Regarding my classic reread, I decided upon Dragonlance for a couple of reasons. First and most annoying, the omnibus edition of The Deed of Paksennarion has print about the same size as my huge study Bible, and I don’t think I’ll be able to read it until I get some subscription reading glasses. (I’ve tried bifocals and they aren’t for me. I decided I do enough reading to merit a dedicated pair of glasses.) I haven’t checked to see if The Deed is available by ebook, mostly because Dragonlance is calling my name. And that was the second reason.
I read the first few chapters of Dragonlance and it is just what I need right now. It’s funny and engaging and wonder-filled. It’s also completely unlike anything published these days, unless you buy something from the Dragonlance shared world.
The story centers on a large group of adventurers, the likes of which you probably once placed D&D with in the past (if you were ever geeky enough to play). It starts with Tanis the half-elven fighter, Caramon, a human fighter, Raistlin, a human mage, Tasslehoff, a hobbit (er–kender) thief, Flint, a dwarven fighter, Sturm, a human fighter (it’s a fighter-heavy group), Goldmoon, a human cleric (although not yet) and Riverwind, a human . . . fighter. Or maybe a ranger.
And I don’t think I left anyone off.
Although the early point-of-view centers on Tanis, the main character really is the group, itself. The viewpoint floats from character to character as you advance from paragraph to paragraph. And this works better than you might expect.
It starts when this old adventuring party is meeting again after a five-year separation. They meet at an inn that is built in a tree. (In fact, the entire town is built in the trees, except the forge.) They don’t know Goldmoon and Riverwind at this time, but Sturm meets them on the road and escorts them to the inn. There, an old man has sort of set them up to all meet, to fall afoul of a crime (that he accuses them of) and to go off on a quest together. And no one knows what the old man is up to. Right now in my reading (chapter 5), they are fleeing town.
If you’re going to read along, let me know!
I always see this kind of book in the store and wonder who reads them. . .but after reading this post, I’m thinking that might become me. It actually sounds like something I would love!
It was quite a phenomenon in the early 80s!
For me this is the series that started it all. It’s a series that I’ll never get tired of going back to, a comfort read for rainy days and rejection letters. Happy Reading! 😀
I am exactly the same way!
That brings back memories. Dragonlance was the first fantasy I ever read. I think I read about 60 books with The Kagonesti by Douglas Niles and The Dwarven Nations trilogy being my favorites.
I haven’t read any recently, but I do have a few of the recent books laying around and will get to them eventually.
It was my first modern fantasy–I read T.H. White’s The Once and Future King first. I’d call it a fantasy, but it was shelved as a classic.
You were much more devoted than I! I read the next series and various standalone books, but nowhere near sixty!
Dragonlance was the first non-ya fantasy I read growing up. I was the kinda kid who wanted to be playing with his GI JOES or Matchbox Cars not reading, but these books kept my attention. I credit the Dragonlance series as why I am a fantasy writer. Also, I must say, until recent years, these covers were my favorite!!!
The first book you read in a genre always makes the deepest impression, I think. Arthur Clarke’s 2001 was my first science fiction novel, and it certainly did.
As long as you were old enough to remember your first book in a genre, I’m sure it does leave an impression. For me, my parents started me on science fiction and fantasy far too young for that. They assure me that The Little Prince was my favorite book when I was two… When I discovered it on the shelf as a preteen, it was like discovering a book I’d never read.
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
The first fantasy I ever read was the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but when I started tabletop gaming with my husband and his friends, they were playing Dragonlance, so he told me to read them so I’d understand the setting. He had read them when they first came out in the 80s when he was a kid. I read them in the early 2000s, and I felt like they held up pretty well. The first two trilogies are excellent. I also loved Richard Knaak’s books about the Minotaurs.