Margaret Weis ( 1948 - )

Margaret is best known as the author of many novels in a career spanning two decades. She is one of the original creators of the Dragonlance game world and has written numerous novels and short stories set in the world of Krynn.

" I was getting to spend my entire day having fun, being part of a creative team. And we knew we had something really, really cool with Dragonlance."

Her Life:

In 1970, Weis married and quickly had two children--Lizz, and David, a suicide in 2002 from substance abuse. Weis also quickly landed a proofreading job with Independence's Herald Publishing House, a small press connected to the Church of the Latter-day Saints. After several years there, Weis, using the pseudonym Margaret Baldwin, published her first book, Frank and Jesse lames, the Real Story (Simon & Schuster, 1981), which was soon followed by several other young adult nonfiction titles.

But by the early '80s, Weis, by then editorial director of the company's trade book division, was a young divorced mother with a desperate longing to start a new life with her children. "I'd gone as far as I could go working for this little publishing house, so I started watching the ads and there was an ad for a games editor placed by TSR" (a game playing publisher whose initials stand for Tactical Studies Rules and which was founded in 1972 as an outgrowth of the International Federation of Wargamers).

"It was an amazing time. At TSR we were in the top part of an old warehouse. There were no windows. We all had cubicles. I went from being one of the youngest people at Herald House to being one of the oldest at TSR; these guys were so young. I was the first book editor to work with a game committee and there was Tracy [Hickman, then a game designer]. It was like nothing I'd done before. I was getting to spend my entire day having fun, being part of a creative team. And we knew we had something really, really cool with Dragonlance."

At TSR, Weis became part of the DragonLance design team. Created by Tracy Hickman, DragonLance revolutionized the role-playing industry, introducing such innovative techniques as pre-generated characters, a story line running through numerous game modules, and adult novels that were a direct tie-in with the game.

2004 will be the twentieth anniversary of the DragonLance Chronicles. The Chronicles continue to be on best-seller lists. Published fantasy works include the DragonLance series, which has sold over twenty million copies world-wide; the Darksword trilogy; the Death Gate Cycle; Rose of the Prophet and the Sovereign Stone trilogy.

Weis is also owner of Sovereign Press, the publisher of the Sovereign Stone RPG and the new DragonLance D20 RPG products licensed from Wizards of the Coast. She is co-author of the DragonLance Core System Rulebook (Wizards of the Coast, 2003), and co-author of the DragonLance Age of Mortals Rulebook published by Sovereign Press, 2003.

Her newest company, Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. is a brand-new venture with several major announcements in the works, like an RPG line based on the Firefly/Serenity license and Ed Greenwood's new solo venture into roleplaying, Castlemourn.

She presently lives in a converted barn in southern Wisconsin. On a personal level, Weis is a mother of two (David (deceased) and Elisabeth Baldwin) from her first marriage.

She has also divorced her second husband, Canadian-born author Don Perrin. (See photo of Margaret and Don Perrin left)

She lives with her four dogs (Sasha, a black lab, and Tess, Max, and Dixie, border collies) and three cats, Nicolai Mouseslayer, Motley Tatters, and Shiva, Destroyer of Nations.

Tracy Hickman worked as a supermarket boy, a movie projectionist, a theatre manager and a drill press operator, before landing a job with TSR. That job led to his association with Margaret Weis and the creation of the Dragon Lance Chronicles. He currently lives in Utah with his wife Laura and their four children.

The DragonLance Chronicles

A Compelling, ground-breaking, highly imaginative tale from the most phenomenonally popular fantasy authors since J.R.R. Tolkien.

Creatures of legend, the dragons have returned to Krynn. Now, the darkness of war threatens to engulf the land. Then hope appears -- a blue crystal staff in the hands of a beautiful barbarian woman. The promise of this hope forces a group of long-time friends into the unlikely roles of heroes: Tanis Half-Elven, their leader, a skilled warrior who detests fighting and is tormented by love for two women; Sturm Brightblade, Knight of Solamnia, driven to restore the honor of the knighthood; Raistlin Majere, the powerful and unsettling magic-user, whose hourglass-shaped eyes conceal dark mysteries; Caramon, Raistlin's twin, a genial giant both loved and feared by his brother; Flint Fireforge, the gruff old dwarven fighter, almost a father to them all; and Tasselhoff Burrfoot, a kender, the nuisance race of Krynn, immune to fear and followed by trouble wherever he goes.

These are the warm, memorable characters of Dragons of Autumn Twilight who bring alive the fantasy world of Krynn, a land millions of listeners will want to return to again and again.

They won their first real battle in the war for Krynn, but the war has only just begun for the Companions! Friendships born in conflict will be torn apart. Hope will rest on the shoulders of a disgraced Knight and his two inexperienced companions. Worlds long divided by hatred and prejudice will either band together in a last struggle against darkness - or perish for all time.Picking up right where they left off in "Dragons of Autumn Twilight," the authors casually tell of how the companions recovered the Hammer of Kharas and have given it to the mountain dwarves of Thorbardin in return for their allowing the refugees from Pax Tharkas to stay there. The companions set out for Tarsis in hopes of securing passage on a ship to move the Pax Tharkas refugees to safety, only to find that the Cataclysm has left Tarsis land locked for the past three hundred years. Shortly before the companions are separated in Tarsis, Raistlin ominously forewarns that "some of us are not destined to meet again in this world." Forced by circumstances beyond their control, the companions break into two groups heading in different directions. Both groups possess disparate immediate goals yet are leading towards the ultimate goal of defeating the Dark Queen. Along the way we're introduced to some wonderful new characters and reintroduced to characters thought to have been left behind.

The final installment in Weis and Hickman's Chronicles series--Dragonlance's undisputed must-read trilogy-- brings on the main event: the Companions vs. the dragons in a knock-down drag-out at the iron works of Pax Tharkas, as the fate of Krynn hangs in the balance. They've mastered the Orbs and picked up the Dragonlance (see Dragons of Winter Night), and things are looking pretty good with the return of the good metallic dragons. But the band soon learns they must do battle with their own inner conflicts if they ever hope to defeat the Dark Queen Takhisis. A bang-up conclusion to Dragonlance's best-loved trilogy.

The war of the Lance is long over. The seasons come and go. The pendulum of the world swings. Now is is a hot parched summer such as no one on Krynn had ever known before. The uneasy balance starts to shift. Distraught by a grievous loss, the young mage Palin Majere seeks to enter the Abyss in search of his lost uncle, the infamous archmage Raistlin. The Dark Queen has found new champions. Devoted followers, loyal to the death, the Knights of Takhisis follow the Vision to victory. A dark paladin, Steel Brightblade, rides to attack the High Clerist's Tower, the fortress his father died defending. On a small island, the mysterious Irda captures as ancient artifact and use it to ensure their own safety. Usha, child of the Irda, arrives in Pananthas claiming that she is Raistlin's daughter. The summer will be deadly. Perhaps it will be the last summer Ansalon will ever know. Dragons Of Summer Flame is action-packed heroic fantasy at its best!

DragonLance Legends

Travel back in time to the reign of Kingpriest with Raistlin, Caramon, and Tas (along with the new heroine Crysiana). This story picks up after the ending of the Chronicles Trilogy, with Raistlin the most powerful mage in the land and his brother Caramon a pitiful drunk. Their adventures in Istar are exciting and the characters grow a lot (in the minds of the reader, and as people in the story). While the Chronicles were basically non-stop and somewhat predictable action, the Legends start with a more mature and emotional feel. The reader gets a deeper look into complicated dilemas going on within the characters, and you really don't know who to cheer for. You can't help liking Raistlin a lot, even though you know he is a heartless and basically evil person. While this book is a bit more sophisticated with the character interactions and feelings, there is still plenty of excitment (with Caramon becoming a gladiator and Tas's never-ending forays).

The book takes us from when Raistlin, Caramon, and Crysania arrive in the Tower of High Sorcery at Panthalas until Raistlin and Crysania enter the portal to challenge Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness. In fact, after the first chapter, you’re left wondering how Weis and Hickman are going to fill an entire book given that Raistlin’s goal is so near at hand. But nothing is ever easy for these characters, and they find the portal is missing and must trek across the land to find it. Along the way, they pick up an army and begin to lead them in the Dwarfgate Wars, a war fought between hungry people and those who have food stored up.

All of Legends is a time-travel tale, and in War of the Twins we start to confront some of the contradictions and challenges that time travel presents. They find they are forced to follow in the footsteps of time—even though they know what is going to happen. They struggle to change what they know is going to take place yet find that everything they do is futile to make any change in history. They are pebbles in the river of time and are being carried along to what they know will be their doom. Not surprisingly, the twins respond differently to the inevitability of their fates. Raistlin searches for a way to manipulate it to his advantage. Caramon looks for a way to flee it and to rescue those under his protection.

Defying the fate that claimed his evil predecessor, Raistlin opens the Portal to the Abyss and passes through. With Crysania at his side, he engages the Queen of Darkness in a battle for a seat among the gods. At the same time, Caramon and Tasslehoff are transported to the future. There they come to understand the consequences of Raistlin's quest.

From a fan "The Legends Trilogy- is the sequel to The Chronicles Trilogy- which brings to life the ultimate battle between Good and Evil in the magical World of Krynn. The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. The authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have truly outdone themselves and have presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and RA Salvatore's The Dark Elf and Icewind Dale trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, dragons and heroes are all about."

Those are the core books in the first two series - DragonLance: Chronicles and DragonLance Legends -

Since there are too many to list all of the individual titles here, I will instead list some of the most recent titles. Enjoy!

DragonLance: The War of Souls

Picking up at long last Dragonlance's best story line, following directly on the heels of 1996's Dragons of Summer Flame, this new trilogy (dubbed The War of Souls) continues the arc begun with their phenomenally popular Chronicles series.

This first installment sets up another epic conflict for the poor war-torn, dragon-beset populace of Krynn, some 40 years after the close of the Chaos War The action in Fallen Sun breaks as the mother of all storms sweeps across Ansalon, wreaking havoc on all the book's players: But it's a small girl who lies at the center of all this, an enigmatic waif who's quietly begun a bloody path of conquest in the name of the One God--even though now, in the Fifth Age, magic is on the wane and Krynn has no gods. Or does it?

As the War of Souls continues, the shield over the elven kingdom of Silvanesti falls. Mina leads her forces triumphantly into that conquered nation, only to face danger from friends and foes alike. Meanwhile, Goldmoon follows the river of the dead, which threatens to engulf them all. Dragons of a Lost Star expands on the War of Souls saga and forms the point around which subsequent novels will revolve.

A mysterious force holds Krynn in thrall. A young woman, protected by her regiment of dark-armored knights, calls upon the might of an unknown god to bring victory to her army as it sweeps across the land. The souls of the dead rob the living of their magic. A dragon overlord threatens the very land the elves hold most dear. Amidst the chaos, a band of brave and selfless heroes struggles against an immortal power that appears to thwart them at every turn. The encroaching darkness threatens to engulf all hope, all faith, all light.

The One God Takhisis has pulled a fast one and vanquished the other gods of Krynn to a place unknown in this fast-paced conclusion to the War of the Souls trilogy (Dragons of a Fallen Sun; Dragons of a Lost Star). Through the warrior princess Mina, Takhisis (aka the Dark Queen) pretends to do good, heal the sick and comfort the afflicted in her scheme to take over the world. Takhisis's most feared foe turns out to be a kender, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, who possesses the Device of Time Journeying, an instrument that could smash all Takhisis's ambitions with a single push of a button. As Mina takes over city after city, adding more souls to her dread troop, her opponents frantically try to figure out ways to stop her. The Solamnic Knights send one man, Sir Gerard, to spy on Mina by passing him off as a Dark Knight. The elves of Qualinest and Silvanost find common cause in the fight against the Dark Queen, while in a strange twist of allegiances, the dragons of Krynn realize that their survival depends on allying themselves with mortals which they do with cunning and stealth. At Sanction, all the players come together in a mighty battle to save Krynn and restore the world to its proper balance.

DragonLance: The Sovereign Stone

Chosen to serve as the whipping boy of the young Prince Dagnarus, Gareth becomes his master's friend and confidant as they grow to manhood and become embroiled in the affairs of the land. Tempted by dark powers, Gareth seeks to assist the prince in his search for love and glory, unaware of the greater paths each must follow to fulfill his destiny. The best-selling combination of Hickman and Weis have once again joined forces to create a rich and vibrant fantasy world populated with varied races and complex, believable characters. Based on the "Sovereign Stone" role-playing game, this epic series opener belongs in most fantasy collections.

Two hundred years after the action in Well of Darkness, the world of Loerem (conceived by fantasy artist Larry Elmore, who provides the stunning jacket art work) is plunged into war. Old hatreds and new combine with the struggle to recover all the pieces of the Sovereign Stone to uproot the characters, sending them running across lands turned hostile. While much of the work fits the classic fantasy quest tradition, the authors do manage to impart some subtle differences, such as basing cultural traits and the magic used by each race (human, elf, dwarf, ork) upon an unusual associated element. (Orks are the water race and rule the seas, while the fire-using dwarves are master horse riders.) Dagnarus, Lord of the Void, is also not the quintessential outsider that most evil overlord s tend to be. Instead, he's a Mordred figure, struggling to claim what he believes is his inheritance. In places the narrative turns expository, in order to aid readers wishing to role-play in the setting.

The conclusion of the Sovereign Stone trilogy is its strongest volume. Dagnarus of the Void is confident that, with his Void power and the loyal Vrykyl, he can reign over New Vinnengael and the world thereafter. But he betrays a key ally, the warlike taan, and in the meantime the four Dominion Lords gather, each bearing his or her piece of the Sovereign Stone. Shadamehr for the humans, the Captain of Captains for the seafaring orcs, Wolfram the Unhorsed for the dwarves, and Damra for the elves converge on Old Vinnengael to confront Dagnarus amid its ruins. Concurrently, the stubborn old sorcerer Rigiswald guards the lords' backs, in company with Raven, the Trevinici warrior adopted into the ranks of the taan, whom he is slowly turning into allies of the lords and into a civilized bunch. The many characters and settings slow the pacing as they enhance the world Weis and Hickman have built, but loyal readers may consider this the best of the duo's high fantasies to date.

DragonLance: The Dark Disciple

The latest title from best-selling author and Dragonlance setting co-creator Margaret Weis, Amber and Ashes takes up where the War of Souls left off with the central character Mina. While following her story, this new trilogy will also explore the chaos that is post-war Krynn. This is Weis's first solo hardcover since the publication of the extremely popular Dragonlance title The Soulforge in 1998.

The book is the first of a new story arc, one that takes place after Takhesis' defeat and the Minotaur invasion and the exile of the elves. With the return of the gods to the world ancient conflicts return to life. Chemosh, god of death, seeks power over more than his world of darkness and reanimated corpses. He wants more direct access to the living and he seizes on Mina, once a servant of Takhesis, as a means of spreading a 'living' death and creating an army capable of contesting dominance over the planet.

The world of Krynn is ever changing, and even the gods can be taken by surprise. And if that’s true of the gods, what chance can a mere mortal have? Caught up in forces none of them could hope to face alone, a small but determined band of adventurers come together in a desperate attempt to stop an invasion.

Mina, as enigmatic as ever, escapes imprisonment to set off on a quest that will test even her considerable will. All the while, evil spreads across the land, gaining ground with each new day. With so much at stake, with the very soul of Krynn on the line, champions must be found even in the darkest places.

Even a series as well populated as that of the dragonlance universe has gaps. For followers of the series, this first in the lost chronicles fills in background from the war of the lance or, for newcomers, provides a new entry point to the series.

The Companions are back! In an untold story from the War of the Lance, the companions have saved the refugees of Pax Tharkas and led them to a hidden valley. For a time, they are safe, but the forces of the Dragon Army are in pursuit. As Tanis and Flint seek out a haven in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, the rest of the companions face their own challenges. Raistlin is strangely drawn to the haunted fortress known as Skullcap. Sturm seeks the legendary Hammer of Kharas, the forging tool of the fabled dragonlances, while Tika Waylan must make a perilous journey to rescue those she loves from certain death.

The story starts in the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthus, which is under assault by the forces of the Kingpriest. The wizards, knowing they must surrender, remove as many valuable artifacts as they can. An elven wizard named Feal-Thas takes a dragon orb to the distant land of Ice Wall. That orb is sought by the Dragon Highlord Ariakas, who assigns the task of its recovery to Kitiara Uth-Matar, half-sister of the sickly mage Raistin and his good-natured twin Caramon. Kitiara, who is rising up the ranks of the dark forces, must undertake the journey to the Ice Castle of Feal-Thas, where she will have a dramatic confrontation with Laurana, a leader of the forces of good.