Dragonlance Me

[John Crichton]

Assume I know little to nothing about Dragonlance. Forget the rulebooks and forget the D&D part. Where would I need to start reading to:

1.) Not be spoiled for any future or unread books.
2.) Read the best stuff out there while cutting down on the crap.

I've heard good things but I need a solid starting point. Help me out.

 

[reutbing0]

The best advice I can give is to check out this recommended reading list on dragonlance.com : http://www.dragonlance.com/products/reading.asp

The author of that article gets it exactly right imho.

 

[Tsyr]

IMHO, that list doesn't stress "The Soulforged" and "Brothers in Arms" nearly enough, but otherwise..

 

[Kesh]

Get ready for a butt-numb-a-thon.

This is what you should read to get caught up on the world of Dragonlance in the "Age of Mortals." I'm only going to list the 'core' books for now.

Dragonlance Chronicles consists of:

• Dragons of Autumn Twilight
• Dragons of Winter Night
• Dragons of Spring Dawning

Dragonlance Legends is made of:

• Time of the Twins
• War of the Twins
• Test of the Twins

At this point, if you want to learn more about Raistlin & Caramon's early days, read:

• Soulforge
• Brothers in Arms

Another optional, but recommended read, is The Second Generation.

Now, the original 4th Age of the first stories ends, and the 5th Age begins in Dragons of Summer Flame.

Skip ahead a bit.

Now, we come to events which turn the 5th Age into the Age of Mortals and brings us to the present day:

War of Souls

• Dragons of a Fallen Sun
• Dragons of a Lost Star
• Dragons of a Vanished Moon

All of these books are by the original authors, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. These are the 'essential' books for Dragonlance (with noted exceptions). The three trilogies are the must-reads to really get into the setting.

This is why people compare DL to Middle Earth in scope. There are tons of other novels by various authors, but these are the important ones.

 

[Umbran]

Personally, I'd start by reading the original novels - The Dragonlance Chronicles, Volumes 1,2, and 3 ("Dragons of Autumn Twilight", "Dragons of Winter Night" and "Dragons of Spring Dawning"), by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

 

[John Crichton]

Personally, I'd start by reading the original novels - The Dragonlance Chronicles, Volumes 1,2, and 3 ("Dragons of Autumn Twilight", "Dragons of Winter Night" and "Dragons of Spring Dawning"), by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

So, they were done first, eh? That sounds like the best place to start...

 

[Napftor]

So, they were done first, eh? That sounds like the best place to start...

I just re-read these (annotated versions) and they are still great reads. From this I would, as suggested above, move to the Legends trilogy.

 

[ASH]

Get ready for a butt-numb-a-thon.

This is what you should read to get caught up on the world of Dragonlance in the "Age of Mortals." I'm only going to list the 'core' books for now.

Dragonlance Chronicles consists of:

• Dragons of Autumn Twilight
• Dragons of Winter Night
• Dragons of Spring Dawning

Dragonlance Legends is made of:

• Time of the Twins
• War of the Twins
• Test of the Twins

At this point, if you want to learn more about Raistlin & Caramon's early days, read:

• Soulforge
• Brothers in Arms

Another optional, but recommended read, is The Second Generation.

Now, the original 4th Age of the first stories ends, and the 5th Age begins in Dragons of Summer Flame.

Skip ahead a bit.

Now, we come to events which turn the 5th Age into the Age of Mortals and brings us to the present day:

War of Souls

• Dragons of a Fallen Sun
• Dragons of a Lost Star
• Dragons of a Vanished Moon

All of these books are by the original authors, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. These are the 'essential' books for Dragonlance (with noted exceptions). The three trilogies are the must-reads to really get into the setting.

This is why people compare DL to Middle Earth in scope. There are tons of other novels by various authors, but these are the important ones.

This is the exact list that I read in the exact order... I did try to read a book not written by the original authors and did not care for it...I suggest to take his advice.

 

[Tyris Harmon]

A good "non-core" book, that I really enjoyed was Huma by Richard Knaack (sp).

 

[John Crichton]

This is the exact list that I read in the exact order... I did try to read a book not written by the original authors and did not care for it...I suggest to take his advice.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks, all.