, want to keep the land in one piece and help it survive. Both are equally hunted. This book is filled with magic and abilities great for darksun and non darksun settings.

Average customer rating:

Dark Sun: Dragon Kings (2nd Edition)
Timothy B. Brown
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Valley of Dust and Fire (Dsr4 Accessory, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
Freedom (Ds1, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dark Sun Module)
Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs (Dark Sun Adventure/Accessory)
Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Expanded and Revised
City by the Silt Sea (AD&D 2nd Ed. Fantasy Roleplaying)

ASIN: 1560762357

Thri-Kreen of Athas (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition : Dark Sun)

Average customer rating:

The Best Dark Sun World Accessory EVER!!!

Thri-Kreen of Athas (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition : Dark Sun)

Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Complete Gladiator's Handbook (AD&D/Dark Sun Accessory CGR2)
Black Spine (Dark Sun)
Mind Lords of the Last Sea (AD&D Fantasy Roleplaying, Dark Sun Accessory)
Monstrous Manual (AD&D 2nd Ed Fantasy Roleplaying Accessory, 2140)

ASIN: 078690125X

Customer Reviews:

The Best Dark Sun World Accessory EVER!!!.......1998-06-10

Sure, to run a long term Dark Sun campaign you need "Dragon Kings." And sure, to run a really good cleric you need "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water." And sure, to flesh out the psionics of Athas you need "The Will and the Way." But, the things above are things you need to play a good Dark Sun campaign, "The Thri-kreen of Athas" you should buy simply to treat yourself to the most unique player character race in the AD&D line. With loads of description of the Thri-kreen, that fleshes out their character on any world. "The Thri-Kreen of Athas" is something every DM should have when planning to include Thri-kreen in their campaign. . Sort of like the new "Illithaid," "I Tyrant," or "The Sea Devils." Only with a more neutral creature being described, and without a trilogy of adventures for it.

The Ivory Triangle (AD&D/Dark Sun Boxed Set, Accessory) (Accessory Boxed Set, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, 2418)

Average customer rating:

A great campaign with 2 opposite communities

The Ivory Triangle (AD&D/Dark Sun Boxed Set, Accessory) (Accessory Boxed Set, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, 2418)
TSR
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Entertainment | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

Valley of Dust and Fire (Dsr4 Accessory, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
City by the Silt Sea (AD&D 2nd Ed. Fantasy Roleplaying)
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Road to Urik (Dsq1, Dark Sun Game): Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Official Game Adventure
Black Flames (AD&D/Dark Sun Module DSM1) (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, Dsm1 Adventure Module, 2417)

ASIN: 1560766042

Customer Reviews:

A great campaign with 2 opposite communities.......1998-06-29

Deals with 2 kingdoms which do have political problems with each other. A war is sure to start, and they are both preparing for it. Descriptions of outposts and 4 other creatures is included along with an adventure module

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