Divine Hammer: 2 (Dragonlance: The Kingpriest) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book starts a good twenty years from the first, and shows us Cathan's role as a Knight of the Divine Hammer- the persecution and elimination of worshippers of dark gods. This is the light everlasting ideology of Beldinas. Here we see the beginning of the path to the Cataclysm.

After this, we see that the war that drives all wizards to the Tower of Wayreth is instigated and planned by the Dark One- Fistandantilus.
After planning for decades to get Beldinas on the throne, he now needs to remove the threat of his own brethen so that he can proceed with the plan of entering the Abyss with Beldinas and challenging the Queen for immortality. Although as we know, things happen that in the third book will mean that Denubis is used instead.
The 'bad guy' of the book, apart from the above, is Andras, a medium-level dark robe who sees his master burnt at the stake by the Hammer- general means of getting rid of the followers of the dark gods!
Andras is consumed with hatred and a desire for vengeance since the persecution of dark robes began, and Fistandantilus uses him nicely to cause havoc in the holy empire and set off the war. Meetings to try and resolve the crisis are further thwarted by the Dark One and his lackey.
Its quite a good ending for Andras as we find out just who was that dark robe who sacrificed himself at the Tower of Palanthas and so shut out this tower to everyone but Fistandantilus- establishing a place where the Dark One can enter the Abyss using the Portal.
See how the plans of the Dark One are coming together!

The key to Beldinas's eventual downfall are seen when he can't stop an attack on his Divine Hammer by demons conjured by Andras. This is the first time Beldinas has EVER failed and causes him to start to fear the darkness that will eventually turn to isolation and some psychosis in the next book.

Key moments are where Quarath is now becoming more ingratiated to the Lightbringer. Also pivotal is where Beldinas decides to go-ahead with an attack on one of the Towers, even though he knows that in Ergoth, the wizards caused the destruction of that tower, destroying half the city!
This decision actually causes the complete destruction of Losarcum and the deaths of the entire population and all the knights there-except Cathan and his squire-turned knight.

Cathan of course has the dreams of the burning hammer- aka Cataclysm, and is there to see the folly of the Kingpriest. He also learns of some disturbing news about the persecution of worshippers of neutral gods- not just dark!! cue oppression and the restriction of freedom by the Kingpriest. He also understands that magic AND clerical powers are the same type of force- its seems strange that this one guy seems to know so much about the future and the gods?!

The ending is brilliant between Cathan and Beldinas- complete antithesis from the first book.

Read this great book and move quickly to the next and final book!