Dragonlance - Definition and Overview

Dragonlance is a large series of fantasy books.

This series was published by TSR, Inc. to supplement their Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game products. It is currently published by the company that purchased TSR in 1997, Wizards of the Coast. (Wizards of the Coast was subsequently purchased by Hasbro, Inc, in 1999.)

The world of Dragonlance was the first fictional world to be professionally produced as a role-playing game world, with product tie-ins (novels, role-playing modules, figurines, etc.) prepared and manufactured when it was first released. Before Dragonlance, fictional role-playing worlds evolved from the amateur creations of the games' players (with the most notable example being the Greyhawk campaign setting), or from previously existing fictional settings (I.C.E's MERP) or settings based in the real world. The success of the Dragonlance series encouraged role-playing game producers to invent and market additional fictional game worlds, such as the Ravenloft series.

Many books of the Dragonlance series were written by the authoring team of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Richard A. Knaak, John Maddox Roberts, Don Perrin, Jean Rabe, Dezra Despain, and others have also written Dragonlance-books.

For most of Dragonlance's history, 'main storyline' has meant those books that were set in the world's 'present' and moved events forward. For example, until Dragons of Summer Flame, almost all novels were set before the Chronicles trilogy, often in ancient history.

Most of the main storyline books were written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The two authors are widely if incorrectly regarded as the creators (or owners) of Dragonlance. Jean Rabe's trilogy was set some thirty years after Dragons of Summer Flame and about five years prior to War of Souls. The series, like the Fifth Age setting, is controversial among fans. War of Souls did not follow on from Rabe's ending, and her series seemed to be more or less ignored for continuity purposes. Overall, fan opinion of the main storyline books from The Second Generation onwards has been mixed. Dragons of Summer Flame and the War of Souls trilogy both sparked nearly as much controversy as Rabe's books. While Dragonlance is a shared world, there has been a long history of continuity problems, due (judging from insider statements in forums such as alt.fan.dragonlance) to a combination of the sheer difficulty of coordination and internal politics.

Main Storyline Books in the Dragonlance Series

(by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman unless otherwise noted)

1. Chronicles:
   1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (1984)
   2. Dragons of Winter Night (1985)
   3. Dragons of Spring Dawning (1985)
2. Legends:
   1. Time of the Twins (1986)
   2. War of the Twins (1986)
   3. Test of the Twins (1986)
3. Second Generation (1995)
4. Dragons of Summer Flame (1996)
5. Dragons of a New Age (by Jean Rabe)
   1. Dawning of a New Age (1996)
   2. Day of the Tempest (1997)
   3. Eve of the Maelstrom (1998)
6. War of Souls:
   1. Dragons of a Fallen Sun (2001)
   2. Dragons of a Lost Star (2002)
   3. Dragons of a Vanished Moon (2003)

Other Dragonlance Books (In Chronological Order)

• Ergoth Trilogy
  1. A Warrior's Journey (2003)
  2. A Wizard's Fate (2004)
  3. A Hero's Justice (2005)
• Elven Nations Trilogy
  1. Firstborn (1991)
  2. The Kinslayer Wars (1991)
  3. The Qualinesti (1991)
• Meetings Sextet
  1. Kindred Spirits (1991)
  2. Wanderlust (1991)
  3. Dark Heart (1992)
  4. The Oath and the Measure (1992)
  5. Steel and Stone (1992)
  6. The Companions (1993)
• The Raistlin Chronicles:
  1. The Soulforge (1998)
  2. Brothers in Arms (1999)
• Preludes:
  1. Darkness and Light
  2. Kendermore
  3. Brothers Majere
• Preludes II:
  1. Riverwind the Plainsman
  2. Flint the King
  3. Tanis, the Shadow Years
• Tales:
  1. The Magic of Krynn (1987)
  2. Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes (1987)
  3. Love and War (1987)
• Tales II:
  1. The Reign of Istar (1992)
  2. The Cataclysm (1992)
  3. The War of the Lance (1992)
• Dragons of a New Age:
  1. The Dawning of a New Age (1996)
  2. The Day of the Tempest (1997)
  3. The Eve of the Maelstrom (1998)
• The Dhamon Saga:
  1. Downfall (2000)
  2. Betrayal
  3. Redemption (2002)
• The Linsha Trilogy
  1. City of the Lost (2003)
  2. Flight of the Fallen (2004)
  3. Return of the Exile (2005)
• The Minotaur Wars:
  1. Night of Blood
  2. Tides of Blood
  3. Empire of Blood
• The Dark Disciple Trilogy:
  1. Amber and Ashes (2004)
• The Taladas Trilogy:
  1. Blades of the Tiger (2005)
• Rise of Solamnia Trilogy:
  1. Lord of the Rose (2005)

See Also

• Deities of Dragonlance

External links

• Dragonlance.com (fan site) (http://www.dragonlance.com)
• Dragonlance Movie Site (http://www.dragonlance-movie.com)
• Dragonlance Nexus (fan site) (http://www.dl3e.com)