They are my favorite books. What makes this series so great is that they take very tough situations and do not shy away and have characters have to face them. So many of the characters have amazing changes within them. I also like how the books address current situations in society. This series is brilliant and I reread them often to gain perspective
I read the first two books back in high school (I am 34), and I definitely want to return to the series and read the rest of the books eventually! I checked them out from my school library specifically because of my love for Weis & Hickman's Dragonlance novels. Without Spoiling anything, I will say that there are references between the two series (Dragonlance and Deathgate Cycle). Zifnab himself feels like a reference to an important character in the Dragonlance series named Fizban, everything from his name to his looks and the way he acts are very similar. Fizban makes less direct earth references, but his personality is the same. Also in a Dragonlance novel called "Dragons of Summer Flame" one of the characters finds a book with the name "Haplo" on it. :)
Oh that’s pretty cool! Makes me more excited to read Dragonlance now haha. I hope you continue the series. It just keeps getting stronger the more you dive in.
It was a great idea to start with a brief history of the world, a summary of the races and an explanation of the magic system, as this really helped to set the scene, but I would've followed this with a non-spoiler summary of the overall story before talking about the characters, as you can then introduce them as they become relevant to this narrative. Without this much needed context, I found it difficult to recall what you said about the different characters and also began to get bored, as I don't know them, so I'm not yet as invested in them as you are.
I really wish this series could be made into a movie(I guess several movies), still though in that wish, it pains me to think how it be totally ruined. Some headstrong director would dissect it and make somebody a brother or sister or father etc that never was and just ruin the whole thing. One thing though, I keep seeing Keanu Reeves as Haplo, and Hugh Jackman as Hugh the Hand. Can't see to get that out of my head.
Oh hey, I like your idea for Keanu Reeves to play Haplo. That makes perfect sense! Hugh Jackman would be good for Hugh the Hand. I always saw Alfred as reminding me of John Hurt. Too bad he died like 7 years ago almost. I’d be worried the movie would get ruined too. Thanks for watching!
I love this one, it was one of the first fantasy series I ever picked up, I was totally engrossed in the patryns and their labyrinth. I love how every world is just dying, I love how dystopian and hopeless it all feels. I do think it has some issues though, Haplo is supposed to be a badass and he loses pretty much every fight in the series, I always thought that was a bit silly.
The Death Gate Cycle is honestly one of the best series I've ever read. I want to read it again. I literally miss Alfred. I was thinking about the characters today because I just finished the new dragonlance book "Dragons of Deceit"
This was the first novel series I ever read, and every so often I give them another re-read. It's a shame the fandom is so small and awareness is so low. Weis & Hickman's other works tend to overshadow DGC in popularity, but I personally find DGC a better series.
This one has been on my TBR for awhile. I loved the DragonLance books in high school and reread them as an adult and enjoyed them. I had seen several people say this series surpasses those ones so I’m definitely intrigued. Thanks for the video!
Oh good! I’m glad to hear it’s on your list. If it surpasses Dragonlance then that really is saying something. I’ve not read Dragonlance yet, but I know people who have and love them.
I enjoyed the DragonLance works more when I was in high school, but rereading them somewhat recently, I still enjoyed them enough to want to check out some of the other series in that world. Works that are not going to crack my top 10 list, but still good enough that I want to read more!
Oh No! Not another series! I just did a video on how many series I am in the middle of yesterday! Sounds really interesting. I just dropped into your Discord. :)
When I was younger, like elementary age, I got a few of these books at a garage sale, but I was missing quite a few of them. Last week I was able to pick up two more of the books from the series. Still trying to stumble across book 4 and 6
@@BookishChas I remember trying to read the first book sometime around 4th grade, however I couldn't really keep track of what was going on. I then gave up because part of me was like "I need to have all the books before I can start". However, flash forward to me now, a senior in highschool and I still remember thinking the little I read of the first book was cool as hell, even if it confused me. Combine that with finding two more of the books recently, and now I'm reading the series again. Hopefully this time I can actually understand it
Despite the cozy feelings I get when I think about the settings and creatures of classic fantasy, I tend to be much more drawn toward reading modern fantasy and haven't explored much of the older stuff.
I work at a library and recently we purged a lot of old books and the like from our Fantasy shelf. Of course, there were a lot of books there that caught my eyes and among the books were some old copies of the Death Gate Cycle. Decided to nab them and judging by your review, it seems I made a good call. Though sadly, only the first four books were translated into my language, so I will have to look for the remaining 3.
@@BookishChas One of the perks with this job. and since I am the one who does the actual purging that means I get the first opportunity to grab the good stuff. Still, there was a lot of fantasy we got rid of and I wonder if I missed any good ones.
Hmmmmmmm I would say Dragonlance feels much more classic epic fantasy which Death Gate feels more almost sci fantasy and much explores the world and the magic while Dragonlance is more the classic clash of good vs evil with dragons.
Ok thanks for that Rodger. There were definitely some sciency elements, but overall I felt a more classic fantasy vibe. I may change my mind after reading Dragonlance.
@@BookishChas I mean compared to something like Dune it’s more classic fantasy but just between Dragonlance and Death Gate I’d say that’s the big difference that the emphasis on different worlds and the rune based magic feels more Sci fantasy whereas Dragonlance is much more like a dungeons and dragons type epic adventure
@BookishChas because you were wrong about some stuff and just incomplete in many of your descriptions. I know you were trying to avoid spoilers, but you could have been far more accurate without spoiling anything.
They are my favorite books. What makes this series so great is that they take very tough situations and do not shy away and have characters have to face them. So many of the characters have amazing changes within them. I also like how the books address current situations in society. This series is brilliant and I reread them often to gain perspective
Oh yes I totally agree with all of your points here. It’s a fantastic series, and still just as relevant. Thanks for watching!
Awesome! I just got 1/1st edition paperback for 50 cents at a library sale. Will definitely check it out.
Excellent Jason! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by. 😎
I read the first two books back in high school (I am 34), and I definitely want to return to the series and read the rest of the books eventually! I checked them out from my school library specifically because of my love for Weis & Hickman's Dragonlance novels.
Without Spoiling anything, I will say that there are references between the two series (Dragonlance and Deathgate Cycle). Zifnab himself feels like a reference to an important character in the Dragonlance series named Fizban, everything from his name to his looks and the way he acts are very similar. Fizban makes less direct earth references, but his personality is the same. Also in a Dragonlance novel called "Dragons of Summer Flame" one of the characters finds a book with the name "Haplo" on it. :)
Oh that’s pretty cool! Makes me more excited to read Dragonlance now haha. I hope you continue the series. It just keeps getting stronger the more you dive in.
I've loved this series since I read Dragon Wing around '92. I'm actually currently listening to the Dragon Wing audiobook. Blessed Sartan!
Oh yes! I’ve been seeing those pop up on audible. I think they’re new. Pretty cool. Thanks for watching. 😃
You’ll lose your s@$t when you read dragonlance and realise who zifnab is!!
Oh yeah I kind of already know, although Weis & Hickman swear the name correlation was just a happy accident lol.
One of my all time favorite series. You just earned a sub and a like .
Hey thank you so much! Yep, it’s definitely in my top ten. 😎
It was a great idea to start with a brief history of the world, a summary of the races and an explanation of the magic system, as this really helped to set the scene, but I would've followed this with a non-spoiler summary of the overall story before talking about the characters, as you can then introduce them as they become relevant to this narrative.
Without this much needed context, I found it difficult to recall what you said about the different characters and also began to get bored, as I don't know them, so I'm not yet as invested in them as you are.
Oh ok, thank you! I appreciate the feedback. 🙂
I really wish this series could be made into a movie(I guess several movies), still though in that wish, it pains me to think how it be totally ruined. Some headstrong director would dissect it and make somebody a brother or sister or father etc that never was and just ruin the whole thing. One thing though, I keep seeing Keanu Reeves as Haplo, and Hugh Jackman as Hugh the Hand. Can't see to get that out of my head.
Oh hey, I like your idea for Keanu Reeves to play Haplo. That makes perfect sense! Hugh Jackman would be good for Hugh the Hand. I always saw Alfred as reminding me of John Hurt. Too bad he died like 7 years ago almost. I’d be worried the movie would get ruined too. Thanks for watching!
I love this one, it was one of the first fantasy series I ever picked up, I was totally engrossed in the patryns and their labyrinth. I love how every world is just dying, I love how dystopian and hopeless it all feels. I do think it has some issues though, Haplo is supposed to be a badass and he loses pretty much every fight in the series, I always thought that was a bit silly.
Yeah I agree, Haplo got foiled a lot lol, but overall the series really stands up to a lot of modern heavy hitters.
The Death Gate Cycle is honestly one of the best series I've ever read. I want to read it again. I literally miss Alfred. I was thinking about the characters today because I just finished the new dragonlance book "Dragons of Deceit"
Yeah it’s one of my favorites too. I still haven’t read any Dragonlance books yet. Thanks for watching!
Definitely sounds awesome and like something I would enjoy. Added to the endless TBR!
Haha cool! Glad you’re interested. 🙂
This was the first novel series I ever read, and every so often I give them another re-read. It's a shame the fandom is so small and awareness is so low. Weis & Hickman's other works tend to overshadow DGC in popularity, but I personally find DGC a better series.
I totally agree that the series is underrated. I haven’t read their other works yet, but I plan to soon. Thanks for watching!
This one has been on my TBR for awhile. I loved the DragonLance books in high school and reread them as an adult and enjoyed them. I had seen several people say this series surpasses those ones so I’m definitely intrigued. Thanks for the video!
Oh good! I’m glad to hear it’s on your list. If it surpasses Dragonlance then that really is saying something. I’ve not read Dragonlance yet, but I know people who have and love them.
I enjoyed the DragonLance works more when I was in high school, but rereading them somewhat recently, I still enjoyed them enough to want to check out some of the other series in that world. Works that are not going to crack my top 10 list, but still good enough that I want to read more!
I've owned this series for longer than I should admit and really really want to read it now! Great video!
Thanks so much Bryce! Glad it gave you some motivation. 😁
I read the first and enjoyed it so much I ordered all the rest, I really need to get to these! Great world building!
Yes indeed! It’s such a captivating world. I hope you enjoy the rest. I know I sure did.
Oh No! Not another series! I just did a video on how many series I am in the middle of yesterday! Sounds really interesting. I just dropped into your Discord. :)
Yay! I’m so glad you joined! Yes, so many series to finish.
When I was younger, like elementary age, I got a few of these books at a garage sale, but I was missing quite a few of them. Last week I was able to pick up two more of the books from the series. Still trying to stumble across book 4 and 6
Oh ok I’m glad you’ve been able to slowly collect them. Have you read some of them?
@@BookishChas I remember trying to read the first book sometime around 4th grade, however I couldn't really keep track of what was going on. I then gave up because part of me was like "I need to have all the books before I can start". However, flash forward to me now, a senior in highschool and I still remember thinking the little I read of the first book was cool as hell, even if it confused me. Combine that with finding two more of the books recently, and now I'm reading the series again. Hopefully this time I can actually understand it
Oh wow thanks for sharing your history with it. Yes I hope you’ll enjoy it more now.
I'm about to start a reread for maybe the 6th time since it's my favorite. I'm always surprised more people skip them.
Thanks for watching! Yes that’s surprising to me too. It’s such a great series.
Despite the cozy feelings I get when I think about the settings and creatures of classic fantasy, I tend to be much more drawn toward reading modern fantasy and haven't explored much of the older stuff.
I totally get that Josh. I’m very “behind” on most older fantasy for that very reason. Still haven’t read Dragonlance, or any Forgotten Realms yet.
I work at a library and recently we purged a lot of old books and the like from our Fantasy shelf. Of course, there were a lot of books there that caught my eyes and among the books were some old copies of the Death Gate Cycle. Decided to nab them and judging by your review, it seems I made a good call. Though sadly, only the first four books were translated into my language, so I will have to look for the remaining 3.
Oh wow, what a great series to get a hold of! So happy for you, and I hope you enjoy them. Hopefully you can get the remaining three.
@@BookishChas One of the perks with this job. and since I am the one who does the actual purging that means I get the first opportunity to grab the good stuff. Still, there was a lot of fantasy we got rid of and I wonder if I missed any good ones.
Oh yeah I can understand that worry. You just never know what you might miss out on.
I have never even heard of this series before😅 but it totally sounds like something that I would enjoy so I'll have to add it to my TBR 🤗
Yay! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it Kris. 🙂
Hmmmmmmm I would say Dragonlance feels much more classic epic fantasy which Death Gate feels more almost sci fantasy and much explores the world and the magic while Dragonlance is more the classic clash of good vs evil with dragons.
Ok thanks for that Rodger. There were definitely some sciency elements, but overall I felt a more classic fantasy vibe. I may change my mind after reading Dragonlance.
@@BookishChas I mean compared to something like Dune it’s more classic fantasy but just between Dragonlance and Death Gate I’d say that’s the big difference that the emphasis on different worlds and the rune based magic feels more Sci fantasy whereas Dragonlance is much more like a dungeons and dragons type epic adventure
Ok good to know. I like both, so I’m very excited to read Dragonlance.
@@BookishChas I look forward to when you get to DL 😊
You obviously didn't read any of the Appendices in the books.
What makes you say that?
@BookishChas because you were wrong about some stuff and just incomplete in many of your descriptions. I know you were trying to avoid spoilers, but you could have been far more accurate without spoiling anything.
@MrWardonis hmm ok. Thanks for clarifying.