Dragons of Spring Dawning is the third and final book in the Dragonlance chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It chronicles the trials of the adventurers as they work on gearing up for the, hopefully, final thrust against the armies of evil dragons and their draconian allies. Laurana works with the remnants of the knights of Solamnia and their assorted allied armies as they mount knights on the good dragons and arm them with the new dragonlances. Tanis works to protect and understand the green gemstone man and what is needed to hopefully end the war for good. In the background of that Caramon and Raistlin have to deal with the growing gulf between them and the growing concern of what side Raistlin is actually on in regards to the war. As the adventurers work on reuniting they also work on regaining trust in each other and facing their own emotions.
I have come to the end of the trilogy and it feels like it should have been longer considering the events that have taken place. Three books cover from the start of a war to the end of a war but they did not cover everything in between, only most things. However, they did cover the continued growth of the various characters as they deal with the war and everything else that occurs, such as Tanis spending time with Kitiara even though she is working as a dragonlord for the evil dragons, or the growing distrust towards Raistlin. For some characters it is even more than that as Caramon has to face his brother, the same brother who he has supported when no one else would, essentially turning his back on him. On top of dealing with finding out about his sister Kitiara. Watching these characters as they deal with tragic and heartbreaking events to the best of their abilities is very fascinating. Each character may deal with slightly different, albeit related, things but ultimately none of them let it break them. Though I am not entirely sure about Raistlin as he might come close at times. What I am trying to get at though is that even though the story is obviously fantasy and the characters are not entirely human they feel human. They exhibit the same doubts and insecurities that people actually feel in real life and that is what makes them so realistic but also so moving. I may not have ever been in the same situation as them, for obvious reasons, but I am able to still feel emotionally connected to them even if only on a limited basis. The emotional depth of these characters is rather impressive as that is something that is not always prioritized in a story and not easy to achieve, especially with such a large group of adventurers. Even more so when almost every character in the group has that depth though only a fraction of them serve as narrators who provide a first-person point of view. I think, overall, that this was a great series and I am rather sad to see it ending already but I am giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Ultimately, I would not only recommend this book but I would recommend the entire series. I would add that I think it would appeal mostly to people who are fans of this kind of fantasy, or even perhaps just fans of the fantasy genre in general. Fantasy is a broad genre though so this particular story may not be for everyone. If it sounds good though go ahead and try it. I would suggest that you read the previous two books in the series though so that you aren’t diving in at the end. You really need the background from the previous two books in order to really understand what is going on. If you happen to be familiar with these books feel free to share your thoughts in the comments as I look forward to knowing what you think.