The Dragonlance Novels: A Short Conversation With Margaret Weis
If you play Dungeons & Dragons or if you read fantasy novels, chances are you’ve heard of Dragonlance. Some people were introduced to Dragonlance at the gaming store, others at the bookstore. I am part of the former group, but it wasn’t a D&D adventure that caught my eye—it was a novel. I thought it odd to see a novel for sale at a gaming store, but there it was: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first Dragonlance novel, standing out from all the D&D
adventures on the display rack.
The gorgeous artwork by Larry Elmore, the intricate logo, and the bright red jacket were all calling out to me. I left the store with the novel. On my way to the bus stop, I sat down beneath a tree and started reading… Three hours later, I eventually took a bus home. I was hooked, and I was not the only one.
The Birth of a Huge Fandom
Like many other gamers and readers, I was immediately fascinated by Dragonlance and the world of Krynn, a world fuller of wonders than any other D&D setting. A world with three moons that are actually gods, ruling over good, neutral and evil magic; a world where dragons were more commonplace than in other D&D settings; a world where you could play your own characters, but where you could also step in the shoes of the heroes from the novels; a world that drew you in not just for its imaginative gaming, but also for its rich narrative that rivalled that of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I was hooked, and so were countless other D&D gamers and fantasy readers.
What Came First: The Novels or the Adventures?
I soon found out that there were also Dragonlance adventures for 1st edition D&D. The novels were prose versions of those adventures. As a marketing device, the novels were a pretty good idea, but they soon took on a life of their own.
Dragon of Autumn Twilight was published in November of 1984; it was the first volume of the Dragonlance Chronicles. It would soon be followed by Dragons of Winter Night in July of 1985 and Dragons of Spring Dawning in September of 1985. The series was penned by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, two game designers who would go on to write many more Dragonlance and other books.
The books were wildly popular. The Dragonlance Chronicles were soon followed by other books. Time of the Twins, the first book in the Dragonlance Legends trilogy, was published in 1986. This new trilogy centered on two of the Heroes of the Lance from the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Many other authors would contribute to the Dragonlance novels and anthologies over the years. The books were so popular that almost 200 were published between the mid 1980s and mid 2000s.
A New Yet Enduring World Setting
Although the Dragonlance setting hasn’t been around for as long as The Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk settings, it is just as enduring. Even though TSR (and its successor WoTC) stopped publishing Dragonlance products at one point, the setting never lost its popularity.
The original series of Dragonlance adventures were published for 1st edition D&D. When TSR released 2nd edition D&D, Dragonlance made the leap to the new system. However, following Wizard of the Coast’s acquisition of TSR, the company issued 3rd edition D&D in 2000, and Dragonlance was no longer supported. Unofficially, Dragonlance survived through what would eventually become known as the Dragonlance Nexus (an internet hub for all things Dragonlance). In 2002, Margaret Weis’s company, Sovereign Press, obtained the licence to publish Dragonlance adventures written for 3rd edition D&D.
Most of the Dragonlance novels and anthologies were published in the 1980s and 1990s. WoTC continued to publish Dragonlance novels into the early 2000s, but the releases were not as frequent. In 2006, Weis and Hickman came back to pen the Lost Chronicles trilogy, starring the original Heroes of the Lance in stories that filled the gaps between the books of the Dragonlance Chronicles.
A Long Absence
It would be a long time before Dragonlance would make an official return to D&D. In March 2022, as part of the Unearthed Arcana public playtest for 5e D&D, WoTC released Heroes of Krynn, material that hinted at the return of Dragonlance for the 5th edition. In December 2022, the new Dragonlance adventure, Shadow of the Dragon Queen, was released.
Dragonlance Destinies: A New Novel Trilogy
Fans were elated by the return of Dragonlance to 5e D&D, but the excitement would not end there: It was also announced that a brand-new series of Dragonlance novels were in the works. The new trilogy, Dragonlance Destinies, was also being written by original Dragonlance novelists, Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis.
As of this writing, two of the books in the trilogy have already been published: Dragons of Deceit (2022) and Dragons of Fate (2023). The third and final book of the series, Dragons of Eternity, is set to be released this coming August 6th.
A Conversation with Dragonlance Author Margaret Weis
In the lead-up to the release of the last book in the series, we sat down with one of the authors, Margaret Weis to discuss not only the upcoming book, but the genesis of the new series.
NKG: How did you know that the time was right for a new Dragonlance series? Was it hard to get the go-ahead from WoTC?
MW: Actually, it was a mutual decision. WoTC was planning Dragonlance 5e [Shadow of the Dragon Queen] and we were happy to write new Dragonlance
novels.
NKG: What did it feel like to go back to these characters after all these years? Were you afraid they would not live up to fans’ expectations? How close are the characters to their original selves? Did you have to update them somehow for today’s readership?
MW: Many of our characters are new characters in order to tell new stories. I wouldn’t say we “updated” the original characters that appear, but that they evolved. We’ve had forty years to think about them.
NKG: The fans were delighted to see some of their favorite Dragonlance characters back for a new adventure. Was there a point in the early development process where you were thinking of writing about new characters only?
MW: We were always planning to have a mixture of the old and the new. Particularly to see the old characters from a different perspective.
NKG: Destina seemed like an unlikely main character in the first book. She’s spoiled and selfish, not great material for a protagonist, but you managed to make her relatable and even likeable. How?
MW: Destina is a typical teenager. She thinks she’s smarter than her parents. She thinks her parents go out of their way to embarrass her. One of my readers wrote to me that he could see his own teenage daughters in her. Then tragedy strikes and she has to grow up.
NKG: The Dragonlance Destinies series almost feels like the return of heroic fantasy, because we don’t see much of it in bookstores nowadays. Do you think the genre is due for a return?
MW: A publisher once told me that the fact fantasy isn’t on the shelves is the demise of the mall bookstores. Used to be we went to the mall and popped in a Walden’s to buy books. Doesn’t happen these days.
NKG: A number of great artists over the years illustrated the various Dragonlance novels. If I take the great four: Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Keith Parkinson and Clyde Caldwell, what was the greatest thing each one of them contributed to Dragonlance?
MW: I love all their work. Larry was the creative force behind Dragonlance, but each artist brought his own vision to it.
NKG: How did Dragonlance impact D&D role-playing in general? For myself, I started playing D&D when the basic boxed set with the Erol Otus artwork came out, but I really fell in love with D&D when I read Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
MW: The novels were meant to promote the game, but they developed a life of their own, going on to sell to people all over the world who had never heard of D&D.
NKG: What do you attribute the longevity of the Dragonlance saga to?
MW: I like to think it’s because Dragonlance isn’t about princes and kings saving the world from evil. It’s about ordinary middle-class people who get caught up in extraordinary situations. Thus, we can all relate to the characters.
NKG: Do you think Dragonlance destinies will have an impact on official Dragonlance adventures published by WoTC? They published Shadow of the Dragon Queen so far, but it covers such a very small segment of the history and the world of Krynn.
MW: Sorry, I have no idea what their plans are.
NKG: Of all the other Dragonlance novels that were published by other authors, which ones were particularly satisfying for you? We all have our favorites, but which ones did you feel were the best or most organic extensions of your own Dragonlance works?
MW: That’s like asking a mother who her favorite child is.
NKG: Which character, in your opinion, is the greatest unsung hero of the world of Dragonlance?
MW: See above answer.
NKG: Did you plan the history of Krynn beyond the Age of Mortals? The history of Krynn seems to be a grim one. From the War of the Lance to the Summer of Chaos and on to the War of Souls; the arrival of the great dragons, the Minotaur invasion of Silvanesti… Is there more misery in the future for Krynn or is a new golden age awaiting that world?
MW: We really didn’t want to write the Age of Mortals in the first place, but that is all tied up in the fall of TSR, so it’s complicated.
NKG: If there is more to the history of Krynn, would we ever have the pleasure of reading more Dragonlance adventures, possibly set in the Age of Mortals or after?
MW: You never know.
NKG: When is the third book in the Dragonlance Destinies series coming out and what can you tell me about it?
NKG: The third book is Dragons of Eternity. All I can say is that if you’ve read Dragons of Fate, you get an idea of where the third book is headed.
NKG: What is your next project once the Dragonlance Destinies trilogy concludes?
MW: We have one in the works, but we can’t discuss it.
Dragons of Eternity was released August 6th. Weis unveiled the cover on her X account in March. If you’ve read the first two books, you know from the conclusion of the second book that the last book in the series will have a lot in store for fans. Let’s hope it’s not the last Dragonlance novel we get to read.
