The Dragonlance Series - Published by Penguin books and/or TSR Reviewed by Richard Hewison Having read Sue's review of the 'Death Gate Cycle' books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, it prompted me to reminisce a little over the Dragonlance series of books which they helped instigate in the early to late eighties. What led me to read the saga was the recommendation not by just one, not by two but by three independent friends. I was told that to fully appreciate each book they had to be read in the correct trilogy order. This is good advice, as many of the background myths and legends are mentioned in one book and then expanded on in another. Before I go into the appeal of these books in more detail, I feel the need to point out something that I have noticed regarding the cover illustrations. It seems common practice these days for the U.K. publisher of an American book to change the cover art. This is presumably a result of the difference in marketing strategy between the U.S. and here. However, whilst the U.S versions have covers depicting characters and situations from the books they adorn, the U.K. paperback prints have paintings covering situations from different books and on occasions, different trilogies. This might seem a small point, but it is only realised once you have finished the first trilogy that the covers are all wrong! As an example, the cover from Volume 3 of the first trilogy (the Dragonlance Chronicles) depicts a very significant scene from the closing chapters of the previous book, Volume 2. Anyway, with that minor gripe aside, onto the books themselves. Without giving away any real plot details, the main appeal in the Dragonlance saga is the family of characters ("the heroes of the lance") who you come to know and treat like old friends by the end of each book. Characters like Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Tanis Half Elven, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Flint Fireforge, Sturm Brightblade, Laurana and of course the twins Caramon and Raistlin Majere. Then there are the supporting cast of characters like Fizban the Wizard, Elistan, the Gully Dwarves who can't count beyond two, Tika, Dalamar, and many others besides. To give a real sense of history to the land, the reader gets to know about the legend of Huma, which details how the fabled Dragonlance came to be, and many other historical events like the great Cataclysm which shaped the land. No fantasy book would be complete without its evil characters, and there are some very potent bad guys (and gals) in the Dragonlance saga. The evil Queen of Darkness, Takhisis, is the most potent. Others like Lord Soth and Kitiara Majere (yes - she is related!) take on supporting roles in the Dark Queen's attempt to re-enter the world through the great portal where she was banished many eons ago. Naturally, the books also contain Dragons. At the start, they are only fables. Some people don't believe in them, others only know of them through the myths and legends that were passed down from generation to generation. Thankfully, there are good dragons as well as bad dragons and they are also very intelligent creatures. They can talk just like everyone else and they have a very central role in the first trilogy. The way they are introduced is very thought provoking and emotional. The sheer horror of seeing the shadow of a dragon wheeling in the sky overhead is vividly described to the point when you might just feel a little anxious yourself! The 'Chronicles' detail the meat of the entire saga. A group of friends who vowed to re-unite five years ago return to their homeland in troubled times. Evil Draconian soldiers (lizard men to you and me) are gathering armies and causing trouble throughout the land. Rumours are rife about the return of the evil dragons and their Dark Queen. A war ensues and the bitter experience changes the friends forever. The battles are not only good against evil, Man against Draconian, but also Dragon against Dragon. Their world will never be the same again. There isn't the room to give detailed descriptions about each adventure, but suffice it to say that the novels give you action, adventure, excitement, romance, shocks, revelations, deaths and the realisation of unavoidable destiny. The characters grow and change on the turn of every page, from the apparently weak mage Raistlin and his warrior brother Caramon to the irrepressible kender Tasslehoff and the gruff Flint the Dwarf. The Chronicles and the second trilogy (Legends) were written by Weis and Hickman. The remaining books have picked up on events, before or after these two trilogies, or have concentrated on telling the stories behind the various myths and legends that are mentioned in them. They were written by other authors, some of which have since gone on to write their own fantasy books unrelated to Dragonlance but in a similar style. I have to admit that the first six books are by far the best. The plots are richly interwoven with sub-plots and characterisation. The events described are truly epic and would (I imagine) be impossible to convey on film. They have been adapted into comic strips but I would still recommend that the books are read in preference to the illustrated versions. The remaining trilogies are a mixture of good and bad. I've only read the first five trilogies and am into volume 1 of Heroes II as I write, but none have come up to the excellence of the Weis and Hickman novels. As a last point of note, the high standard of the books probably explains why I have felt so disappointed with the Dragonlance computer games. Whilst they might well be official AD&D licensed games, the strength of Dragonlance is in the wonderful richness of the characters. This is an element which no computer game has ever managed to capture yet on disk. An appendix: To date there are approximately 30 Dragonlance books with many more in the pipeline. They are as follows: The Dragonlance Chronicles Volume 1 - Dragons of Autumn Twilight Volume 2 - Dragons of Winter Night Volume 3 - Dragons of Spring Dawning The Dragonlance Legends Volume 1 - Time of the Twins Volume 2 - War of the Twins Volume 3 - Test of the Twins The Dragonlance Tales Volume 1 - The Magic of Krynn Volume 2 - Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes Volume 3 - Love and War The Dragonlance Heroes Volume 1 - The Legend of Huma Volume 2 - Stormblade Volume 3 - Weasel's Luck The Dragonlance Preludes Volume 1 - Darkness and Light Volume 2 - Kendermore Volume 3 - Brothers Majere The Dragonlance Heroes II Volume 1 - Kaz, the Minotaur Volume 2 - The Gates of Thorbardin Volume 3 - Galen Beknighted The Dragonlance Preludes II Volume 1 - Riverwind, the Plainsman Volume 2 - Flint, the King Volume 3 - Tanis, the Shadow Years The Elven Nations Trilogy (three books) and... The Meetings Sextet (six books) I may well have forgotten a trilogy here or there, so please don't take this list as the definitive gospel! There are also illustrated comic versions of the first few books, Art books, calendars as well as the role playing games that the series was originally created from.