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Dragons of Deceit

Overview

Dragons of Deceit marks the return of the original Dragonlance creators to the world they helped define. Set during and around the events of the War of the Lance, the novel introduces a new heroine, Destina Rosethorn, whose grief and obsession with changing fate draw her into a time-traveling quest with cosmic implications.

Featuring iconic characters like Lord Soth, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Dalamar, and Raistlin Majere, this is both a love letter to longtime fans and a fresh entry point for new readers—filled with classic Dragonlance themes of destiny, sacrifice, and moral choice, but with a twist of temporal paradox and magical consequence.

Main Character: Destina Rosethorn

  • A noble-born Solamnic girl, raised in honor, tradition, and faith in the knighthood.
  • Her world is shattered when her father dies during the War of the Lance, and her family falls into ruin.
  • She refuses to accept fate and becomes obsessed with changing the past—no matter the cost.
  • Intelligent, passionate, and often naive, Destina’s journey is one of mourning, determination, and dangerous idealism.

Supporting Characters

  • Tasslehoff Burrfoot – The beloved kender returns, bringing chaos, curiosity, and an artifact that allows time travel.
  • Lord Soth – The infamous death knight plays a critical role as a force of destiny and undeath, haunting both past and future.
  • Dalamar the Dark – The elven Black Robe wizard, ever calculating, becomes involved in the unfolding time crisis.
  • Raistlin Majere – Appearing later in the story, his presence once again throws power, prophecy, and peril into motion.
  • Time Journeyers – A cabal of temporal travelers whose meddling with history creates dangerous echoes across the timeline.

Setting

  • The novel traverses multiple time periods:
    • The present, during the aftermath of the War of the Lance.
    • The past, during the Cataclysm and early Solamnic wars.
    • Alternate timelines, where fate has been rewritten by magic and choice.

Locations include:

  • Solamnia
  • Palanthas
  • Dargaard Keep
  • Various other classic Dragonlance locales, some seen in altered or fractured states.

Plot Summary

A Daughter’s Grief

After the death of her father, Sir Rosethorn, Destina’s family is left in disgrace. The knighthood turns cold, and her ancestral home is lost.

Refusing to accept this, Destina seeks a way to rewrite the past. Her search leads her to Tasslehoff Burrfoot and his Device of Time Journeying—the magical artifact once used to travel through time.

The Ripple Effect

Against all warnings, Destina uses the device, triggering a rupture in the timeline. What begins as a mission to save her father becomes a disaster of unintended consequences, as events across Krynn’s history begin to warp.

She draws the attention of forces beyond her control, including Lord Soth, who sees opportunity in the shifting time stream, and Dalamar, who realizes Destina may have triggered a temporal catastrophe.

Time’s Threads Entangle

Destina’s journey spirals through alternate pasts and futures, where she confronts:

  • The cost of her interference
  • Visions of Raistlin Majere, whose grasp of time and ambition may echo hers
  • Her own morality—Is it right to alter fate for personal reasons, even to save a loved one?

As she begins to understand the power of choice, Destina realizes that undoing her father’s death may doom the world.

Climax: A Choice of Sacrifice

Destina faces a final choice: restore the timeline at the cost of her father… or preserve her selfish vision and risk unraveling time itself.

Her arc concludes with bittersweet growth, as she begins to grasp the true meaning of honor, sacrifice, and legacy—not through force, but through acceptance of the past.

Themes

  • Grief and Obsession – Destina’s desperate need to reverse tragedy drives the story, reflecting real human denial and grief.
  • Time and Consequence – The novel explores how choices ripple, how the past is fixed for a reason, and how fate cannot be bent without cost.
  • Legacy and Honor – What does it mean to live up to a name? Destina must discover that true strength lies in the present, not the past.
  • Redemption and Growth – The characters, both new and old, struggle with who they were and who they must become in the face of time’s judgment.

Tone & Style

  • Classic Dragonlance voice, with a blend of heroic adventure, emotional introspection, and moral dilemma.
  • Weis and Hickman’s writing is nostalgic but fresh, mixing familiar characters with new ideas like time travel and alternate fates.
  • Fans of Chronicles and Legends will feel deep echoes—but the tone is slightly more mature, reflective, and tragic.

Reception

Dragons of Deceit is praised for:

  • Reintroducing Dragonlance’s heart, tone, and scope with love and care.
  • A compelling new heroine in Destina, whose flaws and courage make her relatable.
  • Cleverly weaving in fan-favorite characters without overwhelming the story.
  • Creative use of time travel, adding new angles to beloved lore.

Some critiques:

  • The time travel mechanics can be confusing at times or feel hand-wavy.
  • Readers new to Dragonlance may miss the emotional weight of returning icons like Raistlin or Soth.
  • The novel ends on a cliffhanger, clearly setting up Book 2 (Dragons of Fate).

Final Thoughts

Dragons of Deceit is a powerful, heartfelt return to Krynn, offering both a fresh hero’s journey and a love letter to Dragonlance fans. It’s a story about loss, hope, and the dangerous allure of rewriting destiny, with all the charm, sorrow, and magic that made the original series legendary.

Recommended for:

  • Longtime Dragonlance fans seeking a worthy sequel era
  • New readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy with high emotional stakes
  • Anyone fascinated by time travel, moral choices, and mythic worlds

“You cannot change the past. But you can decide what kind of future you will live in.”

Dragons of Deceit