Time of the Twins is the first book in the Dragonlance Legends trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It continues the story of the brothers Raistlin and Caramon Majere a few years after the War of the Lance. Raistlin has set his sights on overthrowing Takhisis and becoming an actual god. However, his plan requires the help of someone who is considered pure so he sets his sights on Crysania, a cleric of Paladine who works under Elistan in Palanthas. Crysania, having fallen for Raistlin, decides he needs to be saved instead of stopped so she heads for the Tower of Wayreth to learn how. Tanis manages to convince Tas to help her out and together they convince Caramon to help as well though Caramon has developed his own issues since the war. The head of the tower of Wayreth, Par-Salian, is convinced that Raistlin’s plan is to travel back to the cataclysm and learn directly from Fistandantilus. In order to stop him he decides that Crysania and Caramon should also travel back as well, however they are unintentionally joined at the last minute by Tas who refuses to let Caramon go without help.
This book was an interesting addition to the overall Dragonlance universe and more specifically the lore surrounding the Heroes of the Lance and the Majere twins. However, it is also a marked difference from the Dragonlance Chronicles and the Lost Chronicles in many ways. This story is focused on the conflict between the two brothers, Caramon and Raistlin, but also in many ways the internal conflict each of them faces. Raistlin in regards to how best to achieve his stated goal of becoming a god and Caramon about what he should or should not be doing about Raistlin. This creates a different feel for the story as it is more about internal conflict than external conflict. As such there is a lot more introspection for the characters and we see a lot more of their individual thought processes and how and why their views and opinions change. It also has a much smaller cast of characters so we get more in-depth insight into the characters, specifically the twins more than anybody. Perhaps the biggest change is the overall tone though as this book comes across as more serious and almost dark at times in comparison to some of the other works about this group of heroes. The other stories had a lot more humor to them than this one did, even with Tas being included. Something I did appreciate is how this storyline allowed for a greater development of the Dragonlance setting and the world of Krynn by including the time travel. It allows for a first hand glimpse of how previous events have played out. While it was different it was still a great addition to this setting and I greatly enjoyed it so I am happy to give it four out of five stars.
This is a good example of adult fantasy and if you happen to be an adult who enjoys the fantasy genre you might consider trying this one. It is the first part of a series and is also technically part of an overarching storyline that covers several different related series. However, you can read it on its own without having read any other Dragonlance novels though you will be missing some background information that would potentially be useful. There is some violence and oblique references to adult content but no actual adult or mature content is present in the book. In my opinion the book could be read by readers as young as fourteen because of that. Overall a good book that should appeal to fantasy readers so consider trying it. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.