Join me as I review Kinslayer Wars by Douglas Niles, live! Share your thoughts on this second novel in the Dragonlance: Elven Nations Trilogy released on January 1, 1991 by TSR, Inc. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/428LDMY
About Kinslayer Wars
The fate of the elven nations rests in the hands of rival twin brothers—and their ability to put an end to their bitter, bloody feud
As the human army of Ergoth advances upon Silvanesti, the elves must unite to turn back the tide of conquest. Prince Kith-Kanan, returned from exile, must now come to terms with his rival—his twin brother, King Sithas—if he is to save his home.
Together, the two brothers set out on an epic quest to rescue the elven nations from its human invaders. But old grievances do not die easily—even when the survival of the realm is at stake. The noble twins, once the closest of kin, are caught in a schism so fierce, it may prove just as fatal as the Ergothian Empire itself.
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Bakukal, Holmswelth the 2nd. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Kinslayer Wars by Douglas Niles. I will be spoiling the story, so if you don’t want to know it, stop watching now! I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this YouTube channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.
The first part of this novel deals directly with the war between Ergoth and Silvanesti. The Emperor of Ergoth is a sadistic monster of a ruler who tortures and murders his own men who fail to live up to his expectations. His niece, Suzine Des Quivalin is in a relationship with one of the generals of the emperor’s army traveling south to war with the elves. General Xalthan, Barnet and Giarna are leading separate forces.
We pick up with Kith-Kanan who is confident in his war, after defeating many of the forces placed in front of him, but when he faces General Giarna, he is stunned at how brutal and effective they are. They face off against the Wildrunners and the army from Silvanost and decimate the elves. Kith Kanana is taken prisoner, and it is revealed that the General’s woman, Suzine, is seeing events through a magical mirror and has become infatuated with Kith. She wants to know more about him, and as he breaks out of his captivity due to her aid, he thanks her for keeping his identity a secret.
He returns to Sithelbek fortress where the Ergothian army lays a prolonged siege, with no side coming out on top. Faced with insurmountable odds, Kith reaches out to his brother Sith for aid, but he has his own issues to deal with. Sithas does not want to scare the public and risk losing their support in the war when they realize the true toll this war is taking on their sons and daughters. Thousands have died and more expected to follow. He is trying to find a diplomatic way around sending new troops, all compounded by the dwarves’ new diplomat, a Thiewar named Than-Kar. He is secretly in league with the Ergothian Emperor and preventing any support from Thorbardin for the elves.
Hermathya is pregnant and has been much more loving to Sithas, who has responded in kind. He brought more of her family into the palace to aid in the war effort and this brings her joy. Sithas’ mother, Nirakina does not trust her or her family however. She has secretly sent an ambassador to Thordardin to discover why they won’t help with the war after having agreed to do so with Dunbarth Ironthumb. She is counseling her son to bring Kith home to plan out the war.
Sithas is more than happy to do so and sends Kith’s griffon to collect him. Kith leaves Sithelbeck and flies home after stopping by Anaya, the now great tree in the wildwood. He realizes he still has feelings for Hermathya and this red headed human woman Suzine. This is a great beginning to the novel and sets up the desperate situation the elves are in wonderfully. I can’t help but feel like they deserve it in some respect due to their embracing of slavery, but they are meant to be the good guys of the novel in some respect, at least Kith is. I appreciate the brutality of the Ergothians, and the effectiveness in battle that General Giarna has displayed. It makes for a more even conflict.
Kith’s feelings for Hermathya are puzzling and in stark contrast to the first novel. He was over her, and though absence makes the heart grow fonder, it’s only for those you already hold affection for. This seemed like a needless wedge to be hamfisted later on, and honestly, doesn’t hold up to the bond that the brothers share in Book Two. As Kith arrives, the locals and royalty are thrilled. He realizes his mother is isolated and alone and takes time with her. It made me reflect on my own mother and how I have kept her largely out of my life due to turmoil in my youth. But Kith steps up and connects with her, immediately lifting her spirits. Sithas is eager to get Kith’s reports and help formulating a plan, and Kith is introduced to the baby Vanesti, the Speaker’s son.
They talk long into the night and come up with an idea of bonding with griffons like Kith did with Arcubalis. This is not something that has happened yet, and it’s nice to see the beginning of the Griffons and Elven connections. Vedvedsica appears mysteriously again and claims that he can help by making a spell that will compel the griffons to listen to the Speaker. But this will require both the speaker and Kith to go in search of the griffons in the Khaklist mountains to the north. Hermathya sleeps with Kith, and Kith feels obvious regret, but he still went along with it, so I don’t feel sorry for him at all. It also forces me to question the strength of the elven vagina. Yea seriously. Women are suggested generally to refrain from sex after birth for up to six months. I would assume since everything else with elves, it takes longer, and yet, mere days or weeks after the birth, she’s gettin’ it on with kith. Tough cookie that one.
So the brothers share their plan of gathering the griffons to use as mounts to defeat the Ergothian army, and they fly out on Arcubalis. The journey ends up taking months and forms a bond between sith and kith that hasn’t been there since their youths, if ever. They get ambushed by hill giants, and kith is seriously wounded. Winter snow sets into the mountains and arcubalis is missing, seemingly killed by the hill giants. Sith is frantically trying to keep the two of them alive as Kith is unconscious, and ends up killing a goat to feed them. After weeks of healing, Kith is still useless, and Sith goes off to explore, only to see the hill giants hunting them both. He causes an avalanche which kills all of the giants but one, and he confronts it.
One-Tooth, the hill giant ends up becoming their friend and learning to communicate with them, really getting close to kith through the coming months as sith is still trying to locate the griffons. Finally Sith finds them, and learns that Arcubalis is with them. He returns to the camp with the herd, as Kith and One-Tooth are fighting off Dire wolves. It turns out that the Hill Giants were trying to kill the elves, but they kept arcubalis to heal him, then he was let go and rejoined his herd that he was taken from in his youth. I love how the hill giants aren’t monsters, they are mortal beings who protect their territory, but care for the animals around them just like the other mortals of Krynn. It humanizes them in a necessary way that forces the reader and potential role-player to rethink creatures behaviors and lifestyle, potentially bringing that new perspective to the gaming table. This is further proof of Doug Niles’ great ability in storytelling.
The giant was sad to see them go, and the return to home was welcomed for the elves. They were met with excitement, and a massive feast. They learned of dissenters who were imprisoned. Sith was happy they were imprisoned, and Kith thought they should have been questioned, not just imprisoned. Dissent may be due to fear, not treason. Clan Oakleaf, Hermathyas family, has been enslaving prisoners in their mines, elven and human alike, treating them cruelly. Finally Tamanier returns from his secret mission to Thorbardin confirming the duplicity of the Thiewar ambassador and the sending of troops to be led by Dunbar Ironthumb. Kith is thrilled to see his old friend again, and flies to meet the army en route to Sithelbeck to discuss plans.
Hermathya meets him before he leaves to once again connect, and Kith rebuffs her. This is a story we have seen too many times and at this point it is unbelievable. Kith finds the dwarven force and they make their plans then fly to Sithelbeck. The enchantress Suzine senses Kiths approach and is elated, only to be drawn back to sorrow and horror as General Giarna enters and forces himself on her. He seems to be some form of magic user as well, as he is incredibly strong and can drain the life from his victims, restoring his vitality. It’s not explicitly stated yet, just implied.
Back in Silvanost, Sith goes to the Oakleaf mines and is appalled by the treatment of the slaves, but does not intervene. He then makes a plan to conscript them all into the military and send them to Sithelbeck. Then the troops Kith captures will be the new slaves for the mines. This is how empires fall people. By dehumanizing the other, whether they are of a different ethnicity, religion, gender identity or sexual preference, when you stop recognising the humanity of others, you stop being human yourself. This is why the Silvanesti are truly evil, and deserve everything they have coming to them and more. We have examples throughout our own history of leaders inspiring men rather than enslaving them, and it breeds nations and ideals that are timeless. Stories like this remind me that we have a lot of work to do as a species.
Back to the story, the Thiewar ambassador in Silvanost has risen up against the elves, fighting their way to the docks to escape. They realized they were silent prisoners when their spies were killed. Sith leads his forces against them, but some get away, including the ambassador the Dwarven king wanted. Back in Sithelbek, Kith hatches his plan and in the early morning, the elven cavalry takes the human army by surprise and rides through their encampment, killing every soldier in their way. They return to the fortress as the dwarves arrive on the battlefield and begin their attacks. This puts the Ergothian General in a rage, who kills his Thiewar lieutenant, and messengers.
I love how Kith trained the elves to be windriders on the griffons and I can’t wait to see the griffons enter the battle. The descriptions Niles gives of the battle are amazing, and I desperately want a Game of Thrones style series about this trilogy. It would give everyone something from romance to political danger to adventure, war, deceit, spy’s, conflicting admissions of who the good and bad guys are as you watch it, everything!
The final act of this novel is filled with war and family trauma. We learn that General Giarna made a pact with many of the gods of evil for invulnerability, and if he drains the life of a creature, he is immune to any damage inflicted by that type of creature. This also allows him to retain his youth. Back to the battle, the Windriders are signaled and enter the fray, decimating the cavalry and greater army. As they go through and decimate the Ergothian forces, Giarma enters Suzine’s tent and realizes that she is, if not helping Kith, in love with him. He moves to kill her and Kith enters the tent. They fight, but Kith cannot defeat him, so Suzine smashes her magical mirror over his head, which causes Giarna to bleed profusely and flee. Suzine takes care of Kith who hasn’t had her out of his mind since their first meeting, and they fall in love.
As the Ergoth forces flee into the woods in small bands, they adopt guerilla tactics making the routing of the army impossible for the elves. The war continues for forty years like this. The Ergothian army is splintered but continues to gain new troops and Giarna continues to lead, never aging. The Emperor of Ergoth dies and two more die through the course of the war, but the nation refuses to relent. The storms of the spring are growing more and more erratic, almost as if the gods themselves are lashing out at their creations for fighting. This war is not just between Ergoth and Silvanesti, but Elf vs Elf. Dwarf vs Dwarf, and Human vs Human. It is aptly named the Kinslayer War, and the great shame of the Speaker. He can’t understand why elves would fight their own people.
Susine is an old woman, she refuses to accompany Kith into the capital as the elves treat her cruelly. She has given Kith two children who are spoiled and abrasive. Though they are more accepted, they still suffer snide remarks from the Silvanesti. Kith’s nephew begs to be his squire, which Kith accepts and Hermathya is furious that Sith lets Kith take their son to Sithelbeck during the war. She tells Sith about her affair with Kith, but saying Kith came to her room, rather than the truth. This widens the existing divide between the brothers to an insurmountable size. Suzine uses her newly reformed magical mirror to look into Kith’s mind and sees his continued affection for Hermathya and decides to leave and try to kill Giarna herself.
When she gets to his camp she tries to stab him in the neck, but he is invulnerable to human attacks and nothing happens. Before he can torture her for the military information she holds as Kith’s wife, she kills herself to protect Kith and the Elves. Meanwhile One-tooth the hill giant is compelled, I believe by the gods of good, though it’s never clarified, to leave his village and wives, and travel south west. He doesn’t know where he’s going, only that he needs to get there. The storms are continuing to punish the land, and the army of Ergoth travels to Sithelbek as the army of Silvanesti travels to where they believe the Ergoth army is. They pass each other in the storm, and in small bands, attack each other. Eventually Giarna dn Kith meet each other in the storm and darkness.
Giarna toys with Kith, killing every elf that gets between them, even severing his nephew, Vinesti’s spine, before trapping Kith between trees. That’s when One-Tooth attacks Giarna, crushing his skull. The giant traveled across the plains to save his old friend, compelled by unknown forces. This hits me hard, as the gods are content to let Silvanesti and Ergoth suffer in endless war, but Kith, who accepts others for who they are, is worth intervening for, and the nation of Qualinesti will be formed by him. The gods see the true nobility and goodness in Kith and his cause, saving him, but the storm destroys Sithelbek.
Sithas travels to the ruins and tells Kith that he can have the land he has fought over, and the beginning of Qualinesti is assured, but their relationship is over. They can barely look at eachother. Kith has lost every love he has ever known, and now his brother. I want to see more torment within him. We also aren’t told what happens to One-Tooth. I like to imagine he resettles with Kith and they grow old together, telling stories and drinking their nights away.
This novel was filled with pain and anguish, like war in our world. It’s about the destruction of relationships on the personal scale and the national scale. The bitterness between the ruling class and the citizens they rule over. And ultimately how in the desire of national purity, no matter who you are, it can only lead to evil itself. Because there is no such thing as purity. We are all here due to random chaos and chance. Any border we draw is fictional, and the only thing that actually matters is how we treat those we choose to have as loved ones, friends, and the basic respect we treat our fellow mortals who share their lives with us on this rock as it hurls through space. Kith learned this through life experience. Hell, most of us do. It’s the dream of anyone who has lost someone for senseless reasons, or has been bullied or brutalized simply because they are different.
Outro
But that’s it for my review of Kinslayer Wars by Douglas Niles. How do you feel about Giarna’s invulnerability? Was One-Tooth used just to protect Kith? And finally would you watch a series based on this trilogy? You can email me at info@dlsaga.com or comment below.
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