Dragonlance Series Order

[Pernille Pennebaker]

The Dragonlance short story collections are mainly divided into the two publishing lines Tales and Dragons Anthologies. With most recent collections the dividing line has been somewhat erased.In the following are the short story collections listed in chronological order of their publishing dates.

Although some versions refer to these three books as the Tales II trilogy, others refer to them belonging to the original Tales trilogy, continuing from volume IV (this is because they were originally published as two trilogies and later renumbered as one six-book series).

Six novels set in the Spelljammer universe were published by TSR before TSR was incorporated into Wizards of the Coast. The novels were interconnected and formed "The Cloakmaster Cycle". The novels tell the story of Teldin Moore, a 'groundling' farmer on Krynn who has a powerful and apparently cursed magical cloak that was given to him. The series puts the character on a quest, and showcases the Spelljammer universe.

This ultimate guide has compiled all of the books set within this universe into publication order, order by series, and order by era, so you can decide the best way to read the Dragonlance books in order for yourself.

The Dragonlance books are set within the sprawling shared universe of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The first books were written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, but since the inception of the original Chronicles in 1984 many other authors have taken up the helm to expand the Dragonlance universe.

The books written by Weis and Hickman have sold more than 30 million copies, making it the second highest selling Dungeons & Dragons writing endeavour. The highest selling series is the Legend of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore.

The books also span multiple eras, but the original trilogy begins after the Cataclysm as creatures thought once only of legend return to Krynn: Dragons. But as the dragons arrive Krynn loses the favour of the old gods and with their departure the loss of all healing magic.

As the threat of war looms, two lifelong friends will come back together for an adventure that will change their lives and their future. Then, in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, an ability is discovered that has been lost since the Cataclysm.

Within this sprawling universe there are numerous series following different characters, allowing readers to glimpse more of the world. It also means there are a few different ways you can read the Dragonlance books in order.

All six books below were written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The two authors subsequently published Dragons of Summer Flame in 1995, which can act as a sequel to Dragons of Spring Dawning, the original conclusion to the Chronicles trilogy; however, we have slotted that book into The Second Generation series.

The second way you can read the Dragonlance books in order is to read the books by series. This is the most straightforward way to read the books, although still quite a large endeavour with more than 50 series in the Dragonlance universe.

In this list the series are organized by the publication date of the first book in the series. Reading the Dragonlance books in this order will bring organization to your reading journey; however, reading the books in this order will jump around between eras.

The books are organized into four distinct eras: Historical, Classical, Fifth Age, and Age of Mortals. Within each era the books are split into the core books and the supplemental books. The core books feature the most important books of that era and the supplemental books dive a little bit deeper into the time period.

If you are reading the Dragonlance books for the first time, you should begin with the core books from the Classic Era. If you read these books first before moving to the core books from the other eras, this will provide you with a thorough understanding of the Dragonlance universe. You can then choose to read more widely depending on what series or characters interest you the most.

As well, in the lists below, the year in which the books take place has been included when it is available. There are three distinct classifications with the Dragonlance universe: PC stands for Pre-Cataclysm, AC stands for Alt-Cataclysm, and SC stand for Second Cataclysm. You will note that many series feature books from across the timeline.

It is not yet known where the new Destinies trilogy will slot into the overall timeline of the Dragonlance books in order. While it is likely that at least part of it will take place in the Classic Era with the inclusion of time travel in the first book, we have omitted it from the list of books by era for that reason.

The next era is the Fifth Age which begins with the Dragons of a New Age trilogy as the events during 383 AC ushered in a new era. The era of the Fifth Age features Dragon Overlords, the Dragon Purge, and the search for magic.

The final era within the Dragonlance universe is the Age of Mortals. This era was ushered in by the events of the War of Souls trilogy in the latter part of the Fifth Age and continues to the present day within the universe.

The final list of books included here is slightly different from the above, as these are adaptations of the Dragonlance universe but for a younger, more middle grade audience. The content remains largely the same, but the original Dragonlance Chronicles have been split into multiple editions for a younger audience.

Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

But now, in the dawn of a new day, the dark secrets that have long shadowed the hearts of the friends come to the light. Betrayal, treachery, frailty, and weakness will nearly destroy all that they have accomplished.

Crysania, a beautiful and devoted cleric of Paladine, tries to use her faith to lead Raistlin from the darkness. She is blind to his shadowed designs, and he draws her slowly into his neatly woven trap.

One hundred years have passed since the fiery Cataclysm that changed the face of Krynn forever. For one hundred years, the people of Krynn have struggled to survive. But for some, those one hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.

When Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman began writing Dragonlance novels in 1984, they wrote their first series, Chronicles, during the time of the War of the Lance. Despite the fact that the setting has evolved significantly since the first novels were published, the War of the Lance time period is where the setting has its roots.

The Historical designation is for novels that flesh out the backstory of Dragonlance. The Classic time period takes place 9,300 years after the beginning of recorded history, and the Historical period includes any novels that take place prior to 350 AC (roughly the start of the War of the Lance).

In the 1990s, the Dragonlance saga moved from the Fourth Age of the world into the Fifth Age of the world, due to some major events that occurred in the storyline, specifically in a novel titled Dragons of Summer Flame, which is set in 383 AC. This novel is the final entry in the Classic era. Novels that occur after 383 AC are part of the Fifth Age period, beginning with the first series in the new period, titled the Dragons of a New Age trilogy.

With the discussion of the list organization and time periods out of the way, here are my recommendations on reading order. The short version is to read the core novels from each time period and then branch out into the various supplemental novels. I would read the Classic core novels first, followed by the Fifth Age core novels, and then the Age of Mortals core novels, and finally the Historical core books.

The best way to get started is to begin with the Chronicles series, comprised of three books: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. This is the first set of books written about the Dragonlance world, and will give you the foundation for everything else. Chronicles introduces you to the major gods, important characters, and important events and organizations that other books assume you already know about.

Next, you should read the Lost Chronicles series. Despite the fact that Lost Chronicles series fills in the gaps between novels in the Chronicles series, Weis & Hickman have gone on record as saying that they should be read after the reader has completed both Chronicles and Legends. Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, Dragons of the Highlord Skies, and Dragons of the Hourglass Mage are the novels in this series.

As noted at the beginning of this article, I recommend you read the Classic core novels first, so I would finish that group by reading The Second Generation and Dragons of Summer Flame, and then reading the core Fifth Age books: the Dragons of a New Age trilogy and The Dhamon Saga trilogy.

Raistlin, the enigmatic but evil magic-user, gathers his powers to destroy the Queen of Darkness, but his twin brother, Caramon, together with Tasslehoff the Kender, braves overwhelming odds in a distant time dimension to stop him.

Seeking a dragon orb rescued from the Tower of High Sorcery in Planathus by an elven wizard before its fall to the forces of the Kingpriest, the Dragon Highlord Ariakas assigns the task of retrieving it to Kitiara Uth-Matar.

Years have passed since the end of the War of the Lance. The people of Ansalon have rebuilt their lives, their houses, their families. The Companions of the Lance, too, have returned to their homes, raising children and putting the days of their heroic deeds behind them.But peace on Krynn comes at a price. The forces of darkness are ever vigilant, searching for ways to erode the balance of power and take control.

Summer has come to Krynn, a summer unlike any before. The sun bears down on land and sea, searing the world with relentless light and heat. Clouds and rain are nowhere to be found, and even the darkness of night brings little relief from the strange and oppressive day.

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