Episode 53 – We love the Chronicles!
Greenloontern’s Dragonlance novel recommendations:
1. The Magic of Krynn
2. Kender, Gully Dwarves and Gnomes
3. Love and War
1. The Legend of Huma
2. Stormblade
3. Weasels Luck
1. First Born
2. The Kinslayer Wars
3. The Qualinesti
1. Night of the Eye
2. The Medusa Plague
3. The Seventh Sentinel
1. Downfall
2. Betrayal
3. Redemption
1. Sanctuary
2. Alliances
3. Destiny
The Ramblers Dragonlance novel recommendations:
1. Time of the Twins
2. War of the Twins
3. Test of the Twins
1. Night of the Eye
2. The Medusa Plague
3. The Seventh Sentinel
1. Legend of Huma
1. Vinas Solamnus
1. Soul Forge
2. Brothers in Arms
1. Dawning of a New Age
2. The Day of the Tempest
3. The Eve of the Maelstrom
The Geeks Menagerie 
Good review, especially your discussion about what Dragonlance meant to you at the end. Now for a few thoughts on a couple of the issues you brought up in your discussion.
On the question of how could Laurana fall for Kitiara’s trap, I think the key to understanding this is to remember that Laurana was in a bad physical condition at the time she received Kitiara’s message and that seriously diminished her judgment. Laurana was obviously physically exhausted when she received Kitiara’s message. (Earlier in that chapter she had very nearly fainted during the festival, and she was so tired later in the chapter that she passed out within seconds of throwing herself on her bed.) And if Laurana wasn’t drunk at the time she received the message she was at least deeply buzzed. (Her head was hurting from too much wine, and she said to herself that she had a weak head for wine and had drank too much.) Exhaustion and intoxication will both seriously impair judgment, so it’s not surprising that when Laurana was simultaneously suffering from both afflictions, her brains would turn to mush, and she would make a really bad decision. A rested, sober Laurana wouldn’t have fallen for Kitiara’s trick, but an exhausted, intoxicated Laurana was an easy mark.
What I don’t get about that scene is Laurana (understandably) gets a lot of criticism for her decision there, but why does everyone let Flint and Tasslehoff off the hook? They could both see that Laurana was making an incredibly bad decision that would probably get her captured or killed and yet they did nothing to stop her. What kind of friends are they? It’s not like it would have been difficult for them to have kept her from going. Literally the only thing they had to do was go tell Gilthanas and Silvara what was happening. (There’s no way Gilthanas would have let his sister walk into such an obvious trap. He would have kept her from going even if he had to physically or magically restrain her.) Yet Flint and Tasslehoff did nothing, so it seems to me that they deserve just as much blame as Laurana for the whole fiasco.
Anyway, moving on to the question of did Laurana ever kill anybody: she definitely killed a draconian in the fighting at Pax Tharkas in Dragons of Autumn Twilight. (The fight is shown in the story.) And it was said in Dragons of Winter Night that she killed the Dragon Highlord Feal-Thas during the fighting at Icewall Castle. So that’s at least two definite kills. And I would also credit her with killing Bakaris. (Yes, he fell on his own knife, but she was the one that knocked him down and thus caused him to stab himself.)
LOL! I stand corrected good sir! Laurana did kill the Draconian but I had forgotten about Feal-Thas. So lets add those up….. 2.5 kills =)
Thanks so much for listening to the show! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks Brendan for the kind comments but i can see how you can say Flint deserved to be more criticized for this i think he gets less because he dies in the book so people tend to judge him lightly and as for Tas well he is a Kender he does lots of bad ideas himself so hard to judge him for anything he allows or doesn’t allow.
@Greenloontern: To be fair that’s just 2.5 confirmed kills. Her actual kill count may be much higher than that since we know she participated (off-camera) in battles at Tarsis, Icewall Castle, the High Clerist’s Tower, and while leading her army as the Golden General, and that on-camera she defeated several draconians while escaping from the Dark Temple (though the text doesn’t state if she killed those draconians or just drove them off).
@TbeRambler: Interesting. Your theory makes sense, though it still seems unfair that Laurana gets so much criticism for her decision there while Flint and Tas get off scot free.