Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance Chronicles, Volume II)

Dragons of Autumn Twilight sets 'em up, and Dragons of Winter Night knocks 'em down. The second volume in Dragonlance's seminal trilogy stokes the action with a big ol' blast of dragon breath. The War of the Lance has begun in earnest, and the Companions--Tanis, Flint, the twins Raistlin and Sturm, Flint Fireforge, Goldmoon, et al.--find themselves separated across Ansalon. Everyone's figured out that Takhisis's dragon minions aren't just scary bedtime stories, and the desperate search for the Dragon Orbs and the mythical Dragonlance is on. Lots of great combat, some humor and romance sprinkled in, and more solid character development for this complex band (especially Tanis and Laurana). An excellent follow-up bookended by cliffhangers--check out Dragons of Spring Dawning to see what happens next. --Paul Hughes