Join me as I review The Soulforge by Margaret Weis, live! Share your thoughts on this first novel in The Raistlin Chronicles. You can pick up The Soulforge here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Soulforge-Margaret-Weis-audiobook/dp/B00AYAG1PY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VZ0L2CDHL820&keywords=the+soulforge&qid=1647280879&sprefix=the+soulforg%252Caps%252C114&sr=8-1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=reverendcampb-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=eef872b286662a8574c8fc92a99e5628&camp=1789&creative=9325
About The Soulforge
Discover the early history of Raistlin Majere, one of Dragonlance’s most complicated yet beloved characters, in this prequel to the wildly popular Chronicles and Legends series
A mage’s soul is forged in the crucible of magic.
Raistlin Majere is six years old when he meets an archmage who enrolls him in a school for the study of magic. Weak and frail, and tormented by jealousy and inadequacy compared to his twin brother Caramon, the gifted boy begins to forge his wizarding skills. But shadows are darkening over Raistlin even as the same shadows lengthen over all of Ansalon.
As Raistlin’s wizarding apprenticeship draws nearer to the end, he must first take the Dread Test in the Tower of High Sorcery. It will change his life forever.
The Soulforge is the first of two novels in The Raistlin Chronicles series, followed by Brothers in Arms.
Review
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. It is Bakukal, Brookgreen the 18th, my name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of The Soulforge by Margaret Weis. 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 link. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.
Book One can be seen as an introduction to Antimodes, a white robe magician who travels the land and acts as a sort of information gatherer for the Orders of High Sorcery. He reports his findings to Par-Salien, the head of the Orders, and it is on one such journey where he enters Solace and meets Kitiara. She recognises him as a mage, and as he heads up to the Inn of the Last Home for Dinner, she decides to confront him during his dinner about being a mage. She tells him that she has a brother who is interested in magic and Kit asks Antimodes to talk him out of it. She runs off to find Raistlin much to Antimode’s consternation, and presents him.
Antimodes is touched by his patron deity as he is talking to Raistlin, as one of his tasks is to identify would-be students in magic. He is taken in by Raistlin and even bothered slightly by his personality, but he and his god are certain that this is a potential mage, and he decides to pay for Raistlin’s tutelage in Master Theobald’s sorcerer academy nearby. Antimodes sees the state of neglect in Raistlin and understands that Kit wants to leave her brothers but can’t until she is convinced they can take care of themselves. Shortly after Raistlin is accepted into the school, she leaves them.
Raistlin takes to the school well, though he lacks perspective and respect. He is bullied by the other boys and even Theobald, who in all fairness bullies all of the boys. Theobald knows deep down that Raistlin is talented and this is threatening to his ego.
Book Two focused on Raistlin’s time returning home during school break and feeling out of place at home, as if he were still an outsider, ultimately accepting that it was he who placed himself there. His mother Rosamun was being helped by a woman who believed in a new god, and was seemingly taking good care of her. They would work on the house and go on walks together, effectively breathing life back into Rosemun. Raistlin saw how his brother had grown up and became stronger. His interest in girls was growing and he tried to get Raistlin to be interested as well, but he was not. When Raistlin was packing to return to school his mother freaked out about it. Apparently she no longer wants her son to be a mage. This is unspoken but clearly an influence from her helper.
Back at school Raistlin is finally invited to take the initial magic test and is terrified he will fail. He prayed to the three gods of magic and they actually appeared to him, making him a deal to worship them and never deny their presence, and he would feel the magic. This makes me wonder if it weren’t for that bargain, would he have any magic? Or was this a symbolic experience that all mages have, or is it special to Raistlin?
Book Three is a turning point for Caramon and Raistlin. They learn of their fathers accident, and as the whole town was standing ground, Rosamun and Judith were preaching that Belzor would heal him, while Flint and others dismissed it as nonsense. Caramon was beside himself and Raistlin was doing his best to get his mother home. Then Gilon died, and Judith blamed the Majere family for their wickedness. She demanded they get cast out of Solace, but Tanis and Otik told her she had better go. That Solace takes care of their own. It wasn’t long after that that Rosamun fell into a trance and wasted away until death. On the day of her burial, Kitiara came home as Raistlin fell into a deep sickness. It was her fighting for his life as she did when he was a baby that saved him.
Kit offered Caramon and Raistlin the chance to return to Sanction with her and become wealthy and powerful. They ended up refusing as Raistlin wasn’t ready with his magic and Caramon wouldn’t go anywhere without Raist. Kit left for Qualinesti in the middle of the night and the twins decided to stay and live by themselves. We see the split between the twins and Kit, as well as the continued fear and doubt of Raistlin about his magic. He did cast sleep on Caramon successfully so he feels he is well on his way learning magic.
Book Four is focused on the innfellows. How they each meet and interact and become friends. We get to see the dynamic between Kit and Tanis, Tas and Flint, Caramon and Sturm, etc. It’s refreshing to see them all together again and though it’s been around thirty years or more since I had read the Meeting Sextet and Preludes, it was nice revisiting pieces of them as referenced in this book. The novel is titled The Soulforge, which ultimately is all about Raistlin becoming a Mage, but all we readers want to do is read about his test, which is wisely held until the final book in the novel. Frustration aside, it is eased with an engaging storyline that finishes out the Widow Judith’s story arc. The widow moved on to Haven and started a temple to Belzor there. She was performing a minor magic trick as she was in fact a renegade wizard, posing as a priest. It were her magical miracles that drew believers as she bilked them out of their money. I was reminded of the film Nightmare Alley here.
Raistlin takes it upon himself to stop her, not as revenge against her but for a random grief stricken mother, and his own renown. It was incredibly touching to see how Raistlin connected emotionally with the woman, and reminded me about why people love this character. Raistlin is nothing if not multi-dimensional. This is the strength of any good character, yet so few are developed quite as complex as Raistlin. It is a testament to Weis’ writing. Anyway, Kit ends up killing Judith after Raistlin exposes her as a fraud, then Raistlin is jailed as her murderer. His friends and a kindly local mage named Lemuel that Raistlin connected with in Haven rescued him, and Lemuel ended up giving Raistlin his fathers wrist knife and low level war wizard spell books, much to Raistlin’s delight.
Raistlin is much like Magus, in that he wears all the robes of the order, wearing white right now due to his instructor’s chosen order. He even ends up with Magius’ staff, which may be an afterthought in the writing, but it really does showcase Raistlin as being beyond the order, as he places himself in the Legends Trilogy. It is also really nice to see Kit with the companions and how well they all get on, knowing this is really the calm before the storm, and where everyone ends up. It’s a nice active foreshadowing. There is also a fair amount of irony that Raistlin’s getting rid of Judith and the Belzor religion created an opening for the Seeker Religion, and was even thanked by Hederic the High Theocrat!
Book Five is a short and sweet goodbye. It sees Raistlin receiving his invitation to take the test of high sorcery, Sturm’s mother passing, and the innfellows deciding to go their separate ways. Everyone seems to be returning to their homelands save Raistlin and Caramon who are secretly headed to Wayreth Forest, and Kitiara heading to work for the Dragonarmies as a mercenary. She and Tanis split and though we know what happens, it is still a painful separation. I have found myself growing out of friendships in my life, and it is always bittersweet and a bit painful. But those friendships where you don’t speak of months or years, then you are back together just like old times, well… those are rare and beautiful. I have a few of those friendships, and I feel very fortunate for them.
Book Six is what we all bought this book for, and to be honest, it’s a bit of a let down. Raistlin and Caramon arrive at the Tower of High Sorcery and Raistlin is given his test, which consists of him joining three dark elves to rob his friend Lemuel in Haven. He goes into the cellar and Fistandantilus shows up, telling Raistlin that he fell into his trap and he will die by the Dark elves and the orders now that he is talking to him. Raistlin learns who he is and what he wants and agrees to let Fisty help him. Raistlin’s golden skin is a form of armor that protects him from the dark elves’ fireball, but nothing else…. And he casts a magic missile which grows as if Fisty cast it, killing two of the dark elves.
Then Raistlin finds himself in the halls of the tower and is attacked by the third dark elf who is cut by a dagger laced with poison and ends up killing the elf with it. Caramon shows up and offers help, then Fisty appears and Caramon destroys him with two lightning bolts. Raist is pissed and kills Caramon with burning hands, then Fisty appears again and Raist says you can have my life but you work for me. This is such a let down in terms of storytelling. Par-Salien reveals he gave Raist the hourglass eyes of the sorceress Raelana, which is weird, and the Staff of Magus. He isn’t apprenticed, but is guided by Lunatari herself! This is such a strange end to the book and wildly anticlimactic. I wish the test was workshopped more. Raistlin didn’t use all his spells unless he only memorized two of them. And the whole narrative of the test was hamfisted with Fisty himself. I was let down by the original Test of the Twins short story, then intrigued when I played through the Soulforge adventure gamebook, and now… the rest of the novel was infinitely better than the test, and I am not excited to re-read Brothers Majere after this.
I would recommend this to dragonlance fans, and fans of the Heroes of the Lance, but if you are looking for a good example of a test for the Orders of High Sorcery, this is not it! Look, I love Raistlin as a complex and driven character. I love Margaret Weis’ writing on the whole. Inevitably we will like some aspects of a story more than others and my least favorite part is the ending of this novel. I am left with a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t want it to be there. I remember loving the novel when I read it upon release, but now.. I expect more.
Outro
But that’s it for my review of The Soulforge by Margaret Weis. Do you think Margaret Weis’ The Soulforge was better than the gamebook? Do you think it made the Test of High Sorcery interesting and engaging? 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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