Test of the Twins
1986
- fiction
- magic
- wizards
- gnomes
- twins
- time travel
- good and evil
- fiction, fantasy, general
- fantasy fiction
- american fantasy fiction
The story
Raistlin casts the magical spell that has cost him so much. For him, the Portal opens… But, at the same instant, his twin brother, Caramon, operates the magical time-traveling device. The fields of magic shift and collide. Caramon and the kender, Tasslehoff, are flung into an unexpected time and place where they make a horrifying discovery. And Raistlin enters the Abyss, prepared to face his most deadly challenge - Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.
What it’s like
Brisk, pulpy high fantasy in plain, galloping prose, with the torchlit atmosphere of a dark medieval world tilted toward the eerie: cold stone vaults, shadowed depths, and magical energies that crackle and flare on the page. Scenes cut quickly between a pair of brothers and their companions, so the rhythm is restless and episodic, with quieter stretches of brooding interiority around a gaunt, bitter wizard whose ambition runs like a cold draft through every chapter. A chirpy, wandering little companion adds a light, slightly silly warmth that loosens the tension without undercutting it. The vibe is wistful dread with a flicker of adventurous fun, suited to a long evening with a paperback, a weekend escape, or a train ride when you want a world to sink into. Violence is present and sometimes harsh, with battle scenes and menacing fear, but not gratuitous gore, and there is no sexual content. The emotional register is melancholic, dwelling on sacrifice, sibling resentment, and the cost of power. For readers who love classic companion-quest fantasy and morally tangled heroes and villains.
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