Join me as I review Return of the Exile by Mary H. Herbert, live! Share your thoughts on this second novel in the Dragonlance: Linsha Trilogy released on February 1, 2005 by Wizards of the Coast. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/40sWosp
About Return of the Exile
The third title in a trilogy that explores the south of the Dragonlance world after the War of Souls.
Return of the Exile concludes a trilogy that centers on Linsha Majere, the grandchild of one of the central characters in the entire Dragonlance saga. This trilogy advances the story of post-War of Souls events in the Dragonlance world and introduces a major new villain to the setting.
Transcript
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Yurthgreen the 27th. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Return of the Exile by Mary H. Herbert. 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.
Unlike the previous novels, and to my sheer joy, Mary dives right back into the story in this third and final novel, without belaboring too much content from the previous novels. Linsha is on a ship, sailing to Ithin’Carthia with Lanther, her betrothed. However once she gets there she realizes that she may have made a terrible mistake. The setting of the Tarmak’s island is fantastic, and worth reading the novel for this information alone. It sets up a culture that has been pretty vacant thus far, and explores the cultural discord the Tarmak have with the two other subjugated cultures that share their island, the Dam Jak, or people of the plains, and the Akina, or jungle people. Both cultures are important to understand as they set up animosity and fear for the Tarmak that has to be hidden, lest this incredibly powerful culture retaliate more than they already have.
Linsha quickly realizes that women are also subjugated in Tarmak Culture, though they are forced to train and be healthy so they can bear healthy children. Much like Spartans of our own history, deformed babies are murdered. To think people complain about abortion in our modern western culture seems to belie an ignorance of the true horror of our ancestry! But back to the novel, before Lanther was sent to Ansalon and the Plains of Dust to conquer it, he was betrothed to the Emperor’s second daughter Malawaitha. This was an honor for her, but not much of one to him. Once he met Linsha, all proposals were off, and Lanther chose Linsha instead. This angers Malawaitha, understandably, and she takes her frustrations out on Linsha. Linsha seems to please the emperor’s wife with her warrior training, and dragon scale necklaces. She is even called Draf Ken Kayla, or Dragon Friend. It turns out, thanks to Ariakan, the Tamak celebrate the strength of dragons.
Lanther forces Linsha to fight Malawaitha to the death, and after Linsha finally kills her, the Emperor takes her corpse to an underground holy place that is inhabited by a young, sick brass dragon. The Tarmak are keeping it hostage so that they can use it to burn their dead, an honor in the Tarmak culture. They then kill a dragon egg and drink it in a potion that the Tarmak believe gives strength. They have already killed all of the brass dragon eggs, and are now moving to the new clutch promised to Linsha, that Lanther stole. This infuriates Linsha, but there isn’t much she can do. She mentally connects with the brass dragon, and learns her name is Sirenfell. Linsha promises to help her, and Lanther tells Linshea that they will marry in five days, and Lanther will leave for Ansalon, abandoning Linsha here.
Once again this terrifies and infuriates Linsha, who is trying her best to scheme and find a way off this island. Linsha sneaks into the dragon’s lair with the aid of her servant Afek, and meets with Sirenfell, planning to leave before she is to be married to Lanther in three days. The dragon is convinced she can refrain from eating till then, to make sure she isn’t poisoned or drugged by the Tarmak. Then when Linsha tries to go to the dragon a couple days later, the dragon is drugged. She is forced to marry Lanther, there is a large feast, and Linsha drugs Lanther with a sleeping powder Afak made, and she goes to grab Sirenfell, only to once again be caught again but this time Sirenfell wakes to help Linsha.
The dragon bursts out of the dungeons burning down the Tarmak castle, and Linsha flees with the courtesan from Mirage named Calysta and the dragon Sirenfell from Ithin’Carthia. To make sure they aren’t followed, the dragon burns the Tarmak fleet as they fly away. This is a great moment of victory, foreshadowing doom as Sirenfell has slivers of the Abyssal lance in her, slowly working their way to her heart. This is becoming a tired trope in these novels. The Abyssal lance can apparently be broken and dissected while still holding all its power in each piece of it? That is unlike every other magical item including a Dragonlance. It seems way too overpowered. Anyway, they find flying to Ansalon problematic as the dragon is increasingly exhausted and has to take longer rests in the ocean. Linsha and Calysta are both running out of water when they find land to rest, and Sirenfell is dying. She refuses to strand these two women on this island so she uses her last strength to get them as close to the minotaur islands as possible before she falls from the sky and dies. Sharks start tearing her body apart which makes me wonder how they can get through the scales.
They are both rescued from certain death by Varia, Crucible and his dolphin friends. This reunion brought mist to my eyes. I was just thinking of the novel Robinson Caruso or the film Cast Away, and after resigning to your fate you are finally rescued. The sheer joy must be overwhelming. They fly around the south end of Ansalon and meet up with remaining rebels near Mirage so that Linsha can reclaim the dragon eggs. They bluff their way into the city, and are told that somehow Lanther is coming back to Ansalon or is already here miraculously, as Linsha is pulled into the treasury violently. This is a great story that I hope has some version of a happy ending. Lanther, a regular human seems to always be one step ahead and has some power to allow him to be more powerful than anyone. It’s a bit annoying, but I am hoping in the final third of the novel he gets his just deserts.
Okay, before I get to the end of this novel, let me rest your mind, every complaint I had about any of the novels was made up for by this ending. Linsha was pulled into the chamber by a Tarmak priest, and she and her friends steal the eggs back after discovering that they were being artificially aged, and they were ready to hatch! Crucible took them to a long dormant volcano for safety and Linsha continued toward the large plainsman and centaur army that was coming to liberate Duntollik. The Tarmak’s didn’t have their full force, but Lanther was back and ready to reclaim Linsha. It was revealed that the Tarmak prophecy Ariakan claimed to be the personification of was a lie, and the true Amarel, or demi god was to be from the Draf Ken Kayla, which is Linsha. Lanther wants his son and he doesn’t care what he has to do to Linsha to get him.
The Tarmak notice that the forces split, and guess that the eggs were brought to the volcano, so they turn to reclaim them, rather than heading off to face the army. As soon as Linsha’s group notices this, she rushes to the volcano with her forces. What ends up happening is something that made me want to metaphorically slap the author. Linsha gives up and is once again a prisoner! Lanther knows Crucible is coming so he readies his Abyssal Lance and ends up striking Crucible with it. This knocks Crucible out of combat. Then he heads to the eggs and kills one to draw Linsha’s full attention. However, simultaneously in Sanction the War of Souls is finally reaching its conclusion and Takhisis is killed, stopping Lanther’s powers to destroy Linshas mind, and the other gods return including Kiri-Jolith who Linsha beseeches and is granted power to defeat Lanther by. As She is about to murder him once and for all, the dragon eggs are in peril. They can’t break out of the eggs and require Linsha to calm them as a shaman works to aid them.
Lanther kills the shaman, whose apprentice steps in, as Veria attacks Lanther to stop him from killing Linsha. Then the dragon eggs hatch and they all go after Lanther, devouring him. It is such a beautiful moment of revenge. The very eggs Lanther has been destroying are his ultimate downfall. I love it! Then Linsha races to Crucible. The Tarmak and Plainsmen armies are warring, and Linsha uses her newly divine power to help get the Abyssal Lance out of Crucible and heal him. They profess their love to each other and Crucible flies into battle aiding in the full rout of the Tarmak forces. Now that the War of Souls is over, Iesta’s spirit appears and thanks Linsha, who asks for her to thank Ian Durn’s spirit for helping her in the past trilogy, if she sees him.
Then Chain the silver dragon appears calling Linsha to Sancrist to speak to the knights council. They end up making her a knight in exile, so she can watch over the newly hatched dragons with Crucible in Sanction, and I honestly loved this ending. They left it open for her to rejoin the knighthood when the dragons are older, but who knows, or cares, if she does. This happy ending was so unlike a Dragonlance novel, where everything seems to end in mourning and loss. I felt real joy vicariously for Linsha, Veria and Crucible, and I want a clutch of young Brass Dragons of my own now.
If you enjoy the War of Souls era, I would recommend this novel, but if you just like a good Dragonlance story, read this trilogy, I don’t think you will regret it once complete.
Outro
But that’s it for my review of Return of the Exile by Mary H. Herbert. What did you think of the Abyssal Lance? Do you think the Tarmak will rebuild their ships and try to reinvade the Plains of Dust? And finally how do you feel about Linsha Majere’s journey? You can email me at info@dlsaga.com or comment below.
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This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time Slàinte mhath (slan-ge-var).
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