I’m always on the lookout for good fantasy, so I have a couple of questions about this series:
First, are they worth reading or are they crap? The sheer size of the series makes me leery.
Second, is there any order I should be aware of? I mean, there are like eleventeen billion of them - is it all one big long story? Are they divided into several related but independent series? Are they just random semi-related books? What?
Thanks in advance. This has been eating away at me since junior high.
My opinion? Read the first six. The Chronicles (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Winter Night and Spring Dawning) and the Twins series (Time of, Test of… and ummm… the other one). Skip the rest which aren’t written by Weis and Hickman. Pretend they don’t exist and you’ll be a happier man.
Hell, you could almost skip the Twins series, but they have thier moments worth reading. Personally, I liked the Rose of the Prophet series by Weis and Hickman better than any of the DL books except for the Chronicles.
The primary Dragonlance story is contained in the Chronicles Trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning). The sequel trilogy, the Legends Trilogy (Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins) picks up where the Chronicles left off, although I personally didn’t enjoy the second series as much as the first. All the other books are largely spinoffs; novels about historical figures of the Dragonlance world, histories of the main Heroes in Chronicles, short stories, stories about future generations, etc…
Are they worth reading? I found the main story to be decently written and interesting back when I read them in high school, but then, I’ve always been a fan of Weis & Hickman to begin with (the authors of Chronicles and Legends). Other than the Chronicles and Legends Trilogies, I personally didn’t feel that most of the other books were really worth reading. However, I did stop reading Dragonlance novels right before the Meetings Sextet of novels so there may have been some good novels that I missed. I’d say that the novels weren’t as good as fantasy written by other authors such as Robert Jordan or George R.R. Martin (two of my favorites) or even as good as Weis & Hickman’s Death Gate Cycle series. Still, the books are a light and reasonably entertaining read.
There are a ton of books available. I can only comment on the ones that I’ve read – the Chronicles Trilogy and the Legends Trilogy.
Starting off with the first book of the Chronicles Trilogy is probably ideal. Without spoiling the plot at all, the books basically document a young AD&D (well, AD&D with modifications) party going out into a world ravaged by a dragon-based war.
While there are a number of fantasy cliches (the gruff dwarf, the smallish, happy-go-lucky thief, etc) the interplay between the different characters is really entertaining and comes together in an effective manner quickly. The fun factor is increased if you’ve played paper-and-pen roleplaying games, as you’ll often see a number of situations your own Dungeon Master has previously described in game terms come to fruition in literary terms.
It’s probably safe to say that what happens in the Chronicles Trilogy isn’t as important as how it happens. Journey over destination.
The Legends Trilogy takes a few characters from the first series (the warrior, magician and thief) and puts them in a story that is both more personal and more epic (at least in my opinion). The six books are a good read. I read them, initially, in high school, once again during college and picked them up again at the beginning of this week for another pass, funnily enough.
(Reading the Dragonlance books also prepares you should you ever enter an on-line role playing game, as there are countless of incoherent assjacks running around as magicians calling themselves “Raistlin.” The powerful version, of course, never ever the one with the cough.)
I’ve skimmed a few of the other books in the line, but they really didn’t do it for me. So much of the fun is in the main characters, and when different books focus on sub-characters or people who existed 300 years ago in the past, it becomes difficult to work up any kind of emotional attachment.
(FWIW, there were also three computer games made based on the books – the last game, “Dark Queen of Krynn,” is excellent and still holds up as solid entertainment today.)
To me, the first six books are readable, and even halfway enjoyable. Most of the rest are utter crap. However, not even the first six books are what I’d call GOOD fantasy. My advice would be to go to a used book store and pick them up. Don’t spend a lot of money on them. If you can get the SF Club 3-in-1 volume, so much the better, but don’t pay too much for them. I enjoyed a couple of the books that WEREN’T written by Weis & Hickman, but damned if I can remember what they were now.
As for why I read them in the first place, I was in a Dragonlance campaign, and we players swapped books around. I’ll read a free book 95 times out of 100.
Do not, under any circumstances, read any book by Ed Greenwood. The man simply does not know how to write. He’s got good story ideas, but he doesn’t know how to put them down in a readable fashion.
Mostly independent series, based on the same D&D setting, and centered around the original stories told in Chronicles and Legends.
If you like this type of thing, you might also check out some of the series in the Forgotten Realms series. Similar setup – many series, set in one world, from a D&D setting. Some are better than others. The ones worth reading? The ones authored by R.A. Salvatore are among the best (Dark Elf, Cleric Quintet, etc). Elaine Cunningham and Douglas Niles series are pretty good, too. Ed Greenwood’s are often a little random on the plot side of things, but he writes some pretty good humor into his characters.
I’ve read Chronicles and Legends on the Dragonlance series, and not too many of the others yet. Have read many of the Forgotten Realms, and enjoy those a lot.
To elaborate on this, it looks to me like he writes whatever happened the last time he played D&D. Lots of things happen, but they don’t seem to revolve around any actual plot. If there is a plot, it’s not always recognizable as one!
Excellent information. Thanks, all.
In the Dragonlance series, I’d also recommend The Legend of Huma. This describes one of the central background stories for the “big six” already mentioned.
I loved the Dragonlance stories; I read many of the books, and played the Computer RPGs (Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn, Dark Queen of Krynn). I still feel a great affection for the original characters (Tanis, Laurana, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, Tasslehoff, Tika, Goldmoon, Riverwind, et al.). Should you choose to read many of the spin-off stories, I imagine you’ll be pleased more often than not.
A friend who plays D&D talked me into reading them. Having never played, I wasn’t familiar with the setting. I read the first…six? I don’t remember if I finished the second trilogy. I generally found the characters to be uninteresting and the writing sophomoric, with a few exceptions. I think it was the second book of the second trilogy in which Tas and Fizban get lost together - absolutely hysterical. That section made the entire thing worthwhile.
As with almost everyone here (and likely anyone who will post afterward), I recommend you start with Chronicles and Legends. After that, read on if you’re of a mind to. 
There is no such thing as “GOOD fantasy.” As each person has their own tastes, I leave it up to you to decide how and if you want to persue.
Much of Dragonlance gets described as “pot-boiler,” but as with most things, if you skip them out of hand, you’ll miss some things you’ll really enjoy. There’s a tree of related series in Dragonlace at http://www.wizards.com/books/main.asp?x=dragonlance/novellist,1&b=dragonlance – and considering each box represents a trilogy or sextet, that’s a lot of reading out there. (From what I saw, just under 90 books) 
Of course, since it’s writing shared by a HUGE number of authors, you get a host of different qualities of writing, and lots of inconsistencies. But all that doesn’t matter… Only by reading the book can you be the final judge of it.
Of course, if you’re around for advice from people who’ve read them, you’ll get lots of that too. Weis and Hickman started the story with one of the best group of adventurers I’ve ever seen assembled. They all had personality, flair, character, emotion… life! The bonds they had with each other was also both fun and touching; like taking an outside look at one’s “clique” from high school and learning about them–only with less dragon-slaying.
I could go on what I like about the characters individually, but that’s relatively meaningless. Give it a read… See for yourself. It’s definitely not something to skip just on the grounds of over-exposure. Just because there’s a third Crocodile Dundee movie out doesn’t make the first one any less enjoyable.
There are a few things to think about, though. Chances are if you’ve played D&D you’ll find your own special connections to the world of Krynn–or even if you role-play in general. (As a roleplayer I have my OWN problems with D&D, but only systematically. Each of their worlds has a great many pros and cons about them. The cons I can ignore. <grin> ) It has a LOT of depth and history, whether or not each segment is “well-written” doesn’t take away from that.
I’ve read probably 50 or so of the Dragonlance series, and I haven’t read very many other TSR books outside of Salvatore’s Drizzt novels. Lost interest in it after a while for various reasons, but picked up again when they were making many world-alterations, and it piqued my interest again. I’m sure someday I’ll catch up on them all for the hell of it. Even 90 books is a piddling amount to what the avid fantasy reader will consume in a lifetime. Perhaps even in a year’s time!
I revisit the better ones now and then, and let me assure you there are a lot of gems. Have fun finding them.
As others have said, start out with the Chronicles and Legends and read them in order. After that, if you like the series and want to stay with it, read what you please. It’s been years since I’ve bought a new DL book, but some of other books in the series which I’ve enjoyed include the first Tales trilogy (mostly short stories about the original DL characters), The Legend of Huma, and Weasel’s Luck, which is a more humourous one. Although I was a kid when I first read these books, and my tastes have developed considerably since then, I still enjoy going back and re-reading these books (particular the first two trilogies). Despite the usual fantasy cliches, they make for pleasurable reading.
Which is important reading so you can recognize the 150,000 misunderstood dark elves wielding two scimitars and all named Driz’zt or whatever that idiot’s name is.
Heh… the Icewind Dale trilogy was worth reading for light entertainment. The Dark Elf books were just silly. The big fight scene in the second DE book reminded me so much of Luke and Darth Vadar in Star Wars that I just burst out laughing reading it.
Always liked Curse of the Azure Bonds though (but not real fond of the sequels since it was obvious they were tacked on as an afterthought to make more money).
Ah, Dragonlance! I spent 7 years playing the AD+D series of adventures.
Since you ask*, my finest hour was when a mysterious pink flying monster attacked my weedy illusionist. After the first blow took most of his health, I cunningly decided to feign death (by having him simply lie down + pretend). The referee consulted his notes. ‘Actually’ he muttered ‘this is a Crimson Death. It flushes red when its victim dies. Since it’s not currently crimson…’
Exit one illusionist
*I know you didn’t ask, but I want to tell the story anyway
I came in this thread because I was going to post a question about this series(or at least I think it was about this series).
See, I picked up a book maybe 10 years ago(perhaps 8) and enjoyed it, but don’t remember what it was. I am almost positive it was one of these books(I do remember it being D&D).
Here is all I know. I guess this could be spoiler, but I have no idea what book it comes from.
A guy goes in a labrynth because a guide tells him too(the guide then disappears as he goes in, saying, “I wouldn’t have gone that way…”)
I think the girlfriend ends up being a dragon. He then rides the dragon to battle.
His friend belongs to a species that begins with the letter M, I think.
That’s pretty much all I remember. Which book was this? Thanks!
Of Dragonlance, I’ve only read Chronicles, Legends, and a few of the Tales books, but I recognize a lot of the other titles (I just haven’t gotten around to them yet). Species starting with M? Labyrinth? Possibly something about a minotaur? There is one title I recognize – “Kaz the Minotaur”. Was that it? (only a guess, here…)
Jophiel - LOL! You are absolutely right about there being just as many Drizzt characters running around in D&D as there are Raistlins. I do think, however, that Salvatore’s writing tends to be better than most of the others in the Forgotten Realms series. “Icewind Dale” was his first set in FR, and I think his writing and his characters get better in his later efforts. I just finished his Cleric Quintet series, and enjoyed it. Good development of the relationship between his two lead characters.
Monstre <— not a D&D player, so won’t be creating any new Raistlins or Drizzts…
Well, actually, yes there is. Good fantasy must, for instance, be self consistent. In other words, it must follow its own rules. It must be well-written, and it must not have continuity problems. I dare anyone to give me valid reasons why Barbara Hambly’s Dragonsbane is bad fantasy. It might not be to a certain person’s taste, but it’s excellent fantasy. There are other signs of good fantasy, too, but I need to get to bed.
Personally, I think that Salvatore has written too much. Like Anne McCaffery, he had a few good ideas, wrote them, and is now riding on his fan base.
Good night.
A Dragonlance novel I really enjoyed was “Darkness and Light,” one of the Preludes series. It tells a kinda light-heated story of an adventure that Sturm and Kitiara shared before the War of the Lance. But if you’ve read the Chronicles, there’s an added poignancy to their relationship that comes from knowing what eventually happens to them.
And Lynn, don’t you know by now that Barbara Hambly is incapable of writing a bad book?
Must beg to disagree, I wasn’t impressed with her Star Wars stuff. But yeah, on the whole she’s very good.
One mark of good fantasy is that quote (by Asimov?) saying that you can have a limited amount of impossibilities. Thus a dragon is okay, and time-travel is okay, but a time-travelling dragon is pushing it.
And as a more general thing, does anyone else think there are too many ‘universe’ books out there? As in all the ones set by various authors in a particular setting. You go into a book shop and anything up to a quarter of the books are Wars, Trek, Buffy, etc. Certainly some are good, but the average quality doesn’t seem to be, and the sheer amount pushes out all the original stuff that might be more interesting. I know authors do it because it’s a better prospect than their own stuff until they’re established, but I think they tend to write really formulaic stuff, doing justice neither to them nor the setting.
Yeah, I’ll definitely agree with that one. It was an interesting idea when it was first done, but now it’s done too much. Way too many Trek novels out there, in addition to Star Wars, etc. While I haven’t read too many of the Dragonlance extras (i.e. past Chronicles and Legends), I’m often wondering if I should.
And although I’ve read and enjoyed many of the Forgotten Realms titles, there are some of them that are really bad - and since you are getting a variety of authors and titles, you just have to try one before you know if that author is any good or not. And sometimes the authors have good ideas and get tired. Douglas Niles first Moonshae Trilogy was good, but the Druidhome Trilogy (the sequel) was a little weak in places, IMHO. (I actually haven’t read ALL of the Salvatore novels yet, but I’m hoping that the rest of the Dark Elf ones will live up to the original idea.)